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Basic Issues in JSR Group's Corporate Activity Responsible Care (RC)

FY :
Fiscal Year means the year starting April 1st.
For example, FY2017 means April 1, 2017 - March 31, 2018
  1. Philosophy
    (1) Promotion Items and Policy
    (2) International Initiatives
  2. RC Promotion Structure
  3. Environment and Safety Management
    (1) Organization
    (2) Compliance
    (3) Environmental Management System
    (4) Industrial Health and Safety Management System
    (5) Certified High-Pressure Gas Establishment Audits
    (6) Environment and Safety Audits
  4. Quality and Product Safety Management
    (1) Organization
    (2) Product Liability Prevention (PLP) Activities
    (3) Maintaining Transport Safety and Environmental Standards
    (4) Quality Management System
    (5) Quality Audits
  5. Chemical Management
    (1) Organization and Basic Policy
    (2) Compliance
    (3) Measures for Export Chemical Products
    (4) Industrial and International Measures
    (5) Initiatives in Supply Chain Management
    (6) Safety data sheets (SDS)
  6. Stakeholder Engagement
    Dialogue with employees, local communities, customers, and shareholders
  7. Disclosure of Legal and Regulatory Violations

1. Philosophy

JSR Group developed its Environment Safety Management Policy promotion items with reference to "Management Policies - Responsibility to Our Stakeholders" and the Japan Chemical Industry Association's "Guiding Principles for the Improvement of Environmental, Safety and Health Conditions." We use these items as the basis for formulating concrete activity plans and advancing our RC activities.
Management Policies - Responsibility to Our Stakeholders

What is RC?

RCRC is an acronym for Responsible Care®. In the chemical industry, each company handling chemical substances is responsible for ensuring that safety, health, and environmental issues are addressed throughout the chemical lifecycle, from development and production to distribution, use and disposal, publishing the results of their activities and maintaining dialogue and communication with society - all voluntarily. This initiative is called "Responsible Care."

Source: Japan Chemical Industry Association pamphlet "Do You Know about Responsible Care?"

(1) Promotion Items and Policy

1) Development of Safety-Focused and Environmentally-Friendly Products

When developing new products, JSR Group evaluates the environmental, safety and health impact at every stage from research and development to production, transport, use and disposal, and makes the utmost effort to provide products that take such evaluations into consideration.

2) Provide Safety and Environmental Information Related to Products

JSR Group sets in place a system for the management of product-related safety and environmental information, and provides Safety Data Sheets (SDS) to customers and yellow cards to transporters as necessary.

3) Preserve the Environment and Assure safety for Local Communities

JSR Group takes a positive approach in its measures for preserving the global environment, facility safety, and protection against major earthquakes, taking into consideration the impact its business activities have on the environment. JSR Group's objective is to earn even greater trust at its business locations.

4) Reduce Environmental Impact

JSR Group conducts studies on the environmental impact of chemical substances and works toward the systematic reduction of emissions. JSR Group engages in thorough efforts to reduce sources of emissions, reuse materials, and recycle resources in order to reduce environmental impact.

5) Assure Safety and Environmental Preservation in International Operations

JSR Group cooperates with cross-border transfers of environmental and safety technologies. Regarding corporate activities overseas, JSR Group strictly complies with the regulations of Japan and other nations, and makes every effort to assure safety and environmental compliance at each operating site outside Japan.

6) Ensure Employee Health and Safety

Constantly at work on the pre-assessment of safety matters related to chemical substances and their handling, JSR Group is dedicated to improving operations and facilities, and to creating a healthy and safe workplace environment.

(2) International Initiatives

JSR Signs Declaration Supporting RC Global Charter

Declaration of support for RC Global Charter

Declaration of support for RC Global Charter

The Responsible Care (RC) Global Charter is a voluntary activity policy adopted by the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) and shared by the chemical industry to enhance and reinforce RC activities around the world. JSR subscribes to this activity policy, and signed a declaration supporting the RC Global Charter in October 2008. JSR has also signed the revised RC Global Charter in March 2015. By signing the declaration, JSR has committed itself to making even greater contributions to health, safety, and environmental preservation not just in Japan, but around the world.

2. RC Promotion Structure

Aiming to contribute to a sustainable society, we formulate our RC activity promotion policy and activity plans and verify the results of our promotion activities through the Responsible Care Promotion Committee.

