Climate Change Mitigation
1. Philosophy
As a company that manufactures chemical products, JSR Group considers response to climate change issues faced by the society as one of its top priority issues, and that it is the Group’s responsibility to contribute to the realization of a decarbonized society.
Chemical products are ultimately used in various products. Therefore, we believe it is necessary to work to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions throughout the lifecycle of our products. To this end, we are calculating and keeping track of GHG emissions from our own business activities (Scopes 1 and 2), as well as GHG emissions by the suppliers (Scope 3).
We will continue to calculate and ascertain our GHG emissions on a global basis to contribute to reducing GHG emissions throughout society through initiatives including reducing energy consumption in various processes from product manufacturing to supply.
In addition to this, we participate in organizations including the Japan Chemical Industry Association, the TCFD Consortium, the Semiconductor Climate Consortium (SCC), and the Japan Climate Leaders’ Partnership (JCLP) to collect information and improve our awareness that climate change will bring about both risks and opportunities for JSR Group. Accordingly, we formulate and implement strategies based on scenario analysis.
2. GHG Emissions and Energy Consumption
JSR Group declared support for the TCFD Recommendations in October 2020 and declared its intent to achieve carbon neutrality in FY2050 in March 2021. To pursue these objectives, JSR Group set a global target with the milestone of reducing GHG emissions by 30% by FY2030 (compared to FY2020) in December 2021.
To reach this target, we will continue to implement energy conservation promotions and strive to reduce consumption through switching procurement methods for electricity.
Due to the transfer of the Elastomers Business in April 2022, we have recalculated GHG emissions going back to the base year of FY2020. In FY2022, GHG emissions were 218 thousand t-CO2, and energy consumption was 98 thousand kL, both of which were lower than in FY2021 (GHG emissions reduced by 7%, energy consumption reduced by 6%).
* Third-party verification of GHG emissions will be published within FY2023.
3. Initiatives to Reduce GHG Emissions
(1) JSR Bases
1) Switch to a Renewable Energy Plan for Electricity
As part of the effort to achieve the global target of reducing GHG emissions by 30% in FY2030 (compared to FY2020), we have moved towards a renewable energy plan at the following locations in aiming to reduce GHG emissions by changing the procurement method for electricity.
Manufacturing sites
- JSR Micro Kyushu Co., Ltd.
- JSR Micro N.V.
Business offices
- Head office (tenant building)
2) Other Initiatives
Yokkaichi Plant
JSR Group develops various products which contribute to a reduction in the environmental impact. We use those products in various places throughout the main building at Yokkaichi Plant to mitigate climate change.
JSR BiRD
JSR BiRD*, which started operation in 2021, has adopted a cooling and heating system which uses geothermal heat (geothermal heat utilization system).
The temperature in the ground is lower than the outside temperature in the summer and higher than in the winter. We have built an effective cooling and heating system using this temperature difference. This system reduces CO2 emissions resulting from the generation of cold and hot water further than with conventional air conditioning systems. That has led to a reduction in the environmental impact.
Environmentally friendly facility features
- 1. Incorporating natural ventilation that blends with the atrium shape
- 2. Floor-ducted air conditioning and radiant floor heating to the atrium and work areas
- 3. Geothermal heat pump system that takes advantage of the 50 m pile length
* This stands for JSR Bioscience and informatics R&D center. It is a JSR research facility we newly established in 2021 for the creation of new business.
(2) Logistics: Improving Transport Efficiency
In terms of transportation, we proactively promoted switching to bigger forms of transport with a modal shift from trucks to railways and ships, which lead to a reduction in our transport energy intensity. In April 2022, we transferred our Elastomers Business, which accounted for approximately 90% of our transportation volume, resulting in a significant decrease in the modal shift rate.