Management of Chemical Substances

Chemical substances are an indispensable factor in the enrichment, comfort, and convenience of daily life, and we use many different chemicals in daily life and in industry. However, some chemicals may have an adverse effect on the environment and human health. To minimize these adverse effects, international goals and strategies for chemical substance management are being formulated, and laws and regulations based on these are being developed all around the world. This has been reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015.
Kureha handle all of our products in compliance with domestic and international chemical substance regulations. We also provide all necessary information about the adverse effects of chemicals in our products to domestic and overseas customers through Safety Data Sheets (SDS)* and labels, and always respond to customer surveys. Furthermore, we disseminate information about harmful chemicals within and without Kureha as the need arises.
In addition to the above, we continuously conduct education for departments involved at every stage, to ensure that we properly comply with laws and regulations on chemical substances throughout the life cycles of our products.

  • *Safety Data Sheet (SDS): This document is issued when a business transfers or provides a chemical substance or a product containing a chemical substance to another business. SDSs are prepared in accordance with Japanese Industrial Standards' (JIS) statement (Method of communicating chemical hazard and toxicity information) and are issued to users, etc., of chemical substances.

Goals and Vision

  • Perform proper management of chemical substances to protect the global environment and ensure the safety and health of people.

Fiscal Year 2022 Plan

  • Prevent occupational accidents caused by chemical substances.
  • Work through legal study groups to publicize and communicate applicable legal and other requirements.

Fiscal 2022 Performance and Outcomes

  • Evaluated risks involved in the manufacturing and handling of chemicals; enacted risk reduction measures for work determined high-risk.
  • Strengthened risk assessments in terms of both hazardousness and harm through the introduction of the CREATE-SIMPLE risk assessment tool.
  • Conducted legal education on toxic substances, deleterious substances, waste, and chemical laws and regulations in the United States and China; conducted education within the Group and publicized and communicated information in response to 2022 revisions to safety and health regulations, etc.

Actions in Japan

Throughout every process from the procurement of raw materials to the manufacturing and shipment of products, Kureha complies with laws and regulations in Japan. We also engage in active disclosure of information in accordance with laws, including national-, prefectural-, and regional-level communication of information on the state of environmental impacts from our manufacturing. We have also introduced management systems for quality, the environment, and occupational safety and health, and are making efforts to raise the level of our chemical substance management through the use of the PDCA cycle.

Actions Overseas

Kureha is expanding its business activities globally. Following the lead of the European REACH regulations,* countries worldwide are moving to develop registration systems for chemicals. Although the situation is complicated by countries' specific systems and circumstances, we are conducting surveys to support our global expansion and are steadily taking actions such as registering our products in countries to which we export. We also conduct regular education related to chemical regulations overseas to enhance legal understanding and compliance awareness.

  • *Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH): Regulations involving the registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals in the EU.

Reduction of Chemical Substance Emissions

To lower the environmental impacts of chemical substances as much as possible, Kureha continuously works to reduce the volumes of chemical substances discharged from production activities at our business sites. In line with the Act on the Assessment of Releases of Specified Chemical Substances in the Environment and the Promotion of Management Improvement (PRTR system), every year we assess release and transfer volumes of class I designated chemical substances, and check and disclose our own situation with regard to these. To reduce emissions of the substances, we study improvements to equipment and work to maintain stable operation, while also examining measures to reduce environmental impacts from the design stage onward when expanding or installing equipment.

Chemical substance removal equipment
Chemical substance removal equipment