Policy and Basic Concept

ITOCHU has established the following in the ITOCHU Group Basic Policy on Promotion of Sustainability that we revised in 2018. We respect the legislative systems of each country and international norms while striving to prevent environmental pollution that threatens our lives. We promote business activities that consider conservation of the global environment such as climate change alleviation and adaptation, and protection of biodiversity and ecosystems. Promoting sustainability rests in the hands of individual employees. Therefore, we conduct educational and awareness activities for employees to foster their awareness to solve social challenges. Individual employees observe the laws, ordinances and regulations of Japan and other countries and other matters agreed to by our company. They then implement the action plans of each organization based on this policy. We contribute to society through our core business with efforts like these.
The chemicals and synthetic resins handled in the Chemicals Division and the products made with these are used in every aspect of our lives. This means that they are extremely useful. On the other hand, many of these chemicals are toxic or dangerous in nature. Therefore, they are regulated by a great many related laws and regulations in various settings (e.g., manufacture, sales, transportation and storage).
These chemicals are connected to serious problems concerning public health and environmental conservation. Accordingly, the laws and regulations on the trading of chemicals are diverse and extremely strict. The penalties for violating these laws and ordinances are also very heavy. Many chemicals require permission to be handled as products. However, if this permission is revoked as a result of violating laws and ordinances, it could seriously affect the business of the Chemicals Division.
There is an international trend to minimize risks at the level of the entire supply chain of chemicals. Against this background, both advanced nations and developing nations have started to introduce new regulations and to make large-scale revisions to existing regulations. Consequently, the regulatory environment in the handling of chemicals is expected to become ever stricter in the future.
With awareness of the above, we recognize the importance of compliance with laws and ordinances in addition to knowledge of products and the industry as a company that handles chemicals. Our basic policy is that each individual should engage in business in accordance with the requirements of laws and ordinances upon correctly understanding the laws and regulations concerning the products that they are in charge of handling.

Targets

ITOCHU has set the following as our environmental targets (FYE 2019). (1) Prevention of environmental pollution and compliance with laws and regulations: We will perform advance environmental risk assessments according to the CSR and Environmental Checklist for Investments for all investment projects. We will promote efforts to improve the management level by checking the environmental management system, compliance and environmental performance situation through internal audits. We will select group companies and then visit them to survey their environmental management situation. (2) Promotion of awareness activities: We will hold workshops and promote learning on the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law and the Soil Contamination Countermeasures Act for ITOCHU and group company employees. We will set target values and then review results based on them. (3) ITOCHU will set numerical targets for the reduction of the waste we discard, the promotion of recycling, and the reduction of our paper and water consumption even in our office activities in addition to considering the environment when performing our business activities. We will also gradually expand the scope of environmental performance data we collect from group companies in Japan and overseas offices to understand the actual situation and utilize that in our future environmental conservation activities.

Structures and Systems

The chemicals and synthetic resins handled in the Chemicals Division and the products made with these are used in every aspect of our lives. This means that they are extremely useful. On the other hand, many of these chemicals are toxic or dangerous in nature. Therefore, they are regulated by a great many related laws and regulations in various settings (e.g., manufacture, sales, transportation and storage).

These chemicals are connected to serious problems concerning public health and environmental conservation. Accordingly, the laws and regulations on the trading of chemicals are diverse and extremely strict. The penalties for violating these laws and ordinances are also very heavy. Many chemicals require permission to be handled as products. However, if this permission is revoked as a result of violating laws and ordinances, it could seriously affect the business of the Chemicals Division.

There is an international trend to minimize risks at the level of the entire supply chain of chemicals. Against this background, both advanced nations and developing nations have started to introduce new regulations and to make large-scale revisions to existing regulations. Consequently, the regulatory environment in the handling of chemicals is expected to become ever stricter in the future.

With awareness of the above, we recognize the importance of compliance with laws and ordinances in addition to knowledge of products and the industry as a company that handles chemicals. Our basic policy is that each individual should engage in business in accordance with the requirements of laws and ordinances upon correctly understanding the laws and regulations concerning the products that they are in charge of handling.

• Reference: Excerpt from the Handbook on Chemicals Related Laws

Efforts

Acquisition of ISO22301 Certification Aiming for a Safe, Secure and Resistant-to-Disaster Tank Terminal

Nagoya Chemport, which is managed and operated by Chemical Logitec Co., Ltd., plays an important part in the supply chain that includes Nagoya and its environs. Its main business is to receive, store and dispense liquid chemicals at Nagoya Port No. 9.
The company spent two years educating and training its employees, enhancing its facilities and developing its structures with the aim of ensuring a safe, secure and resistant-to-disaster chemport. This has been done in preparation for the Nankai Trough Earthquake predicted to strike in the future based on lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011. As a result of these efforts, the site acquired initial ISO22301:2012 certification on May 1, 2014; it was then re-certified on June 15, 2017.
ISO22301 is a management standard to minimize the impact on stakeholders, including customers, and elevate the abilities of organizations to continue providing services by promptly recovering from disasters and accidents that interrupt and hinder business. Nagoya Chemport broke ground to become the first company to acquire this certification in the chemical tank industry in Japan and among ITOCHU Group companies.
We are continuing to review issues inside and outside the organization and working to improve them. In FYE 2016, we provided safety measures training with a scenario of accidents occurring when there are few people to deal with them (e.g., at night and on holidays) in the presence of shippers. We also held night training again in FYE 2018 following on from FYE 2017 to check whether there were any problems with the support for that. We are continuing to work on ensuring safety in the event of a disaster with respect for human life as our number one priority. In addition, we repeatedly hold education and training for organizations and strive on a daily basis to respond to the trust placed in us by our customers.

Cooperation with Stakeholders

To contribute to the promotion of the formation of a recycling-based society, ITOCHU Corporation as a specified business operator prescribed by the Container and Packaging Recycling Law measures recycling of containers and packaging every year to ascertain its own manufacturing / import volume of containers and packaging, Commercialization consignment fee is included in Japan Containers and Packaging Recycling Association.
Details: See Cooperation with Stakeholders

Performance Data

• We hold chemicals related law and regulation e-learning every year
  Chemicals Division alone (participants: 141 / period: October 1 to 31, 2018)
  We also give information on the same e-learning to the Chemicals Division related Group companies, each division company in ITOCHU other than the Energy & Chemicals Company and also its related Group companies
• There were no major violations (e.g., license suspensions)