Zeon Group Sustainability Report 2022

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

2

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Contents
Editorial Policy

P. 3

Messages from Management

P. 4

Initiatives to Achieve Our Targets for 2030 P. 28

P. 4

Diverse Human Resources

Human Resources
Basic Approach and PoliciesMessage from the President	Message from the Corporate

P. 27
P. 27
P. 30

Health and Productivity
P. 5

Sustainability Division ManagerZeon’s Sustainability

Management Promotion

P. 32

Reformation of the Personnel System

P. 36

P. 6

Organizational and Human

Basic ApproachP. 6

Resources Development

P. 37

Sustainability Management

P. 7

Sustainability Promotion Plan

P. 10

Occupational Health and Safety

P. 39

Timeline of CSR/Sustainability Initiatives P. 10
EnvironmentOccupational Safety

P. 39

Safety and Accident Prevention

P. 40

P. 11

Environmental Philosophy

Quality Assurance

P. 42

P. 11

Basic Approach and System

P. 42

Environmental and Safety Management P. 13

Quality Assurance Initiatives

P. 42

and Safety Philosophy
Environmental and Safety Education

P. 14

Overview of Environmental Impacts

P. 16

Community

P. 46

Economic Indicators of Environmental

Basic Approach

P. 46

Performance (Environmental Accounting) P. 17

Social Contribution Activities

P. 46

Climate Change

P. 18

Information Disclosure

P. 49

Chemical Substances Management

P. 18

Air, Water, and Waste Materials

P. 20

Chemical Product Safety Information

P. 22

Corporate Governance

P. 50

Environmental Protection in Logistics

P. 23

Risk Management

P. 52

Compliance

P. 53

IR CommunicationsP. 54

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

P. 24

Corporate Governance

P. 50

Upholding Positive Working Environments
by Protecting Human Rights andProhibiting DiscriminationESG Data
P. 24

P. 55

Environment

P. 55

Becoming a Signatory to the United Nations

SocialP. 56

Global Compact and Participating in

Governance

P. 57

Subcommittee Activities

P. 25

CSR Procurement

P. 26

GRI Content Index

P. 58

United Nations Global Compact Index

P. 62

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

3

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Editorial Policy
Zeon Corporation and Zeon Group (“Zeon”) publish
an Integrated Report, which provides stakeholders withan overview of Zeon’s business activities. Zeon also
publishes a Sustainability Report, which is intended
to help stakeholders understand Zeon’s approach tosustainability and its environmental activities.
Besides bringing together information about Zeon’s
sustainability approach and measures, this Sustainability
Report is also intended to function as a communication
tool, with the aim of fostering dialog with Zeon’s
stakeholders, so that Zeon can play an even more usefulrole in the world. We look forward to hearing your frankcomments and suggestions regarding the Sustainability
Report, which can provide a useful reference for us in our
future activities.

Reporting Period
April 2021 to March 2022 (includes some information
relating to the period in and after April 2022)

Reporting Scope
Zeon Corporation and Zeon Group companies insideand outside Japan.
Some data covers only Zeon Corporation.

Reporting Scope for Environmental Data
Takaoka Plant, Kawasaki Plant, Mizushima Plant,
Tokuyama Plant, Himi Futagami Plant, Tsuruga Plant,
Zeon Kasei Co., Ltd., Zeon Polymix Inc., Zeon Medical
Inc., Zeon North Co., Ltd., Tokyo Zairyo Co., Ltd., RIMTEC
Corporation, Zeon Yamaguchi Co., Ltd., Zeon Chemicals
Yonezawa Co., Ltd., Tohpe Corporation, Zeon Opto Bio
Lab Co., Ltd.

Reference Guidelines
Determined with reference to the 2018 Environmental
Reporting Guidelines promulgated by Japan’s Ministryof the Environment (MOE), and with reference to GRIStandards.
Direct inquiries to: Corporate Sustainability Department(publishing department), Zeon Corporation
Shin Marunouchi Center Building, 1-6-2 Marunouchi,
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8246, Japan
Tel: +81-3-3216-0603 Fax: +81-3-3216-0604
https://www.zeon.co.jp/index_e.html

Date of Publication
April 2023 (previously published in March 2022)

Sustainability Communication Tools
Sustainability Report 2022
(This PDF)

Zeon Group

Integrated Report 2022

Integrated Report 2022
(Printed booklet, PDF)
Zeon Group Sustainability Report 2022

Sustainability Website(HTML part)

Site Reports(PDF)

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

4

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Messages from Management
Message from the President
At the Zeon Group, our mission has been embodied in our corporate philosophy of “contributing to
the preservation of the Earth and the prosperity of the human race.” We conduct our business aspiring torealize a “Sustainable Earth” and a “Safe and Comfortable Life” by providing products and services
created using our original technology. Our corporate philosophy also ties into our company name, derived
from the Greek words “geo” (Earth) and “eon” (eternity), encompassing the very concept of sustainability;
achieving sustainability thus means nothing less than putting this corporate philosophy into practice.
However, against the backdrop of a variety of increasingly serious social issues such as climate change
and a chaotic global situation, concerns about achieving a sustainable society are growing. As a result, I
believe that we at the Zeon Group must renew our commitment and bring an even stronger resolve toachieving our mission.
Under our current Medium-Term Business Plan, which began in fiscal 2021, we have formulated acompany-wide strategy around a vision of a company that lives up to societal expectations and theaspirations of its employees, with the goal of contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
a set of common global objectives. One of the key words behind our efforts to address society’s
expectations is “innovation.” We believe that innovative materials and services created through thepower of chemistry have an enormous ability to aid in solving social issues and can fundamentally alter
the future of the Earth and humanity.
Without doubt, it is people who generate such innovation. Our human resource strategy is thus towork together to create a stage on which each of our employees can fully demonstrate their strengths.
We will work earnestly toward achieving a sustainable society, using the motivation of our employees as
the driver of innovation.

Kimiaki Tanaka
President and CEO

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

5

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Message from the Corporate Sustainability Division Manager“Based on our corporate philosophy of ‘contributing to the preservation of the Earth and the prosperityof the human race,’ sustainability at Zeon means achieving sustainable growth together with society. To
achieve this, we will provide products and services that are valuable for solving global and social issues,build trust with our stakeholders through fairness and integrity and have each one of us act proactively
thinking how to create a better future for the society and ourselves.”
This is how the Zeon Group defined sustainability in its Sustainability Policy established in July 2022.
It is both the Zeon Group’s basic approach to advancing its business, and at the same time a promise to
our stakeholders of the attitude we most value in our relationships with them.
In our Medium-Term Business Plan, we have set out our contributions to the SDGs with the goal ofsolving social issues through our business. We are advancing a variety of initiatives to improvesustainability, including providing products and services that contribute to the SDGs; achieving carbon
neutrality by 2050; enhancing employee engagement; and conducting human rights due diligence. In
December 2022, we also established a Sustainability Conference and Sustainability Committee, and put
in place a system to address various sustainability issues in an enterprise-wide, flexible manner.
Recently, we also decided to publish a new Sustainability Report, which will replace our existing CSR
Report and which is intended to disclose the status of our sustainability management efforts. As we aim
for the sustainable growth of both the Zeon Group and society as a whole, each of our employees will put
into practice an awareness of sustainability in their own activities, while working to achieve a better
future through dialogue and collaboration with our stakeholders.

Erisa Watanabe

Director & Corporate Officer
Corporate Sustainability Division Manager

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

6

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Zeon’s Sustainability
Basic Approach
Sustainability ManagementSustainability Promotion Plan
Timeline of CSR/Sustainability Initiatives

P. 6
P. 7
P. 10
P. 10

Basic Approach
Corporate Philosophy
Contributing to the preservation of the Earthand the prosperity of the human race
In keeping with its name, derived from the Greek words “geo”(Earth) and “eon” (eternity),
Zeon will contribute to a “Sustainable Earth” and “Safe andComfortable Life for People”
by providing original technologies, products, and services.

Sustainability Policy
On July 1, 2022, we adopted a new Sustainability Policy to replace our existing CSR Policy.

Sustainability of Society

Sustainability Policy (Adopted on July 1, 2022)

ocial issues = Sustainabl
e des to s
n
o
i
vel
t
op
olu
s
o
s
t
o
s
c
r
n
i
a
o
i
l
t
i
s
e
sues
Solu
①

③

Fur
th

nt
me

• We aspire to realize a “Sustainable Earth” and “Safe andComfortable Life”.
• We will firmly maintain fairness and integrity in our activities
to be a trustworthy company.
• Each of us will think and act proactively for a better future.

Based on our corporate philosophy of “contributing to thepreservation of the Earth and the prosperity of the humanrace”, sustainability at Zeon means achieving sustainablegrowth together with society. To achieve this, we will
provide products and services that are valuable for solving
global and social issues, build trust with our stakeholders
through fairness and integrity and have each one of us act
proactively thinking how to create a better future for thesociety and ourselves.

SocietyZeon④② Pr o ﬁ t

F urt

h er proeﬁt = S u stain a bl

gro w

th

Sustainability of Zeon

Explanation of the schematic diagram
Zeon’s Sustainability Policy can be explained with reference to the schematic diagram shown above. Firstly, the inner arrows(① and ②) represent how, by helping to solve social issues and providing new value for society, Zeon itself can also obtainprofits in return for providing this value. Arrows ③ and ④ show how continuing to implement a “virtuous circle” can lead tosustainable development for society and continued growth for Zeon. The image in the middle representing two people shaking hands denotes how, by realizing this kind of virtuous circle, the relationship of trust between society and Zeon can befurther strengthened.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

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Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

CSR Code of Conduct
Based on the Zeon Corporate Philosophy andSustainability Policy, we have established the CSR
Code of Conduct, to serve as a guideline for each andevery employee to earn the trust of society and act inaccordance with its expectations.

CSR Code of Conduct
https://www.zeon.co.jp/en/csr/concept/pdf/000257956.pdf

Sustainability Management
Organizational Bodies and Committees
In December 2022, we newly established theSustainability Conference and Sustainability Committee
as organizational bodies tasked with reviewing andpromoting group-wide sustainability initiatives. Boththe Sustainability Conference and the CSR Conference
are chaired and overseen by the President, with reports

delivered to the Board of Directors on an as-neededbasis. Risk management and compliance are handled
by the CSR Conference, while general sustainability
issues besides these are handled by the Sustainability
Conference.

Conferences and Committees Promoting Sustainability

Board of Directors
Representative Director
Executive Committee
Department ofInternal Auditing

Sustainability Conference

Sustainability Committee
Risk Management Committee
Compliance Committee
Information Management Committee

CSR Conference

Environmental and Safety Affairs Committee
Quality Assurance Committee
PL Committee

Business divisions, indirect departments,
laboratories, and plants/
Subsidiaries and affiliates
Sustainability Conference

Purpose of establishment: Established as the highest
decision-making body to address sustainability andrelated issues
Function: Deliberates on and finalizes decisions related
to the various activities and policies of the
Sustainability Committee. In addition, fields
progress reports and issues instructions asneeded.

Public Relations Committee
CSR Conference

Purpose of establishment: Established as the highest
decision-making body for CSR activities, with a focus onrisk management and compliance, which comprise thefoundation for achieving sustainability
Function: D eliberates on and finalizes decisions related to thevarious activities and measures of the Compliance
Committee, Risk Management Committee,
Public Relations Committee, Quality AssuranceCommittee, PL Committee, Environmental and
Safety Affairs Committee, and the Information
Management Committee. In addition, fields
progress reports and issues instructions as needed.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

8

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Sustainability Committee

Purpose of establishment: Promotion of initiatives toengage with various sustainability issues
Function: Formulates policies for medium- to long-term
activities relating to sustainability; develops
annual plans and targets/indicators; considers
important promotional measures; and performs
checks on implementation status. These
activities are also discussed with and reported
to the Sustainability Conference. Thematic
subcommittees under the jurisdiction of
the Sustainability Committee will also beestablished as needed.

Risk Management Committee

Purpose of establishment: Manage business continuity
risks
Function: The committee is responsible forsystematically preventing potential risks andmanaging risks that emerge. It also aims toprovide disciplined response to minimize
loss in the event that a crisis does occur. For
details on its activities, see Risk Management.
(→P. 52)

Compliance Committee

Purpose of establishment: Prevent violations of laws
and regulations
Function: The Compliance Committee is responsible forcreating compliance education and training
programs to be implemented by managing
business divisions. The Compliance Committee
has the following three subcommittees: theAnti-trust Law Regulatory Subcommittee, theExport Security Control Subcommittee, andthe Corporate Governance Subcommittee.
For more information about its activities, seeCompliance. (→P. 53)

Information Management Committee

Purpose of establishment: Appropriate management of
information
Function: Planning, implementation status management,
and formulation of proposals for improvement,in regard to the appropriate management of
information.

Environmental and Safety Affairs Committee
Purpose of establishment: Reduce environmental
impacts, establish and maintain safe working
environments
Function: The Environmental and Safety Affairs
Committee plans and proposes specificenvironmental and safety initiatives andmonitors the progress of addressing
environmental and safety issues. For
more information about its activities, see
Environment (→P. 11) and Occupational
Safety. (→P. 39)

Quality Assurance Committee

Purpose of establishment: Implement and improve
quality assurance
Function: The Quality Assurance Committee reviews
quality assurance activities and theirimplementation, and examines and takes
action to improve issues related to quality
assurance. For more information about its
activities, see Quality Assurance. (→P. 42)

PL Committee

Purpose of establishment: Implement fulfillment
activities related to product liability
Function: Formulates plans for product liability related
prevention activities and training, and monitors
the implementation of emergency response
measures. For more information about its
activities, see Quality Assurance. (→P. 42)

Public Relations Committee

Purpose of establishment: Effectively communicate
information about Zeon
Function: The Public Relations Committee aims toenhance Zeon’s profile and image throughaccurate communication of our corporate
philosophy, approaches, and activities.
The Committee also ensures timely andappropriate disclosure of information by
Zeon Group. For more information about its
activities, see Information Disclosure (→P. 49)
and IR Communications. (→P. 54)

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

9

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Organizational Reform
With the aim of realizing carbon neutrality by 2050,
in April 2022 the Carbon Neutral Endeavor Department
which previously reported directly to the President wasplaced under the Corporate Sustainability Division.
In July 2022, we established a new Carbon Neutral
Division to strengthen organizational functions such as
strategy formulation, and the Carbon Neutral Endeavor
Department was placed under it. In addition, a new
Carbon Neutral Laboratory has been established under
the Research and Development Center, and we have put
in place a system for promoting R&D that is oriented
toward monozukuri manufacturing that helps to realize
carbon neutrality and the circular economy.
In May 2022, we implemented an organizational

reform, with the existing Raw Material Division andLogistics Division that had been under the Elastomers
and Chemicals Business Headquarters being brought
together to form the new Supply Chain Division, whichis under the Administrative Headquarters. The Supply
Chain Division undertakes the comprehensive collection
and analysis of all supply chain related information,and implements measures intended to reduce Scope 3
CO2 emissions in the supply chain. It also puts in place
the systems needed for the formulation, proposal,
adjustment and implementation of supply chain related
policies to help ensure the building of the foundations
needed for business growth, and accelerating initiatives
aimed at realizing carbon neutrality.

Sustainability Promotion Structure
Legal & Compliance DivisionCorporate Planning Division
Human Resources Division
Administrative
Headquarters

Corporate Administration Division

Raw Material Procurement Department

Supply Chain Division
Supply Chain Planning & Administration Department
IR & SR Office
Risk Management Department

Department ofInternal Auditing
Corporate Sustainability Headquarters
President

Sustainability
Conference

CSR Conference

Research &Development
Headquarters

Research &Development
CenterCorporate Sustainability DivisionCorporate Sustainability Department

Carbon Neutral Division

Carbon Neutral Endeavor Department

Laboratories
Carbon Neutral Laboratory
Intellectual Property Department

Production and Engineering Technology Headquarters
Elastomers and Chemicals Business Headquarters

Specialty Business Headquarters

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

10

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Sustainability Promotion Plan
Since 2011, we have instituted our “Vision for 2020” inrespective fields based on our CSR Matrix, and have been
engaged with CSR issues at the Zeon Group level.
In 2021, we presented our “Vision for 2030,”
formulating the Three Group-wide Strategies to help us
achieve our goals for the year 2030, and which represent
the embodiment of that vision. We then established
our “Targets for 2030,” corresponding to these ThreeGroup-wide Strategies. These include those relating tosustainability objectives, such as: “a 50% reduction in
CO2 emissions”; “50% of turnover from products which

contribute to the SDGs”; “75% employee engagement”;
and “a 30% ratio of foreign-national and female
directors.”
Meanwhile, it is important to have indicators tomanage the various initiatives which we have undertaken
in various fields to date. We will reconsider themechanisms for management and disclosure on new
initiatives as well as those for KPIs, which are discussed
and finalized by the Sustainability Conference and CSR
Conference respectively.

