Zeon GroupCSR REPORT

2019

2
CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Contents
Editorial Policy

P. 3Highlights
	Highlight 1 Z
 etpol® hydrogenatednitrile rubber
for stronger rubber

P. 4	Highlight 2 C yclo olefin polymers
contribute to people’s
health and safety

P. 6

Zeon’s CSRP. 8

Zeon CSR Policy

P. 8

CSR Management

P. 9Timeline of CSR Initiatives

P. 11

CSR Implementation Plan

P. 12

Corporate Governance

P. 18

Targets and Results

P. 18

Corporate Governance

P. 19

Risk Management

P. 21

Environment
Environmental Philosophy
and Safety Philosophy

P. 22
P. 22

Labor PracticesP. 36

Basic Approach and Initiatives

P. 36

Targets and Results

P. 37

Employment and Diversity

P. 38

HR Development

P. 40

Human Resource System

P. 43

Creating Working Environments
That Protect HealthP. 45

Occupational Safety

P. 48

Safety and Accident Prevention

P. 49

Fair Operating PracticesP. 51

Targets and Results

P. 51

Compliance

P. 52

CSR Procurement

P. 53

Fair and Appropriate Information Disclosure P. 54
Consumer Issues

P. 56

Targets and Results

P. 56

Quality Assurance

P. 56

Human Rights

P. 59

Environmental and Safety Management P. 24

Targets and Results

Environmental and Safety Education

P. 25

Overview of Environmental Impacts

P. 27

Targets and Results

P. 28

Upholding Positive Working Environments
by Protecting Human Rights andProhibiting Discrimination
P. 59

Economic Indicators of Environmental
Performance (Environmental Accounting) P. 29
Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions
and Energy Conservation

P. 30

Chemical Substances Management

P. 31

Air, Water, and Waste Materials

P. 33

Chemical Product Safety Information

P. 34

Environmental Protectionand Safety in Logistics

P. 35

P. 59

Protecting Human Rights in the Supply Chain P. 60
Signatory to the United Nations
Global Compact and Establishmentof the Human Rights PolicyCommunity

P. 60
P. 61

Basic Approach and Initiatives

P. 61

Targets and Results

P. 61

CSR Core Projects

P. 63

3
CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Editorial Policy
Zeon Corporation and Zeon Group (“Zeon”) publish a
Corporate Report, which provides stakeholders with an
overview of Zeon’s business activities. In addition to the
Corporate Report, which functions as an annual reportand company profile, Zeon also publishes a CSR Report,
which is intended to help stakeholders understandZeon’s approach to CSR and its environmental activities.
The 2019 version of the CSR Report has been
restructured on the basis of the core subjects of ISO
26000, the international standard for CSR. Highlightsof 2019 CSR Report include Zetpol® in the Elastomer
Business and Cyclo olefin polymers in the Specialty
Materials Business. Besides bringing together
information about Zeon’s CSR approach and CSR
measures, the CSR 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 evenmore useful role in the world. We look forward to hearing
your frank comments and suggestions regarding the CSR
Report, which can provide a useful reference for us in our
future activities.

Reporting Period
April 2018 to March 2019 (includes some information
relating to the period in and after April 2019)

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

Reporting Scope for Environmental Data
Japan: 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., Optes Inc., Tohpe
Corporation
Outside Japan: Zeon Chemicals L.P. (ZCLP), Zeon
Chemicals (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (ZCT), Zeon Advanced
Polymix Co., Ltd. (ZAP), Zeon Chemicals Singapore Pte.
Ltd. (ZCS)

Reference Guidelines
Determined with reference to the 2007 Environmental
Reporting Guidelines promulgated by Japan’s Ministryof the Environment (MOE), and with reference to ISO
26000.
Direct inquiries to: CSR Promotion 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
http://www.zeon.co.jp/index_e.html

CSR Communication Tools
CSR Report 2019
(PDF)

Cover photo:
Zeon Corporation Tokuyama Plant
Established in 1965, this is themain production plant for synthetic
rubbers using butadiene monomers
extracted from naphtha. About halfof the produced synthetic rubber
is exported from the nearby Portof Tokuyama to the United States,
Europe, Asia, and other destinations
around the world. In 2015, wecompleted the world’s first massproduction plant for single wall
carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs).
Main products
Butadiene monomers, synthetic
rubbers, synthetic latex,
polymerized toners, single wall
carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs)

Corporate Report 2019
(Printed booklet, PDF)
ZEON GROUPCORPORATE REPORT 2019
Zeon GroupCSR REPORT

Zeon Corporation
CSR Promotion Department

Shin Marunouchi Center Building, 1-6-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8246, Japan
Tel: +81-3-3216-0603 Fax: +81-3-3216-0604 http://www.zeon.co.jp/index_e.html

2019

Printed on paper made with woodfrom forest thinning. ”Morino ChonaiKai” (Forest Neighborhood Association)
supporting sound forest management.

CSR Activities website(HTML, limited reporting)Site Reports
(PDF)

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Highlight 1 Zeon Products Making Contributions to Society

Zetpol®, hydrogenated nitrile
rubber for stronger rubber

Examples of parts that use
Zeon’s specialty rubbers

Timing belts
V-belts
Hoses
Various gaskets
Various seals
Various O-rings

Gasoline-engine cars are said to be assembled from tens of thousands of parts. While cars may look like hunks of metal,
in fact they use a lot of rubber parts. Rubber supplied by Zeon plays an important role in the auto industry. Rubber usedaround the engine in particular must be highly resistant to oil and high temperatures. Zeon offers specialty rubbers withperformance that meets various customer requirements, including acrylic rubber, acrylonitrile butadiene rubber,epichlorohydrin rubber, and hydrogenated nitrile rubber. Of them, Zetpol® hydrogenated nitrile rubber developed with
proprietary Zeon technology has received very positive reviews for its heat resistance.

Zeon contributes to society with specialty rubbers that improve vehicle performance
Raw material rubber such as Zetpol® produced by Zeon gets assembled in cars through rubber compound
manufacturers, parts manufacturers, and car manufacturers. With its high heat resistance, Zetpol® improves parts
performance, leading to improved vehicle performance and lighter weight. This in turn leads to energy conservation,
CO2 emission reductions, and resource savings.
●Improved materials performance leading to social contributions
Zeon supplies raw material
rubber including Zetpol®

Zetpol®

Raw materials supplied
from many different
materials manufacturers

Improved materials
performance

Improved parts
performance

Improved vehicle
performance

Rubber compound
manufacturers

Parts
manufacturers

Car
manufacturers

Kneading

Parts production

Zeon’s technological strengths support the auto industry

CO2 emission
reductions
Resource savings

Assembly

The Asia Technical Support Laboratory (ATSL) in Singapore provides technical support in such areas as blending, kneading, and physicalproperty evaluations of rubbers made with local materials for Asian users. This kind of support is made possible by the technology Zeon has
built up in the United States, Europe and Japan. Zeon’s technological strengths not only in supplying products but also in providing support
tailored to local needs are earning recognition in Asia.

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Highlight 1 Zeon Products Making Contributions to Society

Why Zetpol® specialty cross-linked type is better than conventional products
Specialty rubbers need to offer oil, heat, and cold resistance as well as durability. Improving the performance of one ofthese properties, however, results in a trade-off of degraded performance for the other properties. Conventionalhydrogenated nitrile rubber reduces the carbon–carbon double bonds through hydrogenation to increase heat resistance,
but this reduces durability (compression set). Zetpol® specialty cross-linked type adds specialty cross-linking to achieveboth heat and compression set resistance.

Specialty cross-linked type
CH2

CH
CN

CH2

CH2

CH2

l

CH

CH

CH2

m

Acrylonitrile

Carbon–carbon
saturated bond

CHn

Carbon–carbon unsaturated bondX

xAdding thiscross-linking
point improves
performance

Specialty
cross-linking point

Conventional product
CH2

CH
CN

CH2

CH2

l

Acrylonitrile

CH2

CH

CH

m

CH2
n

Carbon–carbon
saturated bondCarbon–carbon
unsaturated bond

What is compression set, forwhich Zetpol® is recognized?
The sealability of gaskets, packing, and seal materials areevaluated using compression set. Rubber is compressed
under high temperature, and its compression set, or thepercentage that does not recover its original shape, ismeasured. Zetpol® specialty cross-linked type is able tooffer improved heat resistance of 10°C or more overconventional products in compression set. This makes it
possible to manufacture high-temperature resistantproducts that have longer life.
Time (hr) to reach compression set of 80%

100,000

10,000Able to withstand higher
temperatures
for the same length of time

1,000

Longer life at the same
temperature

100

Zetpol® 2510 → Specialty cross-linked type
Zetpol® 2010L → Conventional product

10
110

120

130

140

150

160

Testing temperature (°C)

170

180

Increased production
capacity of Zetpol®
specialty cross-linked type
To meet the high demand for Zetpol®
specialty cross-linked type, the production
capacity of the Kawasaki Plant is being
increased, with construction scheduled to becompleted in September 2019.

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Highlight 2 Zeon Products Making Contributions to Society

Cyclo olefin polymers contributeto people’s health and safety

Microfluidic chips

Pre-filled syringes

Zeon’s Cyclo Olefin Polymers (COP) have excellent optical and chemical properties. Under the product names
ZEONEX® and ZEONOR®, they are widely used in optical lenses, medical and biotechnology applications while
earning highly favorable reviews. In April 2019, Zeon Opto Bio Lab Co., Ltd. was established to perform prototype
provision services focused on microfluidic chips using COP. The company is able to flexibly complete orders of
microfluidic chips and other COP molded products, from one piece to mass-production, in short timeframes. A full
package of services for COP molded products, from molding to cutting and joining, is also available. Zeon Opto Bio
Lab anticipates receiving orders from research institutes, universities, and startups from Japan, Western countries,
Asia, and elsewhere around the world.
Microfluidic chip prototype provision service▶https://www.zeonoss.com/en/●Characteristics of Zeon’s cyclo olefin polymers
High UVtransmittance

COP has excellent transmittance in short wavelength spectrum.

Low fluorescence

COP allows to perform highly sensitive fluorescence imaging tests.

Excellent molding
properties

COP exhibits excellent moldability allowing for intricately designed devices.

High chemical
inertness

COP demonstrates excellent resistance to acid,alkali alcohol.

Low level of
impurities

COP is extremely pure material.

Low protein
adsorption

COP is very low in protein adsorption.

Low water vapor
transmission

COP provides superior performance for storage
stability of substances.

