Conservation of Water Resources
Governance and Management Framework
Based on the concept of Responsible Care, JSR Group positions the conservation of water resources as a priority issue and has established an advancement structure for company-wide efforts. The Environment, Safety and Quality Committee, which plays a central role in this initiative, is chaired by the officer in charge of environment, safety and quality, and the decisions of this committee are also reported to the Sustainability Promotion Committee, chaired by the CEO and President.
Furthermore, the decisions made by this committee are disseminated to each business site, and Group-wide RC advancement activities are implemented. The status of activities is periodically confirmed by the headquarters environment and safety division, which is the secretariat of this committee, through the Environment and Safety General Conference and the headquarters environmental and safety audits.
Policy and Basic Approach
Water is an essential resource for living beings. Globally, freshwater, in particular, is an extremely valuable resources. Since water resources are being affected by natural disasters caused by abnormal weather events resulting from climate change, we recognize that our mission as a manufacturer of chemical products is to conserve and preserve water resources.
JSR Group uses such water resources as a raw material, cleaning solution, in treatment facilities for chemicals, and coolant in its manufacturing processes. To this end, we advance the recycling of water resources within our manufacturing processes and implement purification treatment and water quality testing as appropriate when discharging wastewater outside a plant.
We work to conserve water resources through appropriate management and treatment.
Metrics and Targets
In FY2024, JSR Group consumed 3,862,000 m3 of water (down 2% year on year) and the total discharge was 3,634,000 m3 (down 2% year on year).
We will continue to strive to appropriately manage increasingly important water resources in the future.
Various data on water are available in the ESG Data Book.
Initiatives
1.Water Risk Assessments
JSR Group uses the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas of the World Resources Institute (WRI) as a tool to assess water risks. In FY2022, we conducted "water stress" assessments of our production bases in and outside of Japan from now up to 2040 and identified areas with high water stress, making progress with assessing the current state of overall water risks.
In FY2023, we expanded the scope to include all domestic and overseas sites and conducted another water stress and overall water risk assessment from the present to 2040.
We are taking measures to reduce the respective risks at our bases with relatively high water risks, including conducting further detailed studies.
2.JSR Micro N.V. Water Risk Reduction
JSR Micro N.V., based in Belgium, is located in an area of high water stress and considers water risk reduction as one of its key issues.
<Introduction of rainwater harvesting system>
We introduced a rainwater harvesting system in 2018. By utilizing rainwater on site, the system reduces the use of water for production and ensures efficient use of water.
<Introduction of Water Treatment and Reuse Facilities>
A water treatment and reuse facility was constructed on site over the period 2021-2022. This facility will purify and reuse used water generated in the production process, and is expected to reduce the amount of water withdrawal. In addition, the facility contributes to the reduction of GHG emissions that were generated in the process of transporting and treating wastewater offsite before the facility was installed.
<Development of Water Withdrawal Reduction Targets>
JSR Micro N.V. has incorporated water into its sustainability strategy for 2023. Based on this Strategy, they have set a target of a 70% reduction in water withdrawal, processed in the wastewater treatment by 2030 compared to 2022 levels. We are working to achieve this goal by utilizing the above initiatives.