Management System Certification Status and Site Report

We are working hard to reduce our environmental impact, such as through our activities to conserve energy through solar power, in order to contribute to achieving the society aimed for by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As a research laboratory, we work to develop products that are both environmentally-friendly and people-friendly from the design stage onward. We are committed to giving back to the community, while promoting engagement and disclosure of information needed for the community to develop a correct understanding of our operations.

We are pursuing initiatives to reduce the environmental burden of all our processes (including conserving energy and reducing MFCA, etc.). The biotope opened to the general public for the three year and welcomed 520 visitors, an increase over the number of visitors from the previous year, thereby contributing to both biodiversity preservation and environmental education. In fiscal 2020, we will continue to promote SDG-contributing products and LCA for standard products, and to advance our efforts to be an environmentally-friendly plant.

We aim to be a plant that is trusted by customers and the local community through our products featuring a variety of functions and designs that cater to everyday living and industrial use. Our activities this fiscal year featured a particular focus on energy conservation in reducing environmental impacts and reducing MFC by half. Our entire staff is committed to occupational health and safety with the cooperation of those both inside and outside the plant. We will continue to focus on product development and manufacturing with an emphasis on the SDGs (Sumitomo Spirit).

We are pursuing initiatives whereby all of our employees work on occupational health and safety activities and environmental impact reduction activities in the hopes of contributing to realizing the society that the SDGs aim to achieve. When it comes to occupational health and safety, through our activities based on our Safety Principles: Prioritizing Safety in Everything We Do and our three principles for safe conduct, we will continue to ensure zero accidents and injuries, conserve energy as a means of promoting a reduction of our environmental impact, and institute systematic mitigations through MFCA. By doing these activities, we aspire to be a plant that is trusted by both customers and the local community.

Everyone at this plant takes part in addressing activities to lessen our environmental impact across our various processes, spanning from the development of products through to their disposal, in order to contribute to achieving the society aimed for by the SDGs. Continuing on, our aim is to ensure transparency in our activities and to be a business site that is trusted by our customers and the local community.

At this plant, we are working to achieve equipment safety and to develop a culture of safety in order to achieve a work environment where our employees can work safely. Furthermore, we are promoting MFCA reductions and energy conservation activities in aiming to be a factory that is environmentally-friendly. We also aspire to contribute to achieving the society aimed for by the SDGs, and to be a plant that is trusted by the local community.

We produce environmentally conscious epoxy encapsulation resins, and recently we have also been producing environmentally-friendly, in-vehicle products for HVs and EVs as well as wafer coating resins for the memory device. We are promoting a safety-conscious culture in which every employee considers and stays cautious about safety. We are now working to contribute to enhancing the corporate value of customers through the evolution of initiatives that are mindful of the environment, such as MFC reduction and energy conservation activities, and to society and the local environment.

Every year, we work in a systematic and ongoing manner to reduce our energy consumption, including fuel and electricity through the use of MFCA as key management standards, as well as to reduce our use of substances that impact the environment by curbing CO2 emissions and reducing waste. In addition, we proactively engage in efforts geared towards achieving the society aimed for by the SDGs through a variety of activities, including social activities like clean-up campaigns in the local community.

We carry out all-hands-on-deck activities for both occupational health and safety as well as to reduce our environmental impact. Our safety principles and action guidelines form the basis of our occupational health and safety, and we will continue working to maintain and enhance awareness of safety through practical initiatives like KY activities that reflect actual work and behavior. When it comes to reducing our environmental impact, we are making greater strides towards conserving energy, MFCA, and preventing harm from natural disasters due to earthquakes and abnormal weather, and will continue contributing to achieving the society aimed for by the SDGs.

Our company produces and sells polyethylene films for home use and pipes for use in water supply and sewage. We conduct a variety of risk assessments, including chemical risk assessments and leak risk assessments, and also address sustainability activities like conserving energy and reducing MFC in our manufacturing processes for these products. We will continue to engage in business activities with integrity and passion in order to pass down the verdant natural surroundings here in Hokkaido to future generations.

