Chemicals Management
Mission
We are dedicated to ensuring chemicals management compliance and providing safety and peace of mind throughout the entire product lifecycle. We will strive to create new value through safety and contribute to the realization of a sustainable society and the enrichment of people’s lives.
Policies
Under a global governance system, we promote product stewardship in chemical management. We will fully comply with laws and regulations throughout the entire product life cycle — from raw material procurement of chemical substances to disposal and recycling — and strive to minimize risks to people and the environment through voluntary risk management. In addition, we will establish a system for the continuous development and creation of professionals specializing in chemical management and safety evaluation, promote the establishment of frameworks and foundations to ensure that all efforts related to chemical management are effectively carried out, and work toward fulfilling our mission.
Resonac's Product Stewardship Throughout the Product Lifecycle
Promotion system
Under the leadership of the Chief Manufacturing Executive Officer (CMEO) and the Chief Quality Officer (CQO), the entire company promotes compliance with laws and regulations, risk management, and safety evaluation to prevent compliance violations before they occur. The Chemical Management Department oversees the management system for chemicals across the entire group and directs and supports the chemical substance management-related operations at each business site. We assign chemical substance management officers at each business location and affiliated company, and by sharing information between these sites, we aim to solve company-wide issues related to chemicals and prevent potential compliance risks.
We are further enhancing our chemicals management system by maintaining basic rules on governance, carrying out audits on chemicals management, providing related education and fostering bidirectional communication through a chemicals management portal website that serves as a global communication hub.
Strategy for Realizing the Long-Term Vision
Roadmap for 2030
| Vision for the future (2030) | Issues to be addressed | Results in 2024 | Plans for 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
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Issues to be addressed (long term)
Recent issues and problem awareness
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- ※1 RHQ: Regional Headquarters (regional oversight companies)
Non-financial KPI Results and Targets
Resonac regards sustainability as the basis for its companywide strategies and has set three material issues for sustainability. Accordingly, for chemicals management, we will work on the non-financial KPIs and measures that were set to “Gain credibility through responsible business management” toward the achievement of our long-term vision.
| KPIs on material issues | 2025 targets | Results in 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Product stewardship | Establishment of a Resonac policy for containment controlled substances and designation of chemical substances based on the said policy |
100% completion of risk assessment of priority risk assessment substances and issuance of safety summary reports. 10 new cases, 49 revisions. Also awarded the JIPS※2 Award by the Japan Chemical Industry Association (JCIA) in 2024 (fourth consecutive year) |
- ※2 JIPS (Japan Initiative of Product Stewardship): The JIPS award is presented by the Japan Chemical Industry Association to member companies that have conducted superior initiatives in disclosing their safety summary reports as part of the autonomous/self-motivated initiatives in chemicals management.
Reduced and limited use of substances subject to control
We have established regulations concerning substances whose inclusion is prohibited or should be managed (substances subject to content management) to promote business activities aimed at reducing environmental impact. For substances subject to content management (including European REACH※3 and SVHC※4), we have set three management categories: prohibited substances, controlled substances, and voluntarily controlled substances, which are managed in response to customer inquiries. Examples of initiatives regarding specific substances of concern are as follows.
Examples of initiatives for specific substances of concern
| Chemical substances of concern | Target | Initiatives |
|---|---|---|
| Toluene, xylene | Reaction solvents | Replacement with other solvents, development of reduced-impact products |
| Materials with high bioconcentration factors | Resin materials | Development of alternative materials |
| Fluorine, halogen compounds | Semiconductor-related materials | Development of reduced-impact products |
In order to proactively address various social issues, including PFAS※5, Resonac has newly established a policy and is planning to review the substances subject to content management, reflecting the current social situation. Subsequently, we will proceed with identifying the products and usage amounts of substances subject to content management and work towards their gradual reduction and usage restrictions.
In addition, in our material procurement activities, we have established the "Green Procurement Guidelines" and similarly select substances to be controlled for content in delivered products. We have clearly defined management categories (Level 1: Prohibited substances, Level 2: Controlled substances), methods for investigating and measuring contained substances, and reporting standards. This guideline is supplementary to the "Resonac Group Sustainable Procurement Guidelines" under "3. Activities we want our business partners to support and practice," and it shares our company's approach to voluntarily controlled chemical substances with suppliers to jointly implement these practices, with updates continuing in the future.
- ※3 REACH=Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals
- ※4 SVHC= Substances of Very High Concern
- ※5 PFAS = Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances
Compliance with Domestic and International Chemical Substance Regulations
We constantly monitor the trends in chemical substance regulations both domestically and internationally, strives to comply with the laws and regulations of each country, and actively engages in ensuring compliance related to products, raw materials, and chemical substances by utilizing a comprehensive chemical substance management system. Within the group, the headquarters and each business site closely collaborate to share issues and information, working to prevent compliance violations before they occur.
Domestic Legal Regulations: Regarding legal regulations such as the Act on the Evaluation of Chemical Substances and Regulation of Their Manufacture, etc. (Chemical Substances Control Law), the Industrial Safety and Health Act (Safety and Health Act), the Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act (Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Act), and the Act on Promotion of Chemical Management (Chemical Substance Emission Management Promotion Law), we systematically promote legal compliance by utilizing a comprehensive chemical substance management system. In addition, we monitor regulated substances (including Class 1 Specified, Monitoring, Class 2 Specified, Priority Assessment Chemical Substances, etc.) and, when they are contained, take thorough measures to prevent environmental pollution and conduct reporting to administrative agencies, thereby strengthening compliance.
Overseas regulations: Regarding overseas laws and regulations of various countries and regions such as Europe (REACH), the United States (TSCA: Toxic Substances Control Act), and Asia (China's Measures for Environmental Management Registration of New Chemical Substances, South Korea’s Act on Registration and Evaluation of Chemicals), new enactments and amendments are frequently made, and there is a tendency for regulations to be increasingly strengthened or expanded in the future. For these laws and regulations, we monitor amendment trends by utilizing various information sources and databases, and progress appropriate and timely responses through information sharing with local stakeholders.
Furthermore, we have placed personnel responsible for chemical management at the RHQ and, in cooperation with the respective countries and regions, aggregate and manage the quantities of chemical substances. If regulated substances (such as SVHCs and hazardous chemicals) are contained, we report to the administrative agencies of each country and region, thereby strengthening global chemical management.
Human resource development to ensure compliance
It is important for each employee to acquire the knowledge necessary to ensure compliance in chemical management and to correctly handle products through in-house training and other means.
We are committed to enhancing our internal training programs and building a systematic education framework. Through continuous education not only for chemical substance management personnel at each business site, but also for a wide range of employees involved directly or indirectly in chemical management—including those in research, development, manufacturing, procurement, and sales—we aim to improve knowledge, understanding, and awareness of chemical management and to prevent compliance violations before they occur.
For example, we offer e-learning courses and internal seminar videos covering topics such as an introduction to chemical management, the Chemical Substances Control Law, the Industrial Safety and Health Act, the Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act, the PRTR Law (Pollutant Release and Transfer Register), overseas regulations and hazardous materials transportation, SDS/GHS labeling, and chemical substance risk assessment.
In addition, we incorporate external seminars such as the Chemical Risk Forum hosted by the Japan Chemical Industry Association, which are distributed internally to maximize learning opportunities. We also conduct company-wide awareness and educational sessions through briefing meetings for chemical substance management personnel at business units and sites, covering compliance requirements under various laws and regulations as well as internal rules and procedures.