Low environmental
impact

COP can be incinerated and has excellent safety and disposability.

Contributes
to stabilityof contents

Used in medical packaging
Because COP has low adsorption of proteins
and other substances, it is being increasingly
adopted in various state-of-the-art medical
packaging such as pre-filled syringes. Medical
service providers also welcome the fact that COP
is not readily breakable.

Pre-filled syringes

Blood test cells

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Highlight 2 Zeon Products Making Contributions to Society

Microfluidic chip market growth
Microfluidic chips are chips with microchannels and reaction chambers formed using microprocessing
technology, and are used in medical products and blood analysis. The global market for the three fields and key
applications of medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and in-vitro diagnostics has continued to grow at an annual rateof 17–18% over the last five years. In 2024, the market is forecast to reach a scale of $10 billion. The market for the
prototype creation business is considered to account for at least 10% of the microfluidic chip market as a whole.
●Microfluidic chips by application($1M)■Medical devices

Global market forecast■Pharmaceutical■In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVD)

10,000Market scale of approx. $10 billion

7,500

5,000

2,500

0

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

Source: Materials published by Grand View Research, 2018

Technical characteristics of Zeon’s microfluidic chips
Zeon’s microfluidic chips are also characterized by processing
technology that leverages COP’s characteristics. General
microfluidic chips are created by bonding two boards together,
one with channels and one that acts as a cover, and the adhesiveat times impedes analysis. Zeon Opto Bio Lab has developed
proprietary bonding technology that does not use adhesive,
making analysis possible without the loss of COP’s characteristics.
In addition, Zeon Opto Bio Lab is able to perform high-precision
cutting at the level of 50 microns as well as cutting that maintains
transparency. Mass-production in a clean room is also possible.
Cutting example

VOICE

New applications for COP
Sano Plant handles molded products and was spun off from Optes, whose principal business is optical films, toestablish Zeon Opto Bio Lab because of the new directions presented by the COP molded products business. “Zeon” wasincluded in the company name, and employee morale is receiving a boost from the launch of the new business venture.
As a behind-the-scenes supporter of research and development, customers reporting their results is also a reason for
employees engaged in this business to celebrate. Through customers, Zeon Opto Bio Lab will contribute to better healthand safety in society.
Koji Minami
Division Manager, Specialty Plastics Division

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Zeon’s CSR
CSR Policy
CSR ManagementTimeline of CSR Initiatives
CSR Implementation Plan

P. 8
P. 9
P. 11
P. 12

Zeon CSR Policy
At Zeon, we regard CSR activity as all activities undertaken in order to continue being “a company trusted and valued
by society.” With each employee acting in awareness of CSR, we will thoroughly enact compliance and contribute to theglobal environment and sustainable development through corporate activities.

Corporate Philosophy
Corporate Philosophy (established April 1997)“Zeon is contributing to the preservation of the Earthand the prosperity of the human race.”
In keeping with its name, which derives from the Greek
words “geo” (the Earth) and “eon” (eternity), Zeon willcontribute to the sustainable development of people,
society and the global environment through innovative
world-class technologies.

CSR Policy• We‌will encourage proactive action across the world,
refine innovative technology, and continually create new
products.
• As‌ an indispensable and valuable corporate citizen,
we will enhance our corporate value and meet the
expectations of society.
Third Principle• We‌
will establish Corporate Governance with CSR
management as a pillar• All‌ employees will act with thorough awareness of CSR
and meet the public's expectations• All‌ employees will fulfill Zeon’s CSR with enthusiasm• We‌
will pursue environmental preservation as well as
safety and quality assurance through the participationof every individual and in every corporate activity.

CSR Policy (established April 2010)
1. ‌We will ensure compliance and meet society’s needs
for safety and security
2. ‌We will contribute to sustainably developing society
and protecting the global environment through our
corporate activities
3. ‌We will ensure that each and every Zeon person isaware of CSR and acts accordingly

Each principle is further defined as follows.
First Principle• We‌
will comply with laws and regulations, firmly upholdthe values and ethics required of a corporate memberof society, and cause no distress to society• We‌
will undertake enterprise-wide environment andsafety initiatives to prevent accidents and provide asense of security to our employees as well as our local
communities• We‌will thoroughly address quality and product liability
issues to avoid impairing the safety and security ofsociety
Second Principle• We‌
will contribute to the realization of sustainable
development and protect the global environment
through our core business

CSR Code of Conduct
The CSR Code of Conduct specifies what kind ofactions we should be working actively to implement,from the perspective of meeting society’s expectations(the CSR Code of Conduct was revised in January 2018).
CSR Code of Conduct
http://www.zeon.co.jp/content/000257956.pdf

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

CSR Management
At Zeon, we regard CSR activities as all activities undertaken to continue being “a company trusted and valued bysociety.” In April 2010, we established the Zeon CSR Policy and the more specific CSR Code of Conduct. In January 2011,
we established our current CSR Management Framework. In January 2018, Zeon’s CSR Code of Conduct was revised toreflect the impact of globalization, etc.

CSR Management Framework
The CSR Management Framework comprises the CSR
Conference and eight committees.
Chaired by the President and held six times a year, the
CSR Conference is the chief decision-making body on
matters relating to CSR.
The CSR Conference is held to review and finalize
committee activities, initiatives, and annual activity plans,

and to give necessary instruction based on progress reports.
The committees report to the CSR Conference andadvance CSR activities in their specific areas. The eight
committees are the CSR Basic Policy Committee, the Risk
Management Committee, the Compliance Committee,
the Information Management Committee, the Environmental
and Safety Affairs Committee, the Quality AssuranceCommittee, the PL Committee, and the Public Relations
Committee.

Zeon’s CSR Management Framework
President

CSR Headquarters

CSR Coordination
Division

CSR Promotion
Department

CSR Basic
Policy Committee

CSR Promotional Committees at
Offices and Group Companies

General Affairs
Department

Risk Management
Committee
CSR Conference

Quality Assurance
Department

Compliance
Committee

Antitrust Law Regulatory
Subcommittee

Legal Affairs
Department

Information Management
Committee

Export Security
Control Subcommittee

Department of Corporate
Communications

Environmental &Safety Affairs Committee

Corporate Governance
Subcommittee

Quality AssuranceCommittee
PL Committee
Public Relations
Committee

CSR Basic Policy Committee
Purpose of establishment: To enhance CSR activities
The CSR Basic Policy Committee provides guidanceand support for the activities of the CSR Promotional
Committees at six Zeon locations and nine Group companies
in Japan. The Committee also defines the standards
for responding to community requests for support andestablished a framework for supporting social contributions.
Social contribution projects (CSR Core Projects) havebeen carried out since FY 2012.
• Support‌
for reconstruction of areas affected by theGreat East Japan Earthquake• “Chemistry‌Classrooms,” where we communicate theappeal of chemistry to children

Risk Management Committee
Purpose of establishment: To manage business
continuity risks
The committee is responsible for systematically
preventing potential risks and managing risks thatemerge. It also aims to provide disciplined response tominimize loss in the event that a crisis does occur.
For details on its activities, see Risk Management.
(R P. 21)

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Compliance Committee
Purpose of establishment: To prevent violations of laws
and regulations
The Compliance Committee is responsible forcreating compliance education and training programs
to be implemented by managing business divisions.
The Compliance Committee has the following threesubcommittees.
For more information about its activities, seeCompliance. (→P. 52)
Antitrust Law Regulatory Subcommittee
Established to prevent violations of antitrust law byofficers and employees of Zeon Group and to engage infree and fair competition among businesses. Meetings
are held as required.
Export Security Control Subcommittee
Established to ensure appropriate export anddomestic sales practices through compliance withJapan’s Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act andrelated laws in regard to products sold and technologies
licensed or provided by Zeon. Meetings are held as
required.
Corporate Governance Subcommittee
Established to exercise internal control over financial
reporting by Zeon Group. Meetings are held as required.

Information Management Committee
Purpose of establishment: Appropriate management of
information
Planning, implementation status management, andformulation of proposals for improvement, in regard to
the appropriate management of information.

Environmental and Safety Affairs Committee
Purpose of establishment: Activities related to theenvironment and safety
The Environmental and Safety Affairs Committee
plans and proposes specific environmental and safety
initiatives and monitors the progress of addressing
environmental and safety issues.
For more information about its activities, see
Environment (→P. 22) and Occupational Safety. (→P. 48)

Quality Assurance Committee
Purpose of establishment: Support quality assurance
The Quality Assurance Committee reviews quality
assurance activities and their implementation, andexamines and takes action to improve issues related toquality assurance.
For more information about its activities, see Quality
Assurance. (→P. 56)

PL Committee
Purpose of establishment: Activities related to productliability
Formulates plans for product liability related
prevention activities and training, and monitors theimplementation of emergency response measures.
For more information about its activities, see Quality
Assurance. (→P. 56)

Public Relations Committee
Purpose of establishment: Effectively communicate
information about Zeon
The Public Relations Committee aims toenhance Zeon’s profile and image through accurate
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 Fair andAppropriate Information Disclosure. (→P. 54)

11
CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Timeline of CSR Initiatives
CSR Activities
1995: Joined the Japan Responsible Care Council and declared our commitment to Responsible Care
Established Zeon’s Responsible Care Policy
1996: Revised the companywide 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

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

CSR Implementation Plan
CSR Matrix
Based on the CSR Matrix used since 2011, we have established our goals for 2020 in each area and have worked toaddress CSR issues as a group.
In 2017, we revised the CSR Matrix based on ISO 26000. We have defined our areas of activity in light of current social
circumstances, and have incorporated related initiatives into our new mid-term management plan that started in 2017.
We are also looking at how we can contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as we
incorporate CSR into our business activities.
1. Corporate Governance: Decision-making as an organization
Correlation with SDGs: Goal 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) and Goal 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)

Enterprise Blueprint for 2020
To meet the expectations of society

Details of current activities(■: Completed, △: Ongoing)

