CSR Activity Report (CSR Guideline Activity Reports)

Safety, Accident Prevention, and Environmental Preservation

Ensure the safety and health of society and employees, and protect the environment in all business processes, from procuring raw materials and manufacturing to the supply and disposal of products.

Basic Approach to Environmental Preservation

Corporate efforts to help realize a sustainable society have become increasingly vital in recent years. Toray Group established its Medium-Term Environmental Plan in fiscal 2000 to strengthen and enhance initiatives for reducing environmental impact. The Group has set key performance indicators (KPIs) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions per unit of sales in order to fight global warming, as well as to reduce atmospheric emissions of certain chemical substances (PRTR substances and VOCs, etc.) and waste. These efforts have continued during the course of all five Medium-Term Environmental Plans up until fiscal 2020.
Under the Toray Group Sustainability Vision announced in July 2018, the Group aimed to achieve two targets per unit of revenue by 2030: a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from production activities and a 30% reduction in water usage, both compared with fiscal 2013.
Under the medium-term management program Project AP-G 2022, which covers the period from fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2022, the Group promoted the Challenge 30 Project, a company-wide project to tackle specific activities to realize the Toray Group Sustainability Vision of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption per unit of revenue. To achieve these two targets, three-year KPIs were included in CSR Roadmap 2022, the Group's medium-term CSR plan, and initiatives were implemented to meet the targets. With these efforts, the Group met its targets for fiscal 2030 ahead of schedule in fiscal 2022. Therefore, to further accelerate its activities to realize a sustainable world, the Group significantly raised the numerical targets in the Toray Group Sustainability Vision from the 30% reduction to a more than 50% reduction in both greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption per unit of revenue compared to fiscal 2013. The Group is also accelerating efforts by setting the target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Japan by at least 40% compared to fiscal 2013.
To meet the new targets, three-year KPIs have been included in CSR Roadmap 2025, which covers the period from fiscal 2023 to fiscal 2025. The company-wide Challenge 30 Project has also been renamed the Challenge 50+ Project to further promote reduction efforts through routine energy-saving activities, the introduction of renewable energy, elimination of the use of coal, and other means. Moreover, in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption per unit of revenue, CSR Roadmap 2025 also continues to set KPIs relating to atmospheric VOC emission reduction and waste recycling rate improvement. The Group is taking steps to meet these, including by strengthening its management of priority-focus companies and factories, namely those have a particularly large environmental impact.
Using various communication and education tools, Toray Group is actively enhancing each employee's awareness and knowledge of environmental issues and sustainability. Specifically, the Group covers environmental topics in its in-house magazine “People.” It also issues the internal “SI Report” concerning sustainability, and shares information worldwide about environmental accidents and near-misses. In addition, the Group conducts training at various organizational levels, including programs for new employees and seminars organized by Toray Corporate Business Research, Inc.
Since fiscal 2023, the Group has been offering intermediate and advanced environmental e-learning courses, building upon the basic course provided in fiscal 2022 (with an average of approximately 12,000 participants across three basic courses).

  1. * Refer to the following activity reports for more information on basic approaches and policies regarding safety and disaster prevention, as well as for issue awareness and policies regarding individual environmental issues.

Related Policies

Ten Basic Environmental Rules (Established January 2000 and revised June 2011)

  1. 1. Prioritize environmental preservation
    We shall comply with all laws, regulations, and agreements in all of our business activities. Taking biodiversity into consideration, we shall place the highest priority on environmental preservation in the manufacture, handling, use, sale, transport, and waste disposal of products.
  2. 2. Prevent global warming
    We shall promote energy conservation and work to reduce our unit energy consumption and our carbon dioxide emissions.
  3. 3. Achieve zero emissions of environmental pollutants
    We shall strive continuously to reduce our emissions with the ultimate goal of achieving zero emissions of hazardous chemical substances and waste materials into the environment.
  4. 4. Use safer chemical substances
    We shall collect, maintain, and provide information on the health and environmental effects of the chemical substances we handle while striving to use safer chemical substances.
  5. 5. Promoting Recycling
    We shall develop recycling technologies for products, containers, and packaging and cooperate with society in promoting the recovery and reuse of such items.
  6. 6. Improve the level of environmental management
    We shall work to maintain and improve the level of our environmental management while working to upgrade our environmental management technology and skills, performing self auditing, and taking other measures.
  7. 7. Contribute to society through environmental improvement technologies and products
    We shall meet the challenge of developing new technologies and shall contribute to society through environmental improvement technologies as well as products that place a low burden on the environment.
  8. 8. Improve the environmental management of our overseas businesses
    In our overseas business activities, we shall place top priority on complying with local laws and regulations, and further, we shall manage those businesses in accordance with the management standards of the Toray Group.
  9. 9. Improve employees' environmental awareness
    We shall strive to improve our employees' awareness of environmental issues through environmental education, social activities, internal communications activities, and other means.
  10. 10. Share environmental information with society
    We shall deepen mutual understanding of Toray Group environmental policies and practices by widely publicizing our environmental preservation efforts and their results in environmental reports and other publications directed at local communities, investors, and the media.