Timeline of CSR/Sustainability Initiatives
1995: Joined the Japan Responsible Care Council and declared our commitment to Responsible Care
Established Zeon’s Responsible Care Policy
1996: Revised the group-wide safety management system and established the Plant Technology Audit System
1997: Established the Safety Philosophy
Held the first Zeon Safety Month and the All-Zeon Safety Conference (subsequently held each year in April)
Established the Code of Conduct (Zeon’s Seven Articles)
1998: Established the Responsible Care Policy
1999: Established the Risk Management Rules
2000: Published the first Responsible Care Activity Report (1999 edition)
2001: Established the Environmental Philosophy
2003: Amended the Risk Management Rules and renamed them as the Risk Management and Compliance Rules
Established Zeon’s Seven Articles Code of Conduct
2004: Established the Internal Reporting System
Published the Compliance Textbook I
2005: Published an English version of the Responsible Care Activity Report
Conducted third-party verification for the Responsible Care Activity Report
Published the Compliance Textbook II (Q&A Edition)
2006: Switched from publishing the Responsible Care Activity Report to publishing the CSR Report
2008: Published the Compliance Textbook I (Revised Edition)
2009: Signed the Responsible Care Global Charter
2010: Established the CSR Policy and CSR Code of Conduct
Published the Compliance Textbook (Q&A Edition)
Revised the CSR Implementation System and established a new System
Published the CSR Textbook
2011: Began using the CSR Matrix
2012: Started the CSR Core Projects (comprehensive Zeon social contributions package)
2013: Switched from publishing the CSR Report to publishing the Corporate Report
2017: Revised the CSR Matrix based on ISO 26000
	‌Along with publishing the Corporate Report, also published a PDF version of the CSR Report on the corporatewebsite2018: Revised the CSR Code of Conduct
2019: Became a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact
Established the Human Rights Policy
2020: Expressed its support for the TCFD
2022: Established the Sustainability Policy	Switched from the Corporate Report to the Integrated Report; and from the CSR Report to the Sustainability
ReportNewly established the Sustainability Conference and Sustainability Committee

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

11

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Environment
Environmental Philosophy and Safety Philosophy
Environmental and Safety Management
Environmental and Safety Education
Overview of Environmental Impacts
Economic Indicators of Environmental
Performance (Environmental Accounting)
Climate Change
Chemical Substances Management
Air, Water, and Waste Materials
Chemical Product Safety Information
Environmental Protection in Logistics

P. 11
P. 13
P. 14
P. 16
P. 17
P. 18
P. 18
P. 20
P. 22
P. 23

Environmental Philosophy and Safety Philosophy
Philosophy and Policy for Safety and Environmental Activities
Responsible Care: A voluntary initiative by businesses that manufacture or handle chemical substances to achieve
continuous improvement in health, safety, and environmental (HSE) performance across the entire lifecycle of such
substances—from development and manufacture, through distribution and use, and ending in final consumption or
disposal—based on the principles of independent decision-making and personal responsibility. These businesses
publicly commit to Responsible Care in their business policies, implement HSE-related actions, and strive to improvetheir HSE performance.
At Zeon, we have practiced the Responsible Care philosophy as a member of the Japan Responsible Care Council(now the Japan Chemical Industry Association Responsible Care Committee) since its inception in 1995. In 1998,
we established our own Responsible Care Policy to define our conduct guidelines based on the Responsible Carephilosophy.

Environmental Philosophy
Established in 2001, our Environmental Philosophy
guides our efforts to deliver products with consistentquality through safe and reliable production while
reducing our environmental impacts.

Safety Philosophy
A consistently safe work environment is the foundationof all production activities. We formulated our Safety
Philosophy in 1997 to guide our safety activities.
Safety Philosophy (Established March 1997)

Environmental Philosophy (Established August 2001)
1. ‌Environmental protection is a mission of a socially
responsible organization
2. Our basic belief is that environmental protection canbe achieved with innovative technology
3. Environmental protection will be achieved when all
employees work together with a sense of mission to
overcome challenges

1. Safety is the foundation of all business activities andthe greatest priority
2. Our basic belief regarding safety is that we canprevent all accidents
3. Safety will be achieved by performing the 5Ss* andwhen everyone takes responsibility for their own
actions*5Ss:
Seiri (sort), Seiton (straighten), Seisou (scrub), Seiketsu (systematize), andShitsuke (sustain)

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

12

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Responsible Care Policy

Responsible Care Policy (Established June 1998)
1. Prioritize the environment and safety
Protecting the environment and ensuring safety are preconditions for all business activities and are the most importantpriorities. We will work continuously to enact full accident prevention countermeasures, and provide education andtraining for all employees to prevent safety and environmental accidents.
2. Collect and distribute the latest information on chemical products
We will collect, store and manage the latest information required for the appropriate handling, use and disposal ofchemical products, and distribute this information to employees and users.
3. Minimize the discharge of toxic chemicals and waste
We will work to reduce the discharge of hazardous chemical substances, minimize waste, and develop technology forrecycling and reusing materials.
4. Promote activities for conserving resources and energy
We will aim to dramatically reduce the amount of energy we use and help alleviate global warming by developing
innovative technology and actively promoting resource and energy conservation activities that involve all employees.
5. ‌Take the environment and safety into account when developing new processes and products and performing
quality assurance
We will perform thorough environmental and safety evaluations from the initial stages of research, develop technology
and products that take the environment and safety into account, and work to maintain and improve the quality oftechnology and products.
6. Live together with society
We will strictly observe regulations related to the environment and safety, whether the regulations come from thelocal community, the national government, overseas, or organizations to which we belong. While cooperating in these
activities, we will work to enhance our communication with the local community and society in order to convey a better
understanding of Zeon’s activities and further strengthen the trust that society has in our company.
7. Perform continuous improvements
We will continuously improve our environment safety management and technology by operating a Responsible
Care Audit, the Safety Management System, an Environment Management System based on ISO 14001, and an
Occupational Health and Safety Management System.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

13

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Environmental and Safety Management
We have built Environmental and Safety Management Systems based on the Responsible Care philosophy, and areworking toward the goal of ensuring the safety of all persons at our worksites and plants. We have also obtained ISO
14001 external certification related to the environment.

Overview of Environmental and Safety
Management Systems
President’s Annual Policy and Safety Management
Improvement Master Plan
These documents are created by top management.
Annual Environment and Safety Policy
The Environmental and Safety Affairs Department
General Manager creates this policy after the President’s
Annual Policy and the Safety Management Improvement
Master Plan are released. The Annual Environment and
Safety Policy is reviewed by the CSR Conference andfinalized by the President.
Annual Worksite Manager’s Policy and Annual Worksite
Safety Management Improvement Master Plan
Worksite managers create these documents after the
President’s Annual Policy and the Safety Management
Improvement Master Plan are released.
Annual Worksite Environmental and Safety(Responsible Care) Activities Plans
Worksite managers create the Activities Plans after thegroup-wide Annual Environment and Safety Policy isreleased.

•Progress Management• ‌Safety Management Improvement Master Plan:
Progress verified by the CSR Conference• ‌Annual Worksite Safety Management Improvement
Master Plan: Progress verified by the worksite manager
during worksite inspections• ‌Annual Worksite Environmental and Safety Activities
Plans: Progress verified by the worksite manager
during worksite inspections

Environmental and Safety Management Systems
Top management●President’s
Annual Policy●Safety Management
Improvement
Master Plan
●Annual Environment
and Safety Policy●President’s Annual
Policy●Safety Management
Improvement
Master Plan

●AnnualEnvironment
and Safety Policy(draft)Environmental and Safety Affairs Department●Deliberation●Decision-making●Confirmation

CSR
Conference●Progress
management in
implementing the
Safety Management
Improvement
Master Plan

Worksites●Draft the Annual Worksite Manager’s Policy●Draft the Annual Worksite Safety Management Improvement Master Plan and progress management●Draft the Annual Worksite Environmental and Safety (Responsible Care) Activities Plans andprogress management

AuditsAudits assess whether our management systems arefunctioning normally.
Worksite Responsible Care audits cover environmental
and safety matters and are headed by the Environmental
and Safety Affairs Department General Manager. These
audits have two parts: the Responsible Care Audit andthe Responsible Care Dialogue.
Responsible Care Audits• ‌Audits using specialized indicators to monitor the
progress of Responsible Care activities.
• ‌These audits also include auditing conducted forworksites that have Certified Completion and Process
Safety Inspectors for High-Pressure gas.
• ‌The progress of improvements in areas where audits
uncovered such needs is verified using the Audit
Findings Improvement Plan and Progress Report.
Responsible Care Dialogues• ‌A venue for worksite members and management toconsider, discuss, and resolve worksite environmental
and safety issues that are difficult to identify throughaudits.
Responsible Care Audits at Group Companies
Group Company Responsible Care Audits cover Group
company Responsible Care activities and are headedby the Environmental and Safety Affairs Department
General Manager. The progress of improvements in areas
where audits uncovered such needs is verified using the
Audit Findings Improvement Plan and Progress Report.
Internal Plant Audits
Internal plant audits are conducts at plants.
• ‌Plant manager inspections: Inspections of the progressof Responsible Care implementation conducted by theplant manager (at least once/year)• ‌Environmental Management System (EMS) internal
auditsSUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

14

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Environmental and Safety Education
Systematic Safety Education
Environmental and safety education programs are
implemented in accordance with the annual plan set byeach worksite.
Group-wide environmental and safety education
supervised by the Environmental and Safety Affairs
Department is combined with worksite-specificenvironmental and safety education tailored to thespecific needs of each individual worksite.
Through these educational activities, we strive toeliminate safety incidents and occupational accidents,
minimize damage should an incident or accident occur,and maintain Zeon’s status as an enterprise trusted by
local communities.

Education using accident case studies

Manager and supervisor education
Training for newly-appointed section managers
This is implemented for newly-appointed
manufacturing section managers, facilities management
section managers, and environmental and safety section
managers.
The content of the training includes safety activities
based on Zeon’s safety system, safety concerns andresponsibilities that safety managers should be familiar
with, environmental and safety related laws andenvironmental and safety related company regulations,and the Safety Management System, etc.
Safety education provided by former plant managers
Education using accident case studies
Held since FY 2003, this education program aims toprevent the lessons of past accidents from fading frommemory, to apply these lessons in work operations, toraise workers’ awareness of safety, and to increase their
sensitivity to potential risks.
Former plant managers give presentations to all plant
employees. They cover specific examples of accidents at
Zeon and other companies to communicate the grimconsequences of such accidents, and provide instruction
on how to analyze risk factors as well as countermeasures
to prevent recurrences.
In FY 2021, instructors provided instruction via
discussions with participants focusing on occupational
accidents that have occurred at Zeon while directly
communicating their own views to participants, such as thelessons to be drawn from respective cases.

Education using accident case studies

Environmental and safety education for new
employees
Newly-recruited employees at Zeon Head Office
Presentation of case studies of occupational accidents
that have occurred while newly-recruited employees
were undertaking factory placements, emphasizing theimportance of abiding strictly by the rules that have been
established in each workplace.
Newly-recruited employees at individual worksites
Education in basic matters relating to environmental
and safety issues.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

15

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Environmental and Safety Education and Training
Activities Organized by Individual Worksites
Safety and environmental legislation education
Each individual worksite implements environmental
and safety education in accordance with the annual plan.
Training activities
Training is implemented in accordance with theannual plan. We strive to improve emergency response
capabilities by identifying issues that arise following
training implementation and using these to makesystematic improvements.
• ‌Comprehensive disaster response drills: These are held
once or twice a year, and involve the implementationof disaster response training and evacuation training
based on earthquake or tsunami scenarios• ‌Individual training: Trainings for the individual selfdirected disaster response organization disaster
response teams and reporting trainings are held
Establishment of the “Safety Workshop”
A “Safety Workshop” has been established at theMizushima Plant, at which employees can acquire
practical experience in the various types of safety
rules. Using the “Factory Safety Rules Understanding
Verification Sheet” drawn up in accordance with the“Standards Governing Usage of the Mizushima Plant
Safety Workshop,” activities are conducted to check
employees’ level of understanding of safety rules; inaddition, activities are held that make use of education
based on the exhibits in the Safety Workshop to deepen
understanding of factory rules among factory personnel(including the personnel of partner companies).

Display in the Safety Workshop showing how to use scaffolding

Adoption of hands-on safety education
The hands-on safety education program thatwas launched in FY 2014 at the Kawasaki Plant
was expanded to other plants in FY 2015, providing
education for research facility staff, the staff of partnercompanies that perform work inside Zeon facilities on along-term basis, and the employees of neighboring Zeon
Group companies.
The hands-on safety education provided in FY 2021
covered accidents in which employees are caught ortrapped by machinery, electrostatic explosions andburns, shocks from residual pressure in couplers,
accidents involving objects falling, and accidents
involving cutting.
In the future, we will continue to implement this typeof education systematically, including repeat education.

The hands-on safety education covering the dangers of getting caught in arollerSUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

16

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Overview of Environmental Impacts
We procure raw materials for chemical substances, and consume energy and water resources in the production andsales of our materials and chemical substance products. While emitting substances that impact water and atmosphericenvironments is unavoidable in product manufacturing, we are implementing an ongoing cycle of improvements tominimize these emissions.
Overview of Environmental Impacts (FY 2021)

INPUT

OUTPUT

EnergyHead Office

Products

245 thousand kL(crude oil equivalent)

Takaoka Plant

1,875 thousand tons

Handled amount of substances
subject to the PRTR Act

Kawasaki Plant

Atmospheric emissions

782 thousand tons
Water resources
17,811 thousand m3

Tokuyama Plant
Mizushima Plant
Himi Futagami Plant

Substances subject
to the PRTR Act
23.4 tons
CO2779 thousand tons
SOx
797 tons
NOx
281 tons
Water discharges

Tsuruga Plant

Total wastewater
discharge 15,258 thousand m3

R&D Center

COD
Total nitrogen
Total phosphorus

141 tons
131 tons
2.1 tons

Industrial waste
Final landfill disposal
3.8 tons
Recycled materials 18,849 tons

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

17

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Economic Indicators of Environmental Performance(Environmental Accounting)
We began introducing environmental accounting into our operations in FY 2000 in accordance with the Guidelines for
Introducing an Environmental Accounting System (Ver. 2000) published by Japan's Ministry of the Environment (MOE),
and have released environmental accounting statements since the 2001 edition of the Responsible Care Activity Report.
This CSR report presents key data from our environmental accounting statements in FY 2018 as recommended in theEnvironmental Accounting Guidelines 2005 (MOE), Environmental Accounting Guidelines for Chemical Companies(JCIA, 2003), and Environmental Conservation Cost Categories 2003 (MOE).
Scope: Zeon Corporation in Japan (Head Office, Takaoka Plant, Kawasaki Plant, Tokuyama Plant, Mizushima Plant, Himi Futagami Plant,
Tsuruga Plant, R&D Center); Period: April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022

Environmental Conservation Costs
Environmental Conservation Expenses
We are developing technologies to minimize theenvironmental impact of our wastewater and reduce theamount of residual volatile substances in our products. We arefocused in particular on developing technologies, designingequipment, and standardizing operating procedures to reduce
emissions of butadiene and acrylonitrile, both hazardous air
pollutants, and to reduce the environmental impact of ourwastewater based on such parameters as total nitrogen (TN)and chemical oxygen demand (COD).
We are also working to develop eco-friendly products
and innovative, energy-efficient processes.
Environmental conservation costs
Category(1) Costs within the business area

FY 2021 (million JPY)
Investment
amountExpense

123

2,804

Breakdown• Pollution prevention costs

99

1,840

• Global environmental protection costs

25

223

• Resource recycling costs

0741(2) Upstream and downstream costs00(3) Management costs

20

141

(4) R&D costs

155

2,245

(5) Social activities costs

049(6) ‌Environmental damage
response costs

0

87

299

5,326

Total

Economic Effects
We strive to use oils and other byproducts fromour production and manufacturing processes in
economically effective ways such as converting them tofuel and recycling them, or by other means. We are also
working to recycle the metal resources in empty drums
and containers. To conserve energy, we recover heatgenerated in heat-intensive distillation processes.
Economic Effects Resulting from Environmental
Conservation Measures
Effects

0.0

Cost reductions from energy savings

0.1

Cost reductions from reducing emissions,recovery, and reuse of solvents andcatalysts

4,484

Total

4,484

Environmental and Safety Investment
In addition to environmental investment related tofacilities to prevent pollution and conserve energy andresources, we strive to improve safety through ongoingsafety investment aimed at improving safety andeliminating hazards.
Unit: million JPY
Environmental conservation

Environmental Conservation Outcomes
Environmental Conservation Outcomes (Physical Outcomes)
Environmental impact indicators

FY 2021
results

Compared
to FY 2020

CO2 emissions (tons)

523,540

69,517218

SOx emissions (tons)

797

NOx emissions (tons)

281

23

COD emissions (tons)

141

20

Industrial waste sent to landfills (tons)

3.8

4

Total emissions of substances
subject to the PRTR Act (tons)

23.4

0

*Added the Himi Futagami Plant and Tsuruga Plant from FY 2021

Unit: million JPY

Effects obtained from recycling ofresources, fuel conversion, etc.

208

Safety related

2,288

Total

2,496

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

18

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Climate Change
Initiatives to Reduce Greenhouse Gas (CO2)
Emissions
Under the Medium-Term Business Plan which began
in FY 2021, “Promote a transformation of monozukuri
to realize a carbon neutrality and circular economy” istouted as a group-wide strategy. We have set the targetof reducing greenhouse gas (CO2) emissions (Scope 1+2)
by 50% (equal to or less than approximately 390,000
tons) by FY 2030, when compared to the values for

FY 2019. To achieve this target, we are making efforts
under the main themes of (1) Robust energy saving, (2)Technological innovations, and (3) CO2 reductions via
energy (fuel) conversion.
CO2 emissions for FY 2021 (Scope 1+2) wereapproximately 780,000 tons for the year.

Chemical Substances Management
PRTR Initiatives Chemical Substances
We are implementing group-wide initiatives to reducerelease and transfer of substances subject to Japan’s
PRTR Act.
Release and Transfer Volumes of Substances Subject to
the PRTR Act (FY 2021)
Total release
volume(23.4 tons)

Release andtransfer volumes
total(386.4 tons)

Total transfer
volume(363.0 tons)

Amount released
into atmosphere:(23.4 tons)

Release of Substances Subject to the PRTR Act
Amount of release(tons)

40
30

10Amount released
into soil:(0)0Amount to landfill:
(0)

23.7

23.3

23.4

23.4

2018

2019

2020

2021

20

Amount released
into water:(0)

Transfer volume:(363.0 tons)

25.2

2017

FY

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

19

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Detailed Release and Transfer Volumes of Substances Subject to the PRTR Act (FY 2021, 6 plants + R&D Center)
Government
designatedno.