Future initiatives and targets‌
implementing our CSR
Decision-making with accountability and △1. Continue‌System to develop internal regulations
framework, and periodically revise
transparency
in the CSR implementation frameworkits operations based on society’s• Organizational decision-making is(Create internal rules → Apply to
expectations
conducted appropriately based on
routine work)‌△ Operations address corporate
internal regulations
governance• Business divisions carry out their(details of results below)
operations using the PDCA cycle based• ‌Zeon Corporation’s Basic Policy on
on policies
Corporate Governance (Japanese Only)• The process of decision-making
http://www.zeon.co.jp/
takes into consideration social andcontent/200281514.pdf
environmental impacts• ‌Corporate Governance Report (Japanese
Only)
http://www.zeon.co.jp/
content/200323922.pdf
Corporate governance• Corporate‌governance functions
effectively and reasonably• Many‌business processes are handledusing key business systems designed
based on internal regulations, and theoverall framework creates a very low
level of error in processes• When‌risks to corporate governancearise, systems operate to appropriately
address the risks under the proper
authority

 eport corporate governance reports‌ R△(status of system for ensuring
appropriateness of business affairs)‌△ Develop work systems‌△ Conduct corporate governanceactivities to satisfy Japan’s Corporate
Governance Code1. ‌Improve internal control level at Zeon Group
companies

Risk management• Established‌a global crisis management
structure
Compliance Hotline is operated• The‌
appropriately■ ‌Create a risk table and periodicallyrevise it■ ‌Evaluate risks using the risk table, andconduct the same across the Zeon
Group (Japan/global)■ ‌Operate an internal reporting system■ ‌Continue sending out information andconducting legal education using the
CSR Code of Conduct and compliancetexts

1. ‌Evaluate the risk table and give
guidance for improvements at divisionsand Group companies, and horizontally
implement successful cases
2. ‌Consider business risks broadly andmanage them in view of demands andsociety’s expectations

Business continuity■ ‌Examine and establish businessbusiness continuity‌• Independent
continuity management (BCM)
management (BCM) activities■ ‌Create and periodically revise(establishing a BCM system, periodicallyvarious business continuity plans
revising BCM through drills and other(companywide BCP, division BCP, raw
means, etc.) are conducted throughout
materials procurement BCP, etc.)
the Zeon Group, and have become
established and reinforced

1. ‌Support for establishing an independent
BCM structure through drills and othermeans (support so that individualorganizations can create the situationof conducting the PDCA cycle for BCM
by themselves)

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

2. Human Rights: Protect basic rights granted to all people
Correlation with SDGs: Goal‌
1 (No Poverty), Goal 2 (Zero Hunger), Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being), Goal 5(Gender Equality), and Goal 10 (Reduced Inequalities)

Enterprise Blueprint for 2020
To meet the expectations of society

Details of current activities(■: Completed, △: Ongoing)

Future initiatives and targets

Discrimination and vulnerable groups,■ ‌Release Zeon Group’s CSR Code1. ‌Provide information on the Zeon
avoidance of complicity
of Conduct and CSR Procurement
Group’s CSR Code of Conduct and CSR
section on respect for human rights• The‌
Guidelines on the Corporate Report
Procurement Guidelines to businessand prohibition of discrimination inand the Zeon corporate website
partners (business, procurement, andthe CSR Code of Conduct has beenmaterials purchasing departments)△ ‌Conduct CSR education including
shared with all Zeon Group companies
reviewing compliance texts, e-learning, 2. ‌Build a database of external reports
and Zeon Group business partners, andand CSR information sessions
related to respect for human rights atcompliance with the prohibitions on child ■ ‌Establish a policy specific to humanbusiness partners (supply chain CSR
labor and forced labor are confirmed
rights and implement it across the Zeon
survey database) (CSR PromotionGroup
Department)

3. Labor Practices
Based on Japanese law and international standards, fulfill not only our minimum obligations but also establish
better work environments and systems for organizations and employees
3 (Good Health and Well-being), Goal 4 (Quality Education), Goal 5 (Gender Equality),
Correlation with SDGs: Goal‌
and Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth)Enterprise Blueprint for 2020
To meet the expectations of society
Employment• Equal‌
employment opportunities are
ensured. (employment)

Details of current activities(■: Completed, △: Ongoing)‌ Set a numerical target for women new△
graduate hires‌ Hiring of non-Japanese employees△(mid-career employees, exchange
students)‌Expand re-employment system△for employees reaching the age ofmandatory retirement‌Implementation of employment for△people with disabilities

Future initiatives and targets
1. ‌Further expand employment not tied togender, nationality, race, age, disability,
or other attribute
2. ‌Build a supply chain CSR survey
database of labor practices at business
partners

FY 2018 results
No. of employees rehired after mandatory
retirement: 15 (88.2%)
Percentage of employees with disabilities: 2.29%
Labor conditions and social protections• ‌Create workplace environments in whichpeople are motivated to perform bypromoting diversity, implementing fairsystems for treatment of personnel, andencouraging dialogue‌△ Appropriate operation of evaluationand promotion management systems‌△ Support for employee skills and careerdevelopment‌△ Initiatives for harassment prevention‌△ MD Committee activities by women
members (including dialogue between
senior management and women
employees)

Labor conditions and social protections• Realize‌feelings of reward and security
in work with a view to balancing
individuals’ work and personal life

■ ‌Introduce flex-time systems
1. ‌Further pursue dynamic work styles■ ‌Advancement of measures to support(Promote taking annual paid vacation)
raising the next generation
2. ‌Create an environment that encourages
taking of child and family care leave■ ‌Childcare support systems (shortened
3. ‌Introduce a work-from-home system
working hours, overtime restrictions
and exemptions, sick care leave,
working daycare hours, etc.)‌Return-to-work program for employees△
taking childcare and caregiving leave

1. P‌ romote diversity-oriented management• ‌Appoint more women employees to higher
positions• ‌Initiatives to prevent harassment andimprove communication competence• ‌Advance employment of older persons
2. ‌Develop an education system and expanded
curriculum

14
CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Enterprise Blueprint for 2020
To meet the expectations of society

Details of current activities(■: Completed, △: Ongoing)

Future initiatives and targets

Occupational health and safety• Place‌priority on individuals’ physicaland mental well-being, and support
improved health△ Promotion of health management• Promotion‌of joint plans with healthinsurance cooperative• Ensure‌labor hours management andprevent excessive work
• Environmental‌
upgrades using stresscheck tests• Provide‌
guidance to prevent lifestylediseases• Promotion‌of no smoking measures

1. ‌Further promotion of health andproductivity management
to be selected as a White• Continue‌
500 company• Enhance‌mental health education• Implement‌further health promotion
initiatives

Occupational health and safety•‌Increased trust in Zeon to protect local
communities’ safety and security byconducting emergency drills and otherinitiatives such as concluding disastercooperation agreements•‌All worksites have earned public trustby maintaining a safety record of zeroincidents and accidents△ ‌Implement the Safety Management
Improvement Master Plan‌Fully implement deterioration△
countermeasures and identify foolproof
measures, and horizontally implement
measures arising from cases ofaccidents at other companies andplants‌Eliminate safety incidents: Regularly△
conduct plant safety evaluations andaudits‌Eliminate occupational accidents△‌ Improve safety in logistics△‌ Conduct comprehensive emergency△
response drills and monthly drills by
our self-defense emergency responseteams■ ‌Conclude cooperation agreementswith local governments (Cooperative
Agreement for Disaster Prevention in
Industrial Complexes)‌Participate in community disaster△readiness activities

To improve safety capabilities
1. ‌Conduct four safety activities (“4RKY”) at all Group companies (and in the
supply chain)
2. ‌Reinforce specified sources of hazards
to prevent safety accidents
3. ‌Enhance dialogue activities on safety,
the environment, and quality with local
communities

FY 2018 results● ‌Plant safety evaluations conducted100%● ‌Implement RC audits conducted (once/
year or more for all 4 plants)● ‌Eliminate safety incidents: 2 safetyincidents● ‌Eliminate occupational accidents: 2
occupational accidents resulting in lostwork time● ‌Zero serious accidents without lostwork time● ‌Improve safety in logistics: 0 accidents
in logistics
HR development and training at
workplaces•‌Have proactively enhanced awarenessand made further improvements inthe areas of health and safety throughcomprehensive education△ ‌Provide training to enhance accident
prevention awareness (4 plants, 1
Group company) (e.g., education
using accident case studies, hands-on
training)△ ‌Promote the 5S’s→3S’sTargets● ‌Plant safety evaluations conducted100%● ‌Implement RC audits (once/year or
more for all 4 plants)● ‌Eliminate safety incidents: 0 safetyincidents● ‌Eliminate occupational accidents: 0
occupational accidents resulting in lostwork time● ‌Zero serious accidents without lostwork time● ‌Improve safety in logistics: 0 accidents
in logistics● ‌Implement the above guidelines at
Group companies

1. ‌Conduct safety education companywide(and in the supply chain)
2. ‌Implement the 3S’s companywide (andin the supply chain)

15
CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

4. Environment: The organization takes responsibility for the environment, and promotes preventive measures
Correlation with SDGs: Goal‌
6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), Goal 9 (Industry,Innovation and Infrastructure), Goal 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), Goal 13(Climate Action), Goal 14 (Life Below Water), and Goal 15 (Life on Land)Enterprise Blueprint for 2020
To meet the expectations of society

Details of current activities(■: Completed, △: Ongoing)

Pollution prevention
Climate change mitigation andadaptation• All‌ plants received public recognition for
their environmental impact reductions•‌Proactively enhance awareness andmake further improvements in theareas of the environment and energy
conservation through comprehensive
education‌ educe emissions of hazardous△R
substances, industrial waste, and impacts
on atmospheric and water environments△ I‌ mprove energy conservation in Responsible
Care audits, the Safety Management
System, the Environment Management
System based on ISO 14001, and the Energy
Conservation Implementation Committee

Future initiatives and targets
1. ‌Conduct environmental management
using the multiple systems noted on
the left
2. ‌Implement activities companywide to
reduce environmental load
3. ‌Identify energy-saving measures andimplement them on an ongoing basis
4. ‌Conduct risk assessments of hazardous
chemical substances

FY 2018 results● ‌Zero environmental incidents
Targets● ‌Reducing environmental impacts● Zero environmental incidents• ‌Per-unit energy consumption: -7.9%● Reducing environmental impacts
over the previous fiscal year
• ‌Per-unit energy consumption: -1%-41% compared with FY 1990
over the previous fiscal year
(annual average of -1.5%)•P‌ er-unit CO2 emissions: -1% over theprevious fiscal year
• ‌Per-unit CO2 emissions: -8.4% overthe previous fiscal year
-41% compared with FY 1990 (annual
average of -1.5%)

Climate change mitigation and adaptation ■ D‌ evelop S-SBR for fuel-efficient tires, low1. R‌ esearch and development,• ‌Products with reduced environmental
temperature toners, cleaning solvents and etching
manufacturing, and sales that address
load continue to be developed andgases with zero ozone depletion potential, andenvironmental issues faced by society
launched in the market
binders for lithium-ion rechargeable batteries

