Kansai Paint has formulated Corporate Policies on Environmental Conservation as the framework for its Responsible Care activities. Those policies reflect ourcommitments in a number of areas, including protection of the safety and health of the customers who use our products and the employees who use the chemical substances from which our products are made, as well as the reduction of environmental loads caused by the use of our products and our business operations.

Based on the above Corporate Policies on Environmental Conservation, Kansai Paint sets goals and formulates plans relating to responsible care, and monitors their progress. This includes efforts to reduce product-related environmental loads and promote the uptake of environmentally-friendly products, ensure product safety, disclose information to customers, ensure employee safety and health, and minimize environmental loads generated by our business operations. This work is carried out by the Environmental & Product Safety Committee, the User - and Customer - Related Environmental Safety Committee, and the Environmental Safety & Health Committee. The activity goals and plans of these three committees are approved and reviewed and progress monitored by the RC Committee and the RC Top Management Review Panel , which are the top-level organizations for responsible care.

In order to conduct business activities such as production and technological research, we use energy sources including electricity, heavy oil, and gas. We believe that CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted from energy consumption play no small part in contributing to global warming. In order to reduce our impact on global warming, we are promoting the conservation and effective use of energy in the production processes that use the most energy in our business activities, and have set targets to this end in the ALES ECO PLAN 2021. Our CO2 emissions in FY2020 decreased by 21.2% from the FY2013 level. In addition, we have installed monitoring equipment in our production facilities to monitor the amount of electricity used in the production process, and use this information to review more efficient production methods. In addition, we have confirmed that our production activities cause no GHG emissions other than CO2.

Change in CO2 emissions by factor

Change in energy consumption

Chemical substances with a particularly high toxicity or substances which are discharged in large volumes from manufacturing plants pose a risk to paint users and manufacturers, as well as the environment. In order to reduce this impact as much as possible, we are focusing our efforts on setting a target for reduction of the volume and use of such substances alongside our Medium-term Management Plan.

Change in the amount of hexavalent chromium contained in products sold
(relative amount with FY2003 taken as 100%)

Anticorrosive pigments that contain hexavalent chromium are mainly used for applications that require long-term durability, protecting steel materials from rust and maintaining the aesthetic qualities of coated materials. We are working to reduce hexavalent chromium by switching to less harmful alternatives. In FY2020, we achieved a reduction of 87.7% comparedwith FY2003.

Change in the amount of hexavalent chromium in products sold

Change in the amount of toluene, xylene and ethylbenzene contained in products sold
(relative amount with FY2015 taken as 100%)

Toluene, xylene and ethylbenzene have long been used in coatings due to outstanding properties such as excellent coating film finish and rapid drying time. As these three substances are emitted in large quantities into the atmosphere, even as components in coatings, we are controlling the amounts contained in the products we sell as a way of limiting emissions into the atmosphere. The amount in FY2020 fell below that of FY2015.

Change in the amount of toluene, xylene, and ethylbenzene in coating and thinner products sold

Reduction of nonylphenyl ether

Polyoxyethylene octylphenyl ether and polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether have long been used as key materials in water-based coatings. However, since it came to light that these substances are harmful to aquatic environments, we have been working to go greener by reducing their use in new products, or by switching to less harmful alternatives. By replacing raw materials that contain these substances, we reduced the total amount of both substances shipped as products from 1.2 tons in FY2019 to 0.64 tons. We will continue working to switch to less harmful alternatives with the goal of abolishing the use of raw materials that contain these substances in 2022.

We consider the conservation of biodiversity to be an important issue for our customers and business activities. For this reason, we have banned the use of nonylphenol, octylphenol, and other harmful substances in new products since they were first suspected of being endocrine disruptors, and are working to replace them with other substances.
We will continue to control the use of substances that have significant adverse effects on the natural environment.