Substance2

Acrylamide

3Ethyl acrylate

4Handledamount(tons)

Released into Released into
Total
atmospherewater
release volume(tons)(tons)(tons)

Transfer
volume(tons)

31.8

0.0

0.0

1,438.4

4.4

0.0

0.0

Acrylic acid and its water-soluble salts

33.5

0.0

0.0

6

2-Hydroxyethyl acrylate

27.6

0.0

0.0

7

n-Butyl acrylate

2,826.7

1.5

0.0

1.5

16.8

8

Methyl acrylate

10.7

0.3

0.0

0.3

0.1

9

Acrylonitrile

27,628.6

3.3

0.0

3.3

0.2

13

Acetonitrile

0.7

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.7

20

2-Aminoethanol (monoethanolamine)

8.2

1.4

0.0

1.4

29

1-Allyloxy-2,3-epoxypropane

14.9

0.0

0.0

30

n-Alkylbenzenesulfonic acid and its salts (alkyl C=10-14)

1,217.1

0.0

0.0

36

Isoprene

79,067.6

0.7

0.0

0.7

53

Ethylbenzene

106.1

0.0

0.0

0.0

56

Ethylene oxide

738.1

0.0

0.0

0.0
0.0

4.4

0.0
0.0
0.0

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.1
0.0

60

Ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid

15.1

0.0

0.0

68

1,2-Epoxypropane

25.5

0.0

0.0

80

Xylene2,415.7

0.2

0.0

0.2

1.3

125

Chloroform

0.2

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.2

134

Vinyl acetate

79.1

0.0

0.0

0.0

151

1,3-Dioxolane

2.4

0.0

0.0

154

Cyclohexylamine

190

Dicyclopentadiene

202

Divinylbenzene

203

Diphenylamine

207

2,6-Di-tert-butyl-4-cresol

220
230
232

0.0

0.0
1.6

1.1

0.0

0.0

0.0

125,460.1

0.2

0.0

0.2

6.0

0.0

0.0

0.0
4.1
0.0

5.4

0.0

0.0

59,441.3

5.0

0.0

Water-soluble salts of dimethyldithiocarbamic acid

21.5

0.0

0.0

N-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)-N’-phenyl-p–phenylenediamine

56.3

0.0

0.0

N,N-dimethylformamide

248.3

0.0

0.0

0.0

2.7

0.8

52.1

0.0

0.1

240

Styrene42,139.8

0.8

0.0

259

Tetraethylthiuram disulfide

15.3

0.0

0.0

274

Tert-dodecanethiol

817.3

0.0

0.0

0.0
5.0

0.0
2.3
0.0

0.0

277

Triethylamine

27.1

0.0

0.0

0.0

296

1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene

288.2

0.0

0.0

0.0

297

1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene

288.2

0.0

0.0

300

Toluene3,540.6

0.0

0.0

302

Naphthalene

362.4

0.0

0.0

308

Nickel

71.3

0.1

0.0

309

Nickel compounds

93.6

0.0

0.0

333

Hydrazine

0.4

0.0

0.0

338

2-Vinylpyridine

60.0

0.0

0.0

349

Phenol351

1,3-Butadiene

392
395
400

Benzene

0.0
0.0

113.6

0.1

62.5

0.0
93.6
0.0
0.0

7.1

82.2

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

427,576.1

2.8

0.0

2.8

0.0

n-Hexane

333.5

2.0

0.0

2.0

2.3

Water-soluble salts of peroxodisulfuric acid

130.4

0.0

0.0

0.0

3,125.8

0.0

0.0

0.0

407

Polyoxyethylene alkyl ether

408

Polyoxyethylene octylphenyl ether

106.3

0.0

0.0

0.0

2.5

0.0

0.0

0.0

410

Polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether

2.8

0.0

0.0

414

Maleic anhydride

78.9

0.5

0.0

0.5

0.0

1,828.2

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

8.1

0.0

0.0

415

Methacrylic acid417

2,3-Epoxypropyl methacrylate

420

Methyl methacrylate

253.4

0.0

0.0

436

α-Methylstyrene

251.2

0.0

0.0

438

Methylnaphthalene

1.4

0.0

0.0

The PRTR Act specifies amounts in kilograms to two significant figures; however, this report specifies amounts in tons.
0.0 indicates less than 0.005 tons.

0.0

0.0
0.0

1.7
0.0

0.0

0.0

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

20

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Air, Water, and Waste Materials
Atmospheric Emission Reductions of Hazardous
We are systematically reducing emissions of butadiene and acrylonitrile, which are among the substances requiring
priority action under the Japan’s Air Pollution Control Act.

Butadiene Emissions

Acrylonitrile Emissions

Atmospheric emissions(tons)

Atmospheric emissions(tons)

5.0

4.0
3.0

3.2

15

3.4

3.0

2.7

10

2.8

2.0

5

4.0

4.0

2017

2018

1.0
0

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

FY

0

3.0

3.1

3.3

2019

2020

2021

FY

Initiatives to Prevent Air and Water Pollution
We are working to reduce emissions of air pollutants through the adoption of heavy oil with low sulfur (S) content andconversion to liquid natural gas (LNG).
The quality of our plant wastewater complies with the standards of the Water Pollution Prevention Act andagreements with local authorities (voluntary management standards).

SOx Emissions

NOx Emissions

Amount of release(tons)

Amount of release(tons)

1,000
800

400

796
689

797

774

324

300

579

600

270

258

2019

2020

281

200

400

100

200
0

298

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

FY

0

2017

2018

2021

FY

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

21

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Total Wastewater Discharge

COD Discharge

Amount of release（million m3）

Amount of release(tons)

20
15

16

150

15

15

15

141

141

137

124

15

121

100

10
50

5
0

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

FY

Total Phosphorus Discharge

2019

2020

2021

133

131

2020

2021

FY

200

2.5

2.3

2.5

150

2.1

1.8

1.5

160

153

157

100

1.0

50

0.5
0

2018

Amount of release(tons)

3.0

1.7

2017

Total Nitrogen Discharge

Amount of release(tons)

2.0

0

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

FY

0

2017

2018

2019

FY

Waste Reductions
In terms of reducing the amount of industrial waste
destined for final landfill disposal, Zeon Corporation
worksites are maintaining a record of zero emissions(less than 0.1% of the industrial waste generated in FY
2007) since achieving this target in FY 2011.
Zeon Group companies had a final landfill volume ofmore than 600 tons in FY 2007, but since FY 2012 thishas been reduced to around 10 tons, or roughly 0.4%of the industrial waste generated in FY 2007. This isconsidered zero emissions.
We aim to maintain a final landfill volume of 5 tons or
less, the same as at Zeon Corporation worksites.

Final Industrial Waste Disposal at External Landfills
Landfill disposal volume(tons)

8
6
4
2
0

3.8

3.2
1.9
0.1

0.0

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

FY

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

22

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Chemical Product Safety Information
We collect and provide safety information on our chemical products. We also conduct hazard assessments. For quality
assurance, see Quality Assurance (→P. 42).

Information for the Proper Handling of Chemical Products

Participation in Voluntary Chemical Industry Initiatives

We produce Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for all Zeon
products. SDS provide information including GHS*1
classification results, product hazards, and cautions forhandling, etc.
For some of our products, we disclose safety-related
information in the form of safety abstracts, which are
made available on the GPS/JIPS*2 platform.

Zeon provides financial support for research activities
by the LRI*3 involving chemical substance hazard
reviews, safety evaluations, and environmental impact
surveys. As a member of the Far East Section of the
IISRP*4, Zeon also participates in investigations ofenvironmental issues, reviews of countermeasures, andactivities to implement them.

*1 GHS
Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals*3 LRI
Long-range Research Initiative: Activities to provide long-term support
for research on the impact of chemical substances on health and theenvironment. A program under the auspices of the International Councilof Chemical Associations (ICCA) that is carried out with funding from LRI
member companies and in cooperation with the chemical industries ofJapan, the United States and Europe (specifically, the Japan Chemical
Industry Association, American Chemistry Council and European Chemical
Industry Council).

*2 GPS/JIPS
Global Product Strategy / Japan Initiative of Product Stewardship. GPS is a
new voluntary initiative related to the management of chemicals, promotedby the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA). In Japan, theJapan Chemical Industry Association (JCIA) promotes GPS under the IPS andencourages member companies to participate.

*4 IISRP
International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

23

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Environmental Protection in Logistics
To more effectively use and recycle resources, we arepromoting recovery and recycling of wood, resin, andmetal pallets and containers used to transport various
goods. We also use a large number of recycled resintransportation pallets.
Zeon has for some time now been working to promote
the effective utilization of resources and implementing
measures to reduce the environmental footprint oflogistics operations, for example by reducing theweight of metal box pallets (by approximately 7%)
and promoting the recovery of metal box pallets fromoverseas, as well as implementing flexible bag recovery
and reuse.

Compliance with the Revised Energy Conservation Act
As a specified consigner under the revised Energy
Conservation Act, we are working to rationalize the useof energy together with partner companies involved in
product and raw materials transportation. To date, wehave studied and implemented improvements in loading
efficiency, modal shift to rail and ship transportation, andtruck and ship fuel efficiency.

Safety Initiatives in Logistics
At Zeon, we established Yellow Card* Management
Rules for transporting hazardous products. These rules
require drivers to carry a Yellow Card when transporting
such products.
We also conduct reporting and communication
training for drivers, and each plant offers training on
product handling to prevent accidents in logistics.
*Yellow Card
Document describing what to do if an accident occurs during transportation,
as established by the Logistics Safety Management Policy of the Japan
Chemical Industry Association. The document is called a Yellow Card
because it is printed on yellow paper.

Lightweight metal box pallet

Folded pallets after use

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

24

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Human Rights/CSR Procurement
Upholding Positive Working Environments by Protecting Human Rights
and Prohibiting Discrimination
Becoming a Signatory to the United Nations Global Compact andParticipating in Subcommittee Activities
CSR Procurement

P. 24
P. 25
P. 26

Upholding Positive Working Environments by Protecting
Human Rights and Prohibiting Discrimination
In August 2019, we established the Zeon Group Human Rights Policy, which sets forth respect for human rights andprohibits discrimination, and are striving to create a mutually accepting company that does not tolerate discrimination
based on gender, age, nationality, or other attribute and understands diverse values.
Zeon Group Human Rights Policy (Established on August 1, 2019)We, the Zeon Group, are committed to fulfilling our corporate social responsibilities in respect of human rights andcontributing to realizing a sustainable society, based on international codes of conduct on human rights, such as
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labor Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental
Principles and Rights in Labor, and the UN Global Compact.
Respect for Human Rights
We will not tolerate acts of discrimination orharassment based on age, gender, place of origin,ancestry, nationality, disability, religion, creed, marital
status, employment status, union participation, politicalviews and other differences. We also will not toleratechild labor, forced labor or/nor unjustly low wage labor.
Collaboration with Stakeholders
We will encourage our customers and business
partners to support this policy with us to pursue
business activities sharing respect for human rights.
Prevention and Mitigation of Human Rights Violations
We will strive to perceive, avoid and reduce any
negative impact on human rights that might result fromour business activities.
The Zeon Group considers respect for human rights as oneof the important foundations of sustainability management
and, from FY 2021, has commenced fully-fledged initiatives
to ensure the human rights of all persons who are affected byits business activities are respected. Relevant departments at
Zeon began by formulating a human rights risk map from an
overall picture of business operations, to identify the humanrights risks arising in the course of our business.
From FY 2022, we have held human rights seminars
for management and relevant departments to instill theimportance of respecting human rights within the company.
We have also commenced due diligence on human rights
while availing of advisory services provided by outside

Response to Human Rights Violations
We will work on the relief through appropriate
procedures when it is found that we have caused or
furthered a negative impact on human rights.
Efforts on Human Rights Issues
We will provide appropriate education and training toour executives and employees, so that this policy isunderstood and implemented.
Disclosure of Information
We will publicly disclose information on ourhuman rights initiatives under this policy throughcommunication channels such as our website andcorporate reports.

experts. Specifically, we have created the three categories
of Zeon Corporation, Zeon Group companies, and Supply
Chain, with each of these used to identify the discrete setof agendas within these categories for the prevention andmitigation of negative impacts on human rights and areundertaking initiatives to address these. We will meanwhiletake active steps to publicly disclose and make available thedetails of these initiatives via various reports.
In addition, we aim to establish a comprehensive
mechanism for complaint processing, which will address
specific negative impacts, and are undertaking initiatives
to extend the scope of this mechanism to encompass our
supply chain by the end of FY 2022.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

25

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

FY 2023 Initiatives
Zeon Corporation“Human rights issues in advertising” and “namelesshuman rights” have been added to the 25 risk categories
for human rights listed in the document “Company
obligations to respond to ‘Business and Human Rights,’”
published by the Ministry of Justice’s Human Rights
Bureau. We have singled out 21 of these risks as highpriority from the total of 27 risk categories, designating
the departments which will be tasked with formulating
the topics to be addressed, and working to reduce thehuman rights risks for respective categories of risk.
Zeon Group Companies
Due to the differences in both size and businesscategory of Zeon Group companies, each will be
responsible for formulating topics and engaging with theparticular human rights risks by company. In FY 2022,
we are planning to select the topics of human rights risks
at respective Zeon Group companies in Japan; while in
FY 2023, we plan to select topics for companies outside
Japan.
Supply Chain
For our supply chain, Zeon conducts CSR surveys ofsuppliers utilizing the Global Compact Network Japan’sCommon SAQ (CSR Procurement Self-Assessment
Questionnaire). While this survey has been fully
operational since FY 2019, in FY 2021 Zeon expanded its
scope to cover not only the raw materials, logistics, andmaterials of FY 2019, but also raw materials purchased
independently by departments. We conducted a surveyof a total of 262 of our suppliers after identifying thosewith operations which can be assumed to involve highrisks for human rights, etc. in addition to those in the top
80% or higher by trading amounts in each division.
We responded to those suppliers who answered thesurvey in the form of a feedback sheet, with 16 suppliers
singled out based on their percentage marks having been
especially high or low, or as suppliers which handle highrisk materials in the upstream of the supply chain, andthose selected subsequently visited or interviewed online
for feedback.
As part of these feedback interviews, Zeon confirms
the strategies, policies, and approaches in the CSR
activities of our suppliers, in addition to checking on thestatus of CSR initiatives in the domains of environment,
safety, human rights, labor, and contributions to local
communities. We then request that suppliers undertake
initiatives to facilitate further ongoing improvements inthese areas. Furthermore, we ask that those suppliers
which have implemented CSR procurement assessments
submit written agreements regarding our approaches
to CSR procurement such as our Human Rights Policy,
and “Requests to Suppliers” in our CSR Procurement
Guidelines, thereby expanding our approaches toencompass upstream suppliers.
In FY 2022, we plan to continue efforts to further
enhance CSR in the Zeon Group supply chain, while
conducting deliberations on the implementation ofcommon SAQ for the supply chains of Group companies.

Becoming a Signatory to the United Nations Global Compact
and Participating in Subcommittee Activities
In June 2019, we became a signatory to the United
Nations Global Compact, and in FY 2022 a total of 21
Zeon employees participated in 13 of Global Compact
Network Japan’s subcommittees, and in related activities.
Participating in the activities of the United Nations Global
Compact and following its Ten Principles serves as thefoundation of the Zeon Group’s 2030 Vision of being “acompany that lives up to societal expectations and theaspirations of employees,” and it clearly enunciates toour stakeholders our basic stance on human rights, labor
practices, the environment, and preventing corruption in
our company activities. We also believe this will advance
our CSR management based on world standards.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

26

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

CSR Procurement
In order to provide safe and reliable products, we procure raw materials based on the Zeon CSR Policy and the CSR
Code of Conduct.

Procurement Policies
Policies related to procurement are as follows.
We have been developing initiatives for CSR-based
procurement since FY 2012. We have established the
CSR Procurement Guidelines and Requests to Suppliers,
which integrate CSR perspectives into our existing QCD*.
*QCD
System of production management that controls and improves quality, cost,and delivery.

CSR Procurement Guidelines
1. CSR procurement
We will promote procurement activities that are basedon our CSR Policy.
2. ‌Procurement of optimal raw materials, products,
and services
We will work to procure optimal raw materials, products,
and services that meet our standards for quality,
cost, delivery time, supply stability, and technologicaldevelopment capabilities in order to provide better
products.
3. Consideration of the global environment
We will work to procure raw materials and products thathave less impact on the global environment.
4. Open approach to purchasing and partnerships
We will use a global perspective to search for suppliers
from across the world, build partnerships throughdialogue, and work to create fair and equitable business
opportunities.

Requests to Suppliers
We kindly ask that our suppliers:
1. ‌Follow corporate ethics and thoroughly implement
compliance.
2. ‌Respect human rights and give consideration to
workplace environments.
3. ‌Give consideration to the environment, and provide
safe raw materials, products, and services.
4. ‌Provide raw materials, products, and services withcompetitive quality and pricing, and abide by agreed
delivery dates.
5. ‌Actively provide information during the creation ofpartnerships. Also, implement strict management of
information disclosed by Zeon during our transactions.
We will implement the same strict management.

Approach to Conflict Minerals and Initiatives
Regarding conflict minerals as well, we will conduct
initiatives to meet society’s expectations based on the
aforementioned procurement policies.
When we surveyed our suppliers from whom we procure
raw materials with their cooperation, we confirmed thatthey do not use substances applicable to conflict minerals.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

27

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Human Resources
Basic Approach and Policies
Initiatives to Achieve Our Targets for 2030
Diverse Human Resources
Health and Productivity Management Promotion
Reformation of the Personnel System
Organizational and Human Resources Development

P. 27
P. 28
P. 30
P. 32
P. 36
P. 37

Basic Approach and Policies
Vision for the Human Resources Strategy

Work Together to Create “Stages” to Be Active On

In the current Medium-Term Business Plan
(implementation of which began in FY 2021), we
adopted a human resources strategy of “Work
together to create ‘stages’ to be active on” as a groupwide strategy, with the aim of realizing our Vision for2030, which is to “a company that lives up to societal
expectations and the aspirations of employees.”
The foundation for our human resources strategy is
a commitment to “realize freedom and well-being for
all employees,” which includes Health and Productivity
Management based on awareness of the fact that
“employees and their family members are our company’s
most indispensable asset,” and creating a working
environment in which each individual employee can fulfill
their potential.
By implementing this human resources strategy,
Zeon’s aim is to provide employees with more life
choices and enable employees to grow together with thecompany.