5. Fair Operating Practices: Ethical organizational conduct in interactions with other organizations
10 (Reduced Inequalities), and Goal 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions)
Correlation with SDGs: Goal‌Enterprise Blueprint for 2020
To meet the expectations of society

Details of current activities(■: Completed, △: Ongoing)

Fair competition•‌Are complying with all laws andregulations, ordinances, agreements,
and internal regulations, and acting withhigh ethical standards based on being amodel for society‌• Management policies are broadly
understood and compliance awareness is
widespread. As a result, by proactively
conducting CSR activities and adapting
to environmental changes, business
continuity as well as sustainable
development are achieved■ E‌ nact and implement management regulations including
those on insider trading and appropriate disclosure omply with internal regulations including△C
the Export Security Control Regulations‌ ppropriately implement regulations to comply with△A
the Act on Prohibition of Private Monopolizationand Maintenance of Fair Trade (Antimonopoly Act)‌ ompliance with the Subcontract Act and△C
the Act for Securing the Proper Operationof Worker Dispatching Undertakings(prevention of falsified contracts)‌Build a system that prohibits bribes△‌Draft the CSR Code of Conduct and the△
CSR Procurement Guidelines‌Employees read the Compliance△
Textbook and take e-learning courses‌△ Conduct CSR education including
holding CSR informational sessions‌ old lectures on legal and regulatory compliance△H‌Legal compliance inspections△‌Regularly revise internal regulations (to△satisfy legal amendments)■ ‌Become a signatory to the United
Nations Global Compact

Future initiatives and targets
To reduce legal risks● ‌Compliance with internal regulations● ‌Ongoing legal training and information
sharing using the Compliance Textbook
and other materials● ‌Education on the CSR Code of Conduct● ‌Ongoing compliance education● ‌Revise the Compliance Textbook andthe CSR Textbook and hold related
informational meetings● ‌Ongoing CSR briefings by the head of
the CSR division● ‌Support the establishment ofcompliance systems at Zeon Group
companies outside Japan (develop in
the supply chain)● ‌Shift from compliance to sustainability(promote understanding among
management and establish among
employees)

16
CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Enterprise Blueprint for 2020
To meet the expectations of society

Details of current activities(■: Completed, △: Ongoing)

Future initiatives and targets

Fair competition•‌Information is disclosed quickly andappropriately, and market value has
increased(Including negative information
regarding business conditions, CSR,
risks, etc.)‌Hold financial results briefings△‌Publish various reports△‌Release information via the company△
website‌Hold briefings for individual investors△
and analysts and respond to investor
inquiries‌Hold press conferences for mass media△
outlets and others

Fair competition‌manage confidential• Appropriately
information including trade secrets andpersonal information■ ‌Establish the Information Management 1. ‌Maintain confidential information
Committee
management‌Proper implementation of internal
2. ‌Review and implement measures△regulations (information management
addressing environmental changes
regulations, personal information
related to information management
protection management rules, etc.)
inside and outside Japan‌ Education through e-learning△‌Operation of information management△
systems (Documal, MOSS)△C‌ onduct information security audits

Social responsibility in the value chain•‌Select business partners based on
the CSR Procurement Guidelines andperiodically confirm the Guidelines’
status of implementation

1. ‌Develop and establish the CSR Code
■ Multiple-sourceof Conduct and CSR Procurement‌ omply with laws and regulations on△Ccompetition including the Antimonopoly Act
Guidelines in the supply chain‌Satisfy the RoHS Directive, bans on
2. ‌Build the supply chain CSR survey△
substances, etc.
database‌Purchasing following the CSR△
Procurement Guidelines

To enhance the corporate brand andvalue
1. ‌Improve the website (IR, CSR
information)
2. ‌Strengthen the information
communications structure (PR)3. ‌Communicate information that
supports ESG investment■ ‌Institute regulations on intellectual
Respect for property rights
1. ‌Foster and establish an intellectual
property rights and intellectual‌ romoting understanding on the handling of•Pproperty mindset through ongoingintellectual property rights (including trade
property management
compliance and intellectual property
secrets)‌ Education using the Complianceeducation△• ‌The system of monitoring other
Textbook and intellectual property
companies’ intellectual property rights to
education
prevent violations is functioning properly △‌Hold meetings on countermeasures forother companies’ patents and patentrisk audits as appropriate

6. Consumer Issues: Not causing harm to consumers, and not causing consumers to have harmful effects on society
Correlation with SDGs: ‌Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), and Goal 12 (Responsible Consumption and
Production)

Enterprise Blueprint for 2020
To meet the expectations of society

Details of current activities(■: Completed, △: Ongoing)

Future initiatives and targets

Protecting consumers’ health and safety △‌ Have a quality management system• ‌Achieve first-rate global standards inbased on ISO 9001
‌ Manage quality assurance risksboth quality and cost△(product liability lawsuits, supply
obligations, product recalls, andcredibility loss due to rumors)‌ Improve processes (reduce losses,△
improve consistency)‌ Develop activities for production△
innovations‌ M easure customer satisfaction (CS)△to understand the current satisfactionlevel, set targets, and promote
improvements

1. ‌To maintain and expand conditions
where Zeon products are chosen● ‌Establish systems to definitively reducecomplaints, process abnormalities, anddefects, prevent defective products
from leaving Zeon, create corporate
quality trusted by customers, andfurther improve customer satisfaction● ‌Develop initiatives for chemical
substance regulations● ‌Develop Zeon’s quality management
system at Zeon Group companies
outside Japan and at outsourcing
partners‌ Develop business based on business△plans

1. ‌Research and development,
manufacturing, and sales that address
consumer issues faced by society

Sustainable consumption• ‌Developed and launched a series of
products that are beneficial to society

17
CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

7. Community Involvement and Community Development
Involvement in and contribution to the community in various forms, from dialogue with local residents toimprovement of education and culture in the community and local employment creation
Correlation with SDGs: Goal‌
4 (Quality Education), Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), Goal 11(Sustainable Cities and Communities), and Goal 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)

Enterprise Blueprint for 2020
To meet the expectations of society

Details of current activities(■: Completed, △: Ongoing)

Future initiatives and targets

Community involvement, education, and △‌Develop CSR Core Projects (social
culturecontribution activities by Group as•‌Zeon’s social contributions area whole, among locations, and atunderstood, receive recognition, and are
individual worksites)
supported‌Communicate CSR activities (reports,△
website)● ‌Develop the CSR Core Projects basedon a defined Zeon Group activity policy‌ Upgrade and enhance the system△for promoting volunteer activities(establish a volunteer leave system)‌Introduce volunteer activities and△promote and support participationin them (volunteering to support
reconstruction from earthquakes, etc.)● ‌Raise employee awareness for social
contributions• Conduct‌
CSR education including CSR
informational sessions
a social contribution policy• Establish‌for the entire Zeon Group (e.g., onwater)● ‌Create a system to support volunteering(volunteer registration system, etc.)● ‌Create opportunities for social
contributions from exchanges withlocal councils of social welfare, nongovernmental organizations and nonprofit organizations

Community involvement‌• An organization for promoting volunteer
activities among employees has been
established, and employees actively
volunteer in various ways

FY 2018 results
Number of employees participating involunteer tours: 48(cumulative total of 473 employees)

Community involvement■ ‌Formulate and utilize disaster recovery• ‌Guidelines for coexisting with local
support standards‌ Donations and charity activities
communities have been created and are △(Furukawa Scholarship, expenses forused, and good relations have been builtwith local communities
community promotions, Red Cross,etc.)‌ Maintain good community relations△
and have community exchanges
and participate in community• Sponsor‌
festivals and events including summer
festivals at plants• Community‌cleanup activities
tours (receive plant visitors,• Plant‌internships)●M‌ aintain and expand exchanges withlocal communities
the reconstruction of the‌• Support
Tohoku region• Devise‌and implement ongoingmeasures to support recovery fromdisasters• Actively‌
participate in community
activities● ‌Through dialogue with stakeholders
including local communities, identify
expectations from society, the current
level of meeting those expectations,and set targets

Community involvement△ Charity activities for NPOs, etc.
• Have‌a system able to make donations
promptly to help people during disasters● ‌Create budget for charity activities andintegrate managing departments● ‌Clarify standards for selecting donation
recipients and review multifaceted
contributions

Technological development and accessto technologies
Explore the needs of society and cultivate
the seeds to meet these needs based on
unique technologies and unparalleledproducts to create new business andmake contributions to society● ‌Strategy for “reinforce” and “explore” inthe Research and Development Divisionand business divisions

18
CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Corporate GovernanceTargets and Results
Corporate Governance
Risk Management

P. 18
P. 19
P. 21

Targets and Results
Enterprise Blueprint for 2020
To meet the expectations of society

Details of current activities(■: Completed, △: Ongoing)

Future initiatives and targets‌
implementing our CSR
Decision-making with accountability and △1. Continue‌System to develop internal regulations
framework, and periodically revise
transparency
in the CSR implementation frameworkits operations based on society’s• Organizational decision-making is(Create internal rules → Apply to
expectations
conducted appropriately based on
routine work)‌△ Operations address corporate
internal regulations
governance• Business divisions carry out their(details of results below)
operations using the PDCA cycle based• ‌Zeon Corporation’s Basic Policy on
on policies
Corporate Governance (Japanese Only)• The process of decision-making
http://www.zeon.co.jp/
takes into consideration social andcontent/200281514.pdf
environmental impacts• ‌Corporate Governance Report (Japanese
Only)
http://www.zeon.co.jp/
content/200323922.pdf
Corporate governance• Corporate‌governance functions
effectively and reasonably• Many‌business processes are handledusing key business systems designed
based on internal regulations, and theoverall framework creates a very low
level of error in processes
risks to corporate governance• When‌
arise, systems operate to appropriately
address the risks under the proper
authority

 eport corporate governance reports‌ R△(status of system for ensuring
appropriateness of business affairs)‌△ Develop work systems‌△ Conduct corporate governanceactivities to satisfy Japan’s Corporate
Governance Code1. ‌Improve internal control level at Zeon Group
companies

Risk management• Established‌a global crisis management
structure
Compliance Hotline is operated• The‌
appropriately■ ‌Create a risk table and periodicallyrevise it■ ‌Evaluate risks using the risk table, andconduct the same across the Zeon
Group (Japan/global)■ ‌Operate an internal reporting system■ ‌Continue sending out information andconducting legal education using the
CSR Code of Conduct and compliancetexts

