Environmental Management
UACJ Group Basic Environmental Policies
Corporate Philosophy
The UACJ Group is thankful for the earth and the abundance of life it supports, and work to conserve it, with recognition that the fate of all living things hangs on the condition of the earth’s environment. We will also voluntarily and actively take action to evaluate the environmental impact of our current and future business activities throughout the supply chain, set specific targets based on the assessment, and minimize environmental load and maximize environmental contribution.
Guidelines
- We comply with environment-related laws, regulations, and agreements, and establish voluntary standards to properly manage wastewater, exhaust gas, and chemical substances.
- We promote sales of products and development of technology that contribute to environmental improvement.
- In order to contribute to the achievement of the goals of the Paris Agreement, we will strive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve energy, and promote measures against climate change. (The details shall be based on the "Concept of Climate Change Countermeasures")
- We promote the recycling of aluminum materials and other raw materials and secondary materials, and promote the creation of a sustainable recycling economy.
- We endeavor to conserve water resources essential to our business activities.
- We endeavor to conserve biodiversity by giving consideration to the benefits of ecosystems.
- We raise environmental awareness through educational and public relations activities.
- We strive to contribute to and coordinate the environmental conservation activities of our stakeholders.
UACJ Environmental Management Activity Policy
Slogan
We are grateful for the lush blue earth, and we will pursue aluminum to contribute to the formation of a sustainable society.
Item | FY2023 Target | FY2023 Focused Activities |
---|---|---|
Elimination of serious environmental accidents | 1 or less serious environmental accidents |
|
Promotion of Energy-Saving Measures | Reduce energy consumption per unit of production by 1% compared to fiscal 2022 for the entire Group (target of energy conservation law) |
|
Reduction of industrial waste | Reduce industrial waste per unit of production compared to fiscal 2022 |
|
Proper Management of Chemical Substances | Reduce controlled chemical substances compared to fiscal 2022 |
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Promotion of water management | Reduction of water intake compared to fiscal 2022 |
|
Approach to Environmental Management
To advance environmental activities and raise the environmental awareness of employees, the UACJ Group has established the Environmental Committee as a body that represents the entirety of the Group.
The Environmental Committee, chaired by the President, has a membership consisting of UACJ executives, chief executives, plant managers, and presidents of principal Group companies. Beginning in fiscal 2024, the committee working groups, including the newly created circular economy, nature positive, and environmental management groups, meet three times a year to provide updates on the status of environmental activities, and discuss aims and objectives for the following fiscal year’s environmental activities.
To link environmental activity objectives with business activities and reliably work for their achievement, we have established the Safety & Environment Department as a unit responsible for implementation. The Safety & Environment Department holds meetings for Environmental Managers, conducts environmental inspections, and organizes subcommittees on topics such as reducing greenhouse gases and industrial waste in performing the function of implementing and refining environmental activities.
Environmental Manager Meetings
Environmental managers from UACJ’s three manufacturing plants, the extrusion & metal components business, foil business, and casting and forging business participate in Environmental Manager Meetings to confirm the Group’s progress toward its environmental targets and to exchange information on revisions to laws and regulations.
Environmental Management Organization
Environmental Management System
Environmental management systems are in place at each of the UACJ Group’s business locations, and nearly all of our plants have obtained the ISO14001 certification. Some of our smaller business locations have obtained the Eco-Action 21 certification by following the guidelines formulated by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment.
Following the September 2015 issuance of the updated ISO14001 standard, each business location worked to achieve compliance with the new standard. All locations successfully updated their certifications by the July 2018 deadline for doing so.
ISO14001:2015 Certifications (as of June 30, 2023)
Business Location | Certifying Institution | Certification Number | Date Obtained |
---|---|---|---|
Nagoya Works | JIC Quality Assurance Ltd. (JICQA) | E440 | 2002.4 |
Fukui Works | Det Norske Veritas (DNV) | 00484-2002-AE-KOB-RvA | 2002.4 |
Fukaya Works | Japan Standards Association | JSAE545 | 2002.7 |
UACJ Extrusion Oyama Corporation | ASR | E2111 | 2002.9 |
UACJ Extrusion Nagoya Corporation, Nagoya Works, Anjo Works | JIC Quality Assurance Ltd. (JICQA) | E440 | 2002.4 |
UACJ Extrusion Shiga Corporation | ASR | E2111 | 2002.9 |
UACJ Extrusion Gunma Corporation | JIC Quality Assurance Ltd. (JICQA) | E773 | 2004.1 |
UACJ Foil Corporation, Isesaki Works, Shiga Works, Nogi Works | JIC Quality Assurance Ltd. (JICQA) | E2442 | 2017.3 |
Nikkin Co., Ltd. | JIC Quality Assurance Ltd. (JICQA) | E2442 | 2018.6 |
UACJ Foundry & Forging Corporation | ASR | E2111 | 2002.9 |
UACJ Metal Components Corporation, Ena Works | The High Pressure Gas Safety Institute of Japan | 04ER-420 | 2004.3 |
UACJ Metal Components Corporation, Shiga Works | Japan Quality Assurance Organization | JQA-EM6018 | 2007.12 |
UACJ Metal Components Corporation, Koriyama Works | JIC Quality Assurance Ltd. (JICQA) | E1711 | 2007.2 |
Business Location | Certifying Institution | Certification Number | Date Obtained |
---|---|---|---|