What Zeon aims to achieve in terms of “stages” is tohelp realize freedom (in the sense of having more life
choices) and well-being (meaning not only physical andmental health, but also feeling integrated in society andhaving a satisfying life) for all employees, so that we
become a company where diverse individuals are able todemonstrate their strengths.
The figure below shows the Freedom and Well-being
aspects of our human resources strategy in visual form.
The state of Freedom means using a variety of initiatives
and projects to enable employees to choose among a“greater variety of life choices.” For example, if there
are employees who would like to contribute to society
through volunteering, we will put in place the systems
and corporate culture required for these employees to beable to volunteer, and will provide the resources needed
to make it easier for them to take time off work. In thisway, we will achieve employee Well-being, and we will
be able to use our human resources strategy to support
Zeon’s commitment to “Let’s Try First,” “Let’s Connect,”and “Let’s Polish Up.”

Group-wide strategy and targets for 2030
Group-wide strategy

Provide agreater varietyof life choices

Targets for 2030
Employeeengagement

75%

Ratio of foreign-nationaland female directors
Work together tocreate “stages” tobe active on

30%

Overview of the human resources strategy
Support for medical check-ups
and vaccinations

Support for childcare andnursing care

Cafeteria plan
Working styles unconstrainedby time or location
Open recruitment projects

Well-being

Career design
Recurrent education

Support for workplace dialogue
and associations
Side job
Volunteering

FreedomStrengthening DI&B

Strengthen engagement

A circumstance providing
a greater variety of life choices

Health and Productivity Management
Employees= Foundation for “Stages”

CompanySUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

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Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Initiatives to Achieve Our Targets for 2030
Enhancing Engagement through Employee
Engagement Surveys

Women’s Participation and Advancement in
the Workplace

At Zeon, we utilize employee engagement indicators
derived from employee engagement surveys as means
to gauge the results achieved for the “stages” and theircurrent statuses. We thus aim to raise the employee
engagement rate to 75%—the average value for highperforming enterprises worldwide—by 2030. The
employee engagement surveys that we use are global
surveys, which allow us to perform benchmarking
against the average values for high-performing global
and Japanese corporations. Whereas in the past thevarious issues affecting each organization could only be
determined subjectively, we are now able to clarify theseissues using data.
Survey implementation began in FY 2021, with thelatest survey results showing an engagement rate of
48%. We hold workshops for organizational heads andare endeavoring to improve engagement to support
the drafting, implementation, and entrenchment of
improvement plans for organizational challenges
identified from the survey. We are actively aiming to build
even better “stages” to achieve our targets for 2030.

In the context of an ongoing decline in the working
population due to low birth rates and an aging
population, the promotion of participation andadvancement by women in the workplace is essential to
Zeon’s continued achievement of sustainable growth.
There has been an increase in the number of female
employees either holding or capable of holding thepositions of department manager or section manager,
and we are striving to expand the opportunities forfemale employees to be increasingly active in suchroles. As of March 31, 2022, 12.7% of our company’s
employees, and 5.3% of managers, were female. We
aim to increase the percentage of female employees toaround 20%, and that of female managers to around20%, by 2030.
To build an environment conducive to the participation
and advancement of women, and cultivate the abilityof female employees to manage their own careerdevelopment, we dispatch employees to participate in
J-Win* activities annually. In FY 2021, as part of these
activities, we participated in the Management in the Ageof Diversity subcommittee as well as the Becoming a
Global Gender Gap Index World-Leader subcommitteesof J-Win. Each participating Zeon employee is fostering
a leadership-oriented mindset, playing various roles
such as sub-leaders, members of overseas training
committees, or in managing overseas training programs.
We will continue to actively recruit, train, and appoint
women in our efforts to increase the number of female
employees capable of playing a central role in managerial
decision-making in the future.

Processes for the enhancement of employee
engagement

Conduct
surveysConduct
follow-up

Enhanceemployeeengagement

Draft and
implement
action plans

Share
key issues*Japan Women’s Innovative Network: An organization with corporate
membership established in April 2007 by an NPO, with the aim ofsupporting the promotion and entrenchment of diversity management atcompanies.

Female manager ratio and number of female managers(non-consolidated)
(No.)

(%)

30

30

26
25

25

Target for 2030

20%

20
18

20

15

20

15

14

15

10

5

0

10

3.6%

3.6%

4.3%

4.5%

5.3%

March 2018 March 2019 March 2020 March 2021 March 2022 March 2030
Total no. of female managers

Female manager ratio

50SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

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Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Zeon Corporation’s General Employer Action Plan(based on the Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace)
We have established the following action plan to create employment conditions that allow women to continue
working and be promoted to managerial positions.
1. Plan implementation period
2. Zeon Corporation’s issue

April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026

We want to increase the number of female employees.

3. Goals and initiatives, and implementation time-frame
Target 1:	Increasing the percentage of new recruits (specifically, new employees who have just finisheduniversity or graduate school) who are women to at least 50% for administrative positions andat least 30% for technical positions
Starting in FY 2021, we will be implementing manager cultivation training for employees who are
candidates for management positions, and we will be expanding and continuing the support that
we provide for self-development, including career development awareness raising.
Target 2:

Raising the percentage of female managers to at least 6%
Starting in FY 2021, we will be implementing manager cultivation training for employees who are
candidates for management positions, and we will be expanding and continuing the support that
we provide for self-development, including career development awareness raising.

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Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Diverse Human Resources
Intensification of D&I into DI&B
DI&B stands for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging. As
part of efforts to further intensify our promotion of D&I,
we have developed initiatives to incorporate the essential
element of Belonging (the ability to be oneself within an
organization, accompanied by a sense of security andtrust). We encourage our diverse workforce to exercise
their abilities and express their personalities in their own
ways, thereby invigorating our organizational culture, andencouraging the exercise of autonomous leadership.
Zeon have established a dedicated department, theDI&B Promotion Office within the Human Resources
Division, while also launching promotional projects withproposals solicited internally to help entrench DI&B in
our organizational culture. Members of various ages,
genders, and nationalities recruited by means of wideranging calls are distributed across various teams, where
they are working to put into action “What we want to do

to establish a culture of DI&B at Zeon.”
The Career and Organizational Consultation Service
and mentoring system, which are among the initiatives
based on employees helping each other out, areintended to foster autonomy and a Better Together
ethos. Undertakings born of the spirit of “Let’s Try
First” of the members have come to fruition in quick
succession and are now yielding outcomes. These
include the Story-telling Circle, which offers a platform
for persons experiencing the same issues, or who are insimilar situations—such as those raising children or midcareer hires—the opportunity to talk to each other; andthe Idea Proposal Games, aimed at building relationships
by providing participants with the opportunity to talk toeach other sincerely and openly.
We hope to continue to expand on these initiatives,
whereby employees naturally take on leadership roles andproactively help one another to grow, to ensure that they
will continue to cycle across generations and localities.

DI&B at Zeon
Aiming to be an organization where diverse human resources accept each other and work together as a single whole

Diversity

Inclusion

A coming together of diverse
human resources

A coming together of human resources whichfunction in a mutually complementary mannerD&

DI & B
Making effective
use of diversity,and being able to workwith peace of mind
and a feeling of trustthat one is accepted

I

Belonging
A feeling of security derived from being accepted

Number of new hires (non-consolidated)(No.)

Hiring of Recent Graduates and Career/
Mid-career Candidates
In FY 2022, we hired 98 new employees (senior highschool/technical college/university graduates). The
percentage of females among university graduates andabove will be 50% in administrative positions and 28.6%
in technical positions. Meanwhile, 95 career and midcareer candidates were hired in FY 2021. These figures
represent hiring on an unprecedented scale both forrecent graduates and career and mid-career candidates.
We will continue to hire diverse human resources, whohave varied ideas and sensibilities, toward securing thehuman resources we will need to support the expansionof our business and the creation of innovation.

141

150

125

95

100

67

75

56
50

98

41

40
26

27

2018

2019

47

25

0

Recent graduates

2020

2021

Mid-career hires

2022 forecast (FY)SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

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Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Promoting Employment of People with
Disabilities
We are promoting the employment of people withdisabilities while exercising the utmost care regarding
safety, at our laboratories and plants which handle
hazardous materials and use rotating and other industrial
equipment to manufacture chemicals.
We are also actively providing Decent Work (rewarding
and humane work) opportunities, including the
opening in October 2020 of Zeon Farm, a facility for theemployment of people with disabilities, in Kashiwa City,
Chiba Prefecture, and the opening in September 2022
of Zeon Farm Tokuyama, in Shunan City, Yamaguchi
Prefecture.
Vegetables harvested from Zeon Farms aretransported to Head Office and plants or donatedto “kodomo-shokudo” cafeterias for children, thus
contributing to health and productivity management
as well as community outreach activities. At Zeon Farm
Tokuyama, people with disabilities are at the center ofcooperative activities to cultivate vegetables to enablesimilar initiatives.

Participation and Advancement of
Foreign-national Employees
As we expand our business globally, it is of the utmost
importance that an active role is played not just by
Japanese employees but also by employees of othernationalities.
Working in various departments serves to help not
only non-Japanese employees but also the Japanesecolleagues working alongside them to grow, while also
promoting respect for diverse values and invigorating ourorganization as a whole.
Zeon has continuously pursued the recruitment of amultinational workforce, including hires from overseas,
irrespective of nationality, for some time and, as of March
2022, has 28 foreign-national employees, an increase on
past numbers. Of these 28 employees, three are active inmanagerial roles.
We will continue to pursue a policy of increasing thenumber of foreign-national employees capable of playing
a central role in managerial decision-making into the
future.
Number of foreign-national employees (non-consolidated)
(No.)

35
30

28

25
20

17

24

23

March
2020

March
2021

19

15
10
5
0
At Zeon Farm Tokuyama

(%)

2.72

2.5
2.0

2.07

2.29

2.41

2.01
Legal requirement: 2.3%

1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0

June
2018

June
2019

June
2020

June
2021

March
2019

March
2022

Globally Active Employees

Percentage of Employees with Disabilities
3.0

March
2018

June
2022

At Zeon, employees stationed overseas are active
in regions throughout the globe. As of March 2022,
49 employees were stationed outside Japan, and arepromoting our overseas business, with an emphasison those in Asian countries, but also in North America,
Europe, and other regions.
In addition to offering our support to employees
stationed outside Japan to ensure that they can live andwork in safety, we aim to clarify the roles and duties
required of each of these employees, as well as providing
visions for their careers with an eye to their growth. We
will also actively undertake the creation of environments
which allow employees to rise to challenges withconfidence. This will include canvassing and providingthem with opportunities to volunteer their opinions andwishes.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

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Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Health and Productivity Management Promotion
Vision for Health and Productivity Management
In October 2021, Zeon enacted the Declaration for
Health and Productivity Management and Code of
Conduct for Well-being. We aim to realize a company
which continues to contribute to a “Sustainable Earth”
and “Safe and Comfortable Lives for People,” where every
employee of the ZEON Group fulfills their potential andplays an active and vibrant role at both the company andin society through health and productivity management.
This means that health and productivity management

represents the “foundations to the stages” for all
employees to realize Well-being and Freedom.
Well-being: Satisfaction and contentment with one’s
life, not limited to mental and physicalconcerns but also in social aspects
Freedom: Having a greater variety of choices in one’slife

Declaration for Health and Productivity Management(October 2021)

Code of Conduct for Well-being:“What I need to do to be happy”

Our corporate philosophy is “Contributing to thepreservation of the Earth and the prosperity of thehuman race”. This mission will be accomplished byeach and every employee of ZEON Group fulfilling his
or her potential and playing an active and vibrant rolein the company and in the society.
In order for us to continue contributing to a
“Sustainable Earth” and a “Safe and Comfortable Livesfor People”, we will create a work environment where
employees can work cheerfully and vigorously andlead healthy lives, both physically and mentally, with
their families and colleagues.

• I will be conscious of and proactively work to ensurethat I am healthy, happy and empowered in my work
• I will establish the status of my health by means ofregular checkups and avail of appropriate feedback
and guidance• I will ask myself if I am sleeping and eating well andmaintain awareness of my daily routines, noticing
any changes in my condition as soon as possible, andengaging in self-care routines• I will give due attention to the environment whichsurrounds me, and make daily improvements tomake it safer and more comfortable• I will understand the resources available around me
that will support me in times of emergency

Health and productivity management targets and key issues/policies

Company initiatives

Priority challenges

Improve health literacy

Reduced risk of employees
developing lifestyle diseases

Health events
Health monitoring and measurement,
regular health checkups, etc.
Improvements to working
environments (workstyle reform)
Support for fulfilling work and lifestyles
Operate systems/health and welfare

Reduction in presenteeism*
and absenteeism*
Enhanced engagement metrics

Achievement of work-life balance*Presenteeism: Productivity lost due to employees coming to work despite being unwell
Absenteeism: Productivity lost due to employees being absent for reasons of illness

Goal

Each and every
employee of
ZEON Group will fulfill
his or her potential
and play an active andvibrant role in thecompany andin society

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

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Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Health and Productivity Management Promotion Framework
undertakings.
We will actively promote health and productivity
management in cooperation with the organizational
units responsible for personnel, the health insurance
association, the labor union, health management offices,and others, while further strengthening the promotion
system going forward.

The President and CEO is positioned as the person
in charge of health and productivity management. The
Health and Productivity Management Promotional
Committee is chaired by the director in charge of humanresources. The Committee both deliberates on measuresand makes decisions on health and productivity
management and arranges lectures by experts toinstill the latest know-how on the field, among similar

Person in charge ofhealth and productivity
management: President
Person in charge of promoting health andproductivity management: Director in charge of HR
Host

Health and Productivity
Management Promotional
Committee
Zeon Corporationlabor union

Deploy measures

Labor union branch
executives

Report/feedback

Personnel divisions
Health and safetycommittees

DeploymeasuresReport/feedback

Workplaces
Respective worksites

Share and provide information

Zeon Corporation healthinsurance association
Cooperation

Health management
offices

Group company meetingsof persons in charge of HR

Respective Group
company worksites

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

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Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Specific Initiatives to Realize Well-being and Freedom
Physical and mental health initiatives●Mental health training
Line Care Training for worksite managers and supervisors
and Self-Care Training for all employees are held annually, with participant levels of comprehension and satisfaction checked following attendance.
●Training on key women’s health issues
Toward our goal of creating more inclusive and supportive workplaces for women, we newly conductede-learning training aimed at female employees, as well as
for worksite managers and supervisors.
●Use of health support app
We introduced a health support app, with a lineup of 16
menus for health support to aid employees in maintaining
healthy routines. We held an event incorporating the app,which is helping employees to establish exercise routines.
●Health checkups and stress checks
For regular health checkups, follow up consultations andhealth guidance for persons who require guidance withindustrial physicians and nurses is implemented. We also
implement annual stress checks in July, with feedback
provided to managers in high-stress workplaces, andefforts undertaken to improve workplace environments.
●Initiatives by worksite
We implement measures to promote health tailored tothe specific issues and needs of respective worksites,
including walking events, physical fitness measurements,
and the adoption of menus with healthy food options at
cafeterias, as well as the holding of seminars to improvehealth literacy.
Flexible workstyles initiatives
We are promoting the maintenance of “environments
to facilitate flexible workstyles unconstrained by timeand place,” which includes the extension of teleworking
and the introduction of a flex-time system, as well as bymaking it possible to take annual paid leave in hourly
increments, as means to encourage the realization of
Well-being for each and every employee.
●Office overhaul
Prompted by the increased permeation of teleworking,we reviewed the role of the office, defining it as “a confluence point for communication to collaborate and cocreate as well as for education.” By employing a unilateral
open-plan layout encompassing all organizational units
and departments, as well as by introducing state-ofthe-art ICT infrastructure to facilitate flexible workstyles,
Head Office has transformed itself into a stage on which
all employees can be active.
●Deregulation of dress codes
At Head Office, we have deregulated dress codes withthe aim of creating a workplace environment where eachand every employee can freely express their own ideas
and conduct themselves with autonomy.

Office scene showing the office overhaul andderegulated dress codes●Eliminate postings of employees at locations remotefrom their families
Head Office is working to eliminate postings of employees at locations remote from their families through the
deployment of teleworking.
Initiatives for comfortable and fulfilling lifestyles●Adoption of a new health and welfare service:
Zeon Cafeteria Plan
We have introduced the Zeon Cafeteria Plan, a system whichallows employees to make their own choices from a menu of
options to support the “peace of mind” and “career development,” as well as options to help them “connect/co-create.”
It can be used for various purposes, including health promotion, encompassing comprehensive physical examinations
and fitness clubs; support for childcare and nursing care, including babysitting and daycare services; self-development
activities, for example correspondence courses and language
study; and to avail of facilities for overnight stays.
●Establishment of Childcare Leave Consultation Service
We have established the Childcare Leave Consultation
Service as part of our efforts to improve understanding of
the systems for childcare leave and to create an environment conducive to availing of this leave, while supporting
the taking of childcare leave as well as offering support tothose returning to work.
●Establishment of Nursing Care Leave Consultation Service
As a company, we are building systems to allow employees to balance the obligations of their jobs and for nursing
care, establishing the external Nursing Care Leave Consultation Service to help create an environment in which
each and every employee can work in peace of mind. The
service allows users to consult with nursing care specialists by email or over the phone at any time, and as often
as they choose, in relation to issues or concerns they may
have about nursing care. The service is being actively used
as a safety net for consultation on nursing care.
●Establishment of support leave
Toward the consolidation of an environment in which
they can work in peace of mind, we have made it
possible for employees to avail of paid support leave inthe event that they are unable to work due to personal
injury or illness, or other unforeseen situations such as
closure of schools of their children after they have taken
all of their allocated annual paid leave for the year.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

35

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

List of Well-being and Freedom Initiatives and Systems
We are implementing ongoing initiatives to build more
inclusive and supportive working environments. These
include reducing overtime work and developing systems

to support childbirth, childcare, and family care needs tooffer more flexible workstyle options.

