Asahi Kasei Group's ESH & QA
ESH & QA Activities
The Asahi Kasei Group's operations span three sectors: Material, which includes the electronics business and the chemicals business that handle chemical substances; Homes, which includes the construction materials business; and Health Care, which includes the pharmaceuticals and medical care businesses. Having expanded into three sectors, we have renamed the activities previously identified as Responsible Care* to ESH & QA (Environment, Safety, Health, and Quality Assurance).
We remain committed to Environment, Safety, Health, quality assurance, and health and productivity management through risk management and responsible business activities. This is in accordance with our Group Vision of providing new value to society by enabling “living in health and comfort” and “harmony with the natural environment,” as well as with the Group Mission of contributing to life and living for people around the world.
- *Responsible Care:
Advocated by the Japan Chemical Industry Association, represents the commitment and initiative to secure and improve safety and environmental protection at every step of the product life cycle through the individual determination and responsibility of each firm producing and handling chemical products, together with measures to gain greater public trust through disclosure and communication.
Risk management and responsible business activities of the Asahi Kasei Group
Message from the Executive Officer for ESH & QA
The environment surrounding companies has been undergoing major changes with a greater awareness of companies' place in society and calls for decarbonization. Asahi Kasei's unchanging Group Mission is “We, the Asahi Kasei Group, contribute to life and living for people around the world.” Based on this mission, we aim for a mutually reinforcing cycle of "contributing to sustainable society" and "sustainable growth of corporate value." We will grow by responding to various challenges while embracing change under the concepts of "Be a Trailblazer" and "A-Spirit" representing the Asahi Kasei spirit. We will also raise the level of our activities in the environment, safety, health, quality assurance, and health and productivity management, while providing reliable solutions to customers.
At the Asahi Kasei Group, we believe that the health and growth of our employees and an environment in which a diverse range of human resources can play an active role are essential to improving the vitality of the organization. We also recognize that a major prerequisite for business continuity and growth is for all organizations to avoid having serious accidents, critical quality issues, and compliance violations.
We are striving to strengthen efforts to prevent the occurrence and spread of such risks and to foster a culture of safety and quality assurance through our group-wide Life Saving Actions program and quality risk education for all employees. With regard to greenhouse gas emissions, We are targeting a reduction in GHG emissions by at least 30% by 2030 as compared to fiscal 2013, with a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. Furthermore, we continue to advance the development of products that contribute to reduced emissions throughout society. We believe such measures will enable us to provide high corporate value to our various stakeholders.
Masatsugu Kawase
Executive Officer for ESH & QA
Asahi Kasei Corp.
Policy
ESH & QA at the Asahi Kasei Group is guided by the following policy.
The Asahi Kasei Group ESH & QA and Health & Productivity Management Policy
Based on the Group Mission of “contributing to life and living for people around the world,” the Asahi Kasei Group gives the utmost consideration to health maintenance, operational safety, occupational health and safety, quality assurance, and environmental protection throughout the product lifecycle from R&D to disposal as preeminent management tasks in all operations.
- Based on health management activities, we advance and support efforts to maintain and promote the mental and physical health of employees, while improving the organizational climate through the empowerment of individuals and invigoration of organizations.
- We strive for stable and safe operation while preventing workplace accidents and securing the safety of personnel and members of the community.
- We flexibly anticipate the constantly changing needs of customers and society to create and provide products and services with quality that ensures safety and security.
- To counter climate change and preserve the global environment, we reduce the environmental burden of all operations.
In addition to maintaining legal compliance, we set self-imposed targets for continuous improvement, while performing proactive information disclosure and communication to gain public understanding and trust.
Revised on July 11, 2022
Management Framework
The management system of Asahi Kasei Group ESH & QA is maintained in accordance with our Group ESH & QA Management Guidelines and other internal standards. We have an ESH & QA Committee which reports directly of the President to deliberate concerning plans and their results. This committee also cooperates with the Sustainability Committee, which promotes sustainability Group-wide. In addition, the ESH & QA Promotion Council sub-committee gathers regularly, and ESH & QA initiatives are continuously improved with the repetition of Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycles at the Regions and Works, business units, and Group-wide.
Concerning ESH & QA management systems, we have obtained ISO 14001 environmental management system certification for environmental protection and an Occupational Health & Safety Management System (OHSMS) has been adopted for workplace safety, hygiene, and health.