1. ‌Evaluate the risk table and give
guidance for improvements at divisionsand Group companies, and horizontally
implement successful cases
2. ‌Consider business risks broadly andmanage them in view of demands andsociety’s expectations

Business continuity■ ‌Examine and establish businessbusiness continuity• Independent‌
continuity management (BCM)
management (BCM) activities■ ‌Create and periodically revise(establishing a BCM system, periodicallyvarious business continuity plans
revising BCM through drills and other(companywide BCP, division BCP, raw
means, etc.) are conducted throughout
materials procurement BCP, etc.)
the Zeon Group, and have become
established and reinforced

1. ‌Support for establishing an independent
BCM structure through drills and othermeans (support so that individualorganizations can create the situationof conducting the PDCA cycle for BCM
by themselves)

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

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 only)
http://www.zeon.co.jp/content/200281514.pdf
Corporate Governance Report (Japanese only)
http://www.zeon.co.jp/content/200323922.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 corporate auditors in attendance to ensurecompliance with applicable laws and the Articles ofIncorporation in the execution of business. In addition toits statutory duties, the role of the Board of Directors is
to make important decisions about basic management
policy, strategy, and other aspects of business execution.
Currently, the Board of Directors consists of 11 directors,
including three outside directors.
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee, in accordance with the
Executive Committee Rules, comprises the President
and executive officers ranked senior corporate officer
and above, meets twice a month in principle to examineand make decisions on important business matters afterdue deliberation involving consultation with attending
full-time corporate auditors. Important business matters
stipulated in the Board of Director Rules are examinedand decided by the Board of Directors.

Board of Corporate Auditors
The Board of Corporate Auditors comprises fivemembers, including three outside corporate auditors.
The Board reports, discusses, and adopts resolutions
on important business matters. In accordance withthe auditing guidelines established by the Board of
Corporate Auditors, each corporate auditor audits
directors’ execution of their duties through various
means, such as attending Board of Directors meetingsand monitoring business operations, including at
subsidiaries’ operations.
Director and Officer Nomination and Compensation
Committee
The Director and Officer Nomination andCompensation Committee is placed under the Boardof Directors as an advisory organ for the purpose ofstrengthening the objectivity and transparency of theBoard of Directors functions related to nominating
directors and officers and deciding their compensation.
The committee is composed of three to five members, ofwhich at least two are independent outside directors.

Changes to the Corporate Governance System
In October 2018, the Information Security
Subcommittee, which had been under the Compliance
Committee, was moved to under the CSR Conference
as the Information Management Committee. The
Committee collects the latest information on
information management and information security,and plans and implements Group-wide information
management measures to improve information security
for the Zeon Group. Audits of information systems
and information security education are also includedin the responsibilities of the Information Management
Committee.

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Corporate Governance System

General Meeting of Shareholders(Appointments/(Appointments/
Collaboration dismissals)dismissals)(assistance)

Decisions/Supervision(appointments/dismissals)
Auditing

Corporate Auditors (Board)

Decisions/Supervision(selections/dismissals)

Collaboration

Executive Committee
Department ofInternal Auditing

Auditing(Dismissals)
Collaboration

Financial Auditors

Auditing Personnel

Financial
AuditsBusiness Execution &Internal Controls System

Representative Director

Reporting

CSR Conference

Internal audits

CSR
Basic Policy
Committee

Risk Management Committee

Reporting(external)

Compliance Committee

External
lawyers

Information Management Committee
Environmental & Safety Affairs Committee
Quality Assurance Committee
PL Committee

Reporting (external)

RequireDirector andadviceOfficer Nomination and
Board of Directors
Compensation Committee Suggestions

Public Relations Committee
Business divisions, indirect departments, laboratories, and plants
Control/monitoring

Subsidiaries and affiliates

Reporting(external)

Reporting(external)

Reporting(external)

21
CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Risk Management
Risk Management Framework

Internal Reporting System

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. 52]) The
Information Management Committee implements
appropriate management of information, from the time
when information is obtained until the time when it isdeleted.

Zeon established its internal reporting system toquickly collect information on potential risks andfacilitate their resolution. Per the rules on reporting riskrelated information, reports can be made not only to
one’s supervisor or the Risk Management Committee
directly, but also by calling the Compliance Hotline, whichconnects the caller to an external lawyer. No person
who reports* a matter of concern will suffer any adverse
consequences as a result of making a report.

Risk Management and Compliance System

Internal reports: Cumulative‌total of 15 incidents overthe past 10 years (FY 2009–FY 2018)

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

Compliance Committee

Prevention of legal violations
Education and training in compliance with laws
Antitrust Law Regulatory Subcommittee

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.

Export Security Control Subcommittee
Corporate Governance Subcommittee

Information Management Committee

Appropriate management of information

Risk Management Committee FY 2018 Results• ‌Handle incidents as they occur and take steps toprevent their recurrence• ‌Enhance risk and crisis control measures
Example: Based on business continuity plans (BCPs),
hold comprehensive, companywide disaster drills thatsimulate a major earthquake

Internal Reporting Flowchart
Internal
Supervisor

External
Risk Management
Committee
Investigating the facts andtaking countermeasures

ReportingpersonDiscovering risks/
Discovering complianceviolations

Outside lawyer
contact
Receiving internal reports/
Recording facts/
Communicating the results

Compliance Hotline

Report or notification
Feedback

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

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Environment
Environmental Philosophy and Safety Philosophy
Environmental and Safety Management
Environmental and Safety Education
Overview of Environmental Impacts
Targets and Results
Economic Indicators of Environmental
Performance (Environmental Accounting)
Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions and Energy Conservation
Chemical Substances Management
Air, Water, and Waste Materials
Chemical Product Safety Information
Environmental Performance in Logistics

P. 22
P. 24
P. 25
P. 27
P. 28
P. 29
P. 30
P. 31
P. 33
P. 34
P. 35

Environmental Data for Zeon Worksites and Group Companies ▶▶▶ http://www.zeon.co.jp/csr_e/report.html

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 life cycle 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)

23
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Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

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.

24
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Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Environmental and Safety Management
We have built Environmental and Safety Management Systems based on the Responsible Care philosophy, and our plants
have obtained ISO 14001 certification. Our four main plants completed the transition to the 2015 version of ISO 14001 after the
standard was revised in September 2015. Our goal is to ensure the safety of all persons at our worksites and plants.

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 thecompanywide Annual Environment and Safety Policy isreleased.

•Progress Management•S‌ afety Management Improvement Master Plan:
Progress verified by the CSR Conference•A‌ nnual 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
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Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Environmental and Safety Education
Systematic safety education
Environmental and safety education programs are
implemented in accordance with the annual plan set byeach worksite.
Company-wide environmental and safety education
supervised by the Environmental & 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,an overview of the fundamental four laws , 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 2018, instructors provided education byintroducing accident case studies from other companies
and directly communicating their own views toparticipants, such as the lessons to be drawn from each
incident, while applying the cases to work processes at
Zeon.

Education using accident case studies

Environmental and safety education for new
employees
Newly-recruited employees at Zeon headquarters
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.

26
CSR REPORT
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Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

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 in FY 2015 to include the Tokuyama Plant,
the Mizushima Plant and the Takaoka Plant, 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 2018
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 loose or cut safety belts.
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

27
CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

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.

INPUT
Energy211,000 kL (crude oil equivalent)
Handled amount of substances
subject to the PRTR Act
878,000 tons
Water resources
18,098,000 m3

OUTPUT
Head Office

Products
1,724,000 tons

Takaoka Plant
Kawasaki Plant

Atmospheric emissions

Mizushima Plant

Substances subject
to the PRTR Act
24 tonsCO2545,000 tons
SOx
689 tons
NOx
298 tons

R&D Center

Water discharges

Tokuyama Plant

Total wastewater
discharge
15,399,000 m3
COD
Total nitrogen
Total phosphorus

124 tons
160 tons
1.8 tons

Industrial waste
Final landfill disposal
0.0 tons
Recycled materials 15,932 tons

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Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Targets and Results
The targets and results of our environmental conservation initiatives as part of our Responsible Care activities are as
follows.
Enterprise Blueprint for 2020
To meet the expectations of society

Details of current activities(■: Completed, △: Ongoing)

Pollution prevention
Climate change mitigation andadaptation• All‌ plants received public recognition for
their environmental impact reductions•‌Proactively enhance awareness andmake further improvements in theareas of the environment and energy
conservation through comprehensive
education‌ educe emissions of hazardous△R
substances, industrial waste, and impacts
on atmospheric and water environments△ I‌ mprove energy conservation in Responsible
Care audits, the Safety Management
System, the Environment Management
System based on ISO 14001, and the Energy
Conservation Implementation Committee

Future initiatives and targets
1. ‌Conduct environmental management
using the multiple systems noted on
the left
2. ‌Implement activities companywide to
reduce environmental load
3. ‌Identify energy-saving measures andimplement them on an ongoing basis
4. ‌Conduct risk assessments of hazardous
chemical substances

FY 2018 results● ‌Zero environmental incidents
Targets● ‌Reducing environmental impacts● Zero environmental incidents• ‌Per-unit energy consumption: -7.9%● Reducing environmental impacts
over the previous fiscal year
• ‌Per-unit energy consumption: -1%-41% compared with FY 1990
over the previous fiscal year
(annual average of -1.5%)•P‌ er-unit CO2 emissions: -1% over theprevious fiscal year
• ‌Per-unit CO2 emissions: -8.4% overthe previous fiscal year
-41% compared with FY 1990 (annual
average of -1.5%)

Climate change mitigation and adaptation ■ ‌Develop S-SBR for fuel-efficient tires,• ‌Products with reduced environmental
low-temperature toners, cleaning
load continue to be developed andsolvents and etching gases with zerolaunched in the market
ozone depletion potential, and binders
for lithium-ion rechargeable batteries

1. R‌ esearch and development,
manufacturing, and sales that addressenvironmental issues faced by society

There were no environmental irregularities in FY 2018.
We are taking steps to continue reducing our per-unit energy consumption and per-unit CO2 emissions by an averageof 1% per year.