We have been promoting activities to reduce SOx, NOx, and dust emissions by switching boiler fuel from heavy oil to city gas and promoting cleaner exhaust gas. To ensure the safety and health of nearby residents and to prevent air pollution, each business site has set voluntary control standards that are stricter than the standard values set by laws and ordinances, and monitors emissions. In FY2020, none of our business sites exceeded the regulatory values set by laws and regulations, ordinances, agreements with local governments, and other restrictions. We will continue to monitor emissions and maintain our efforts to reduce air pollutants.

Change in SOx, NOx, and dust emissions

We use a large amount of water in our Production Division, including ⑴ water as a raw material for waterbased paints, etc.; ⑵ rinse water for cleaning facilities, etc. where water-based paints are manufactured ; and ⑶ process water used for heating steam in boilers and cooling synthetic resin manufacturing facilities, etc. Depending on the nature of the application, we use tap water, industrial water, and groundwater efficiently. We measure the amount of tap water, industrial water, and groundwater used , and calculate the water consumption per production unit with production volume as the denominator, to observe whether water resources are being used efficiently. In the future, we will continue to promote water-saving activities by, among other things, improving cleaning methods for facilities where water-based paints are manufactured.

Change in water usage

Change in water consumption per production unit (Production Division)

A large number of chemical substances are contained in the rinse water used in facilities, etc., where water-based paints are manufactured, and are largely responsible for the quality of the wastewater. We are monitoring COD to prevent contamination of the water system by these chemical substances. We will continue to improve cleaning methods at our facilities to reduce water consumption as well as the discharge of chemical substances.

Change in COD volumes

Paints, coatings, and their raw materials are made up of chemical substances, and leaks from manufacturing and storage facilities can have a significant impact on the surrounding environment. In addition, as some paints, coatings, and raw materials are highly flammable, we are working to prevent fires from occurring.

Risk management at manufacturing plants for leaks, etc.

Countermeasures

In order to constantly monitor leakage of raw materials and paints from storage tanks, we are in the process of updating our liquid level sensors and systems. As of FY2020, 20% of all storage tanks had been updated. Training and comprehension tests on static electricity countermeasures are conducted periodically for divisions that use flammable liquids and solids.

We generate various types of waste in the course of our production and technological research activities, including containers for raw materials, liquid from cleaning manufacturing facilities, and solvents. In addition to activities to reduce the amount of waste we generate, we have been working since 1999 to reuse and recycle waste. In FY2020, all waste generated from production activities and 99% of waste generated from technical research activities was either reused or recycled. We will continue to reuse and recycle the waste we generate in the belief that limited resources must be used effectively for a sustainable society.

Change in waste volumes

Change in recycling rate

In order to ensure the safety and health of our customers and employees who use our products and raw materials, as well as to reduce the environmental impact of our products, we take into consideration the hazards and harmfulness of chemical substances, and designate as chemical substances of concern those substances whose use in our products is prohibited, and those substances whose use in the products we sell must be controlled. In order to prevent the accidental use of raw materials containing prohibited substances in our products, we: ⑴ do not register them as raw materials, and ⑵ substitute raw materials for those currently in use in order to eliminate them. At present, we use no raw materials that are subject to this ban. With regard to substances for which the amount of the substance in sold products is to be controlled, we control shipment volumes by ⑴ identifying and reducing the volume of shipment of such substances, and ⑵ prohibiting their use in new products.

List of substances of concern

Restricted-use substances

Controlled-amount substances

Kansai Paint has considered the hazards and harmful effects of chemical substances and designated as “prohibited substances” those whose use in products is prohibited and as “restricted-use substances” those whose use in new designs and applications are restricted. We strive to secure the health and safety of product users and Kansai Paint technical and production personnel and conserve the environment by confirming before the materials registration and product formulation preparation stages whether or not these prohibited substances and restricted-use substances are contained in raw materials blended into products, based on information in SDS and raw materials samples and instructions submitted by raw materials manufacturers. When handling new raw materials or when the method of handling an existing raw material is changed, technical and production personnel conduct risk assessments required under the Industrial Safety and Health Act and devise measures for safer handling of these raw materials.