Sustainability
Environmental initiatives
Policy
In addition to complying with laws and regulations on protecting the environment, we are also working to help create a recycling-based society, including measures to combat global warming.
From the GCI Group CSR Policy “Global Environment”
In 1999, through our environmental activities, we received IS0 14001 certification for our plants in Gunma and Shiga. We then expanded the scope covered by the certification to include our development center. Currently, we engage in various environmental management activities, principally focusing on the Gunma plant, Shiga plant, and the Development Center.
Environmental Policy
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1
We comply with related laws and regulations, regional agreements, and requirements of customers etc. in connection with protecting the environment.
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2
We appropriately manage chemical substances.
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3
Our entire workforce strives to pool its knowledge to try and reduce our CO2 emissions by 46%*. *Based on a comparison with FY2013 by 2030; this target applies to Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.
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4
We work to develop environmentally friendly products to contribute to the sustainable development of society.
Gun Ei Chemical Industry
Kiichiro Arita, President & CEO
| Environmental management systems | |
|---|---|
| Name of certification | ISO14001 |
| Date of acquisition | June 1996 |
| Scope of certification | Design, development, and manufacture of the following products: 1. Resin products for electronic materials 2. Resin products for castings 3. Phenolic resin products for friction materials 4. Basic chemical products (Formalin, Bisphenol F) 5. Phenolic resin fiber 6. Industrial phenolic resin products 7. Starch sugar products |
| Certified offices or plants | Gunma Plant, Shiga Plant |
| Certification body/registrar | DNV |
| Certification number | 1306-1999-AE-KOB-RvA |
*DNV is an organization that provides third-party certifications. Every year the GCI Group undergoes a third-party audit by DNV to maintain the certification, striving for further environmental improvement.
Frameworks for promoting environmental management systems
The GCI Group’s president has ultimate responsibility for environmental management. Under the supervision of the chief environmental officer, all of our employees promote our environmental management systems and activities to reduce our environmental burden. Every quarter, we hold an environmental management committee meeting to further promote and oversee our environmental management.
Environmental education
Both new employees and mid-career employees are provided with annual educational courses on the management of water quality and the control of dangerous or toxic materials. Through these educational courses, we aim to raise awareness among our workforce of the impact of the environment on society.
Internal audits
Our accredited internal auditors conduct regular internal audits. Internal auditors check our compliance with laws and regulations to assess whether our environmental management systems are operating as specified by identifying issues for improvements.
Greening activities
Greenery Factory
GCI is committed to reducing our burden on the environment by planting trees within our business premises. With lush greenery surrounding our plants, there are artificial ponds and gardens on the premises, providing a relaxing environment for our employees.
We received the JGRDC’s Chairperson’s Award in FY 2020 and the METI Director-General’s Award in FY 2023 for high recognition of our activities to reduce CO2 emissions, including the creation of harmony with the surrounding environment through such greening activities as rows of cherry blossom trees and greenery areas (36% of the site area) and the introduction of high-efficiency cogeneration equipment, as well as community interactions by sponsoring local festivals or cleanup activities around the company.
Green recycling
By using part of the factory premises (approximately 5,000 m2) as an extremely large composting site, we are able to recycle removed branches and leaves from these trees to produce fertilizer, which serves as an effective recycled resource.
Our response to the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures （TCFD）
We consider the response to climate change as one of our priority material issues and have publicly stated our agreement with the TCFD Declaration. In addition to contributing through our corporate activities to the achievement of a low-carbon society, we are also aware of the importance of information disclosure and thus disclose information in line with the TCFD Declaration
- Target value
- CO2 emissions volume (Scopes 1 and 2 emissions)
FY 2030 46% reductions (comparison with 2013)
Initiatives for preventing global warming
As global warming progresses, we are seeing not only temperature rises but climate change occurring on a global scale. With the various influences of climate change starting to emerge in many locations in the world, we are seeing that such influences cause serious problems for the natural environment and peoples’ lives. To help prevent global warming, the GCI Group works to reduce our energy usage in accordance with Japan’s Act on the Rational Use of Energy (Energy Conservation Act).
As a result of these initiatives, the GCI Group has been ranked as an S business operator*2 under the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy’s business classification evaluation system*1 since FY2015.
- *1 The Agency for Natural Resources and Energy’s businesses classification evaluation system categorizes all of the business operators that submit regular reports on their energy-saving measures at their plants in accordance with the Energy Conservation Act, into four classes: Classes S, A, B, and C to give different treatment to business operators according to the class. While publicizing and recognizing excellent business operators (S Class) in each industry, the Agency conducts strict inspections of business operators that are stagnant in energy saving (B Class) and the classes below.
- *2 [S Class business operator] = A business operator that has in its regular reports (as per the confirmation date at the end of fiscal year 2015) succeeded in achieving a reduction in five-year-average energy intensity of 1% percent or more per year (voluntary target) or has otherwise achieved benchmarked targets.
[B Class business operator] = A business operator that has in its regular reports not achieved the voluntary target and which has for the previous consecutive two years recorded an increase in energy intensity compared to the prior year or which has seen an increase in five-year average energy intensity of more than 5% per year.
[A Class business operator] = A business operator that does not correspond to either S Class or B Class.
[C Class business operator] = A business operator which, among B Class business operator is deemed to be making insufficient energy conservation efforts.
- Energy usage reduction targets
- We aim to achieve a 1% reduction in energy intensity compared to the prior fiscal year (the voluntary standard set out under the amended Energy Conservation Act).
Under the Paris Agreement that was adopted at the COP21 meeting in 2015, signatory countries agreed to the target of reaching de facto zero greenhouse gas emissions by the second half of the century in order to keep the rise in average global temperatures to within 2°C of preindustrial levels. We at the GCI Group support this target. We are working to make various efforts to help us meet our own CO2 emissions reduction targets, including improving our manufacturing processes and starting the use of de facto zero CO2 emission energy sources. We continue to work towards the creation of a sustainable society.
Development of eco-friendly products
In previous years, in the field of chemical products, we have actively taken on the challenge of developing products, including thermosetting biomass resin (which is made using plant-based raw materials) for the automotive industry, and environmentally friendly products for the insulating materials market and achieved the commercialization of such products.
In addition, in the field of food products, we have also introduced to the market new oat milk products that create a reduced burden on the environment during their manufacturing process.
We at the GCI group are committed to the development of further new products that combine environmental performance and functionality.
External evaluations
CDP
The GCI Group received a B- rating from the CDP Climate Change Questionnaire 2022 as an evaluation of our climate change measures and disclosures.
The CDP (headquartered in the UK) is a nonprofit organization that evaluates the environmental initiatives and related information disclosure of companies and local authorities and is recently working with over 24,000 organizations in Japan and overseas (including over 2,000 organizations in Japan) who responded to the organization’s surveys. The rank of B- , which the GCI Group received, means that the company’s efforts to recognize its environmental impacts and fight against climate change issues as a business strategy are valued and considered management level (excluding F) in the eight-level rating system.
EcoVadis
The GCI Group received the Commitment Badge in the sustainability evaluation by EcoVadis.
EcoVadis (based in France) is an organization that evaluates the policies, initiatives, and track records of companies in the four areas of the environment, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable materials procurement. Up until now, the organization has conducted evaluations of more than 150,000 different companies in 250 different industries in 185 countries around the world.
The Commitment Badge, which GCI Group received, is awarded to companies that met certain score standards in the sustainability evaluation by EcoVadis.