List of Well-being and Freedom initiatives and systems
Workstyles
unconstrained by timeand place★Flex-time system, ★teleworking system, ★overhaul of Head Office, ★deregulation of Head Officedress code, encouraging the taking of special leave, half-day holidays, ★taking of annual paid leavein hourly increments (some worksites), instituted days with no overtime, ★elimination of postings of
employees at locations remote from their families (some worksites)

Maternity/childcare
support systems

Maternity leave before and after birth, ★childcare leave and childcare leave at birth (up to fivedays paid leave) system, ★childbirth leave for spouses (for male employees), leave to care for sickchildren, half-day leave, shortened working hours system, limits on overtime work, exemptions fromlate night work, child nursing time, childcare/caregiver leave financial support system, childbirth
cash payments, dependents allowance, tuition allowance, ★support leave, flex-time system with nodefined core times, ★cafeteria plan, drafting of guidelines for taking childcare leave

Nursing care support
systems

Nursing care leave, caregiving leave system, consultation service for nursing care, ★cafeteria plan

Support for healthimprovement

Regular health checkups, stress checks, ★employee engagement surveys, physical fitness
measurements, mental health training, ★training on key women’s health issues, issuance of healthnews, ★use of health support app, ★holding of events to support health, ★cafeteria plan,★COVID-19 (some worksites)/influenza workplace vaccination program

Asset accumulation

Employee savings scheme, employee stock ownership scheme (with financial
incentives), defined-contribution (DC) corporate pensions, matching contributions system

Housing assistance

Housing assistance system (dormitory accommodation and company housing, rent subsidy system,
home ownership allowance, home rental for transferred employees)

Systems for holidays
and absences

Annual paid leave (up to 22 days granted/10 days granted on joining company), ★support leavesystem (up to 40 days granted/16 days granted on joining company), menstrual leave, childbirthleave, job transfer leave, relocation leave, public-service leave (for jury duty), disaster leave,quarantine and infectious disease leave, paid leave for family births, marriages or bereavement,★childbirth leave for spouses, “My Life” leave (on reaching the age of 50), leave to care for sickchildren, nursing care leave, volunteering leave, leave for hospital visits by expectant mothers,“Refresh” leave (for senior employees)

Self-help

Disaster assistance, group medical insurance, compensation for absences from work (Zeon healthinsurance cooperative association), optional group insurance, group medical insurance, ★GLTD
system★ : Initiatives expanded during the period of the Medium-Term Business Plan (FY 2021–FY 2022)

Labor Agreements and Communication between Labor and Management
Joint Declaration by Labor and Management Aimed at
the Growth of the Company
1. W e will make mutual understanding and trust thecornerstone of all management-labor relations
2. We will perform our respective roles to strengthen
company infrastructure and build a company of which
we can be proud
3. We will mutually strive to improve and promote ourcorporate culture as good partners

Zeon Corporation and its labor union have concluded
a labor agreement for the purposes of maintaining
peaceful relations between the two parties andcooperating for the healthy growth of the company
and to maintain and improve working conditions forunion members. This agreement stipulates rules forunion activities, labor-management negotiations, andcomplaint processing, as well as working conditions suchas wages and job hours.
We have also issued the Joint Declaration by Laborand Management Aimed at the Growth of the Company,
based on the common understanding that both thecompany and the labor union must cooperate andactively strive to mobilize the abilities of everyone inZeon Group to achieve initiatives for company growth.
Numerous opportunities for exchanging opinions havebeen set up, including consultations between labor andmanagement, RC dialog, and joint labor-management
patrols, as well as round-table meetings, which are now
a permanent part of the labor-management dialog.
Consultations between labor and management provide
ample opportunity for forthright discussion. Both sides
participate with a forward-looking attitude and a spirit offriendly rivalry based on mutual trust.
Going forward, we intend to actively provide
opportunities for dialog with the labor union and to
implement various policies to make Zeon a “companyof which each of its employees can be proud” through abeneficial partnership between labor and management
based on mutual respect for each other’s positions.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

36

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Reformation of the Personnel System
Overview of Personnel System Reform
Personnel System Reform Flow
April 2022

FY 2023

FY 2024 onwards

Introduction of the new personnel
system for senior employees

Reformation of the personnel systemfor executive employees (managers
and specialists) (planned)

Reformation of the personnel
system for non-executive
employees (planned)

Implementation of a framework for “providing a clear picture of the future in the case of personnel transfers”
Other framework building for promoting employee growth and career development

Under the Medium-Term Business Plan, three majorrevisions to the personnel system are planned. The firststep involved the launch of a personnel system for senior
employees from April 1, 2022. 140 employees (including
those on temporary assignments at Group companies)
had been signed up to the personnel system for senior
employees as of its introduction, and are currently active
on several stages, including overseas assignments. The
concept behind the revised system is to “create a stage(workplace) where employees who have entered or areabout to enter their senior years can build their own
stages to be active on for longer than had previously
been possible, as we enter the era of lifespans of 100
years and over.”The adoption of this system will provide a framework
for rehiring up to the age of 70, as well as increasing
the variety of life options and providing environments
in which employees can work in peace of mind. It willachieve this through the provision of attractive benefits
and flexible workstyles, including part-time work andside work, as a response to the desire of seniors toremain active and take on challenges even after the
mandatory retirement age.

We are planning to revise our personnel system
for managerial staff in FY 2023. Under our new
personnel system, we have clarified roles and humanresources requirements. By aiming to make these moretransparent, we are enhancing the degree of integration
between organizational goals and personal goals. Making
evaluations and compensation easier to understand willfurthermore improve career path visualization and leadto improved employee engagement.
In this way, we can encourage personal growthand career development among non-managerial role
employees, who in the past would have found it difficult
to visualize their career path. We are creating “stages”
whereby, besides contributing toward the realization of
the company’s management strategy, these employees
can also hone their own capabilities.
In addition, we are proceeding with the putting inplace of a system for “providing a clear picture of the
future in the case of personnel transfers.”
More specifically, besides the use of digital technology
to build the foundations needed for effective humanresources management, we are implementing measures
to offer opportunities to discuss individual career plan,
provide transferred personnel with mission sheets, andmake effective use of our in-house job posting system.

Overview of the personnel system for senior employees
Rehire period

Extended to 70 years old

Course categories

Reorganized course categories to better reflect roles anddemonstrated and refined abilities

Rewards and benefits• Attractive rewards and benefits aligned to roles and abilities• “Meister” title newly establishedWorkstyles/health andwelfare• Possible to choose between full-time or part-time work
• Permission to work side jobs under certain conditions• Adoption of support leave

Training

Further strengthening of training on “Thinking about the 20
years to come” during service years

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

37

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Organizational and Human Resources Development
HR development at Zeon

Basic Philosophy on Human Resources andVision of “The Worker I want to Be”

Performancebased reward
The worker
I want to be

Basic Philosophy on Human Resources
Tap into, develop, and fully use the competencies ofeach employee.

Education & Training System

Rank

We implement basic education to nurture humanresources at Zeon with a focus on building a cooperationoriented attitude and acquiring standard knowledge.
We also provide specialized rank-specific education
including that intended to develop and improve thework competencies needed in specific occupations andevaluation training, and on-the-job training (OJT) conducted
at worksites aimed at enhancing the skills of evaluators.
Educational grants for correspondence courses areoffered as part of support for self-development. These
grants cover 100% of tuition fees provided students satisfy
the completion requirements for each subject.

Rank-based
education

Strategicplanning
ability

Organizationaltransformation

Goal setting
ability

Supporting
team member
growthGoalachievement
ability

Problem
identification
ability

Education for generalprofessional abilities,
professional abilities, andtransferring technical knowledge

Selfimprovement
support
Online educationalcourses
Support for
obtaining
qualifications
TOEIC

DI&B promotion
1 on 1 career
training
Harassment
prevention
training, etc.

Other
Ｚ
Σ
basicsMonozukuri

Problemsolving ability

Selected
dispatcheducation

Enhancement of professional
skillsEnvironmental and safety affairs / Quality /Intellectual property / Manufacturing
R&D / Sales / Administration, etc.

Newlyrecruitedemployees

Framework for Nurturing Human Resources

MBA Dispatch / Language study /Overseas study
Business school dispatch

Leaders

Positionbased
education

Education &training

Actions &results

Improvement of management skills

Personnel evaluation ability

Deputymanagers

Sustainability / Compliance / Information management

Managers

Basiceducation

Education &training

Evaluation

Zeon’s concept of “being the worker I want to be”
embodies “people who continually evolve by pursuinghigh goals based on independent thinking.” Personnel
are encouraged to set goals to become the worker
they want to be, and we are modifying our educationand training systems to allow them to bridge the gap
between the current reality and their goals and facilitate
goal-driven actions on a daily basis. By fairly evaluating
what employees have accomplished and rewarding
them accordingly, we aim for them to set even higher
goals. With every personnel continuing to improve anddemonstrating this in actions, we can create an evenmore capable workforce across Zeon.

Enforcement ofZeon Sustainability
PolicyThe worker
I want to be(higher goals)

DX education, etc.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

38

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Award System (Zeon Challenge Award)
The Zeon Challenge Awards are presented annually toindividuals or groups who have engaged with a challenge
and produced results. The prizes given for the President’sAward and other rewards are commensurate with thelevels of these achievements. Alongside the Employeeof the Month award, which is presented on a monthly
basis to individual employees by division managers, theZeon Challenge Award is intended to provide a stage tobe active on, and caters to challenges undertaken at theinitiative of employees themselves.

Number of Annual Awards(Awards)

20
16
12

13
2

1

8
4
0

11
1

15
2
1

10

9

2017

2018

President’s

15
1

1

1
1

12

12

2019

2020

Outstanding

Special

1

17

1

15

2021
DivisionFYSUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

39

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Occupational Health and Safety
Occupational Safety

P.39

Safety and Accident Prevention

P.40

Occupational Safety
Initiatives to Prevent Occupational Accidents andProtect the Safety and Health of All Plant Workers
We emphasize communication between worksite
managers and workers to enhance worksite capabilities
while implementing measures to prevent infections
with COVID-19, with the goal of creating safe, stableproduction systems. We focus on 5S safety inspections*1,
hazard detection*2 activities, and identifying near-missincidents*3, as well as hands-on safety training.
*1 5S safety inspections
Inspections that evaluate operations where safety is an integral part ofmaintaining the 5Ss (Sort, Straighten, Scrub, Systematize, Sustain), and thatare designed to enhance visualization of safety-related issues at worksites
and address hazards.
*2 Hazard detection (“Kiken Yochi” [KY] activities)
Actions taken by workers to analyze and understand unsafe conditions withthe aim of recognizing activities that would place them in danger.
*3 Near-miss incidents
Events or phenomena that have the potential to result in an accident.

Record of Occupational Accidents
Lost Work Time Accident Rate* (Zeon Corporation)
Frequency rate

5S Safety Inspections
5S safety inspections assess operations where safety
is critical to maintaining the 5Ss (Sort, Straighten, Scrub,
Systematize, Sustain).
The Environmental and Safety Affairs Department
General Manager at the Head Office and Managers at
Environmental and Safety Affairs Offices at each worksite
conduct patrols of worksites where the Environmental
and Safety Affairs Committee is held, to identify areas of
excellence and areas where improvements are required(put on hold in FY 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

Hazard Detection (Kiken Yochi) Activities
4R-KY (four-round kiken yochi) activities
4R-KY is a hazard detection method where employees
analyze and understand their work tasks before starting
them, to avoid placing themselves in danger. The process
is carried out in four separate rounds.
KY trainers assigned to each workplace lead these
activities.

1.50
1.25
1.00
0.75

1.02
×
0.94

×
1.20
0.90

×
1.20

×
1.21

0.94

0.93

× 1.31

1.07

0.81
0.50

0.50

0.47

0.25
0
×

0.00

2017

Manufacturing

2018

2019

Specialty Chemicals

0.00

2020

2021

FY

Zeon Corporation*Lost work time accident rate
A safety indicator of the frequency of occupational accidents, calculatedusing the following formula.
Frequency of lost work time accidents = Number of workers who
experienced a lost work time accident / Total working hours × 1,000,000
hours

Identifying Near-miss Incidents
Near-miss incidents are events that have the potential
to result in a major accident, injury or loss. The conceptof near-miss incidents comes from Heinrich’s Law: In a
workplace, for every accident that causes a major injury,
there are 29 accidents that cause minor injuries and
300 accidents that cause no injuries (near misses). By
collecting and sharing data on potentially serious nearmiss incidents, we will strive to prevent the occurrence ofmajor accidents.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

40

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Safety and Accident Prevention
Dialog between Management and Plants
To monitor progress on priority issues, senior
managers at Zeon visit plants on a regular basis toconduct inspections, hold informational meetings withworkers, and brief workers on annual policies. Visits arealso made to plants on other occasions to communicate
directly with plant workers, who are on the front-line of
the company’s operations. While in-person visits were
few in FY 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic, senior managers continued to actively engage
in dialogues with worksites, with visits, including online
meetings, conducted on 32 days of the year.

Safety Management Efforts Led by Top
Management
Each year, top management develops the Annual
Safety Management Improvement Master Plan and leads
initiatives to improve our Safety Management System
based on the belief that ensuring safety is the highest
priority.
We are carrying out the priority initiatives on an
ongoing basis using the following simple guidelines.
1. ‌Reliable operation of equipment and systems toprevent errors (“Never rely on ‘maybe’ or ‘should’”)
2. ‌Plant degradation countermeasures and fail-safe
measures* (“Good judgement saves money”)
3. ‌Review of past accidents and recurrence prevention(“Never rely on ‘maybe’ or ‘should’”)
4. ‌Review of standards (“Always follow the rules. Change
rules that cannot be followed.”)*Fail-safe measures
Modifications to equipment or processes and other measures to prevent
accidents that would otherwise result from human error, such as mistakes
made by new employees and others lacking in knowledge or experience, orcareless mistakes made by experienced employees.

Safety Inspector Certification at All Sites
Certified Safety Inspector*1
Obtained by all plants (Takaoka Plant, Kawasaki Plant,
Tokuyama Plant, and Mizushima Plant)
Certified Completion and Process Safety Inspector*2
Obtained by Kawasaki Plant, Mizushima Plant, andTokuyama Plant
The certification renewal process includes reviews ofsafety inspection and completion inspection methods
as well as inspection management, and verification that
our Safety Management System meets the regulatory
requirements defined in Japan’s High Pressure Gas Safety
Act and that these systems are operating properly.
To more reliably ensure safety at all plants, we employ
our Safety Management System, identify the sources ofhazards, and implement measures to mitigate risks at
all of our plants. We are also formulating our vision for
Smart Industrial Safety*3 and promoting the realizationof this vision.
*1 Certified Safety Inspector
Certification granted by Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
based on the High Pressure Gas Safety Act to allow qualified individuals toperform safety inspections to determine whether specified facilities comply
with technical standards, either while the equipment is running or while it isstopped.
*2 Certified Completion and Process Safety Inspector
Certification granted by Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
based on the High Pressure Gas Safety Act to allow qualified individuals
to perform completion inspections to determine whether manufacturing
facilities or Class 1 storage facilities that have undergone specificmodifications comply with technical standards.
*3 Smart Industrial Safety
Smart Industrial Safety is:
1. An autonomous and independent effort regarding industrial safety by the
public and private sectors,
2. From the perspective of appropriate implementation of industrial
safety regulations, promotion of industries, and strengthening ofcompetitiveness,
3. In order to deal with economic and social structural changes, including
rapid technological innovation, digitalization, low birthrate and aging
population, and population decline,
4. Considering the safety of the citizenry and industry as a priority.

Certification Status
Plant

Obtained Certified
Obtained Certified
Safety Inspector status Completion andProcess Safety
Inspector status

Takaoka Plant 2000 (renewed in 2020)—

Kawasaki Plant 1998 (renewed in 2017) 2008 (renewed in 2017)
Tokuyama Plant 2007 (renewed in 2021) 2012 (renewed in 2021)
Mizushima Plant 2006 (renewed in 2021) 2006 (renewed in 2021)

Improving Plant Safety
We conduct Plant Safety Evaluations and Plant
Safety Inspections to further raise the level of safety atplants and prevent serious accidents and injuries fromoccurring.
Plant Safety Evaluations
We verify plant safety at the design stage whencommissioning a new plant or upgrading an existing one.
Plant Safety Inspections
For existing plants, while inspecting work areas, weensure that all sources of danger have been identified
and review past decisions regarding the need for safetymeasures.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

41

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Occurrences of Accidents and Injuries
FY 2021: Safety incidents* 7(High-pressure gas leaks: 5 [including 3
fluorocarbon leaks]; Hazardous substanceleaks: 1; Emission of fumes: 1)
Although these incidents did not result in injury tohumans, damage to equipment, or major impacts on theenvironment, we set up an accident investigation board
for each incident. The boards have investigated the direct
and indirect causes of the incidents, and are developing
countermeasures to prevent recurrence.
*Safety incidents
Defined in company regulations as the occurrence of a fire, explosion, leak,damage, failure, runaway reaction, or similar event. Even if there has beenno actual occurrence, the possibility of such an event if actions had been
delayed and the observation of signs that could be deemed to indicate thepotential for such an event are also defined as safety incidents.

Disaster Preparedness Training
Worksites conduct disaster-response drills eachyear based on various hypothetical scenarios. The drills
include reporting and contracting simulations, first-aid
treatment, and rescue and firefighting activities. We
conduct full-scale disaster-response drills jointly withlocal firefighting agencies when possible.
These drills allow us to verify that our standards areadequate, and to verify the operability of emergency
equipment (e.g. fire trucks, fire hydrants, broadcasting
equipment, etc.). When we encounter problems, wetake steps to quickly resolve them, so as to maintain thehighest level of disaster-response preparedness.

