1. Philosophy and Advancement Structure

Under its CSR advancement scheme, JSR Group advances measures pertaining to chemical management and product safety based on promotion items and concrete action plans founded on those items that are established by the Responsible Care Advancement Committee.

• “Responsible Care” 2. Advancement Structure

2. Chemical Management

(1) Compliance

1) Response to the Amended Chemical Substances Control Act^*1

The Chemical Substances Control Act was revised in 2017, and a revised portion concerning the confirmation system for low volume new chemical substances and low production volume new chemical substances came into effect as part of this revision in 2019. JSR is responding to this revision by submitting use certificates/structural files for each required substance. Moreover, as for the lower number of applications arising from the anticipated discontinuation of applications in line with the revision’s intent, we responded without problem from the very first application by coordinating with in-house education (e.g., at business departments, research centers and laboratories, etc.) beforehand.

*1 Act on the Evaluation of Chemical Substances and Regulation of Their Manufacture, etc.

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) 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.

4) Education on Chemical Substance Regulations

JSR provides in-house training on chemical substance regulations in Japan and abroad. In FY2018, we held seminars on important domestic law and handling US exports at the head office and business establishments to which Group companies were also invited. A total of 102 people participated.

(2) Response to Overseas Regulations Concerning Exported Chemicals, etc.

Chemical products laws and regulations are being strengthened in countries around the world ahead of 2020, which is the target year for meeting an international goal.^*2 Since 2018, it has become necessary to promote the registration of existing chemical substances in South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, and other countries. JSR will implement responses without omission in a manner that corresponds to project descriptions and local subsidiary systems. Additionally, regarding Europe’s REACH,^*3 whose definitive registration work came to a momentary pause in 2018, we made necessary responses that included upgrading our dossiers and studying ways of dealing with Brexit.

*2 WSSD 2020 Goal (long-term goal for chemical substances management that was adopted by the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development): Minimization of significant adverse effects on human health and the environment by 2020

*3 REACH is an EU law for the “Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals”

(3) Industrial and International Measures

JSR is a member of the Japan Chemical Industry Association (JCIA) and contributes to its activities. JSR’s contribution includes participating in JCIA’s working groups, promoting activities of its Long-range Research Initiative (LRI)^*4 as a voluntary effort by the chemical industry, and providing a part of research funding.

*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 six issues: (1) development and evaluation of the new risk assessment method/development of methods for simple exposure evaluation and alternatives to using laboratory animals; (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.

(4) Initiatives in Supply Chain Management

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

• CSR/Sustainable Procurement
• Green Procurement
• Green Purchasing

3. Product Safety

JSR strives to offer quality products and services that both meet customer requirements and ensure user safety based on this product safety policy: “Verify safety at all stages, from raw materials to finished products, protecting the health and property of all individuals involved.”

(1) Product Liability Prevention (PLP) Guiding Principles

Maintaining respect for humanity, JSR does business with based on the following PLP Guiding Principles

• Social mission:
  The company’s social mission is to pursue safety in the products it supplies and to ensure the safety and health of those who use them.
• Customer trust:
  Activities that unfailingly execute PLP and continually supply safe products lead to customer trust.
• Prevention:
  The essential point of PLP is to take all possible preventative measures to ensure that product accidents do not occur.
• Company-wide activity:
  PLP activities are executed through collaboration among concerned departments and with the combined strength of JSR and JSR Group.

(2) Product Liability Prevention (PLP) Activities

In 1994, JSR enacted its Product Liability Prevention (PLP) Standards to reinforce product safety efforts. Since then, JSR has taken steps to prevent PLP risk by making revisions to the standards as necessary and establishing regulations for each part of the supply chain; namely, design and development, manufacture, sales, and distribution.

As we expand our business categories to include the elastomer business, which includes tire materials; the digital solutions business, which includes semiconductor materials and display materials; and the life sciences business, we have become a materials manufacturer that meets the demands of a diverse range of customers who have different needs. As such, we focus on reviews at the design stage.

At the design and development stages, we work to prevent the occurrence of PLP risk by conducting ordinary design reviews and also preparing a “PLP check sheet.” With this PLP check sheet, we are building a system whereby we conduct multifaceted safety checks on new products to be introduced to the market that start at the product design stage. A product only goes on the market after it has been approved by the department manager. For us, PLP activities are the basis upon which we grasp the standards our customers demand and raise the reliability of our products. Group companies are currently taking similar steps.

To prevent accidents related to our products, we also strive to improve quality management throughout our supply chains-everything from raw materials procurement to distribution-by acquiring information through communication with our customers and by strengthening our efforts to prevent product accidents, such as by revising our quality management system and updating assessment technologies.

We use safety data sheets (SDS) to provide customers with information on the dangers and toxicities of our projects.。

• Safety Data Sheets (SDS)