Enviromental Data

Environmental Activities in FY 2023

In growth fields such as semiconductors and electronic devices, we are actively investing in regions across the world, with a particular focus on China and South Korea, which are positioned as strategically important regions, and we are promoting capital investment. Regarding the material balance, electricity consumption increased in these strategic regions. To save energy, having set a target of a 1% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared with the result for the previous year (ULVAC standard), we promoted installation of renewable energy facilities such as solar power generation facilities and vigorous procurement of renewable energy. We have also revised the baseline year for the "Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Target" to 2023 and changed the reduction target from 30% to 50%.
Waste overall emissions have decreased. A significant reduction was observed in waste oil and waste acid, with the reduction in the use of cutting oil due to the renewal of processing equipment in China being a contributing factor for waste oil. There have been no significant changes in other types of waste, and the proportion of waste directed to final disposal relative to total emissions has increased, resulting in a 0.9% increase in the final disposal rate.
Regarding water, the total water intake decreased by 8% compared to the previous year. The target for reducing unit water consumption* to below the 2020 level (0.77) was also achieved, with a result of 0.55. Going forward, we will continue to manage and work towards reducing our environmental impact related to water.
In the fiscal year in question, we reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 7.1% compared to the previous year. Specifically, the introduction of renewable energy accounted for a reduction of 3,656 tons of CO₂, and energy conservation activities contributed to a further reduction of 2,707 tons of CO₂.

* Water usage per unit: Water intake / Sales revenue (consolidated)

There are concerns worldwide about water risks, such as heavy rainfall, flooding, and water shortages, due to ongoing climate change.
We assess and confirm the impact of water risks on our business.
We identify sites exposed to water risks by using the WRI Aqueduct, a water risk assessment tool, focusing on the sites with high environmental impact as defined by the Company. We define sites with extremely high or high baseline water stress as water-stressed areas. The sites exposed to water risks are located in parts of China and Thailand, and account for 8% of the ULVAC Group on a consolidated basis. This includes coating business sites involved in high-environmental-impact, and in addition to the overall group's water usage reduction targets, specific targets are set for each subsidiary, and concrete actions are being promoted.

Prior to the use of chemical substances in the manufacturing process, we conduct risk assessment, in which the amount of the substance to be used and the protective equipment necessary are confirmed, in an effort to ensure worker safety and minimize the environmental impact. Moreover, in order to ensure compliance with the environmental regulations of various countries concerning products, a cross-organizational team whose members are drawn from quality assurance, procurement, and environmental divisions is playing a central role in establishing a structure for management of chemical substances contained in products, thus ensuring provision of environmentally friendly products. Furthermore, we collect information in order to appropriately respond to environmental laws and regulations, which undergo frequent revisions, and conduct in-house education on chemical substances contained in products for which external lecturers are invited, thus supporting manufacturing in compliance with environmental regulations. This education is not limited to ULVAC's business divisions but also covers our business partners. We are promoting establishment of a management structure covering the entire supply chain.

Promotion of Waste Material Recycling

ULVAC has been switching the waste material processing agencies to those that are capable of recycling, aiming to promote the recycle of waste materials.