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One of the Sumitomo Bakelite Group's management policies is the establishment
of management that is highly compatible with society and the environment
and that contributes to the sustainable development of society by leveraging
its plastics processing expertise to develop and provide society with products
that feature new types of functionality.
Therefore, the Sumitomo Bakelite Group began participating in Responsible Care activities, a global chemical industry initiative, from the time they were first introduced in Japan in 1995. We have participated in environmental, safety, and health-related activities covering every life cycle, from the development and manufacturing of chemical substances to their use and final disposal.
We define environment-conscious products as products that are free of hazardous substances, products that do not require our customers to use hazardous substances, products that contribute to energy and resource conservation, and products that facilitate the recovery and recycling of resources. These are the products we are focusing on developing and supplying to our customers.
We are working Groupwide to reduce our environmental impact by setting numerical targets for reductions in waste generation, emissions of solvents and other substances, and CO2 emissions.
I would like to briefly introduce some of the Groupfs noteworthy activities and achievements in fiscal 2004, ended March 31, 2005.
First, efforts to develop and offer environment-conscious products resulted
in net sales of such products accounting for 21% of net sales in fiscal
2004, compared with 13% in fiscal 2003.
Turning to successes in reducing our environmental impact, the number of
certified zero waste emissions sites increased from three to six. Furthermore,
the full-fledged commencement of cogeneration system operations at the
Shizuoka Plant enabled us to achieve a 6.7% reduction in CO2 emissions
(base year fiscal 1999).
Third, we newly acquired ISO 14001 environmental management system certification
for two overseas bases. Of the Groupfs 38 domestic and overseas production
bases, 23, or 61%, are ISO 14001 certified.
Finally, beginning in fiscal 2004, October has been designated as Compliance
Enhancement Month, during which compliance-related events are held at all
business sites and all employees participate in e-learning courses to thoroughly
promote the observance of laws and corporate ethics.
For the fiscal year under review, the title of this report has been revised
from the Environmental Report to the Environmental & Social Report
and more fully incorporates information related to our social activities.
We hope the Environmental & Social Report 2005 will give readers a
good understanding of the Sumitomo Bakelite Groupfs stance on environmental
protection and its efforts in this area. We welcome your comments and suggestions.
August 2005
Tomitaro Ogawa
President
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