Regarding Quality Assurance, under the supervision of Corporate Quality Assurance, each Strategic Business Unit and Core Operating Company establishes a management system such as ISO 9001, working daily to reinforce quality assurance, to ensure the provision of safe and reliable products and services to customers and society.
Regarding health and productivity management, our Health & Productivity Management Committee meets twice per year in principle, to formulate basic policy regarding health & productivity management, set targets, and evaluate results.
ESH & QA Committee Management Organization
ESH & QA Committee / ESH & QA Promotion Council
| ESH & QA Committee | Chair | Asahi Kasei Corp. President |
|---|---|---|
| Committee Members | Asahi Kasei Executive Officer for ESH & QA, Asahi Kasei Corporate ESH Officer, Asahi Kasei Corporate Quality Assurance Officer, Asahi Kasei ESH & QA Implementation Manager, Asahi Kasei Senior General Manager of Corporate ESH, Asahi Kasei Senior General Manager of Corporate Quality Assurance, General Manager of Corporate Health and Productivity Management, Core Operating Company ESH & QA Implementation Managers | |
| Observers | Asahi Kasei Audit & Supervisory Board Members, persons designated by the Committee Chair | |
| Secretariat | Corporate ESH, Corporate Quality Assurance | |
| Frequency of meetings | Once per year | |
| ESH & QA Promotion Council | Chair | Executive Officer for Asahi Kasei ESH & QA |
| Committee Members | Asahi Kasei Corporate ESH Officer, Asahi Kasei Corporate Quality Assurance Officer, Asahi Kasei Senior General Manager of Corporate ESH, Asahi Kasei Senior General Manager of Corporate Quality Assurance, General Manager of Corporate Health and Productivity Management, Asahi Kasei ESH & QA Promoters, Core Operating Company ESH & QA Promoters | |
| Secretariat | Corporate ESH, Corporate Quality Assurance | |
| Frequency of meetings | 4 times per year |
Targets and results
ESH & QA education and training
In order to ensure the advancement of ESH & QA activities, the Asahi Kasei Group conducts practical ESH education and training concerning basic knowledge of and theories about ESH. The training program applies to all key personnel who implement ESH, including ESH managers and production managers of factories and manufacturing departments, as well as first-line managers and candidates for those positions, group leaders of research departments, and ESH personnel.
Each fiscal year, we provide training on five subjects (general ESH activities, employee health, process safety, environmental protection, and occupational health and safety) to newly appointed employees over a total of two days. In fiscal 2023, a total of 91 people took part in approximately one month of self-study and two days of online lectures.
In addition, with the goal of improving the Group's ESH level, a training course for assistant chiefs that was formally initiated in fiscal 2012 continues to be held and improved while incorporating feedback. In fiscal 2023, a total of 225 people took part in the roughly one month self-study course and one day of online lectures.
Regarding QA training, we have held the Quality Assurance Forum since fiscal 2017 as training for core personnel involved in QA. Over a six-month period, selected younger and mid-level employees across the Group attend lectures by outside experts (mainly university professors at the forefront of the Japanese Society for Quality Control and professionals with practical corporate experience in quality assurance) and join in group discussions. In fiscal 2023, 51 employees took part.
Regarding chemical substances control and product safety, various training programs are held throughout the Group each year. In fiscal 2023, ten different curriculums were implemented. Especially with respect to Japan's Chemical Substances Control Law, Industrial Safety and Health Act, and Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Law, basic training is continually held several times each year, with some 800 employees participating in fiscal 2023.
We will continue to promote education and training to meet various needs both inside and outside the company.
ESH & QA Conference
Every year, the Asahi Kasei Group holds an “ESH & QA Conference” as the culmination of annual activities in the environment, safety, health, quality assurance, and health and productivity management. The conference is held to share information and revitalize activities related to the environment, safety, health, quality assurance, and health and productivity management, by reporting on their status, holding presentations on case studies, listening to lectures by outside experts, and presenting safety awards.
In fiscal 2023, the conference was held in December and was attended by more than 2,000 participants at the conference site and online.
Mr. Masayoshi Nakamura, Chairman of the association Keiyo Jinzai, who has also led investigations of chemical plant accidents, gave a special lecture entitled Changes in the Environment of the Chemical Industry and the Future of Safety Management.
Message from President Kudo
Special lecture by Mr. Masayoshi Nakamura, Chairman of Keiyo Jinzai