In 2019, we were able to obtain a Class II grade from a review of our safety standardization by Jiangsu Province. While we had been working towards acquiring this certification and reaching the record of one million hours without an accident, unfortunately in March 2020 we suffered an occupational accident resulting in lost workdays at our manufacturing site. Each workplace, together with our departmental general managers and other managers, will work to establish safe workplaces in order to preemptively prevent accidents from occurring in the future by clarifying the nature of this accident.

We produce molded parts made of phenolic resins for use in automobiles. We continue to promote activities to reduce sprues and runners along with defects that occur during molding in aiming to expand production. In addition, all of our employees work together to reduce our environmental impact, such as by conserving energy and cutting down on waste, as we aim to be a company that is both community- and environmentally-friendly.

We produce and sell the four products of phenolic resin, phenolic resin molding materials, liquid epoxy resin, and co-extruded film sheets. As our plant is one that deals in dangerous chemicals, we are promoting EHS activities in order to satisfy the stringent level of safety and environmental controls required in China as we aim to be a company that is mindful of the environment and safety.

We manufacture medical devices. In October 2019, we achieved the record of zero injuries for three years equalling four million work hours. In 2019 we also achieved a 5% reduction in our energy costs versus the previous year. For 2020, we will raise awareness of safety among our employees by thoroughly notifying them of the Guidelines for Safe Conduct enacted by the Sumitomo Bakelite Group in aiming to set a new record for time spent without any injuries, while also actively carrying out energy conservation activities.

We produce and sell epoxy resin Copper-clad laminates. While we use large boilers and handle organic solvents, we are promoting environmental improvements to comply with the environmental regulations in Macau, a major tourist destination. As the regulations on waste disposal are strict, we aim to become a company that is environmentally friendly and trusted by the local community through promoting MFCA activities.

We develop products adapted to be environmentally responsive, and in fiscal 2019 we switched all of our products over to halogen-free materials. As for energy conservation, we made further progress in reducing energy consumption by improving thermal efficiency by replacing our chillers in fiscal 2019. For safety, we have established a culture of safety through Stop & Fix activities, and have extended our record of zero accidents up to approximately 700,000 hours. We are working hard to achieve our target of 1 million hours.

In line with overall goals of Sumitomo Bakelite, Vaupell China continiously improve EHS by reducing waste and contributing to saving the energy / environment. Conduct all kinds of EHS activities so that keep us a world-class in EHS.

Our plant was designed with bulk production of CCL back in 1990s. It is very tough to reduce env. impact (energy & MFCA) as minimum CCL order. With supports from CEC & HQ, we have started again energy conservation project in 2019 and we look forward to optimize CCL production & stocks in FY2020. Diversification into aero panels & resins businesses are in progress but it remain challenging ahead amid of global pandemic. Safety is still our first priority

While operating in a safe & environmentally responsible workplace is key to the success of SBS operations, safety remains the top priority. SBS staff will work diligently towards meeting all legal compliances and zero incidents through constant Anzen training & inculcating the 'Stop & Fix' mindset.

We manufacture and sell phenolic molding compounds. We had been working on activities to improve our productivity since before, and had been promoting initiatives aimed at raising awareness of safety among our employees in particular in order to continue our record of zero accidents and disasters. Moving forward, we will continue with these efforts in aiming to make our plant even safer

We develop, manufacture and sell phenolic resins. In fiscal 2019 we promoted maintenance on our aging and deteriorated facilities, which contributed to a reduction in energy loss, improvement in productivity, and ensuring the safety of our employees. For fiscal 2020 we will continue with these measures and develop products that are environmentallyfriendly, such as by reducing the odors generated when resins are used and through the use of bio-materials. We aspire to be a plant that is safe and secure, and trusted by both our customers and the local community.

We manufacture and sell extruded polycarbonate sheets. In fiscal 2019 we performed inspections and maintenance on sections suffering both air and water leaks in order to boost the efficiency of our compressors. We also made progress switching devices consuming large quantities of energy, such as our air conditioning system, over to inverters. We will continue to be an environmentally-friendly company that forges ahead with contributing to society.

The Manchester organization's focus continues to be accident prevention. We have updated our hourly employee safety incentive program to promote participation in our safety program and to reward the desired behaviors. Our key environmental improvement target for 2020 is the reduction of landfill waste through product yield improvement activities.