RC Promotion

The Responsible Care Promotion Committee is responsible for JSR Group's environmental and safety management, quality and product safety management, and chemical management.

3. Environment and Safety Management

(1) Organization

Established under the Responsible Care Promotion Committee are a Safety General Conference, an Environmental Protection General Conference, a Plant Safety Committee, and a Plant Environment Committee that are in charge of concrete operations and activity promotion. Progress reports are presented to the Responsible Care Promotion Committee for discussion and then go to the CSR Committee and senior management.

Organization

(2) Compliance

When environmental and safety laws are adopted, enacted, or amended, the Head Office distributes information to each business site to keep them fully informed. JSR Group identifies laws and regulations requiring compliance in each country based on compliance regulations and conducts annual self-checks to ensure that business practices conform with laws and regulations through the entire Group.

In the spirit of our Responsible Care philosophy, we strive to acquire our plant and operator certification under various security and safety laws. This enables plants and operators to create higher quality health and safety management systems in addition to clarifying their responsibilities and rights. As a result, certification plays an important role in improving safety technologies. At JSR, we are proceeding with efforts to have all plants acquire plant and operator certification under the High-Pressure Gas Safety Act, the Fire Service Act, and Industrial Safety and Health Act. We will continue to maintain and upgrade certifications with the aim of improving maintaining safety and preventing accidents.

CertificationJSR PlantDateRemarks
High Pressure Gas Safety Act
Certification Inspector (Completion, Safety)
Yokkaichi PlantSeptember 2015Certification renewal
Kashima PlantMarch 2016Certification renewal
Chiba PlantMarch 2017Certification renewal
Fire Service Act
Test at Completion of Hazardous Materials Facility Upgrade
Yokkaichi PlantMarch 2016Certification renewal
Kashima PlantMarch 2016Certification renewal
Chiba PlantJune 2017Certification renewal
Industrial Safety and Health Act
Test of Class 1 Pressure Vessel Operation
Yokkaichi PlantMarch 2018Certification reacquired
Kashima PlantJanuary 2017Certification renewal
Chiba PlantMarch 2018Certification renewal

(3) Environmental Management System

By 1999, all three main domestic JSR plants had acquired ISO 14001 certification, an Environment Management System that supports environmental management. We have kept our certifications up to date each year since. We proceeded with preparations in response to ISO 14001 revisions that were released in September 2015 and brought all three of our plants in line with them by January 2018.
Tsukuba Research Laboratory is restructuring its environmental safety promotion system in accordance with ISO 14001 standards due to the launch of JSR Life Sciences Corporation and the reorganization of the research laboratory.

ISO 14001 Certification

Japan (11 companies, 16 business establishments)International (9 companies, 9 business establishments)
JSR Corporation
Japan Coloring Co., Ltd.
Techno Polymer Co., Ltd.*
JSR Engineering Co., Ltd.
Japan Butyl Co., Ltd.
Elastomix Co., Ltd.
JSR Micro Kyushu Co., Ltd.
Emulsion Technology, Co., Ltd.
JM Energy Corporation
JSR Logistics & Customer Center Co., Ltd.
Kraton JSR Elastomers K.K.
Elastomix (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (Thailand)
JSR Micro Korea Co., Ltd. (South Korea)
JSR Micro,Inc. (United States)
JSR Micro N.V. (Belgium)
Tianjin Kuo Cheng Rubber Industry Co., Ltd. (China)
Kumho Polychem Co., Ltd. (South Korea)
JSR BST Elastomer Co., Ltd. (Thailand)
JSR Micro Taiwan Co., Ltd. (Taiwan)
Elastomix (Foshan) Co., Ltd. (China)

* Techno Polymer Co., Ltd. merged with UMG ABS, Ltd. and became Techno-UMG Co., Ltd. on April 1, 2018.

(4) Industrial Health and Safety Management System

JSR builds and manages a health and safety system that is based on the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS). The system is designed to manage the industrial health and safety risks to employees and others concerned, continuously improve our industrial health and safety systems, and reduce workplace accidents and health disorders.

(5) Certified High-Pressure Gas Establishment Audits

Each year, we conduct headquarters audits of our certified plants - the Yokkaichi Plant, Chiba Plant, and Kashima Plant - as a certified high-pressure gas business. Through our FY2017 audits, we again confirmed that all of our certified plants are in compliance with our safety management system. We also looked for data mishandling as a special item and found no problematic incidents.