Third-party Evaluations
Zeon Corporation has participated as a supporting
company (full member) since the initial establishmentof the Japan Safety Competency Center (a specified
nonprofit corporation), and has made efforts to evaluate
and improve its safety competency in terms of its safety
foundation and safety culture. In third-party evaluations,
the Japan Safety Competency Center evaluates Zeon’ssafety foundation. The Keio University format is also
incorporated into the evaluation of the safety culture.
The strengths and weaknesses of each worksite anddepartment are objectively measured, and Zeon
Corporation continues to conduct improvement activities
aimed at improving its safety competency.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

42

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Quality Assurance
Basic Approach and System
Quality Assurance Initiatives

P. 42
P. 42

*For chemical product safety, see Environment (→P. 22)

Basic Approach and System
Quality Assurance Policies

Quality Assurance System

In accordance with our basic philosophy andSustainability Policy, we define our basic policy for quality
assurance as follows.
Basic Policy for Quality Assurance
1. ‌We contribute to society by providing high-quality
products, goods and services with excellent reliability
and safety to the market.
2. ‌We fully understand and predict user demands andprovide products, goods and services that users canuse with satisfaction.
3. ‌In each quality assurance step, we establish aninternal system that can assuredly evaluate highquality products, goods and services with excellent
reliability and safety.
4. ‌We establish technologies that can produce products,
goods and services with the target quality in terms of
reliability and safety.

To consistently manufacture products that reflect theneeds and wants of customers and to ensure productquality, Zeon is advancing integrated quality assurance
activities group-wide, across manufacturing, sales, andengineering functions, by strengthening cooperation
between plants, departments and research units (R&D
Center).
Quality Assurance System
Customers
Customerrequests &requirements

Products &services

Sales(Businessdivisions)
Stableproduction

Product safety
reviews
Product standard
approvals
Product
judgments

Manufacturing(Plants)

Product
planning

Quality
Assurance
Department
Design reviewof planning anddevelopment

Technology
development(Research
center)Production
preparations

Product
designQuality Assurance Initiatives
Targets and Results of Major Quality Assurance Initiatives
Results

Assessment

Timely responses to comComplete responses within aplaints, opinions from custom- single year
ers, etc.

Initiative (topic)

TargetWhile some cases temporarily exceeded a single year, nolong-term delays occurred

Partially Achieved – Achieved

Enhance customer satisfaction Analysis on customer satisfaction and initiatives for improvements

All business divisions conducted analyses on customer
satisfaction through management reviews to determineand engage with topics that
required a response

Achieved

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

43

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Framework Supporting Quality Assurance
To ensure a consistent supply of high-quality
products to our customers, we have put in place various
quality assurance systems in accordance with internal
regulations on quality assurance and conforming to
the ISO 9001:2015 international standard for quality
management systems. In 2010, we consolidated ourISO 9001 certification across the Group, and havemaintained this since then. Zeon Group companies havealso obtained global standard certifications related toquality.
In addition, to prevent quality issues from occurring,
we offer commentaries on actual case studies for issues
that could potentially arise as part of annual e-learningcompliance checks to confirm levels of understanding
for all employees. We are working to ensure that every
employee performs their duties based on an accurate
understanding of quality assurance.
‌Statusof Zeon Group Certifications for International
Quality Standards
Site

ISO
9001
:2015*1

ISO
13485:2016*2

IATF
16949:2016*3

FSSC
22000
v5*4

Japan
Zeon Corporation〇

Zeon Kasei Co., Ltd.

〇*5

Zeon Polymix Inc.

〇

Zeon Opto Bio Lab Co., Ltd.

〇Tokyo Zairyo Co., Ltd.

〇

Tohpe Corporation〇

Zeon North Co., Ltd.

〇

Zeon Chemicals Yonezawa Co., Ltd.

〇

〇

〇

Outside Japan
Zeon Chemicals L.P.

〇

Zeon Chemicals (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

〇

Zeon Advanced Polymix Co., Ltd.

〇

Zeon Chemicals Singapore Pte. Ltd.

〇

Zeon Europe GmbH〇

Zeon Chemicals Asia Co., Ltd.

*6〇

Zeon Kasei (Changshu) Co., Ltd.
Zeon Kasei Mexico S.A. de C.V.

1. Product safety reviews
We strive to ensure product safety in every possible
aspect by conducting product safety reviews (PSRs)
using our own checklists that consider product safety at
every stage of the product lifecycle, from initial productdevelopment through planning, design, manufacturing,sales, use, and disposal.
2. Chemical substance regulatory compliance
The regulatory environment for chemical substancesmanagement is undergoing major change globally, withlaws and regulations on chemical substances being
amended not just in the United States and Europe but
also in Japan and Southeast Asia. As a result, the numberof regulations to comply with is rising sharply. To comply
with these regulations at Zeon, we are creating a databaseof the substances in our raw materials and products, eventhose present in minute quantities, and building a chemical
substances management system capable of continuously
tracking the most up-to-date regulatory information,
safety information, and other relevant information.

Audits
PL Audits
PL audits are audits performed by an auditing teamled by the director in charge of CSR and covering productliability (PL) and product safety. PL audits are conducted
for product liability activities for products of Zeonbusiness divisions spanning all stages of development,
manufacture, use, final consumption, and disposal.

〇

Zeon Medical Inc.

Framework to Achieve Product Safety〇*1 ISO 9001 is the international standard for achieving ongoing
improvements in enhancing customer satisfaction and quality
management systems through product and services quality assurance.
*2 ISO 13485 is the global standard for quality management systems in thefield of medical devices for the purpose of continued manufacture andprovision of safe and useful medical devices. The standard has added
requirements specific to medical devices while omitting some of the ISO
9001 requirements.
*3 IATF 16949 is a standard issued by the International Automotive Task
Force (IATF) for the automobile industry sector, and which is intended
as a supplement to the requirements of ISO 9001 for automobile
manufacturers.
*4 FSSC 22000 (Food Safety System Certification 22000) is a standard
developed by the Foundation of Food Safety Certification to certify
management systems for the production of safe food.
*5 The logistical materials division has acquired certification limited to STEC®.
*6 Preparations to obtain certification currently underway (as of November2022).

Quality Audits
Quality audits are audits performed by an auditing
team led by the head of the Quality Assurance
Department that focus on checking the progress of
implementing quality improvement activities. They
are conducted at Zeon’s business divisions, plants,
laboratories, and affiliated companies.
Internal Quality Audits
Internal quality audits are conducted for the purposesof evaluating whether Zeon’s quality assurance
management system is operating effectively andefficiently based on ISO 9001:2015 and promoting
ongoing improvements. The audits are based on ISO
9001, and are structured so that the requirements of ISO
9001 are satisfied as long as Zeon’s internal regulations
are being complied with. The audits also focus on
customer satisfaction and overall optimization. The
audits are conducted for the whole of Zeon Group; as far
as possible, audits are conducted by an auditing teamcomprised of auditors from other divisions.
In addition, we provide basic training for internal
quality auditor candidates as well as training to raise theoverall capacities of internal quality auditors, thereby
striving to maintain and refine the competencies andabilities of our internal quality auditors.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

44

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Quality Data Management
At Zeon, we define all customer comments or
expressions of dissatisfaction with our products orservices as “complaints,” and utilize a complaint response
system to report, review, approve, and manage delivery.
We have also implemented a standards management
system configured to ensure that delivery standards,
product standards, and product inspection standards
remain consistent, and allow us to remain in compliancewith the delivery specifications concluded with ourcustomers. Inspection data is further checked against
product inspection standards in the product testing
system, with a decision of pass/fail assigned, and results
automatically forwarded to the ERP system. Changes toor abnormalities in processes are also reliably managed
through the deployment of a system that reports,
reviews, and sends out effectiveness evaluations,emergency actions, and remedial measures, to facilitate
implementation of assured change control and deviation
management. We plan to construct an even more reliable
and efficient system for quality assurance by means oflinking these systems going forward.

Risk Reduction for New Products
At Zeon, we conduct a comprehensive review (PSTR)*
from quality assurance perspectives in addition to a
design review (DR) when transitioning from the productdesign to the production preparations stages, as well
as from the production preparations stage to actual
production.
This review confirms items related to productquality to ensure that new products satisfy the quality
requirements of our customers, and to allow us to fulfill
supply obligations. Items subject to review include dataon the chemical substances making up the product;
3D-QFD (quality function deployment), for databased clarification of cause-and-effect relationships
of information related to manufacturing; failure modeand effects analysis (FMEA), which attempts to prevent
potential post-production abnormalities; and testing
methodologies and testing facilities to measure productstandards and characteristics of critical processes.
*PSTR (Product Stage-gate Transfer Review)

Communicating Safety Information
For more information about safety information forchemical products handled by Zeon, see Chemical
Product Safety Information (R P. 22).

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

45

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Initiatives to Create “Smart Factories” to Simultaneously Improve Plant Efficiency and Realize Workstyle Reforms
At Zeon, we have been working to make our plants“smarter” since 2020. We have already carried out various
activities to facilitate production innovation (visualization
and utilization of intangible assets, including know-how andexpertise of skilled and experienced workers) to date. The
creation of smart factories will enable further production
innovations and transformations in work tasks by increasing
the range of things that can be accomplished by machines
through the leveraging of digital technologies. For plants,
this will have the effect of streamlining production andcontinually ensuring product quality. For employees, itwill lead to the realization of comfortable and rewarding
workplace environments.
As part of the “Smart Factory Realization Project”
undertaken throughout the Zeon Group, we initiallydiscussed the “Vision of an Ideal Plant” in six areas (workoperations, safety, quality assurance, facilities, personnel,
and logistics and warehousing), establishing the specifics ofwhat we hoped to achieve via the creation of smart factories,
as well as the steps needed to achieve this. Meanwhile, it isimportant to organize these various ideas and initiatives tofacilitate optimization of the whole, rather than groupings ofdigitization initiatives partially optimized for individual fields.
Initiatives undertaken over a two-year period as partof this project involved pilot tests ranging from studies onways to achieve the transition to smart factories to thoseon optimizing the whole, thereby identifying the topics
to be addressed. We also worked out the organizational
structures and a visualization of the digital human resources
which would be required to achieve these goals. Since April
2022, initiatives to facilitate the creation of smart factories
are being continued by the Production Innovation Center
based on the Medium-Term Business Plan.
What We Hope to Realize through Smart Factories

Smart Factories(Streamlining and optimizing efficiency of production;
what machines can do being done by machines)
Optimal automated plant
operations
Elimination of shift work
(workstyle reform)
Guaranteeing production
volumes without trials
Vertical start-up without
prototyping

Surplus time

Detection and eliminationof dangerous situations
Automation of work tasks
Elimination of suddenequipment failures/
optimization of repair
costs
Remote assistance

Example 1: Reduction of essential tasks throughtransition to the use of robotics
Activities for production innovation have to date reduced
on-site troubleshooting operations by around 90%. We
have now reached a juncture of considering whether
to further reduce essential tasks (tasks required for
production) to reduce workloads even more. In this context,
we conducted deliberations on the potential of adopting
digital technologies intended to reduce essential tasks.
If plant patrols can be replaced with cameras and robots,
this would allow the time thus saved by increases in efficiency
to be used for other improvement activities (workstylereforms), while also improving operator safety. In addition,
standardization of work tasks and the development offacilities for the transition to the use of robotics would further
facilitate improvements in the basic infrastructure of plants.

Experiment

100cm
Robotization experiment

Example 2: Interactive training using VR technology
To operate a plant, it is important acquire the ability torespond in the event of abnormal conditions, in addition
to having an understanding of basic rules and principles.
The introduction of VR technology during training drills
is expected to facilitate improvements in the efficiency
of both instructors and those under their instruction
by allowing them to repeatedly be exposed to various
situations and facilitate autonomous learning.
The use of 360-degree imaging and VR to enhance
efficiency in the training of new employees has been pilottested and formally adopted at the Takaoka Plant, andwe are currently preparing to expand this system to otherplants. Training for more advanced troubleshooting drills,
and launching new plants is under ongoing consideration as
the burdens involved in creating training materials is high.

Further
improvements

Nurturing high quality personnel

Q. What are the precautions to be taken
when ascending or descending stairs?

(meeting the aspirations of employees)
Enhancing capacities forautonomous improvements
Enhancing logical thinking
capacities throughimprovements
Enhancing understandingof basic rules andprinciples

Enhancing facility
maintenance capacities
Enhancing response
capacities (safety) in theevent of abnormalities
Enhancing response
capacities in the event of
non-steady operations

Inputting a question, etc.
allows you to see the answer.
Image from a 360-degree camera

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

46

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Community
Basic ApproachSocial Contribution Activities
Information Disclosure

P. 46
P. 46
P. 49

Basic Approach
We believe that contributing to the development of local communities and building strong relationships of trust are
crucial to conducting stable business activities and creating improved products and services.

Zeon’s Approach to Social Contributions
We believe that social contributions are essentially
carried out through our core businesses. As a corporate
citizen, however, the complex set of issues faced bysociety and company activities are not independentof one another. We are therefore undertaking social
contribution activities outside of our core businesses toengage with society from a broader perspective.
In addition to planning activities related to supporting
reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake
and common initiatives across Zeon plants and Group
companies, CSR activities have consistently been
undertaken independently by Zeon plants and Group
companies, with all such activities developed with afocus on their synergistic benefits.

Furukawa Scholarship
The Furukawa Memorial Foundation is an incorporated
foundation with a 57-year history of granting
scholarships to Japanese and foreign students in scienceand engineering majors experiencing financial hardshipto encourage them to continue their education. We are
maintaining our involvement in the foundation to assist
its activities.
To date, the Foundation has awarded scholarships to a
total of more than 3,300 people.

Social Contribution Activities
Great East Japan Earthquake Reconstruction Support
Volunteering to support Great East Japan Earthquake
reconstruction
We invite employees to sign up for restoration
volunteer tours open to the public and send employeeson the tours on an ongoing basis. We cover the fullcost of the tours to encourage employee participation(canceled in FY 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Zeon Charity Bazaar
In the context of restrictions on movement andbehavior associated with the COVID-19 pandemic,a bazaar was held in an online format at Zeon Group
companies in Japan. At the bazaar, employees supplied
items to be sold within the Group, with all the proceedsfrom the sale of these items, together with an additional
donation from the company, being presented to an NPO
in Iwaki City, Fukushima.

Eat and Root for Restoration
We are supporting the recovery of industries byactively using food grown in disaster-affected areas(provision of menus featuring food from the Tohoku
region at the employee cafeteria in the Takaoka Plant on
the 11th of every month).

Common Group Initiatives
Holding of Chemistry Experiment Classrooms
Based on the motto of “nurturing future Nobel Prizewinners in chemistry,” we hold chemistry experimentclassrooms in various areas to communicate the appealof chemistry to children. In FY 2021, while we were notable to be as proactive as we have in the past due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, we implemented events including
Youth Science Festival in Yamagata and Science Festa in
Oita.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

47

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Zeon Chemicals Yonezawa participated in the Youth Science Festival in
Yamagata. Participants used flasks and beakers for a distillation experimentwith herbs, to enjoy a virtual experience of working at a chemical plant.
Internships (on-site training) at the Tsuruga Plant

Green Purchasing of Office Supplies
As part of our green procurement initiatives, we are
pursuing efforts for green purchasing of office supplies
at Zeon Group companies in Japan. In FY 2021, green
purchasing accounted for 47% of total purchases for all
Group companies.

Independent Projects

Dialog with Communities
Plants participate in community dialog as part of the
Responsible Care Council activities and communicate
information on environment-related improvements,
safety, and disaster preparedness during plant tours forrepresentatives of local government authorities and forcommunity residents.

Many other activities conducted with local
communities are described in the Site Reports.
Site Reports
https://www.zeon.co.jp/en/csr/sitereport/
Support for Education
Zeon’s plants and Group companies offer assistanceto educational institutions with internships for highschool, technical college, and university students, bywelcoming plant tours by school groups, and by sending
special instructors to give lessons at schools. In FY 2021,
internships and plant tours were gradually reinstatedeven in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, with18 plant tours held, and 69 interns hosted by Group
companies in Japan.

Facilities Tour at the Mizushima Plant

Responsible Care community dialog at the Kawasaki Plant

Zeon Chemicals (Thailand) Co., Ltd was recipient of the CSR-DIW 2022
Award, from the Department of Industrial Works (DIW) for the sixth
consecutive year since 2017, in recognition of it being a company withoutstanding CSR activities.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

48

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Holding and Participating in Community Events
Zeon attaches great importance to our ties with local
communities. Zeon’s plants and Group companies holdvarious events, including summer festivals, and welcome
opportunities to participate in community events.

Participation in Lake Biwa citizen cleanup activity by Zeon Polymix

Autumn festival at the Mizushima Plant

Community Cleanup Activities
With the goal of being useful to and benefitting local
communities, Zeon’s plants and Group companies
conduct community cleanup campaigns around theirsites and beyond. In FY 2021, there were a total of 500
participants in 31 cleanup campaigns held in Japan,
despite restrictions associated with the COVID-19
pandemic.
Participation in winter group cleanup project in Shunan City by Tokuyama
Plant and Zeon Yamaguchi

Maintaining a Harmonious Relationship with the Local
Community
We engage in collaborative activities with local
communities in each region.

Participation in Kehi-no-matsubara coastal cleanup by the Tsuruga Plant

Zeon Advanced Polymix Co., Ltd in Thailand has maintained volunteer
cleanup and donation activities over the course of many years. The
photograph shows a donation of COVID-19 vaccinations to neighborhood
residents.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

49

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Information Disclosure
Communications Approach and Framework
We conduct public relations activities to promoteaccurate understanding of our philosophies, approaches,and various undertakings by stakeholders and the public,
and thereby increase recognition of Zeon and become
more known and trusted in the world.
Public Relations Committee
The Public Relations Committee discusses and sets
policy related to internal and external information
disclosure based on sustainability management.

Information Disclosure
Website• ‌Communicates information relating to the company, IR,products, and employment, etc.