The last few years we have been focused on observing behaviors and small actions to foster ownership in the safety and quality culture within the plant. This year we will continue our movement from observing and reporting to observing, quick action and long term action by asking all of our employees to complete a project to reduce waste, costs and improve safety and quality in the Kenton factility. This project will continue our push for everyone in the plant to take personal ownership of safety and quality. As we expand our focus we will continue to maintain a safe and environmentally friendly plant and a responsible partner in our community.

Safety remains a top priority for the Niagara Falls site at 2020, with a continued emphasis on job observations and ergonomic improvements. We continue to look for ways to minimize waste generation for the site and reduce the environmental impact on our community. Our focus on quality will continue with emphais on procedure updates and employee training.

Safety continues to be a main focus for the plant. We had three recordable injuries in FY2019 which is unacceptable. North America corporate-wide we are looking to establish a "Safety First" cultural shift. Safety is top priority.Waste generation remains a challenge. We did however do some work and our air emissions are now within government regulations.

2019 has been a year of transition for Promerus. We have been preparing for our exit from our current facility in Brecksville and for a move to our new facility in Akron. The exit from Brecksville has required us to undertake many non-routine activities including the demolition of our pilot plant. This has required a sharper focus on reviews for non-routine work. We are also reviewing and revising safety policies that will be used in Akron. In 2019, there were no safety incidents or environmental releases.

Vaupell Northwest continues to refine standards and practices to ensure that we act in a socially responsible fashion. With renewed emphasis on the safety and wellbeing of our employees and our neighbors we are committed to the highest standards of performance. Further, we are committed to ensuring that these standards perpetually remain fundamental to our business.

We remain committed to "safety first" throughout the facility and is tracking towrads our first ever 1,000,000 accident free hours with 300,000 hours currently achieved. And, we have a very active Safety committee and participates in the semiannual Plant Manager Safety Meetings with SBHPP. We contnue to re-cycle over 80% of our plastics and cardboard. In FY19, we converted it's entire facility to LED lighting with activity sensors to reduce energy consumption by over 462, 000 kW hours per year.

We have made significant progress in reducing hydraulic oil leaks from our primary proceesig equipment. We have also improved our storm water management.

We implemented many projects in the EHS area including, reduced dust particulates in our SLA area; upgrade of electricals thorugh out the plant; modification of electrical and water supply lines to the IMM machines; and upgraded austhetics and material organization through out the plant utilizing 5S. The COVID-19 virus exposure potential reguired many changes thorugh out the plant to protect the health and wellbeing of our employees.

We embrace the notion of "safety first" by being environmentally responsible to our neighbors and citizens of the community as well as being responsible to our employees by providing a safe and environmentally friendly workplace. We recognize our obligation to proactively manage our processes to ensure no harm, or negative impact, to our employees or surrounding community.

Sustainability, ergonomics and cost-efficiency were headliners in the FY 2019. On sustainability, further developments have been made to provide customers with safe and environmental friendly products in line with the SDGs. Internally, necessary steps were taken to enable the start up of the phenol recovery unit in September 2020 and a major program was launched to replace packed solvents by bulk - supply with direct transfer to production, resulting in reduced waste and improved ergonomics. These programs have of course been running with a continuous focus on safety, health, environment and energy conservation. But at the end of FY2019, when the COVID-19 crisis took over normal life, we learned that correct daily discipline and efficient safety behaviour are inevitable to guarantee operations.

In 2019, a very important target has been the new ERP implementation (SAP), which has started to get the desired fruits. To remark also the implementation of ISO 45001 (replacement OHSAS 18001). Along 2019 the automotive crisis has touched all the levels of the supply chain, but the most critical crisis started ending FY 2019, COVID-19, which is going to change the live style worldwide and is re-affirming that Safety is absolutely First.

In FY2020 safety and housekeeping remains our top priorities. The LMRA is embedded now in the organisation, but unfortunately we had 3 LTA's that despite the injuries were not critical. The cokes line was upgraded which gave a positive boost in the uptime. VNV put also a lot of energy into management of direct operator cost, which ended up almost in target.