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Asahi Kasei Group's ESH & QA

ESH & QA Activities

Based on our Group Mission of contributing to life and living for people around the world, the Asahi Kasei Group's operations span three sectors: Material, which includes the electronics business and the chemical business that handles chemical substances; Homes, which includes the construction materials business; and Healthcare, which includes the pharmaceuticals and life science businesses. These business activities are supported by activities in Environment, Safety, Health, and Quality Assurance.
The Environment, Safety and Health, Quality Assurance, and Health and Productivity Management sincerely fulfill roles in line with business activities, in order to provide new value to society by enabling ‘living in health and comfort’ and ‘harmony with the natural environment’ in accordance with our Group Vision.

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

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 "Trailblaze Together" 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. Additionally, we earnestly strive to solve the environmental issues facing a sustainable society, greenhouse gas reduction in particular, and will continue to provide high corporate value to all of our stakeholders, including future generations.

Asahi Kasei Corp.
Executive Officer for ESH & QA
Masatsugu Kawase

Policy

ESH & QA at the Asahi Kasei Group is guided by the following policy.

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 occupational 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 impacts 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 Asahi Kasei Group defines ESH & QA activities in accordance with our ESH Management Guidelines and QA Management Guidelines and uses those activities to build a management system. 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 occupational health & safety.
Regarding Quality Assurance activities, under the supervision of Corporate Quality Assurance, each business organization establishes a management system based on ISO 9001 and other standards, as we work 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 Assurance Officer ,Senior General Manager of Corporate Quality Assurance,General Manager of Corporate Health and Productivity Management,ESH&QA Implementation Managers,President, Material Sector, 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

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 Administrator, 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 Administrator
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 Executive Officer for the Environment, Safety and Health, Asahi Kasei Executive Officer for Quality Assurance, Asahi Kasei Senior General Manager for Corporate ESH, Asahi Kasei Senior General Manager for Corporate Quality Assurance, General Manager for 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 2024, a total of 63 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 managers that was formally initiated in fiscal 2012 continues to be held and improved while incorporating feedback. In fiscal 2024, a total of 269 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 2024, 45 employees took part and completed the program.
Regarding chemicals management and product safety, various training programs are held throughout the Group each year. In fiscal 2024, 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 900 employees participating in fiscal 2024.
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 promote information-sharing and revitalize activities related to the environment, safety, health, quality assurance, and health and productivity management. It includes a message from the President, reports on activity status and presentations of case studies of each department by Executive Officers in charge, as well as lectures by outside experts, and safety award presentations.
In fiscal 2024, the conference was held in December and was attended by more than 2,000 participants at the conference site and online.
As a special lecture, Dr. Akihito Shimazu, Professor in the Faculty of Policy Management at Keio University, who has long been an active leader in the field of occupational health as a primary figure in mental health, gave a lecture on “Work Engagement: How to Work in a Healthy and Active way.”

  • Message from President Kudo
  • Special Lecture by Dr. Akihito Shimazu, Professor, Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University