Advertising and PR
We conduct advertising and PR activities aimed atenhancing the Zeon brand.
TV commercials• ‌Currently on air on terrestrial TV broadcasting (Regions:
Kanto region and Toyama, Fukui, Okayama, Yamaguchi,
and Kagawa Prefectures) and BS TV broadcasting(Regions: National)• ‌TV commercials for Asia are broadcast throughout
Southeast Asia via satellite TV programs

New TV commercial broadcasting since October 2022

Radio commercials• Regions currently airing: Kanto area, Toyama
Prefecture, Fukui Prefecture, Okayama Prefecture

Newspaper ads
Newspaper ads were rolled out in conjunction with TVcommercials. In addition, newspaper ads for recruitment
purposes were created and deployed.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

50

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Corporate GovernanceCorporate Governance
Risk ManagementCompliance
IR Communications

P. 50
P. 52
P. 53
P. 54

Corporate Governance
Basic Policy on Corporate GovernanceZeon Corporation aims to increase profits and enhance
corporate value on an ongoing basis while respecting andbalancing the various interests of its shareholders andother diverse stakeholders. To this end, we are continuing
efforts to establish a system that enables efficientand sound corporate management through corporate
governance.
Putting in place a corporate governance systemallows us to clarify the functions and roles of eachorganizational entity within the company and to carryout rapid decision-making and execution. We are also
improving corporate transparency through appropriatemonitoring and disclosure of business activities and theireffects.
Basic Policy on Corporate Governance (Japanese version only)
https://www.zeon.co.jp/csr/concept/pdf/200281514.pdf
Corporate Governance Report (Japanese version only)
https://www.zeon.co.jp/news/assets/pdf/220705.pdf

The main components of our Corporate Governance
System are summarized below.

Board of Directors
The Board of Directors meets, in principle, every
month with Audit & Supervisory members in attendance
to ensure compliance with applicable laws and the
Articles of Incorporation in the execution of business.
In addition to its statutory duties, the role of the Boardof Directors is to make important decisions aboutbasic management policy, strategy, and other aspectsof business execution. As of July 2022, the Board of
Directors consists of nine directors, including threeoutside directors.

Executive Committee
The Executive Committee, in accordance with the
Executive Committee Rules, comprises the President andexecutive officers ranked senior corporate officer andabove, meets twice a month in principle to examine andmake decisions on important business matters after due
deliberation involving consultation with attending fulltime Audit & Supervisory Board members. Importantbusiness matters stipulated in the Board of Director
Rules are examined and decided by the Board of
Directors.
Audit & Supervisory Board
The Audit & Supervisory Board comprises fivemembers, including three external members. The Board
reports, discusses, and adopts resolutions on importantbusiness matters. In accordance with the auditing
guidelines established by the Audit & Supervisory Board,
each member audits directors’ execution of their duties
through various means, such as attending Board of
Directors meetings and monitoring business operations,
including at subsidiaries’ operations.
Director and Officer Nomination and Compensation
Committee
The Director and Officer Nomination andCompensation Committee is placed with the Boardof Directors as an advisory organ for the purpose ofstrengthening the objectivity and transparency of thefunctions of the Board of Directors related to nominating
directors and officers and deciding their compensation.
The committee comprises four members, of which three
are independent outside directors.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

51

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Corporate Governance System (As of September 2022)
General Meeting of Shareholders
Decisions/Supervision(appointments/dismissals)

Director and
4 Officer Nomination andCompensation Committee

RequireadviceSuggestions

1

Board ofDirectors

Auditing

Collaboration

Audit &

Collaboration

Auditing

Representative Director

2 Executive Committee

Reporting

Financial
Auditors

Collaboration(assistance)

Auditing
Personnel

Financial
AuditsBusiness Execution&
Internal Controls
SystemCSR Conference

Department ofInternal Auditing

CSR
Basic Policy
Committee

Internal audits

Internal audits(Dismissals)

3 Supervisory
Board

Decisions/Supervision(selections/dismissals)(Appointments/
dismissals)(Appointments/dismissals)

Risk Management Committee

Reporting(internal)

Compliance Committee

External
lawyers

Information Management Committee
Environmental and Safety Affairs Committee

Business divisions, indirect departments, laboratories, and plants

Quality Assurance Committee

Control/monitoring

PL Committee

Reporting(internal)

Subsidiaries and affiliates
Reporting(external)

Public Relations Committee

Reporting(internal)

Reporting(external)

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

52

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Risk Management
Risk Management Framework
The Risk Management Committee leads Zeon’s risk
management. Activities to prevent law violations and tocomply with laws and regulations are conducted under
the Compliance Committee (For more information
about the framework, see Compliance. [→P. 53]) The
Information Management Committee implements
appropriate management of information, from the time
when information is obtained until the time when it isdeleted.
Risk Management and Compliance System

CSR Conference
Risk Management Committee
Prevention and control of risks
Crisis management

Compliance Committee

Prevention of law violations
Education and training in compliance with laws
Anti-trust Law Regulatory Subcommittee
Export Security Control Subcommittee
Corporate Governance Subcommittee

Information Management Committee

Internal Reporting System
Zeon established its Internal Reporting System
to quickly collect information on potential risks andfacilitate their appropriate resolution. Per the rules onreporting risk-related information, reports can be madenot only to one’s supervisor or the Risk Management
Committee directly, but also by calling the Compliance
Hotline (A to C below), which connects the caller to an
external lawyer.
The Risk Management Committee conducts aninvestigation into the reported details and facilitates
appropriate resolutions, including instructing internalorganizations to institute measures based on theoutcomes of their investigations.
Internal reports in FY 2021: 4
The Risk Management Committee has appropriately
dealt with each of these incidents by conducting an
investigation into the reported details and instructing
internal organizations to institute measures accordingly.
*Zeon employees (including seconded employees), temporary employees,
and executives of contractors that work at our worksites have the right toreport matters of concern.

Internal reporting flowchart

Appropriate management of information

Superior

1

Risk Management Committee FY 2021 Results• ‌Handle incidents as they occur and take steps toprevent their recurrence• ‌Enhance risk and crisis control measures
Example: Revising the content of Business Continuity
Plans (BCPs) based around the scenario of a major
earthquake

BCP Formulation and implementation ofRelated Training
We have formulated a BCP and implement training
and drills to enhance its effectiveness in recognition of
the need to reduce the impact on business continuityof damage from disasters such as earthquakes andsevere storm and flood damage. A group-wide training
drill was implemented once in FY 2021. On the premisethat teleworking had become the new normal for
staff at Head Office, Crisis Management Team (CMT)training was conducted twice, and factory training was
conducted twice.
In addition, individual business divisions and plants
have drafted their own BCPs, conducting reviews (BCM)
and implementing their own training on an ongoingbasis, while putting in place systems to facilitate rapid
responses in the event of emergencies.

Whistle-blower• Discovery of risks• Discovery ofcomplianceviolations

Notification and reporting
Feedback on investigation results

2

1

Risk Management Committee • Review of facts and33

External lawyer reporting line

Compliance Hotline

implementation ofcountermeasures• Receive report,
record facts,
notify of result

Compliance Hotline
Reporting contact: Hiroshi Yoshimura, lawyer‌ oshimura Horitsu Jimusho, Iketani Bldg. 3F, 1-9-7
Office: Y
Iidabashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-0072
Tel: +81-3-3264-1805
Fax: +81-3-3264-1806
Email: yosimura@tkh.att.ne.jp

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

53

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Compliance
Compliance System
The Compliance Committee advances Zeon’s
compliance efforts. The Compliance Committee
has three subcommittees, namely the Anti-trust
Law Regulatory Subcommittee, the Export Security
Control Subcommittee, and the Corporate Governance
Subcommittee.
Zeon’s Compliance System

Compliance Committee
Prevention of law violations
Education and training in compliancewith laws
Anti-trust Law
Regulatory Subcommittee
Prevention of violations of
the Anti-trust Law
Export Security
Control Subcommittee
Proper security export control
Corporate Governance
Subcommittee
Reliability in financial reporting

Compliance Committee
FY 2021 Results• ‌Continued activities to establish and instill complianceawareness• ‌Redeveloped the management system for legal risks for
Zeon Group companies outside Japan
Anti-trust Law Regulatory Subcommittee• ‌Conducted reviews prior to the revision of productprices in business divisions, carried out preliminary
screenings when meeting with executives ofcompetitors, and reviewed the status of participation inindustry bodies
Export Security Control Subcommittee• ‌Conducted seminars for ordinary employees and for
department personnel in charge• ‌Implemented numerous final assessments of control list
applicability and trade investigations

Corporate Governance Subcommittee• ‌Established controls for identifying the risk of andpreventing errors in consolidated financial statements.
Evaluated whether the controls were functioning
correctly• ‌Convened five times in FY 2021, and no ineffective
controls were foundInternal Reporting System
We established the Internal Reporting System torapidly collect information on potential risks and facilitate
their resolution.
(For more information about the Internal Reporting
System, see Risk Management.)

Internal Audits
Internal audits are performed for the purposeof preventing improprieties and errors in business
operations.
The Department of Internal Auditing inspects andassesses whether business operations in all departments
are being carried out appropriately and effectively
in accordance with laws and internal regulations,and orders improvements when there are incidents
of violations or non-compliance. In addition, theDepartment of Internal Auditing carries out periodic
follow-up audits on the progress of measures taken bydepartments.
FY 2021 results: 32 departments (13 departments
at Zeon Corporation, 7 Zeon Group companies inside
Japan, 12 Zeon Group companies outside Japan)
FY 2022 plan: 36 departments (16 departments at Zeon
Corporation, 10 Zeon Group companies inside Japan, 10
Zeon Group companies outside Japan)
Information Security Audits
Information security audits are internal audits on thehandling of information assets. They are conducted
for all divisions and departments at Zeon using a selfinspection format.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

54

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

IR Communications
Communication with Shareholders
Policies related to constructive dialogue with shareholders
Dialogue with shareholders is led by the department
responsible for IR and SR, and overseen by the relevant
director. The department responsible for IR and SR
exchanges information with other relevant departments
within the company as appropriate to provide accurate
and unbiased information to shareholders.
We will continue to expand the avenues of dialogue
apart from individual meetings. These include holding
quarterly briefings for investors, making financial
statements available on the Zeon Corporation website,and participating in company seminars for individual
investors. The IR & SR office collects and analyzes
feedback received in dialogue with shareholders andmakes reports to the President as appropriate. Basedon management regulations including those on insider
trading and appropriate information disclosure, we
strictly control unreleased important information while
engaging in dialogue with shareholders to prevent
information leaks.

Communicating Information to Shareholders
Twice a year, we send a booklet to our shareholders
featuring updated business information and recent
topics of interest, etc. The 97th Midyear Report, issued
in December 2021, included a special feature on thetransition to monozukuri manufacturing to achievecarbon neutrality and realize a circular economy,
introducing key measures (formulation of a Carbon
Neutral Master Plan with a view to 2050), and an
overview of three major policies in the transition tomonozukuri manufacturing alongside case studies of
specific initiatives.
We will continue to improve the Midyear Report tomake it more accessible and better meet shareholders’needs.

株主のみなさまへ

第 97期 中間報告書
特 集

カーボンニュートラルとサーキュラーエコノミーを「カーボンニュートラルとサーキュラーエコノミーを実現する『ものづくり』への転換を推進する」を掲げました。持続可能な社会の実現への足掛かりとなるこの2年間で省エネ

は、2050年を見据えたカーボンニュートラルマスタープランを策定するとともに、
Scope1と2のCO₂削減について省エネや技術革新、燃料転換等を着実に進めます。

エネルギー消費量のまた、長期的な「ものづくり」転換に必要な研究開発にも粘り強く、意欲的に取り組ん

バラツキを減らし平均を下げる

でまいります。

要となる方策取り組みを全工場で実施

2050年を見据えたカーボンニュートラルマスタープラン策定

長期的な「ものづくり」
転換に必要な研究開発・技術革新を粘り強く実施CO₂総排出量
Scope1

製造に伴う直接排出量

省エネ

General Meeting of Shareholders
On June 29, 2021 (Tuesday), we held our 96th Annual
General Meeting of Shareholders in a conference roomat the Head Office. While shareholders were asked not
to attend the meeting in person (regardless of their stateof health) to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, we
mailed out notices approximately three weeks prior tothe meeting to allow investors to exercise their voting
rights by post or online based on a full review of the
proposals. We also publish the details of resolutions fromthe General Meeting of Shareholders on our corporatewebsite.
In addition, audio files of quarterly financial
results briefings and videos of presentations by top
management on the current status of management at
Zeon are available on our corporate website.

「ものづくり」転換のための3大施策貢献するSDGs

本年度よりスタートした中期経営計画において、ゼオンはその全社戦略の一番目として2021年4月1日 ▶ 2021年9月30日

実現する「ものづくり」への転換+

Scope2エネルギー起源間接排出量

技術革新

万トン

3

2013
日本ゼオン IR

燃料転換

エネルギーの生成元である
ボイラ等の燃料を、再生エネルギーや（ヒートポンプ、原料転換など）

証書付の燃料に転換

取り組み事例

燃料転換

72.2

技術革新

現在の技術の延長では減らせない
消費エネルギーに対し、新しい技術を導入「2050年度のカーボン
ニュートラル達成」
を見据え、2030年度の
削減目標を
検討中
2030

証券コード 4205

バイオマスからブタジエンを生成する新技術を共同開発
国立研究開発法人理化学研究所、
横浜ゴム株式会社と共同で設置している「バイオモノマー生産研究チーム」の研究により、
バイオマス（生物資源）
から効率的にブタジエンを生成できる世界初の新技術を開発しました。ブタジエンは 主に、自動車タイヤなどの原料として使われる合成ゴムの主原料として使用されています。
現在、ブタジエンはナフサ熱分解の副生成物として工業的に生産していますが、バイオマス由来ブタジエン生成技術を確立することにより、
石油依存度の低減に繋がるため、CO₂の削減に貢献することができます。

新技術で重合されたブタジエンゴムhttps://www.zeon.co.jp/ir/index.html

497th Midyear Report

For the Annual Report and other Midyear Reports, see
https://www.zeon.co.jp/ir/library/businessreport.html(Japanese version only)

Distributions
Our basic policy is to pay out steady dividends ofexcess earnings to shareholders.
In principle, Zeon Corporation distributes excess
earnings twice annually, through interim and yearend dividends. The General Meeting of Shareholders
decides the year-end dividend amount, and the Board of
Directors decides the interim dividend amount. Retained
earnings are leveraged for proactive capital investments,
development of innovative technologies, and production
innovations.

For more information about Zeon’s share price anddividends, see
https://www.zeon.co.jp/ir/stock/dividend.html(Japanese version only)Video of a presentation by President Tanaka

For more information about the General Meeting of
Shareholders, see
https://www.zeon.co.jp/en/ir/stock/meeting/
For more information about financial results briefings, see
https://www.zeon.co.jp/en/ir/financial/bs/

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

55

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

ESG Data
Environment
SocialGovernance

P. 55
P. 56
P. 57

Environment
Zeon Corporation only

*The Himi Futagami Plant and the Tsuruga Plant were added in FY 2021.

FY 2017
Butadiene consumption (tons)
Toxic substances

Butadiene emissions (tons)
Acrylonitrile consumption (tons)
Acrylonitrile emissions (tons)

Substances subject Consumption (tons)
to the PRTR Act
Emissions (tons)
Industrial waste

Wastewater

FY 2021266,518

3.1

3.4

3.0

2.7

246,958
2.8

29,84029,20528,77524,31927,629

4.0

4.0

3.0

3.1

3.3

885,176

878,072

827,134

817,455

782,415

25.2

23.7

23.3

23.4

23.4

143,129

130,153

140,226

140,146

Amount generated after compacting (tons)

14,574

15,932

15,115

16,362

18,849

1.9

0.0

3.2

0.1

3.8

Standards on the promotion of energy-saving/global warming countermeasures

575,573545,024499,222453,980

526,727

CO2 emissions (tons) Scope 1

685,342

724,122680,021713,190

690,544CO2 emissions (tons) Scope 2

56,74550,95456,67656,82688,452CO2 emissions (tons) Scope 1+2

742,087775,076

736,697770,015

778,996

SOx emissions (tons)

796

689

774

579

797

NOx emissions (tons)

324

298

270

258

281

Soot emissions (tons)

8

4

7

4

7

Total water resource consumption (1,000 m3)

18,23418,09817,741

17,905

17,811

Total wastewater discharge (1,000 m3)

15,92815,39915,107

15,433

15,258

137

124

141

121

141

2

2

2

2

2

153

160

157

133

131

222,348

211,128

226,122

215,980

244,612

0.13

0.12

0.14

0.13

0.13

1,671,352

1,723,677

1,602,286

1,655,367

1,876,274

COD emissions (tons)
Total phosphorus discharge (tons)
Total nitrogen discharge (tons)

EnergyFY 2020

284,390

125,018

CO2 emissions (tons)

Water resources

FY 2019

289,912Amount generated before compacting (tons)
Amount sent to landfills (tons)

Atmosphericemissions

FY 2018

308,069

Total consumption (crude oil equivalent, kL)
Per-unit energy consumption (kL/t-PDR)

Production equivalent (tons)

Zeon Group companies in Japan(“0” indicates less than 0.5, and “0.0” indicates less than 0.05)
FY 2017
Substances subject
No. of substances (total)
4.1
to the PRTR Act
Amount generated before compacting (tons)
4,896
Industrial waste
Amount sent to landfills (tons)
0.2
CO2 emissions (tons)
Standards on the promotion of energy-saving/
56,021
global warming countermeasures

CO2 emissions (tons) Scope 1CO2 emissions (tons) Scope 2CO2 emissions (tons) Scope 1+2
Energy consumption (crude oil equivalent, kL)
Electricity consumption (1,000 kWh)
Water resources (1,000 m3)

22,771
81,582319*Optes Inc. was merged into Zeon Corporation in FY 2021.

FY 2018

FY 2019

FY 2020

FY 2021

3.5

3.6

4.2

2.2

2,746
1.3

2,323
2.8

2,247
14.3

859
7.6

52,34350,31853,681

8,370

22,94982,861
328

23,88486,744327

26,074
95,648
334

2,147
6,179
8,326
4,162
11,479215

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

56

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Status of Certifications for International Environmental Standards
Site
Takaoka Plant
Kawasaki Plant
Tokuyama Plant
Mizushima Plant
Himi Futagami Plant
Tsuruga Plant

ISO 14001
○
○
○
○
○
○

Zeon Kasei Co., Ltd. (Head Office divisions
including research laboratories)○

Zeon Polymix Inc.
RIMTEC Corporation
Zeon Opto Bio Lab Co., Ltd.
Tokyo Zairyo Co., Ltd.
Zeon Chemicals Yonezawa Co., Ltd.
Zeon North Co., Ltd.