29
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Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

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 (Zeon Head Office, Takaoka Plant, Kawasaki Plant, Tokuyama Plant, Mizushima Plant, R&D Center);
Period: April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019

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

FY 2018 (million JPY)

Category

Investment
amount(1) Costs within the business area

Expense

191

2,797

• Pollution prevention costs

117

2,078

• Global environmental protection costs

74

131

• Resource recycling costs

0588

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

Unit: million JPY

Cost reductions from energy savings

3

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

2,461

Total

2,464

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

24

131

(4) R&D costs

216

1,721

(5) Social activities costs

037‌ nvironmental damage(6) E
response costs

0

75

413

4,762

Total

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

FY 2018
results

Compared
to FY 2017

SOx emissions (tons)

689

-107

NOx emissions (tons)

298

-26

COD emissions (tons)

124

-13

CO2 emissions (tons)

544,747-32,070

Industrial waste sent to landfills (tons)

0.0

-1.9

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

23.7

-1.5

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

369

Safety related

2,930

Total

3,299

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CSR REPORT
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Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions and Energy Conservation
Initiatives to Reduce Greenhouse Gas (CO2) Emissions
By FY 2020, we aim to reduce CO2 emissions fromfuels defined in Japan’s Act on the Rational Use ofEnergy (“Energy Conservation Act”) to 80% of FY
1990 CO2 emissions levels. We added CO2 emissions
reduction outcomes to the evaluation parameters of ZΣ*in FY 2010, and are working to reduce CO2 emissions
companywide.
In FY 2018, annual CO2 emissions totaled
approximately 545,000 tons, which exceeded the target.
*ZΣ:
Initiatives to improve our corporate soundness that require the full
mobilization of Zeon Group capabilities. These initiatives used to be called“ZΣ Activities,” but after evolving and becoming established, they are now
simply referred to as “ZΣ.”

Initiatives to Conserve Energy
In FY 2018, we consumed energy equivalent toburning approximately 211,000 kiloliters of crude oil, or
64% of our FY 1990 baseline. We plan to improve our
per-unit energy consumptions indicator* by an averageof 1% per year going forward.
In FY 2009, we achieved the JCIA target (for FY
2008–2012) of per-unit energy consumptions indicatorof 80% of the FY 1990 baseline, and have maintained
this level. Since FY 2010, we have been implementing
a plan to improve our average annual per-unit energy
consumptions by 1% per year.
‌Per-unit energy consumptions indicator:*
Guideline for making energy-efficiency comparisons. Here, energyefficiency comparisons use FY 1990 as the baseline. (FY 1990=100)

Change in CO2 Emissions

Energy Consumption and Per-unit Consumptions Indicator

Emissions(1,000 tons)

Usage(1,000 kL)

700

637

600

553

500
400

577
486

250

545

110

248
215

200
Target line (80% of the FY 1990 value = 509,000 tons)

300
200

1990

2015

2016

2017

2018

FY

228
194

100

211

90

150

Target (80% of FY 1990)

80

100

65

70

50

100
0

Per-unit

300

0

1990

2015

60

2016

Energy consumption(crude oil equivalent, 1,000 kL)

64

2017

59

2018

60
FY

50

Per-unit energy consumptions
indicator (FY 1990=100)

31
CSR REPORT
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Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Chemical Substances Management
PRTR Initiatives Chemical Substances

Atmospheric Emission Reductions of Hazardous

We are implementing companywide initiatives toreduce release and transfer of substances subject toJapan’s PRTR Act.

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.

Release and Transfer Volumes of Substances Subject to
the PRTR Act (FY 2018)

Butadiene Emissions

Total release
volume(23.7 tons)

Amount released
into atmosphere:(23.7 tons)
Amount released
into water:(0)

Release andTransfer Volumes
Total(440.7 tons)

Amount released
into soil:(0)

Total transfer
volume(417.0 tons)

Transfer volume:(417.0 tons)
Amount to landfill:(0)

Release of Substances Subject to the PRTR Act

4.0

3.7

3.0

3.4

2016

2017

2018

4.1

4.0

4.0

2016

2017

2018

2.0
1.0
0

2014

2015

FY

15
30.1

11.9
27.4

25.2

10

23.7

5.5

5

10

2014

3.2

2.7

20

0

3.6

Atmospheric emissions(tons)

36.7

30

5.0

Acrylonitrile Emissions

Amount of release(tons)

40

Atmospheric emissions(tons)

2015

2016

2017

2018

FY

0

2014

2015

FY

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CSR REPORT
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Fair Operating Practices

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Human Rights

Community

Detailed Release and Transfer Volumes of Substances Subject to the PRTR Act (FY 2018, 4 plants + R&D Center)
Government
designatedno.

Substance

2
3
4
6
7
8
9
13
20
28
29
30
36
53
56
59
60
65
68
80
102
125
134
190
202
203
207
218
220
230
232
240
243
259
274
277
296
297
300
302
308
309
333
338
349
351
355
392
395
400
407
408
410
411
414
415
417
420
436

Acrylamide
Ethyl acrylate
Acrylic acid and its water-soluble salts
2-Hydroxyethyl acrylate
n-Butyl acrylate
Methyl acrylate
Acrylonitrile
Acetonitrile
2-Aminoethanol (monoethanolamine)
Allyl alcohol
1-Allyloxy-2,3-epoxypropane
n-Alkylbenzenesulfonic acid and its salts (alkyl C=10-14)
Isoprene
Ethylbenzene
Ethylene oxide
Ethylenediamine
Ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid
Epichlorohydrin
1,2-Epoxypropane
Xylene1-Chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene
Chloroform
Vinyl acetate
Dicyclopentadiene
Divinylbenzene
Diphenylamine
2,6-Di-tert-butyl-4-cresol
Dimethylamine
Water-soluble salts of dimethyldithiocarbamic acidN-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)-N’-phenyl-p–phenylenediamine
N,N-dimethylformamide
StyreneDioxins
Tetraethylthiuram disulfide
Tert-dodecanethiol
Triethylamine
1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene
1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene
TolueneNaphthalene
NickelNickel compounds
Hydrazine
2-Vinylpyridine
Phenol
1,3-Butadiene
Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalaten-Hexane
Water-soluble salts of peroxodisulfuric acid
BenzenePolyoxyethylene alkyl ether
Polyoxyethylene octylphenyl ether
Polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether
Formaldehyde
Maleic anhydride
Methacrylic acid
2,3-Epoxypropyl methacrylate
Methyl methacrylate
α-Methylstyrene

Handledamount(tons)
88.3
2,253
63.5
28.6
3,326
15.3
29,205
5.0
8.0
0.0
32.8
1,312
174,859
51.9
1,019
1.2
19.3
0.0
42.5
2,857
0.1
5.1
139
158,603
6.7
5.6
386
0.3
18.8
34.1
237
42,413
0.0
16.4
791
33.6
332
332
4,240
417
87.3
121.9
0.4
73.4
80.1
446,066
197
690
140
4,265
85.7
5.8
29.6
0.0
116.4
2,111
10.9
477
289

Released into Released into
Total
atmospherewater
release volume(tons)(tons)(tons)
0.0
6.3
0.0
0.0
2.0
0.3
4.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
2.7
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.2
0.0
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.0
0.0
0.9
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.5
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.1
0.0
0.1
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
3.4
0.0
2.1
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.7
0.0
0.0
0.1
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. Dioxins are expressed in units of mg-TEQ.

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

6.3

2.0
0.3
4.0
0.0

2.7
0.0

0.2
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.0
0.9
0.0

0.0
0.5

0.0

0.1
0.1

0.0
0.0
3.4
2.1
0.0

0.7
0.0
0.1

Transfer
volume(tons)
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
14.2
0.0
0.1
2.0
0.0
0.0
0.8
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
1.3
0.0
0.3
0.0
0.4
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.6
0.0
1.3
21.1
0.0
0.0
0.1
0.0
0.0
0.0
154.4
0.0
78.0
121.9
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
19.7
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.8
0.0

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Air, Water, and Waste Materials
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

400
796

800
600

624

605

509

324

689

300

2014

2015

2016

119

119

119

2014

2015

2016

298

100

200
2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

FY

Total Wastewater Discharge

2017

2018

FY

Amount of release(tons)

150

20

16

0

COD Discharge

Amount of release(million m3)

15

241

253

200

400

0

274

16

16

16

15

137

124

100

10
50

5
0

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

FY

Total Phosphorus Discharge

153

160

2017

2018

FY

200

167

2.5
1.6

1.6

1.7

1.7

142

150

1.8

124

100

1.0

50

0.5
0

2018

Amount of release(tons)

3.0

1.5

2017

Total Nitrogen Discharge

Amount of release(tons)

2.0

0

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

FY

0

2014

2015

2016

FY

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CSR REPORT
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Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

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

6.5

6
4

3.5
1.7

2
0

2014

2015

2016

1.9

2017

0.0
2018

FY

Chemical Product Safety Information
We collect and provide safety information on our chemical products. We also conduct hazard assessments. For quality
assurance, see Consumer Issues (→P. 56).

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 arereleased on the GPS/JIPS*2 website (ICCA GPS Chemicals
Portal Site).

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*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.

*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).
*4 IISRP
International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Environmental Protection and Safety 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

36
CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Labor Practices
Basic Approach and Initiatives
Targets and Results
Employment and Diversity
HR Development
Human Resources System
Creating Working Environments
That Protect Health
Occupational Safety
Safety and Accident Prevention

P. 36
P. 37
P. 38
P. 40
P. 43
P. 45
P. 48
P. 49

Basic Approach and Initiatives
Aiming to ensure that Zeon is “A company of which each and every one of its employees can be proud”
In our CSR Code of Conduct, we stipulate respect for human rights and prohibit discrimination. We strive to be acompany that understands and accepts diverse values, and where no person is discriminated against based on gender,
age, nationality, or other attribute.
Based on this policy, we aim to enable every employee* to work with pride by cultivating employees able tocontinually evolve by pursuing high goals based on independent thinking, building a human resource system in which
employees take on challenges without fear of failure and gain a sense of accomplishment, and creating a comfortableworkplace environment that values dialogue.
*At Zeon, “employees” refers to all workers including full-time and part-time workers.