Safety, Health, Accident Prevention and Environmental Preservation Management

Action Policy and Main Activities

Toray Group operates a policy for safety, health, accident prevention, and environmental activities. The policy is revised every year to reflect the results from the previous fiscal year, and specifies the main activities to implement in each policy area.

Safety, Health, Accident Prevention, and Environment Activity Policy of Toray Group in 2023

Action policy Main activities
Safety Pursue zero occupational accidents
  • Follow rules thoroughly
  • Thorough elimination of similar accidents
  • Enhance safety activities in each business division
Healthier lives Emphasize occupational health management
  • Enhance and strengthen mental health management
  • Promote work environment improvement
  • Rigorous chemical substance management
Accident prevention Pursue zero fire accidents
  • Strengthen fire accident prevention management
Enhance crisis management for natural disaster risks
  • Strengthen preparation and response for large-scale earthquake and water disaster
Environment Pursue zero environmental accidents
  • Thorough elimination of similar accidents
Promote Sustainability Vision
  • Promote Challenge 50+ Project
  • Make efforts to reduce environmental impact
  • Address the problem of marine plastic waste

Structure

Safety, Health, Accident Prevention, and Environmental Preservation Promotion System

In order to promote the Toray Group's safety, health, accident prevention, and environmental preservation activities, the Head of Safety, Health, Accident Prevention, and Environmental Affairs (general manager of the Manufacturing Division1) establishes and directs the relevant group-wide policies and key activities each year. Progress is managed by each group company and plant through various committees and audits, using the PDCA cycle.

Safety, Health, Accident Prevention, and Environmental Preservation Promotion System (Fiscal 2024)
Board of Directors
Board of Manufacturing Directors
Head of Safety, Health, Accident Prevention,
and Environmental Affairs
(General Manager of Manufacturing Division)
Safety Officers (Executives or others responsible
for safety, health, environmental preservation, and
accident prevention concerning specific plants,
businesses, or fields)
Safety Management
Departments
Environment and
Safety Officers
Group-wide
Secretariat
(Environment &
Safety Dept.)
Toray’s plants, divisions
and departments
Group companies
in Japan
Group companies
outside Japan
Business Execution
Functions
● Safety, Health, Accident Prevention,
 and Environment Committees
● Safety, health, accident prevention
 and environmental audits
● Environmental Preservation
 Management Committees
● Mutual inspections by general
 managers of manufacturing
 departments
● Safety, Health, Accident Prevention,
 and Environment Committees
● Safety, health, accident prevention
 and environmental audits
● Mutual inspections of safety and
 accident prevention
● Safety, Health, Accident Prevention,
 and Environment Committees
● Safety, health, accident prevention
 and environmental audits
● National and Regional Safety
 Summits, and other bodies
Management,
decision making
Report
Direction / Report
Direction / Report
Safety, Health, Accident Prevention, and Environmental Preservation Promotion System (Fiscal 2024)
  1. 1 As of July 2024, the executive vice president (member of the board) responsible for the Manufacturing Division concurrently serves as the division’s general manager.

Audits and Follow-Up Measures

Toray Group conducts annual audits to objectively assess and improve the execution and management of safety, health, accident prevention, and environmental initiatives at offices and plants of group companies. Internal audits are conducted using a standardized audit checklist, and encompass visits and production floor guidance provided by directors and managers from other group companies.
In fiscal 2023, audits were conducted for all 13 plants and one research laboratory at Toray Industries, 27 plants operated by 27 group companies in Japan, and 83 plants operated by 64 group companies outside Japan. The audits focused on the following areas: safety measures for edged tool work; prevention of electric fire and spontaneous combustion by heat storage inside heat insulating materials; compliance with revisions to the Industrial Safety and Health Act; and thoroughness of measures to prevent environmental accidents. The audits helped to secure systematic improvements by identifying and addressing facility issues and issues relating to management.

