Environmental Report 2013
Chemical Substance Management
The introduction of a new chemical substance or piece of equipment, construction work, increased waste volume, and other changes requires an environmental safety assessment under JAE's in-house pre-assessment system as shown in the flowchart below. For chemical substances, it has prepared an ad hoc chemical substance safety management form for the entry of requisite information on items including transport, storage, handling, and disposal. New chemical substances in particular can only be purchased if they pass this assessment. The pre-assessment flow for new chemical substances is shown below.The graph on the right shows the change in the number of chemical substances registered. The number increased in FY 2012. Since it has been increasing in recent years, the company will actively implement cuts in chemical substances that are no longer needed.
■Pre-assessment flowchart for new chemical substances
■Change in the number of chemical substances registered
Note: The number of chemical substances registered is greater than the actual number of chemical substances used because the same chemical substances may be registered on a per usage basis.
The following efforts were carried out in FY 2012
(1)Digitization of chemical substance data
Chemical substance data recorded in SDS were digitized at JAE sites, making it easier to search for information pertaining to regulation revisions. This digitized data will be used in future chemical substance management.
(2)Digitization of Environmental Safety Assessment Committee Data
Assessment methodology has been digitally systematized at JAE sites. This has improved assessment efficiency and reduced the amount of paper used.
Reduction of Chemical Substances
As in the previous fiscal year, in FY 2012 each production site selected specific chemicals and worked to reduce the amount used in order to reduce its environmental impact. The main points of the activities for reducing the use of chemicals in FY 2012 are shown below, and these reduction efforts will continue in the coming years.Note that the letters in parentheses, such as JAE, are abbreviations denoting sites that carried out the activities.
・ Reduction of the metal used for deposition in gold plating (JAE)
・ Reduction of the amount of chemicals used by revising facility introduction and production processes, and by cutting back on the amount purchased (HAE, YAE)
・ Reduction of the amount of cleaning fluid used by switching to other kinds and cutting back on the amount purchased (YAE, SAE)
・ Reduction in the amount of VOC-emissions by improving the airtightness of containers, improving cleaning methods, and making production processes more efficient (JAE)
PRTR Data
The graph below shows the change in the amount of chemicals subject to the PRTR Law that was used by five domestic manufacturing companies.
FY 2012 saw a rise in the amount of nickel compounds used. This was due to an increase in production levels. Reducing the amount of waste is also key to dealing with substances subject to PRTRs, and along with promoting recycling, the JAE Group is working hard to identify trends.
VOC Information
The JAE Group has been reducing VOC-related chemical emissions each year, primarily for acetone and isopropyl alcohol. In response to the Japanese government's 30% reduction target for FY 2010, JAE sites had a reduction rate of 34%, meeting the Group's target. Monitoring has continued since FY 2011, and for FY 2012, the reduction rate was 48.4%.
Symbol of Group's Environmental Policies
Significance of the Environmental Report
Environmental Performance
Environmental Management
- JAE Group Environmental Policy
- Implementation Status of the Environmental Management System
- Environmental Audits
- Environmental Education
- Compliance with Environmental Regulations
Environmental Accounting
Group Sites