UATH(Sheet, Thailand) | JQA (JAPAN QUALITY ASSURANCE ORGANIZATION) | JQA-EM7557 | 2019.8* |
UEXTHP (Extrusion, Thailand) | UNITED REGISTRAR OF SYSTEMS | 57487/B/0001/UK/En | 2013.8 |
UEXCZ (Extrusion, Czech Republic) | Lloyd's Register Group Limited | 10302172 | 2005.11 |
UFOM (Foil, Malaysia) | AFNOR CERTIFICATION | N°2012/51248.3 | 2021.5* |
UFFV (Casting & forging, Vietnam) | SGS United Kingdom Ltd | VN14/00100 | 2014.8 |
UMCM (Precision-machined metal components, Mexico) | BSI | EMS 572174 | 2012.12 |
YJI (Precision-machined metal components, Indonesia) | BSI | BSI | 2010.1 |
UMCTH (Precision-machined metal components, Thailand) | PERRY JOHNSON REGISTRARS, INC. | C2019-03001 | 2019.11* |
Eco-Action 21 (as of June 30, 2023)
Business Location | Certifying Institution | Certification Number | Date Obtained |
---|---|---|---|
UACJ Metal Components Corporation, Narita Works | Chibaken Kankyo Zaidan | 0000341 | 2005.5 |
UACJ Aluminum Center Corporation, Utsunomiya Color Aluminum Works | Institute for Promoting Sustainable Societies | 12021 | 2017.10 |
UACJ Metal Components Corporation, Hiroshima Works | Institute for Promoting Sustainable Societies | 0012626 | 2018.12 |
UACJ Metal Components Corporation, Sendai Works | Institute for Promoting Sustainable Societies | 0012744 | 2019.4 |
On-site Inspections
On-site inspections are conducted by officers at Group business sites in Japan to prevent environmental troubles, formulate and promote execution of measures to reduce and eliminate risks, and to ensure full compliance with environmental laws and regulations.
Inspection teams consisting of environmental officers and members of the Safety & Environment Department visit the business sites and utilize a site’s environmental reports and on-site verification to inspect the status of compliance with laws and regulations and the progress of improvement measures. The Safety & Environment Department provides guidance and support for issues that need to be addressed. The inspections are part of our efforts to raise the Group’s level of environmental management.
In fiscal 2022, on-site verifications were conducted at 24 business sites in Japan and inspections were conducted via online meetings at 7 business sites overseas.
Status of Compliance with Environmental Laws and Regulations
In fiscal 2022, we recorded 1 incident of wastewater discharge exceeding environmental regulatory standards.
On July 15, 2022, the oil concentration in wastewater discharged from the wastewater treatment facility at the employee cafeteria of the UACJ Nagoya Works increased above the regulatory standard. The incident occurred when the restaurant operator cleaned oil stains on a kitchen ventilation fan filter with cleanser in a sink. The oil and water were then allowed to flow down the drain, and the amount of oil exceed the treatment capacity of the wastewater treatment facility. To prevent recurrence, we changed the standard process to have ventilation fan filters cleaned by an external cleaning company with the ability to properly treat the wastewater from the process.
Status of Compliance with Product Safety Laws and Regulations
In fiscal 2022, there were no cases of noncompliance with laws, regulations, or voluntary controls related to product quality, safety, or information labeling.
Environmental Investment
The UACJ Group invested approximately ¥800 million in environmental projects in fiscal 2022. Projects included updating the deodorization units (UACJ Aluminum Center Corporation, Utsunomiya Color Aluminum), installing new air conditioning equipment (all business sites), replacing parts of furnaces and converting fuel sources (all business sites), updating water supply and fire hydrant piping (UACJ Foil Corporation, Nogi), and updating electrical equipment that use PCB (all business sites).
Environmental Education
We conduct environmental education for all employees as another measure for fulfilling our social responsibility to protect the global environment.
The Safety & Environment Department and the environment units of individual business locations lead environmental education initiatives. The Safety & Environment Department conducts fundamental environmental education activities, the purposes of which are to enlighten and raise awareness of environmental protection, and promote understanding of the UACJ Group’s Basic Environmental Policies. Meanwhile, the environment units of individual business locations carry out environmental education initiatives to foster the skills and numbers of internal auditors needed to ensure that each business location conducts its daily activities with sensitivity toward the environment.
We encourage employees to obtain public qualifications in environmental fields and are developing a workforce that is capable of appropriately responding to trends in environmental regulation. Individual business locations conduct general environmental education programs and special education programs for employees engaged in work that could have significant environmental impacts.
Numbers of Employees with Environmental Management Qualifications (As of April 30, 2023)
Qualification | Qualified Employees |
---|---|
Pollution Control Manager - Air | 42 |
Pollution Control Manager - Water | 53 |
Pollution Control Manager - Noise | 12 |
Pollution Control Manager - Vibration | 12 |
Pollution Control Manager - Noise & Vibration | 16 |
Pollution Control Manager - Dioxins | 30 |
Energy Manager | 60 |
Certified Environmental Measurer | 1 |
Manager Responsible for Industrial Waste Requiring Special Controls | 62 |
Manager Responsible for Handling of Poisons and Deleterious Substances | 16 |
ISO14001 Internal Auditor | 396 |
* Data is for all UACJ and Group companies in Japan.
Environmental Awards from Outside Organizations
In fiscal 2022, the UACJ Group received the following environmental awards.
Recipient | Award | Sponsor | Description |
---|---|---|---|
UATH Rayong Works | Amata Best Waste Management Award | Amata City | Waste management 3R principles and the reduction of landfill waste |
UACJ Extrusion Oyama | Eco-Keeper Business Site (Level 3) | Tochigi Prefecture | Global Warming Countermeasures |
UACJ Foundry & Forging |