Responsible Care Program

Under Responsible Care (RC) programs, chemical companies pursue voluntary management of chemical substances, transparent disclosure, and communication with the public. Companies committed to RC take safety, health, and environmental measures across the entire product lifecycle—from development, manufacturing, distribution and consumer use to the disposal—and then disclose the results of their efforts.
Since 1995, Toray Group has participated as a founding member in the Japan Responsible Care Council (JRCC), established under the Japan Chemical Industry Association. The Group is committed to the safe handling of chemical substances and environmental preservation through RC activities.
In line with the Responsible Care Global Charter2. Toray Group prepares RC activity plans and monitors their implementation group-wide. These plans and their results are compiled into a Responsible Care Implementation Plan/Report, which is submitted annually to the Japan Chemical Industry Association.

  1. 2 The Responsible Care Global Charter was originally established in 2005 to encourage companies to take concrete action that is understandable to external stakeholders. The Charter was revised in 2014, and Toray Industries was a signatory to both the original and revised Charter.

ISO 14001 Certification

Toray Group is pursuing the acquisition of ISO 14001, the certification for environmental management system, by all of its group companies, offices, and plants. Toray Industries had completed accreditation for all 13 of its plants by the end of 2000. By fiscal 2023, 32 plants at 23 group companies in Japan and 68 plants at 50 group companies outside Japan were certified.
In fiscal 2023, Composite Materials (Italy) s.r.l. and its plant obtained certification for the first time. However, with the closure of the M3 Plant at Penfabric Sdn. Berhad (Malaysia), the total number of certified group companies increased by one, while the total certified plants remained the same.

CSR Roadmap 2025 Targets

CSR Roadmap goals

  1. Place the highest priority on safety, thoroughly uphold the basic rules, and strive to prevent disasters, fires, and environmental accidents
  2. Based on the Toray Group Sustainability Vision, reduce environmental impact, focusing on addressing climate change, effectively utilizing water resources, and protecting the environment and biodiversity

Main Initiatives and Key Performance Indicators

KPI
Safety
⑴ Aim for zero major accidents
3-❶
⑵ Achieve world’s best standard for safety management
3-❷
⑶ Create a comfortable working environment to ensure the safety and health of employees and to raise the level of safety and health
-
Accident Prevention
⑷ Aim for zero fire and explosion accidents
3-❸
Environmental Prevention
⑸ Aim for zero environmental accidents
3-❹
⑹ Reduce greenhouse gas emissions per unit of revenue
3-❺❻
⑺ Reduce water consumption per unit of revenue
3-❼
⑻ Aim for a high waste recycling rate
3-❽
⑼ Reduce atmospheric VOC3 emissions
3-❾
⑽ Pursue the greening of each site in consideration of the regulations of each country and region and harmony with the surrounding environment
-
Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Target Fiscal 2023 Result
Fiscal 2023 Fiscal 2024 Fiscal 2025
0 0 0 1
No more than 0.05 No more than 0.05 No more than 0.05 0.40
0 0 0 1
0 0 0 4
At least 40% lower than fiscal 2013 (Fiscal 2025) 36.0%4&5
At least 10% higher than fiscal 2022 (Fiscal 2025) 101%
At least 40% lower than fiscal 2013 (Fiscal 2025) 35.3%5
At least 86% At least 87% At least 87% 87.0%
At least 70% lower than fiscal 2000 At least 72% lower than fiscal 2000 At least 72% lower than fiscal 2000 72.5%
  1. Reporting scope: Toray Group
  1. 3 Volatile organic compounds
  2. 4 Until fiscal 2022, this was calculated by multiplying the GHG emissions and revenue of individual subsidiaries worldwide by the applicable Toray Industries' equity share. In fiscal 2023 however, the calculation method changed, and the degree of financial control Toray Industries has over the individual subsidiary (not the equity share) is now used, in accordance with the GHG Protocol, the international standard.
  3. 5 The calculation of the figure for the baseline of fiscal 2013 includes data for companies that joined the Toray Group in fiscal 2014 or later.

Related Materiality for CSR

  • Accelerating Climate Change Mitigation
  • Promoting a Circular Economy
  • Taking a Nature-Positive Approach
  • Ensuring Safety and Fire Accident prevention
  1. * Click here for CSR Roadmap 2025 from the perspective of materiality (PDF:392.4KB).PDF

Looking to the Future

Toray Group will continue to carry out safety, accident prevention and environmental preservation activities based on international frameworks such as ISO 14001 and Responsible Care as well as the Group’s medium- and long-term and single-year goals. The Group is committed to protecting the health and safety of employees and the public and reducing its environmental impact.

Click here for the main initiatives and KPIs for CSR Guideline No. 3 “Safety, Accident Prevention, and Environmental Preservation” during the CSR Roadmap 2025 period (fiscal 2023–2025).

Activity Reports and Environmental Data

Click bellow on activity reports for fiscal 2023.