Environmental Strategy
Initiatives toward the Realization of the Daiken Global Environment Vision 2050
In October 2021, we formulated the Daiken global environment vision 2050, in which the Daiken Group's attitude for the long-term initiatives, policies, and goals for environmental issues are established We aim to contribute to the realization of a sustainable society from the three perspectives of the promoting resource recycling, mitigating climate change, and coexisting with nature and will put effort into the resolution of social issues, such as environmental issues.
Daiken Global Environment Vision 2050
Structure to promote Environment Management
1 Promotion of Resource Recycling
Recycling of Waste Materials
The Daiken Group aims to realize a recycling-oriented society and puts effort into recycling waste, such as reusing the defectives generated in the manufacturing process as product materials to the extent possible, and using those as fuel for production, if not suitable for material itself. During the previous medium-term management plan period, by promoting the initiatives to increase the use of waste for materials, in addition to the promotion of use as fuel for production by stably operating biomass boilers, we improved the percentage of final volume disposed of in landfill by approximately 2 points compared to fiscal 2019. In the new medium-term management plan, we have newly set the goal to reduce the final waste volume disposed of in landfill by 15% compared to fiscal 2022 in the group production bases at home and abroad and will put effort into the further improvement of the recycling rate.
Note) Recycling rate = Amount of recycled resources / Amount of waste generated x 100 (%)
Amount of recycled resources = Valuable + Use for materials + Use for heat
2 Mitigation of Climate Change
Initiatives for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Linked to the Business Activities
Under the idea of effectively using timber that has the functions to fix and store carbon as a material for a longer period of time, the Daiken Group has been implementing initiatives for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions linked to the business activities by using wood chips derived from residual wood offcuts and construction waste materials as raw materials. In the previous medium-term management plan, we could achieve a 36% reduction against the reduction goal of the total CO2 emissions in Japan at a 26% reduction compared to fiscal 2014, thanks to the effects of using renewable energy and productivity improvement. In addition, in the new medium-term management plan, we expanded the scope of calculation to our overseas bases, instead of only in Japan, and upheld the goal of a 10% reduction compared to fiscal 2022. With an eye toward the medium and longer term, as the goals in fiscal 2031, we set a 52% reduction in our domestic group bases that surpasses the goal of a 46% reduction by fiscal 2031 compared to fiscal 2014 upheld by the Japanese government and a 25% reduction compared to fiscal 2022 in our overseas group bases, and will aim for the realization of carbon neutrality upheld in the Daiken global environment vision 2050.
Response to TCFD
Under the Daiken global environment vision 2050, which indicates the long-term direction of the initiatives for the environment, the Daiken Group expressed an agreement on the recommendation by the TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) in October 2021. We acknowledge that environmental responses, such as climate change, are one of the important management issues that lead to the risks and opportunities in business and disclose information on governance, strategies, risk management, and indices and goals, which are the disclosure items recommended by the TCFD.
Governance
In the sustainability promotion committee in which the representative Promotion Structure director and president is the chairperson, we identify important climaterelated risks and opportunities, disseminate them to each department and group company, and appropriately conduct management. Regarding risks, as we established the risk and compliance management committee (hereinafter referred as the “RCM committee”) in which the deputy president and executive officer is the chairperson and disseminate them to each department and group company, the sustainability promotion committee is responsible for the responses to the climate-related risks and opportunities and has been proceeding with the responses by cooperating with the RCM committee. These results are regularly reported to the Board.
From now on, through the promotion of the Daiken global environment vision 2050, we will analyze the risks and opportunities to be brought to the Daiken Group's businesses and value chains, as well as the financial impacts associated with them, incorporate them into the management strategies, and disclose information.
Strategy
We grasped the risks and opportunities related to the Daiken Group's businesses in regard to the climate change and organized important risks and opportunities.
We organized them based on the results of the risks that had been sorted out, evaluated, and responded by the RCM committee. As the next step, we will serially implement scenario analyses from the risks and opportunities that are judged to have a significant impact on business, conduct impact evaluations, apply the results of scenario analyses, and lead to the formulation of countermeasures and development of plans.
Risk Management
Climate change is one of the important external risks and we acknowledge that it is the risk to be addressed by the entire company. We enhance the effectiveness by the sustainability promotion committee and the RCM committee cooperating with each other and proceeding with it in the environment management system and the company-wide risk management system. We will put effort into the improvement of processes to further evaluate the climate-related risks.
Indices and Goals
We have set Mitigation of climate change – Realization of carbon neutrality – as a pillar in the environment policy of the Daiken global environment vision 2050 and aim for net zero greenhouse gas emissions as a long-term goal toward 2050. Toward the reduction of greenhouse gases that have a significant impact on climate change, we have back-casted from how we should be in 2050 and set and proactively put effort into the following goals in order to contribute the countermeasures against climate change in the medium-term management plan GP25 3rd Stage (fiscal 2023–2026).
3 Symbiosis with Nature
Initiatives toward Zero Usage of Lauan Wood
With a view to reducing the risks of stable timber procurement and currency exchange fluctuations, in addition to the reduction of environmental burden, we have been proceeding with the switch from natural lauan wood (tropical natural wood) to plantation timber, MDF, and domestic timber to be used for flooring substrates produced by our company. As a result, we have reduced the percentage of use of lauan wood, which was approximately 28% in fiscal 2015, to approximately 15% in fiscal 2022. From fiscal 2023, we also started the initiatives for the reduction by 50% compared to fiscal 2022 that was newly set as the goal toward fiscal 2026. We further envision beyond that and will further put effort into technological development toward Zero use of lauan wood in 2050 upheld as how we should be in the Daiken global environment vision 2050.
Initiatives for the Reduction of Chemical Substances
The Daiken Group had upheld the appropriate management and reduction of chemical substances in the medium-term ESG plan (fiscal 2020–2022) as a theme and had set the goal to reduce the amount of substances released subject to the PRTR law by 70% in the final fiscal year as compared to fiscal 2019. The release amount and transfer amount of substances subject to the PRTR law in fiscal 2022 decreased by 59% compared to fiscal 2019, but we could not achieve the goal; however, regarding methylene chloride, we made significant reductions as the establishment of technology for the product specification change was completed in October 2020 and totally abolish the use in production processes in our group. We will continually put effort into the reduction of other target substances and promote the reduction of environmental burden in the entire group.
※ As the substances subject to reporting by the PRTR regulations have been newly specified, the release amount and transfer amount were revised retroactively.