(6) Environment and Safety Audits

1) Headquarters Environment and Safety Audits

JSR Headquarters conducts annual audits of its plants and research laboratories with the president acting as head of the auditing team. Launched in FY2015, headquarters environment and safety audits involve holding discussions with each business establishment, sharing issues faced by audited departments, and tying the results to improvement. We set up dialogues between top management and employees that serve as opportunity for sharing the two sides' thoughts and stimulating environmental and safety activities.
In FY2017, audits verified that the thoughts of managers at each plant establishment had penetrated through their organization, and that activities matched to that particular location's operations were being carried out. They then identified common issues that also exist in other business establishments. Moreover, they went beyond just providing feedback to business establishments by extracting and providing suggestions for matters to be presented to management or headquarters. In FY2018, we will select departments to be audited based on key challenges, occurrence of accidents, organizational reform, and other matters and conduct audits with focus on responses to risks existing in those departments.

  • President Koshiba visiting a plant

    President Koshiba visiting a plant

  • A dialogue with President Koshiba

    A dialogue with President Koshiba

  • A top-level audit

    A top-level audit

2) Environment and Safety Audits in JSR Group Companies

At JSR, we implement environment and safety audits at our Group companies in Japan that are involved in production, transportation, and engineering processes in order to achieve integrated Responsible Care activities. We applied the JSR audit system to Group companies in Japan in FY2016 and expanded it to overseas Group companies in FY2017. The audits have allowed to verify activities in each company and share information on them.
In addition to the audits, we held EHS (Environment, Health & Safety) meetings in Japan with JSR Micro Inc. and JSR Micro NV.

Audited Dept. of FY2017 Headquarters Environment and Safety Audits
JSR (plants)Yokkaichi Plant, Chiba Plant, Kashima Plant
JSR Group companies
(in Japan)
Japan Butyl, Techno Polymer*, Elastomix, JSR Engineering
JSR Group companies
(overseas)
JSR Micro Taiwan, JSR Micro Korea, JSR BST Elastomer

* Techno Polymer Co., Ltd. merged with UMG ABS, Ltd. and became Techno-UMG Co., Ltd. on April 1, 2018.

4. Quality and Product Safety Management

The Corporate Mission of JSR Group: "Materials Innovation - We create value through materials to enrich society, people and the environment."
We believe that an important role of JSR Group is to offer innovative materials and excellent products that meet customer needs and contribute to the making of a better society.
We strive to carry out initiatives to ensure the quality and safety of our products so that our customers can use them with peace of mind.

(1) Organization

We promote activities in accordance with corporate plans by establishing a PLP Promotion Conference and Group-wide Quality Policy Committee under the Responsible Care Promotion Committee. These bodies study and deliberate matters concerning the prevention and handling of product liability as well as matters concerning quality policy and quality assurance promotion plans. Reports on their deliberations are presented to the Responsible Care Promotion Committee for discussion and then go to the CSR Committee and senior management.

Organization

(2) Product Liability Prevention (PLP) Activities

In 1994, JSR enacted its Product Liability Prevention (PLP) Standards to reinforce product safety efforts. These PLP Standards have been revised as needed to provide various stipulations for the prevention of product-related accidents at all stages of the product lifecycle, including product design, manufacturing, sales, and distribution. One example is a system for new products to be introduced to the market whereby each product undergoes safety checks starting at the product design stage, and is put on the market only after having received approval from the department manager. Similar efforts are currently being made at Group companies as well.
To prevent accidents related to products, we also strive to improve quality management throughout our supply chains - everything from raw materials procurement through distribution - by acquiring information through communication with our customers and by strengthening activities to prevent product-related accidents, such as through the revision of our quality management system and the updating of assessment technologies.

(3) Maintaining Transport Safety and Environmental Standards

JSR outsources the distribution of its products. JSR has drivers carry a "Yellow Card" imprinted with special measures and telephone numbers in case of emergency, in addition to having logistics companies train them on specific safety issues.

(4) Quality Management System

All main plants are ISO 9001-certified, including relevant divisions and indirect departments.

