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 environmental protection, quality assurance, and health and productivity management through risk management and responsible business activities to achieve comfortable workplaces 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 Risk management and responsible business activities of the Asahi Kasei Group

Message from the Executive Officer for ESH & QA

In May 2022 we celebrated the centennial of Asahi Kasei's founding. During the past hundred years we continued sustainable growth by successively cultivating new fields of business with every employee passionately taking on challenges. We are now turning to new challenges for the next hundred years together with 45,000 colleagues around the world.

The environment surrounding companies has been undergoing major changes with efforts for decarbonization and greater awareness of companies' place in society. Asahi Kasei's unchanging Group Mission is to contribute to life and living for people around the world. We aim to achieve a virtuous cycle of two mutually reinforcing aspects of sustainability by contributing to a sustainable society and achieving sustainable growth of corporate value. While advancing transformation regarding "GDP" (Green, Digital, People) we are rolling out various measures for environmental protection, quality assurance, and health and productivity management as we provide reliable solutions to customers.
Safe and stable operation is a prerequisite for the virtuous cycle of sustainability we seek, and essential for our existence as a going concern. As we have had serious accidents in recent years, we are working to avoid recurrence by strengthening preventative measures and curtailment measures, while fostering a culture of safety through our company-wide Life Saving Actions program. With regard to greenhouse gas emissions, we are targeting a 30% or more reduction of our own emissions by 2030 from the fiscal 2013 level, and aiming for the goal of net-zero 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 Ensurance, 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

  • Board of Directors,Management Council President,Sustainability Committee ,ESH & QA Committee,Asahi Kasei Chair,President,Executive Officer for ESH & QA,Corporate ESH Officer,Senior General Manager of Corporate ESH ,Corporate Quality Ensurance Officer ,Senior General Manager of Corporate Quality Ensurance,General Manager of Corporate Health Care Promotion Center,ESH&QA Implementation Managers,Presidents of each SBU,Senior General Managers of Corporate Research & Development,Senior General Managers of Corporate Production Technology,Presidents of Core operating companies,ESH Implementation Managers,Senior General Managers of each Region,Senior General managers of each Works,ESH&QA  Promoters,ESH Promoters

ESH & QA Committee / ESH & QA Promotion Council

Environment, Safety and Quality Assurance 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 Ensurance, 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 Ensurance
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 Ensurance, General Manager of Corporate Health and Productivity Management, Asahi Kasei ESH & QA Promoters, Core Operating Company ESH & QA Promoters
Secretariat Corporate ESH, Corporate Quality Ensurance
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 & QA education and training concerning basic knowledge of and theories about ESH & QA. The training program applies to all key personnel who implement ESH & QA, including EHS 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 EHS 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 2022, a total of 95 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 & QA 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 2022, a total of 210 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 join in group discussions. In fiscal 2021, 55 employees took part.
Regarding chemical substances control and product safety, various training programs are held throughout the Group each year. In fiscal 2021, nine 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 2021.
We will continue to promote education and training to meet various needs both inside and outside the company.

ESH & QA Conference

The Asahi Kasei Group held annual RC Conferences, at Asahi Kasei Corp., Core Operating Companies, and each Region. The conferences were held to share information and revitalize RC activities by reporting on their status, holding presentations on activities, listening to lectures by experts invited from outside the company, and presenting Safety Awards.
Renamed the Asahi Kasei ESH & QA Conference in fiscal 2022, the event took place in December at the conference venue and online with 2,300 participants, with the aim of revitalizing environmental safety, quality assurance, and health and productivity management promotion activities and sharing information.

  • Asahi Kasei President Koshiro Kudo gives the opening remarks at the 2022 ESH & QA Conference
  • Special lecture by Mr. Isao Endo, CEO of SEANA Corporation, an expert on workplace skills and organizational culture reform