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.

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.

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.

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 Confirmation, etc. of Release Amounts of Specific Chemical Substances in the Environment and Promotion Improvements to the Management Thereof (PRTR system), every year we assess the volumes of our discharges (Air, Public water bodies, Land on site, Landfill on site) and transfers (Sewage, Off-site) of class I designated chemical substances, and check and disclose our own status 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.

Fully recognizing the impacts that atmospheric emissions from our production sites can have on the environment and on local communities, the Kureha Group continually strives to minimize these as an ongoing material issue.
Most of Kureha's atmospheric emissions come from our main production site, the Iwaki Factory. The emissions of air pollutants at Iwaki Factory, such as sulfur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), were kept under a level set voluntarily by Kureha and agreed upon by local authorities as well as the emission standards set based on the Air Pollution Control Act.
In February 2022, the factory renewed a pollution control agreement with Iwaki City and set stricter limits on the emission of SOx, NOx, and soot and dust. The factory continues to operate well within those values.

Water resources are irreplaceable resources for our earth and are indispensable to the production activities of the Kureha Group. We recognize that the conservation of these resources is a vital global issue and address conservation as one of our material issues.
Kureha's main production site, our Iwaki Factory, uses large amounts of water in its chemical product manufacturing processes (heating, cooling, cleaning, removal of by-products, etc.). This accounts for the majority of our Company's water usage. While the risk of water shortages (water stress) in our water intake is low, we fully recognize that wastewater discharged from our treatment facilities into river and sea areas can impact the environment and local communities. Accordingly, we strive to properly manage wastewater in compliance with all laws and regulations and to thereby reduce our impacts on the environment.

In fiscal 2024, there were no violations of environmental regulations pursuant to Japan’s Water Pollution Prevention Act.

At the Iwaki Factory, we comply with the emission standards set by the Water Pollution Prevention Act and local ordinances. Furthermore, in February 2022, the factory renewed a pollution control agreement with Iwaki City and set even stricter limits on chemical oxygen demand (COD). We are continuing operation at levels well below these limits. At each of our manufacturing sites, we are working to reduce our environmental footprint by making a daily effort to maintain stable operation of all equipment, including wastewater treatment equipment. We are also working to ensure thorough wastewater management by making improvements to our machines and updating our water quality monitoring equipment. Aiming to further reduce its environmental impact, we are also expanding our integrated wastewater treatment facilities with plans to start operations in fiscal 2025.

Our Plastics Processing Factory (Ibaraki), located in the Lake Kasumigaura basin, conducts monthly water quality inspections along with daily patrols and continuous pH monitoring of wastewater, in accordance with emission standards ordained in the Water Pollution Prevention Act and the applicable local ordinance. At the Plastics Processing Factory (Hyogo), too, we conduct voluntary water quality analysis and in fiscal 2022 began continuous monitoring of wastewater pH to continue proper management. Since groundwater is pumped and used in industry in both districts, we also keep the amount of water collected within the limits set by the Industrial Water Act and local ordinances related to pumping groundwater.

Kureha Extron Co., Ltd., and Resinous Kasei Co., Ltd., use some recycled water in the cooling water used in their production processes. Kureha Gohsen Co., Ltd., determines the amount of groundwater it uses by periodically checking the water gauges of its water pumps. Meanwhile, Kureha Ecology Management Co., Ltd., reuses wastewater as well as steam generated from condenser equipment at its intermediary industrial waste treatment facility, Wastech Kanagawa.

Kureha (Shanghai) Carbon Fiber Materials Co., Ltd., recycles water cooled in its cooling tower heat exchangers as cooling water used in its production process. Kureha (Changshu) Fluoropolymers Co., Ltd., has a wastewater recycling system. The company biologically treats wastewater from manufacturing at its factory, runs it through the ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis membranes of the recycling system, and then again through a water purifier, enabling about 70% of all wastewater at the factory to be reused. Kureha Vietnam Co., Ltd., began recycling cooling water in 2016, enabling it to reduce the amount of discharged cooling water from its Krehalon film production line to 0.63% of the original amount.