Zeon—A company of which each andevery one of its employees can be proud
Encourage employees tocontinually evolve by
pursuing high goals
based on independent
thinking

Human resource system inwhich employees take onchallenges without fear of
failure and gain a sense ofaccomplishment

A comfortableworking environmentthat values dialogue

Promoting diversity
Respect for human rights, prohibition of discrimination

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CSR REPORT
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Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Targets and Results
We have set Enterprise Blueprint for 2020 targets in each area of activity and are conducting initiatives needed toachieve our goals.
Enterprise Blueprint for 2020
To meet the expectations of society
Employment• Equal‌
employment opportunities are
ensured. (employment)

Details of current activities(■: Completed, △: Ongoing)

Future initiatives and targets‌ Set a numerical target for women new 1. ‌Further expand employment not tied to△graduate hires
gender, nationality, race, age, disability,‌ H iring of non-Japanese employees (midor other attribute△career employees, exchange students)
2. ‌Build a supply chain CSR survey‌Expand re-employment system
database of labor practices at business△for employees reaching the age ofpartners
mandatory retirement‌Implementation of employment for△people with disabilities
FY 2018 results
No. of employees rehired after mandatory
retirement: 15 (88.2%)
Percentage of employees with disabilities: 2.29%

Labor conditions and social protections• ‌Create workplace environments in whichpeople are motivated to perform bypromoting diversity, implementing fairsystems for treatment of personnel, andencouraging dialogue

1. P‌ romote diversity-oriented management‌△ Appropriate operation of evaluation•A‌ ppoint more women employees to higher positions
and promotion management systems• Initiatives‌to prevent harassment and△ S‌ upport for employee skills and career development
improve communication competence‌ Initiatives for harassment prevention△• ‌Advance employment of older persons△ ‌MD Committee activities by women
2. ‌Develop an education system and expanded
members (including dialogue between
curriculum
senior management and women employees)

Labor conditions and social protections• Realize‌feelings of reward and security
in work with a view to balancing
individuals’ work and personal life

■ ‌Introduce flex-time systems
1. ‌Further pursue dynamic work styles■ ‌Advancement of measures to support(Promote taking annual paid vacation)
raising the next generation
2. ‌Create an environment that encourages
taking of child and family care leave‌ hildcare support systems (shortened working■Chours, overtime restrictions and exemptions,3. ‌Introduce a work-from-home systemsick care leave, working daycare hours, etc.)‌Return-to-work program for employees△
taking childcare and caregiving leave

Occupational health and safety• ‌Place priority on individuals’ physicaland mental well-being, and support
improved health1. ‌Further promotion of health and△ Promotion of health management• ‌Promotion of joint plans with healthproductivity management
insurance cooperative
to be selected as a White• Continue‌• ‌Ensure labor hours management and500 company
prevent excessive work
• Enhance‌mental health education•E‌ nvironmental upgrades using stress check tests• Implement‌further health promotion•P‌ rovide guidance to prevent lifestyle diseases
initiatives• ‌Promotion of no smoking measures

Occupational health and safety• Increased trust in Zeon to protect local‌
communities’ safety and security byconducting emergency drills and otherinitiatives such as concluding disastercooperation agreements‌• All worksites have earned public trustby maintaining a safety record of zeroincidents and accidents△ ‌Implement the Safety Management
Improvement Master Plan
△ F‌ ully implement deterioration countermeasuresand identify foolproof measures, and horizontally
implement measures arising from cases ofaccidents at other companies and plants△ ‌Eliminate safety incidents: Regularly
conduct plant safety evaluations and audits‌Eliminate occupational accidents△‌ Improve safety in logistics△
 onduct comprehensive emergency‌ C△
response drills and monthly drills by ourself-defense emergency response teams■C‌ onclude cooperation agreements with local
governments (Cooperative Agreement for
Disaster Prevention in Industrial Complexes)‌Participate in community disaster△readiness activities
FY 2018 results‌ lant safety evaluations conducted 100%
●P
● ‌Implement RC audits conducted (once/
year or more for all 4 plants)‌ liminate safety incidents: 2 safety incidents●E●E‌ liminate occupational accidents: 2 occupational
accidents resulting in lost work time●Z‌ ero serious accidents without lost work time
● I‌ mprove safety in logistics: 0 accidents in logistics

To improve safety capabilities
1. ‌Conduct four safety activities (“4RKY”) at all Group companies (and in the
supply chain)
2. ‌Reinforce specified sources of hazards
to prevent safety accidents
3. ‌Enhance dialogue activities on safety,
the environment, and quality with local
communities
Targets● ‌Plant safety evaluations conducted100%● ‌Implement RC audits (once/year or
more for all 4 plants)● ‌Eliminate safety incidents: 0 safetyincidents● ‌Eliminate occupational accidents: 0
occupational accidents resulting in lostwork time● ‌Zero serious accidents without lostwork time● ‌Improve safety in logistics: 0 accidents
in logistics● ‌Implement the above guidelines at
Group companies

1. ‌Conduct safety education companywide‌ rovide training to enhance accident
HR development and training at workplaces △ P(and in the supply chain)•‌Have proactively enhanced awarenessprevention awareness (4 plants, 1 Groupand made further improvements incompany) (e.g., education using accident 2. ‌Implement the 3S’s companywide (andin the supply chain)
the areas of health and safety throughcase studies, hands-on training)
comprehensive education△ ‌Promote the 5S’s→3S’s

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Employment and Diversity
Zeon Group respects diversity, and strives to be a company in which everyone in our diverse team of employees isable to fully demonstrate their capacities. Our employees today have a wide range of backgrounds and play an activerole regardless of gender, age or nationality.

Basic Information

Re-employment of employees who havereached mandatory retirement age

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

Total

211

1,613

24

12

36

1
No. of new Recent graduates*
hires
Mid-career hires*2

Average years of service

Women

1,402
13

5

18

16.79

12.99

16.29

As of March 31, 2019 (excluding those who left the company as of the end of
March)
Includes 21 non-Japanese employees (8 men and 13 women)*1 Employees that joined the company in April 2018*2 ‌Mid-career hires that joined the company between April 2018 and March2019

Hiring
The Zeon Group hired 81 recent graduates of highschools, technical colleges and universities in FY 2019.

Employment of people with disabilities
In FY 2018, 2.29% of Zeon Corporation’s employees
were people with disabilities, about the statutory
minimum of 2.2%.
We will continue to expand employment for people
with disabilities while exercising the utmost care forsafety, particularly at our laboratories and plants, whichhandle hazardous materials and use rotating and otherindustrial equipment to manufacture chemicals.
Percentage of Employees with Disabilities
(%)

2.5

2
1.5

2.04

2.23

2.20

2.07

2.29

(Legal requirement: 2.2%)

1
0.5
0

June 2014 June 2015 June 2016 June 2017 June 2018

Zeon has adopted a re-employment system (the“Master System”) that allows motivated and skilledemployees who have reached mandatory retirement age
to continue working. In FY 2018, 15 out of 17 employees(88.2%) who reached the mandatory age of retirement
continued to work for the Zeon Group.

Advancement of women
Established in January 2009, the MD Committee has
now been in operation for ten years. In FY 2018, theCommittee, consisting of 64 female employees fromacross the company, promoted MD activities basedon two “C’s” (CSR and Cost reduction) and two “MD’s”(“muda-dori” and “mudo-dukuri,” or waste-cutting andatmosphere creation in English). In addition to wastecutting proposals that can be directly measured inmonetary terms, the Committee is also conducting
initiatives to improve the work environment and facilitatecommunication, and is steadily promoting innovative
activities in plants and other workplaces.
We have established targets to increase the numberof female employees as part of our General Employer
Action Plan based on the Act on Promotion of Women’sParticipation and Advancement in the Workplace.
We position the advancement of women in theworkplace as the first step in promoting diversity at
Zeon. As such, we are developing a range of measures
to enable women to continue working and advance theircareers, including holding workshops and expanding the
adoption of systems that offer flexible working styles.

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Zeon Corporation’ General Employer Action Plan (based on the Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation andAdvancement 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 April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2021
2. Zeon Corporation’s issue We want to increase the number of female employees.
3. Goals and initiatives, and implementation time-frame
Target 1: Achieve 30% women hires among new graduate hires		‌Starting in FY 2018, we will be holding recruitment seminars that focus on women’s work-styles.
Target 2: Conduct career plan workshops
		‌Starting in FY 2018, we will be using career planning to strengthening women’s motivation to develop
their careers.
Target 3: Increase understanding for diversity management		‌Starting in FY 2018, we will be conducting an educational program for managerial level employees topromote understanding of diversity.

40
CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

HR Development
Encourage employees to continually evolve by
pursuing high goals based on independent thinking
Basic Philosophy on Human Resources
Tap into, develop, and fully use the competencies ofeach employee.
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.

The worker
I want to be(higher goals)

The worker
I want to be

Education &training

Evaluation

Actions &results

Education and training at Zeon is broadly divided
into core and specialized programs. The core program isfor all employees, and focuses primarily on developing
awareness of Zeon’s management philosophy, building
a cooperation-oriented attitude, and acquiring sharedknowledge. We also provide specialized education
to develop the work competencies needed in specificoccupations company ranks, as well as on-the-job
training conducted at worksites.

Management training

HR development at Zeon
Performancebased reward

Education and Training Framework

Education &training

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Education & Training System

Rank

Mid-career
staff

Newlyrecruitedemployees

Newlyrecruitedemployees

Zeon’s Ippeki Training Facility
We opened the Ippeki Training Facility in 1981 tocreate a venue that allows employees to concentrateon their education and training, so as to improvetheir qualifications and skills. Employees come to thetraining site from our worksites throughout Japanfor intensive education and training, and also form
personal relationships over the course of staying at thesite together with the instructors and other training
participants.

Occupation-based Specialized EducationManufacturing Duties (Production Operators)
We established the Monozukuri (Product
Manufacturing) Training Center in 2009 as an
educational facility for all manufacturing operatives;its goal is to develop human resources to support
production innovations in pursuit of ensuring safe andreliable production activities. To cultivate operatives who
understand and follow the rules and make improvementson their own, the Center has a simulated plant wheretrainees practice basic operations and basic processes in
addition to acquiring foundational knowledge.
New employees take the beginner-level training
program during their first to third years of employment.