○
○
○
○
○
○

SocialStatus of Certifications for International Quality Standards
Site
Japan
Zeon Corporation
Zeon Kasei Co., Ltd.
Zeon Polymix Inc.
Zeon Opto Bio Lab Co., Ltd.
Tokyo Zairyo Co., Ltd.
Tohpe Corporation
Zeon Medical Inc.
Zeon North Co., Ltd.
Zeon Chemicals Yonezawa Co., Ltd.
Outside Japan
Zeon Chemicals L.P.
Zeon Chemicals (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
Zeon Advanced Polymix Co., Ltd.
Zeon Chemicals Singapore Pte. Ltd.
Zeon Europe GmbH
Zeon Chemicals Asia Co., Ltd.
Zeon Kasei (Changshu) Co., Ltd.
Zeon Kasei Mexico S.A. de C.V.

ISO 9001:2015*1
○
○*5
○
○
○
○
○
○
○
○
○
○
○
*6
○

ISO 13485:2016*2 IATF 16949:2016*3

FSSC 22000 v5*4

○

○
○

○

*1 ISO 9001 is the international standard for achieving ongoing improvements in enhancing customer satisfaction and quality management systems throughproduct and services quality assurance.
*2 ISO 13485 is the global standard for quality management systems in the field of medical devices for the purpose of continued manufacture and provision ofsafe and useful medical devices. The standard has added requirements specific to medical devices while omitting some of the ISO 9001 requirements.
*3 IATF 16949 is a standard issued by the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) for the automobile industry sector, and which is intended as a supplement
to the requirements of ISO 9001 for automobile manufacturers.
*4 FSSC 22000 (Food Safety System Certification 22000) is a standard developed by the Foundation of Food Safety Certification to certify management
systems for the production of safe food.
*5 The logistical materials division has acquired certification limited to STEC®.
*6 Preparations to obtain certification currently underway (as of November 2022).

SafetyRate of conducting plant safety evaluations (%)
No. of RC audits conducted (times/year)
No. of safety incidents
No. of lost worktime accidents
No. of serious accidents without lost work time
Lost work time accident rate
No. of accidents in logistics

100
1
7
7
0
0.47
0

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

57

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Basic Information on Zeon Corporation Employees (non-consolidated; does not include non-permanent employees)
No. of employees

New graduates*1
Mid-year*2
Average years of employment (yrs.)
No. of non-Japanese employees
Average age (years)
Number of employees leaving jobs*3

No. of new hires

Men Women
1,836
271
78
20
79
16
15.6
12.6
13
15
39.8
36.9
23
10

Total
2,107
98
95
15.2
28
39.5
33

As of March 31, 2022 (excluding those who resigned as of the end of March)*1 Employees that joined the company in April 2021
*2 Employees that joined the company between April 2021 and March 2022
*3 Number of employees requesting voluntary retirement

Results of Initiatives
Paternity leave acquisition ratio (%)
Ratio of employees with disabilities (%)*1 (Legally required ratio of 2.3%)
Ratio of absences due to injury or illness (absenteeism) (%)
Ratio of those taking stress checks (%)
Number of employees taking annual leave/acquisition ratio (%)
Ratio of employees undergoing routine medical checkups (%)
Average designated overtime worked (hours)
Overtime exceeding statutory monthly amount of 45 hours (total number: persons)Participation ratio in e-learning relating to women’s health issues (%)
Usage ratio for health support app (%)
Participation ratio for practical health routines events (Challenge 60) (%)
Participation status for measures targeting high-risk persons (completion ratio for healthcare guidance) (%)
Ratio of participation by eligible for mental health seminars (Line Care Training) (%)

FY 2021
14
2.41
0.56
96
54
100
24.2
449
73
36
100

As of March 31, 2022
*1 As of June 2022

Basic Information on Zeon Group Employees
No. of employees

3,981

No. of new graduate hires*

123

As of March 31, 2022 (excluding those who resigned as of the end of March)*Employees that joined the company in April 2022

GovernanceManagement Organization
No. of members of the Board of Directors

9

Of which, are outside directors

3

Of which, are women directors

1

No. of members of the Audit & Supervisory Board5

Of which, are outside auditors

3*As of July 2022

Risk Management
No. of reports received via the Internal Reporting System

4*FY 2021

Internal Audits
No. of departments/companies audited

32*Zeon Corporation: 13 departments, 7 Zeon Group companies inside Japan, 12 Zeon Group companies outside JapanFor more detailed information, see the Corporate Governance Report
Corporate Governance Report (Japanese version only)
https://www.zeon.co.jp/news/assets/pdf/220705.pdf

4476

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

58

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

GRI Content Index
This report uses GRI Standards as reference.
The following reports also include disclosures.

● Integrated Report/IR Libraryhttps://www.zeon.co.jp/en/ir/library/● Corporate Governance Report (Japanese version only)
https://www.zeon.co.jp/news/assets/pdf/220705.pdf

Statement ofuse
GRI 1 used

Zeon Corporation has reported the information cited in this GRI content index for the period [April 1, 2021–March 31,2022] with reference to the GRI Standards.
GRI 1: Foundation 2021

GRI
DisclosureStandard

Published format or item and page number (Integrated
Report items are in blue, Sustainability Report items are in red)General Disclosures

GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021
1. The organization and its reporting practices
2‑1
Organizational details
Entities included in the organization’s sustainability reporting
2‑2
2‑3
Reporting period, frequency and contact point
2‑4
Restatements of information
2‑5
External assurance
2. Activities and workers
2‑6
Activities, value chain and other business relationships
2‑7
Employees
2‑8Workers who are not employees
3. Governance
2‑9Governance structure and composition
2‑10
Nomination and selection of the highest governance body
2‑11
Chair of the highest governance body
2‑12Role of the highest governance body in overseeing the management of impacts
2‑13Delegation of responsibility for managing impacts
2‑14Role of the highest governance body in sustainability reporting
2‑15
Conflicts of interest
2‑16Communication of critical concerns
2‑17Collective knowledge of the highest governance body
2‑18
Evaluation of the performance of the highest governance body
2‑19
Remuneration policies
2‑20
Process to determine remuneration
2‑21
Annual total compensation ratio
4. Strategy, policies and practices
2‑22Statement on sustainable development strategy
2‑23
Policy commitments
2‑24
Embedding policy commitments
2‑25
Processes to remediate negative impacts
2‑26
Mechanisms for seeking advice and raising concerns
2‑27Compliance with laws and regulations
2‑28

Membership associations

5. Stakeholder engagement
2‑29
Approach to stakeholder engagement
2‑30

Collective bargaining agreements

Company Profile (9)Editorial Policy (3)Editorial Policy (3)———ESG Data (57)—
Corporate Governance Report, Corporate Governance (50)Corporate Governance Report, Corporate Governance (56)Corporate Governance Report
Sustainability Management (7), Risk Management (52)
Sustainability Management (7), Risk Management (52)
Sustainability Management (7)Corporate Governance Report
Corporate Governance Report
Corporate Governance Report
Corporate Governance Report
Corporate Governance Report, Corporate Governance (57)
Corporate Governance Report, Corporate Governance (57)
Corporate Governance Report, Corporate Governance (57)Zeon’s Sustainability (6)Zeon’s Sustainability (6)Zeon’s Sustainability (6)——Compliance (53)
Becoming a Signatory to the United Nations Global Compact
and Participating in Subcommittee Activities (25)—
Labor Agreements and Communication between Labor andManagement (35)GRI
DisclosureStandard

Material Topics
GRI 3: Material Topics 2021
Process to determine material topics
3-1
List of material topics
3-2Management of material topics
3-3

—
—
—

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

59

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

GRI
DisclosureStandard

GRI 200 Economic Standard Series
Economic PerformanceGRI 201: Economic Performance 2016
201-1

201-3

Direct economic value generated and distributed
Financial and Non-financial Highlights (10, 13)
Financial implications and other risks and opportunities due to
TCFD (49)climate change
Defined benefit plan obligations and other retirement plans
—

201-4

Financial assistance received from government

201-2

—

Market PresenceGRI 202: Market Presence 2016
Ratios of standard entry level wage by gender compared to202-1
local minimum wage
Proportion of senior management hired from the local
202-2
community
Indirect Economic Impacts——

GRI 203: Indirect Economic Impacts 2016
203-1

Infrastructure investments and services supported

—

203-2

Significant indirect economic impacts—

Procurement Practices
GRI 204: Procurement Practices 2016
204-1

Proportion of spending on local suppliers—

Anti-corruption
GRI 205: Anti-corruption 2016
205-1
205-2
205-3

Operations assessed for risks related to corruption—
Communication and training about anti-corruption policies andCompliance (53)procedures
Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken—

Anti-competitive Behavior
GRI 206: Anti-competitive Behavior 2016
Legal actions for anti-competitive behavior, anti-trust, and206-1
monopoly practices
Tax

Compliance (53)

GRI 207: Tax 2019
207-1

Approach to tax

—

207-2

Tax governance, control, and risk management

—

207-3

Stakeholder engagement and management of concerns

—

207-4

Country-by-country reporting—

GRI
DisclosureStandard

GRI 300 Environmental Standards Series
Materials
GRI 301: Materials 2016
301-1

Materials used by weight or volume

—

301-2

Recycled input materials used

—

301-3

Reclaimed products and their packaging materials—

EnergyGRI 302: Energy 2016
302-1

Energy consumption within the organization

Overview of Environmental Impacts (16), ESG Data (55)302-2Energy consumption outside of the organization

—

302-3

Energy intensity

ESG Data (55)302-4Reduction of energy consumption

Climate Change (18)302-5Reductions in energy requirements of products and services

Climate Change (18)

Water and EffluentsGRI 303: Water and Effluents 2018
303-1

Interactions with water as a shared resource

Air, Water, and Waste Materials (20)303-2Management of water discharge-related impacts

Air, Water, and Waste Materials (20)303-3Water withdrawal

Overview of Environmental Impacts (16), ESG Data (55)
Overview of Environmental Impacts (16), Air, Water, andWaste Materials (21), ESG Data (55)
Overview of Environmental Impacts (16), ESG Data (55)303-4 Water discharge
303-5

Water consumption

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

60

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Biodiversity
GRI 304: Biodiversity 2016
Operational sites owned, leased, managed in, or adjacent to, protect304-1—
ed areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas
304-2 Significant impacts of activities, products, and services on biodiversity —304-3 Habitats protected or restored
IUCN Red List species and national conservation list species
304-4
with habitats in areas affected by operations
Emissions
GRI 305: Emissions 2016
305-1

Direct (Scope 1) GHG emissions

305-2

Energy indirect (Scope 2) GHG emissions

305-3

Other indirect (Scope 3) GHG emissions——

Overview of Environmental Impacts (16), Climate Change (18),
ESG Data (55)
Overview of Environmental Impacts (16), Climate Change (18),
ESG Data (55)—305-4 GHG emissions intensity—

305-5 Reduction of GHG emissions

Climate Change (18)305-6 Emissions of ozone-depleting substances (ODS)
Nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), and other305-7
significant air emissions
Waste
GRI 306: Waste 2020—
Air, Water, and Waste Materials (20)306-2 Management of significant waste-related impacts

Overview of Environmental Impacts (16), Air, Water, andWaste Materials (21), ESG Data (55)Air, Water, and Waste Materials (21)306-3 Waste generated

Air, Water, and Waste Materials (21), ESG Data (55)306-4 Waste diverted from disposal

Air, Water, and Waste Materials (21), ESG Data (55)306-5 Waste directed to disposal

Air, Water, and Waste Materials (21), ESG Data (55)306-1

Waste generation and significant waste-related impacts

Supplier Environmental Assessment
GRI 308: Supplier Environmental Assessment 2016
308-1
308-2

New suppliers that were screened using environmental criteria CSR Procurement (26)
Negative environmental impacts in the supply chain and
CSR Procurement (26)actions taken

GRI
DisclosureStandard

GRI 400 Social Standards Series
Employment
GRI 401: Employment 2016
401-1

New employee hires and employee turnover
Diverse Human Resources (30), ESG Data (57)
Benefits provided to full-time employees that are not provided
401-2—
to temporary or part-time employees
Specific Initiatives to Realize Well-being and Freedom (34),401-3 Parental leave
ESG Data (57)
Labor/Management Relations
GRI 402: Labor/Management Relations 2016
402-1

Minimum notice periods regarding operational changes

Occupational Health and Safety

Labor Agreements and Communication between Labor andManagement (35)

GRI 403: Occupational Health and Safety 2018403-1

Occupational health and safety management system403-2

Hazard identification, risk assessment, and incident investigation Occupational Health and Safety (39)403-3

Occupational health services
Worker participation, consultation, and communication on
403-4
occupational health and safety403-5 Worker training on occupational health and safety403-6 Promotion of worker healthPrevention and mitigation of occupational health and safety
impacts directly linked by business relationships
Workers covered by an occupational health and safety
403-8
management system403-9 Work-related injuries
403-7

403-10 Work-related ill healthOccupational Health and Safety (39)
Health and Productivity Management Promotion (32)
Health and Productivity Management Promotion (33)
Health and Productivity Management Promotion (34),
Occupational Health and Safety (39)
Health and Productivity Management Promotion (32),
Occupational Health and Safety (39)
Occupational Health and Safety (39)
Occupational Health and Safety (39)
Occupational Health and Safety (39), ESG Data (56)
Occupational Health and Safety (39), ESG Data (56)Training and Education
GRI 404: Training and Education 2016
404-1

Average hours of training per year per employee
Programs for upgrading employee skills and transition
404-2
assistance programs
Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and404-3
career development reviews—
Reformation of the Personnel System (36), Organizationaland Human Resources Development (37)—SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

61

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

Diversity and Equal Opportunity
GRI 405: Diversity and Equal Opportunity 2016405-1

Diversity of governance bodies and employees

Human Resources (28, 30), ESG Data (57)405-2

Ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women to men—

Non-discrimination
GRI 406: Non-discrimination 2016406-1

Incidents of discrimination and corrective actions taken

Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining
GRI 407: Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining 2016
407-1

Operations and suppliers in which the right to freedom of
association and collective bargaining may be at riskChild Labor

Upholding Positive Working Environments by Protecting
Human Rights and Prohibiting Discrimination (24)Upholding Positive Working Environments by Protecting
Human Rights and Prohibiting Discrimination (24), Labor
Agreements and Communication between Labor andManagement (35)

GRI 408: Child Labor 2016
Operations and suppliers at significant risk for incidents of child Upholding Positive Working Environments by Protecting
408-1
labor
Human Rights and Prohibiting Discrimination (24)Forced or Compulsory LaborGRI 409: Forced or Compulsory Labor 2016
Operations and suppliers at significant risk for incidents of
409-1
forced or compulsory labor
Security Practices

Upholding Positive Working Environments by Protecting
Human Rights and Prohibiting Discrimination (24)

GRI 410: Security Practices 2016
Security personnel trained in human rights policies or
410-1
procedures
Rights of Indigenous Peoples—

GRI 411: Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2016
411-1

Incidents of violations involving rights of indigenous peoples

Human Rights Assessment

Upholding Positive Working Environments by Protecting
Human Rights and Prohibiting Discrimination (24)

Local Communities
GRI 413: Local Communities 2016
Operations with local community engagement, impact
413-1
assessments, and development programs
Operations with significant actual and potential negative
413-2
impacts on local communities
Supplier Social Assessment

Community (46)Community (46)

GRI 414: Supplier Social Assessment 2016414-1

New suppliers that were screened using social criteria

CSR Procurement (26)414-2

Negative social impacts in the supply chain and actions taken

CSR Procurement (26)Public Policy
GRI 415: Public Policy 2016
415-1

Political contributions—

Customer Health and Safety
GRI 416: Customer Health and Safety 2016
Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and
416-1
service categories
Incidents of non-compliance concerning the health and safety
416-2
impacts of products and services
Marketing and Labeling

Chemical Product Safety Information (22)—

GRI 417: Marketing and Labeling 2016
417-1
417-2
417-3

Requirements for product and service information and labeling Chemical Product Safety Information (22)Incidents of non-compliance concerning product and service—
information and labeling
Incidents of non-compliance concerning marketing communications —Customer Privacy
GRI 418: Customer Privacy 2016
Substantiated complaints concerning breaches of customer
418-1
privacy and losses of customer data
Socioeconomic Compliance
GRI 419: Socioeconomic Compliance 2016
Non-compliance with laws and regulations in the social and419-1
economic area

Compliance (53)Compliance (53)SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

62

Contents

Zeon’s Sustainability

Environment

Human Rights/CSR Procurement

Human Resources

GRI Content Index

Occupational Health and Safety

Quality Assurance

Community

Corporate Governance

ESG Data

United Nations Global Compact Index

United Nations Global Compact Index
This table shows the measures taken by, and reporting made by, the Zeon Group in relation to the Ten Principles of the
UN Global Compact promoted by the United Nations.
The UN Global Compact

Corresponding page

Human Rights
Principle 1:
Businesses should support and respect the protection ofinternationally proclaimed human rights; andPrinciple 2:
make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

Human Rights/CSR Procurement (24)

Human Rights/CSR Procurement (24)

LabourPrinciple 3:
Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and theeffective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;

Human Rights/CSR Procurement (24), Human Resources (35)

Principle 4:
the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour;

Human Rights/CSR Procurement (24)Principle 5:
the effective abolition of child labour; andHuman Rights/CSR Procurement (24)Principle 6:
the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment andoccupation.

Human Rights/CSR Procurement (24)

Environment
Principle 7:
Businesses should support a precautionary approach toenvironmental challenges;

Environment (11)Principle 8:
undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental
responsibility; andEnvironment (11)Principle 9:
encourage the development and diffusion of environmentallyfriendly technologies.

Environment (11)Anti-Corruption
Principle 10:
Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms,
including extortion and bribery.

Human Rights/CSR Procurement (24), Compliance (53)CSR REPORT 2021

Inquiries: Corporate Sustainability Department, Zeon Corporation
Shin Marunouchi Center Building, 1-6-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8246, Japan
Tel: +81-3-3216-0603 Fax: +81-3-3216-0604 https://www.zeon.co.jp/en/

Published: April 2023