Nitto Group Report 2017

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32Nitto Group Report 2017the Nitto Group provides is highly regarded by customers and markets both in and outside of Japan. To further improve those products and services, the Nitto Group periodically conducts customer satisfaction surveys and feeds survey ndings back to the relevant departments.Environmental EffortsThe Nitto Group acts with integrity to reduce the environmental impact that its business activities generate, out of consideration for the environment on a regional and global scale.Reduction of Environmental ImpactThe Nitto Group uses a large quantity of chemical substances for its business activities, and this raises concerns about potential impact on the environment. For instance, organic solvent vaporizes at the adhesive tape production process and, although it is rendered harmless along the way, minute quantities of organic solvent gas are discharged into the atmosphere. In addition to chemical substances, large quantities of energy, raw materials, and water are used for production, which inevitably result in the emission of CO2, waste, and efuent. There are concerns that these byproducts can have an adverse effect on the environment. With this in mind, the Nitto Group has set its “responses to climate change, resource depletion, the water crisis, and decreased biodiversity” as one of its material issues. In the current mid- and long-term plan, reduction targets have been set for CO2 and atmospheric toluene emissions and waste discharge and efforts are being made toward them. For other environmentally hazardous substances, the Nitto Group not only has complied with the relevant laws and regulations of each country, but also has reduced the quantities of substances subject to the PRTR*1 system that are emitted into the atmosphere. The Nitto Group’s policy is to set internal standards that are more rigorous than required, so that such substances can be managed on a voluntary basis.*1PRTR: Pollutant Release and Transfer RegisterGlobal Warming Prevention MeasuresTo combat global warming, the Nitto Group remains committed to energy conservation in processes and equipment that consume large quantities of energy. To plants that consume large quantities of energy, an “energy visualization system” has been introduced to conduct detailed monitoring. The system allows determination of which equipment and production processes require energy reduction and quantication of how much energy consumption has been reduced due to improvements.Following its success at some Japanese sites, the cogeneration system*2 was introduced to Nitto Group companies in Europe in FY2016. Greater energy use efciency is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 1,400 tons in a year.In response to the resolution in the Montreal Protocol to discontinue production of specied CFCs, the Nitto Group announced in FY2016 its policy to cease use of any and all equipment using specied CFCs. Accordingly, Nitto Group companies in Japan, Taiwan, the U.S., and Europe will abolish all such equipment by 2020, and those in other regions will do so by 2030. Based on the data on usage of such equipment, replacement has begun according to schedule.The Nitto Group will continue to promote anti-global warming measures while sharing all relevant information among its companies.Reduction of WasteThe Nitto Group uses Material Flow Cost Accounting*3 (MFCA) to reduce waste generation. Known by the Japanese shorthand Mate Furo, this environmental management method helps to cut down unnecessary resource use by visualizing loss of raw materials and energy.The Nitto Group played a leading role in an MFCA international standardization project for its implementation in a supply chain, and rendered its services to the publication of ISO 14052 in March 2017. It is expected that MFCA will be introduced to various aspects of the organization, including the supply chain.Concerning hazardous waste, the Nitto Group has external services process such waste properly and shares information on its disposal within the Group.Efficient Use of ResourcesEfuent generated from production processes of displays and electronic devices is discharged after proper treatment and/or recycled within the organization by using the Nitto Group’s own membrane products for the sake of efcient use of resources.*2A system that recovers exhaust heat while generating electric power through the use of petroleum or gas as a fuel*3An environmental accounting method that monitors resource and energy losses from the production process to visualize both physical and monetary waste; made into an ISO international standard (ISO 14051) in 2011