HOME > Corporate Social Responsibility > Division CSR Activities > Chemicals & Plastics
Contributing to the Environment through Various Projects and Legal Compliance
The numerous chemical products including plastics handled by this division are essential for improving industrial productivity and indeed for making daily living better and more comfortable. Chemicals can, on the other hand, be hazardous and toxic both to humans and the environment, and for this reason Japan and other countries have many chemical control laws. Management for chemicals will be changing in the future, as areas of management are expanded and this issue passes from being a concern only of the chemical industry to controlling risk throughout the supply chain. In other words, requirements for risk assessment-based management for chemicals will be tightened.
Accordingly, the EU has implemented the new REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) chemical regulations and adopted the RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) Directive, which restricts use of specified substances in electrical and electronic equipment, and these regulations are also being propagated to China and other Asian countries. In Japan, the Law Concerning the Evaluation of Chemical Substances and Regulation of Their Manufacture, etc. and the Law Concerning Reporting, etc. of Releases to the Environment of Specific Chemical Substances and Promoting Improvements in Their Management will be revised in 2009. This division scrupulously observes all relevant laws and is also promoting various eco-friendly projects in addition to those featured on the facing page.
Reducing CO2 Emissions through Supply Chain Management
In the resin business, Sojitz Pla-Net Corporation is proposing improved logistics functions to domestic home appliance manufacturers through SCM (supply chain management). Under this system, Sojitz Pla-Net assumes responsibility for customers’ order inflow- and-outflow management, distribution management, inventory management and other SCM functions and acts as their purchasing agent.
For example, in the case of ABS resin with superior anti-shock rigidity, heat resistance and formability, Sojitz Pla-Net succeeded in cutting down on circulating inventory by improving delivery efficiency, leading to large reductions in truck transport and shortening driving distances by an average 37,000 kilometers a month, thus helping reduce CO2 emissions in the distribution process.
Plant for Producing an Aluminum Hydroxide for Chemical Processing Applications to Be Built in Vietnam
Signing ceremony for the aluminum hydroxide plant in Vietnam
In November 2006, Sojitz Corporation signed a basic agreement with Nihon Light Metal Co. Ltd., Vietnam National Chemical Corporation and its subsidiary South Basic Chemicals Company to begin a feasibility study toward construction of Asia’s largest plant for aluminum hydroxide for chemical processing applications. The study will survey deposits of raw material bauxite in Lam Dong Province in southern Vietnam and conduct an environmental assessment related to construction of the plant. The new plant, expected to go into operation in 2012, will produce 550,000 tons of aluminum hydroxide yearly. Aluminum hydroxide is an important raw material used in chemicals for water treatment and to produce artificial marble. Vietnam ranks third in the world for bauxite deposits, and this project will contribute to ensuring stable supplies of high-quality aluminum hydroxide.
Fertilizers Businesses in Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam
Fertilizers business in Thailand
One of the core businesses of the Chemicals & Plastics Division is the sale of compound fertilizers. Southeast Asia is an important region for Sojitz in this business, and we own three manufacturing and sales companies there, Thai Central Chemical Public Co., Ltd. (Thailand), Atlas Fertilizer Corporation (the Philippines) and Japan Vietnam Fertilizer Company (JVF) (Vietnam). These companies have nationwide sales networks in their respective countries. They manufacture and sell a combined 1.8 million tons of compound fertilizers yearly, making them the largest such businesses in Southeast Asia. In addition to fertilizers, the companies handle a full range of agricultural materials, making an important contribution to the development of Asian agriculture. Higher agricultural production is necessary, both to cope with the world’s growing population and provide more crops for bioethanol production, and Sojitz plays a role in ensuring the stable supply of agricultural produce.