ISO 9001-certified plants:

Japan (11 companies, 16 business establishments)International (9 companies, 9 business establishments)
JSR Corporation
Japan Coloring Co., Ltd.
Techno Polymer Co., Ltd.*
Japan Butyl Co., Ltd.
JM Energy Corporation
JSR Life Sciences Corporation
Elastomix Co., Ltd.
JSR Logistics & Customer Center Co., Ltd.
Kraton JSR Elastomers K.K.
JSR Micro Kyushu Co., Ltd.
Emulsion Technology, Co., Ltd.
Elastomix (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (Thailand)
JSR Micro Korea Co., Ltd. (South Korea)
JSR Micro,Inc. (United States)
JSR Micro N.V. (Belgium)
Tianjin Kuo Cheng Rubber Industry Co., Ltd. (China)
Kumho Polychem Co., Ltd. (South Korea)
JSR Micro Taiwan Co., Ltd. (Taiwan)
JSR BST Elastomer Co., Ltd. (Thailand)
PT. Elastomix Indonesia (Indonesia)

* Techno Polymer Co., Ltd. merged with UMG ABS, Ltd. and became Techno-UMG Co., Ltd. on April 1, 2018.

(5) Quality Audits

As a manufacturer, JSR Group has responsibilities to meet the quality, cost, and supply requirements of its customers. To fulfill these responsibilities, top management-led quality performance audits have been performed annually since FY2012 in place of the previously conducted head office quality audits. These audits include reports on plant QA activity concerns such as trends and corresponding solutions of claims and other issues, and activities to improve plant capability. They also include reports on customer satisfaction levels and presentations on quality improvement activities such as Six Sigma training and small-group improvement activities. The Quality Performance Audit is promoted as one of the drivers for quality improvement activities by combining the conventional QC method with the Six Sigma method in order to achieve the best possible balance between quality, cost, and stable supply. The sixth Quality Performance Audits were conducted at JSR's three plants in January and February of 2018.

  • A Quality Performance Audit being conducted by top management (JSR Corporation's Chiba Plant)

    A Quality Performance Audit being conducted by top management (JSR Corporation's Chiba Plant)

  • Presentation of a Quality Performance Audit's highest excellence award (at JSR Corporation's Head Office; March 27, 2018)

    Presentation of a Quality Performance Audit's "highest excellence" award (at JSR Corporation's Head Office; March 27, 2018)

FY2017 Quality Performance Audits

PlaceDate
Yokkaichi PlantJanuary 30, 2018
Chiba Plant and Kashima Plant (joint audit)February 14, 2018

5. Chemical Management

(1) Organization and Basic Policy

In light of recent global trends in chemical management, JSR has established the following three basic policies in its environment and safety management organization.

  • 1) Instead of hazard-based management,*1 we will endeavor to implement risk-based management.*2
  • 2) We will strive to manage our entire supply chain by utilizing a globally standardized method.
  • 3) We will strive to comply with regulations and promote self-motivated initiatives to ensure the safety of our products.

*1 Management based solely on the hazardous properties of substances

*2 Management based on exposure to the hazardous properties of substances

(2) Compliance

1) Responding to the Amendment of the Industrial Safety and Health Act

In accordance with the amendment of the Industrial Safety and Health Act in 2014, starting June 1, 2016, manufacturers are required to label chemical substances, submit the relevant SDS and conduct risk assessments. This amendment significantly increases the chemical substances subject to labeling. We have completed steps to comply.

2) GHS Compliance

The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) was developed as an international standard to classify and label chemicals, and includes the following elements: (a) Classification of chemical products according to hazard and toxicity; (b) Labelling on product packaging and containers; and (c) Documentation and provision of details in the SDS. In Japan, the Industrial Safety and Health Act and the Law concerning Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (the PRTR Law) stipulate mandatory application of GHS to the labels and SDS of products containing GHS-designated chemical substances. JSR has finished conducting hazard and toxicity classification for all products that contain applicable substances and has prepared appropriate labels for its products. We have also completed the application of GHS to SDS for all our domestic products. We will also strive to ensure our compliance with laws concerning this matter that are being enacted in other countries.

(3) Measures for Export Chemical Products

  • - European Union (EU): Compliance with REACH
    REACH is a EU system for the "Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals" that has been in effect since June 2007. REACH does not differentiate between existing chemical substances and new chemical substances. All chemical products manufactured in or imported by EU countries in volumes exceeding one ton per year, excluding certain chemicals, are required to be registered and accompanied by safety test results. We conduct verifications on a regular basis to check if we have any substances that require this registration in order to prevent issues developing with the manufacturing and importation of products in Europe.
  • - United States of America (USA)
    The USA notification system for new chemical substances is stipulated in the Environmental Protection Agency's Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and related federal regulations. We conduct legal procedures if substances exported to the U.S. are not on the existing chemical lists. We are also moving forward with legal procedures concerning existing chemical substance notifications and other matter based on the revised TSCA, which came into force in 2016.
  • - Republic of Korea (South Korea)
    The South Korean notification system for new chemical substances has been defined on the basis of the Occupational Safety and Health Act regulated by Ministry of Employment and Labor on registering and verifying chemical substances. We conduct legal procedures on the Occupational Safety and Health Act if substances exported to the South Korea are not on the existing chemical lists.
  • - People's Republic of China (China)
    The new chemical substances notification system in China is stipulated in the Measures for the Environmental Management of New Chemical Substances ordained by the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment. We conduct legal procedures if substances exported to China are not on the Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances in China.
  • - Taiwan
    Products are exported to Taiwan in accordance with the Toxic Chemical Substances Control Act and the Rules on Hazard Communication of Dangerous Materials and Toxic Materials. A new chemical substance registration system was introduced in Taiwan in 2014. We are currently conducting legal procedures in accordance with this new chemical substance registration system.

(4) Industrial and International Measures

As voluntary efforts by the chemical industry, the Japan Chemical Industry Association (JCIA), to which JSR belongs, promotes JIPS*3 and LRI*4 activities; and our company contributes to these programs through participation in the association's working groups and by providing research funding. We are also proactively engaged in global warming mitigation in accordance with the corresponding JCIA policy.

*3 The Japan Initiative of Product Stewardship (JIPS):
An effort to implement the Global Product Strategy (GPS), which was presented by the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) at the First International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM-1). The aim of GPS is to attain the WSSD 2020 target, an international goal to "minimize adverse effects that the manufacturing and use of chemical substances have on human health and the environment, by 2020," which was set at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in 2002. In Japan, the JCIA has promoted JIPS activities to implement GPS. Manufacturers and importers of chemical substances are working on the proper management of chemical substances in supply chains by conducting risk assessment and releasing such assessment results and other information in cooperation with companies engaged in the processing, assembly and distribution of chemical substances.

*4 Long-range Research Initiative (LRI):
The Long-range Research Initiative (LRI) is one of the critical activities of the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA), and is a voluntary long-term research project for chemical substances that have an impact on the environment, safety and health. Since FY2013, JCIA has been engaged in new LRI initiatives to resolve the following five issues: (1) development and evaluation of the new risk assessment method; (2) study on the safety of new chemical substances including nano materials; (3) study on the effects of chemical substances on children, the elderly, and gene disorders; (4) evaluation of the impact on ecosystems and the environment; and (5) other issues that require an emergency response.

(5) Initiatives in Supply Chain Management

At JSR, we practice chemical management simultaneously with CSR procurement, green procurement, and green purchasing as part of our supply chain management. Please access the links for details.

(6) Safety Data Sheets (SDS)

JSR discloses environmental and safety information to its customers by preparing a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for all products containing polymers, regardless of whether they contain hazardous or toxic substances or not.
In Japan, our current SDS items all comply with JIS Z 7253, the Industrial Safety and Health Act, the Law concerning Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR Law), and the Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act. Our new SDS electronic data management system has been in operation since its creation in 2002 to provide customers with SDS that contain the most accurate information possible about each product. This system includes user management, chemical substance database management, creation support, and publication (revision) history. This allows us to accurately and quickly provide environmental and safety information related to JSR products.

6. Stakeholder Engagement

By applying the PDCA cycle based on dialogue with our various stakeholders, we identify new issues, make frequent improvements and responses, and contribute to the building of a better society. Please access the links for more details.

Employees:
Employee awareness surveys, activities to ensure penetration of the Corporate Mission, the CSR & RC Caravan program, etc.
Local communities:
Environmental activities, regional dialogue meetings, etc.
Customers:
Customer satisfaction surveys, responses to CSR questionnaires, winning of awards, etc.
Shareholders:
Shareholders' meetings, communication with shareholders and investors, information disclosure, etc.

7. Disclosure of Legal and Regulatory Violations

There were no legal or regulatory violations of laws pertaining to the environment, safety, quality, product safety, or chemicals in FY2017.
We are working to prevent recurrence of the types of cases that occurred in the past by continuing preventative measures and providing periodic education on those cases.