Transferring technical knowledge,
partnering with off-site educational programs

Mid-career
staff

Research, technology,
clerical work, sales, planning and control,
manufacturing, engineering

Deputymanagers

Training staff for working abroad, TOEIC,
studying abroad,
MOT, MBANew
managers

Online educational courses, andsupport for obtaining qualifications

Managers

Information system, accounting,
CSR, compliance,
environmental safety, quality assurance, production

Deputymanagers

Business leadershipeducation

Managers

OccupationLeadership
Professional
SelfGlobal talent
based
On-the-job
development Rank-basedskills (alleducation
improvement education specialized
training
andlevels)education
education

During the program, they stay in the company dormitory
to foster friendships and build solidarity with theircoworkers while keeping a regular schedule. The
curriculum at the Monozukuri Training Center includes
both a basic program, consisting of classroom lectures
and tests, and a training program at our training plant.
The training at the simulated plant teaches trainees
how to operate, monitor, and stop machinery. The
training sessions are repeated until trainees become
well acquainted with basic operations (identifying andpointing out items to be checked, reporting, maintaining
open communication, consulting supervisors, anddetecting hazards) and basic processes (such as worksafety procedures common to all worksites). Trainees also
have opportunities to learn the reasons why operations
are done the way they are. Tests are given the day afterclassroom lectures so that trainees can review what theylearned the previous day. One trainee is selected to help
administer the curriculum in a leadership position. This
training system aims to accomplish several objectives
at the same time, namely skills acquisition, developing
independent thinking, and building leadership skills anda spirit of cooperation. Various means are employed toensure that trainees take the training program seriously,
such as issuing yellow cards to trainees who do not follow
company rules.
We have also introduced the “Foster” system, in which
trainers (“Fosters”) separated from the new employee
instructors engage in training individual new employees

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

for the purpose of making product manufacturing
training a routine aspect of worksites. While we expect
manufacturing operatives to work on their own personal
development, we have introduced the “Foster” system
to create an HR development framework in which all

worksite employees, including senior staff members andsupervisors, participate in HR development. Anotherpurpose of the program is for “Fosters” to achieve
personal growth through instructing junior employees.

Manufacturing Section Foster System Framework and Definitions of Roles

Manufacturing Section
managers
Manufacturing FM

Manufacturing Section
education supervisor■Foster Leader (Integrated CF or CF)
Person responsible for integrated management ofdeveloping the proficiency of group members

Integrated CF or CF= Foster Leader
Grade 2
Operative

Grade 3
Grade 4

FosterFoster*Multiple personnels may be placed as fosters on
a new employee group or team

Grade 5New
employee

What is a “Foster”?
We foster talent that can do work.
We foster talent that can do work.
➡ Performing the role of training group members.

New employee
instructor■Foster
Person providing and tailoring on-the-job and offthe-job instruction according to the proficiency level
management documentation■New employee instructor
Person responsible for developing and instructing
new employees in their first year of employment
until they can perform their duties independently

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Human Resources System
A Human Resources System in Which Employees Takeon Challenges and Gain a Sense of Accomplishment
At Zeon Corporation, we believe that ourcompetitiveness derives from the sum total of thecapabilities of our individual employees. We strive
to create a human resources system that provides
employees with a sense of accomplishment by giving
them opportunities to challenge themselves toachieve ambitious goals within the shared goals of theorganization and to have their performance reflected
fairly in their pay and employment conditions.

Performance
evaluation system

Performance-linked
bonus system

Human resources
system in which
employees take onchallenges and gain
a sense ofaccomplishment

Awards system
Compensation
systemfor inventions

Performance Evaluation System
Recognizing that a perfect score is impossible in apersonal performance evaluation system where people
rate each other, we are providing training to all evaluatorsand evaluated personnel to maintain and improve theirevaluation competency.
At Zeon Corporation, we have placed priority on
gaining understanding and acceptance for evaluation
results. Expectations, required work and performancetargets are made clear to all employees at the beginningof the evaluation term, and are shared among superiors
and subordinates. At the end of the evaluation term, we
perform fair evaluations of work and performance (i.e.
contribution to the organization) with the aim of shaping
a corporate culture filled with a sense of accomplishment
and aspiration (i.e. a spirit of challenge and creative
motivation).
We will continue our efforts to create an open andfair performance evaluation system that encourages
employees to realize more creative work with added
value and that distributes opportunities and rewards in afair manner.

Retirement
package system

Master system

Performance Evaluation Flowchart
Present theorganization’s goals
Primary evaluator

Set targets

Interim period(observe the degreeof growth)

Performance
evaluation

Record targets

Confirm targets

Review targets

EvaluateePrimary evaluator

Evaluation meeting

Share targets

Decide on targets

Supervisor→Employee

Primary evaluator

Milestones

Milestone management

Supervisor↔Employee

Primary evaluator

Record performance

Primary evaluation

Secondary evaluation

Company-widelevel adjustment

EvaluateePrimary evaluator

Evaluation meeting

Human Resources

Feedback

Feedback

Feedback

Supervisor→Employee

Primary evaluator

Secondary evaluator

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Performance-linked Bonus System

Retirement Package System

Since 2000, Zeon Corporation has adopted a bonus
system that is linked to performance. The bonus isdetermined based on three types of performance:company-wide, division, and individual performance.
As with the performance evaluation system, we view
bonuses as a means of giving employees a sense ofaccomplishment by reflecting their performance fairly intheir compensation when they challenge themselves toachieve ambitious goals individually, as a team, and as anorganization.

Zeon Corporation provides retirement packages anddefined-contribution (DC) pensions. The retirement
package takes into account the last 10 years of
performance evaluations before mandatory retirement
and reflects the results in a lump-sum payment uponretirement, with the expectation that employees willremain motivated and feel a sense of accomplishment
right up until mandatory retirement. The definedcontribution (DC) pension system includes contributions
from the company that can be matched by employee
contributions, and is one means of accumulating assets
for after retirement.

Award System (Zeon Challenge Award)
Our awards programs include the Employee ofthe Month award, the winners of which are selectedby division managers each month, and the annual
Zeon Challenge Award (President’s Award), for which
individual employees and divisions define a specificchallenge at the start of the year and are judged on
their progress toward meeting that challenge. The Zeon
Challenge Award presentation ceremony is broadcast
to all sites via videoconferencing system to allow as
many people as possible to participate each year. Highperforming departments and individuals who narrowly
miss receiving the Zeon Challenge Award are eligible,
based on their accomplishments, for the Outstanding
Achievement Award from the President and Division
Manager’s Award from the division manager.
Number of Annual Awards
20
16

8
4
0

13

11

2

11

10

8

6

1

2014

2
2

2015

Division Manager’sAward

We are continuously working to create newtechnologies based on our Basic R&D Philosophy:
Contribute to society by creating world-leadingbusinesses through developing unique technologies inthe specific fields in which Zeon excels.
We strive to expand our intellectual property rights
using the patent first* principle, not only to protect(based on full respect for others’ rights) the technologies
we have created ourselves, but also to contribute toindustry growth.
In addition to the incentives awarded to the inventor of
an invention made in the course of work when the patentapplication is filed and when the patent is registered,
we have also adopted a system to award outstanding
invention incentives and performance incentives.
*Patent first
At Zeon, we define this as filing patent applications before developing andannouncing products and providing samples. In other words, we conduct
product development after first considering possibilities for filing patents.

(Awards)

12

Compensation System for Invention Patents

6
4
2

2016

10
2

9
1

2017

Outstanding
Achievement Award

1

1
2018

FY

President’s
Award

Zeon Master System (Re-employment System)
Zeon has adopted a Group-wide re-employment
system (the “Master System”) that allows motivatedand skilled employees who have reached mandatory
retirement age to continue working. As a term of respect,
we refer to these re-employed employees as “(Zeon)
Master employees.” Master employees are given theopportunity to continue working in order to pass on theirskills and train successors.

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Creating Working Environments That Protect Health
A Comfortable Working Environment That
Values Dialogue
Approach to Building Working Environments
Guided by the principles of motivation, reliability,
achievement, stability and safety, and security, we are
pursuing flexible work options premised on regulatorycompliance and giving special importance to CSR. We
continue to work to build more inclusive and supportive
working environments from five perspectives: supporting
flexible work styles for work-life balance, enhancing
working environments, encouraging dialog, improving
health, and supporting self-reliance.

Systems and Initiatives to Realize More Inclusive andSupportive Working Environments
We are implementing ongoing initiatives to build more
inclusive and supportive working environments. These
include reducing overtime work and developing systems
for flexible work options and to support childbirth,childcare, and family care needs.
Systems and Initiatives
Flexiblework
stylesFlex-time system, encouraging the taking ofspecial leave, half-day holidays, instituted days
with no overtime, self-improvement activities,
training for managerial and supervisory staff,
surveys of actual conditions, instruction
forms for overtime work, labor-management
committee operations, labor-management
patrols

Supportforcombining
work andchildcare

Maternity leave before and after birth, childcare/ caregiver leave system, eave to attend
childbirth (for expecting fathers), leave to carefor sick children, half-day leave, shortened
working hours system, limits on overtime work,
exemption from late-night work, breastfeeding
time, childcare / caregiver leave financial support
system, childbirth cash payments

HealthandwelfareEmployee savings scheme(incentives for retirementsavings), employee stockAssetownership scheme (with financial
accumulation
incentives), defined-contribution(DC) pensions, matching
contributions system

Motivation Reliability Achievement
Stability & Safety Security

Creating More Inclusive andSupportive Working Environments
Supporting flexible work styles
Enhancing working environments
Encouraging dialog Improving healthSupporting self-reliance

Housing
assistance

Housing assistance system(dormitory accommodationand company housing, rent
subsidy system, home ownershipallowance, home rental fortransferred employees)

Marriage

Marriage cash payments,
honeymoon leave, spousal allowanceChildbirthChildbirth cash payments,
maternity leave, dependents andtuition allowances

Carryover of accrued vacation
Holidays and time, “My Life” holidays (onbusiness
reaching the age of 50), “Refresh”
shutdowns
holidays (Master employees),
public-service leave (for jury duty)
Recreationand training
facilities

Loans andself-help

Hakone Gora Facility, Izu Ippeki
Training Facility
Bereavement condolence payments,
bereavement leave, study loans,disaster assistance, group medical
insurance, compensation forabsences from work (Zeon healthinsurance cooperative association),
optional group insurance, group life
insurance, etc.

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Support for Combining Work and Childcare
At present, 100% of female employees who givebirth take childcare leave. Among male employees, four
employees took childcare leave in FY 2018. In addition,
many employees have used our system of shortened
working hours to allow them to combine working andraising children.
General Employer Action Plan based on the Act on Advancementof Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children
Based on Japan’s Act on Advancement of Measures
to Support Raising Next-Generation Children, we havedrawn up a General Employer Action Plan, and we report
our activities to the relevant authorities.
In FY2014, we achieved our targets within the plan
implementation period and received the Kurumin Mark
from the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, which
is awarded to companies that provide support for childrearing.
The current Action Plan is as follows.
Zeon Corporation’s General Employer Action Plan
(Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising
Next-Generation Children)
In order to more fully promote the establishment of anenvironment where each and every employee can display
their abilities to the fullest, we have formulated thefollowing Action Plan, as we believe that it is importantto create an atmosphere and a workplace environmentthat facilitates the combining of work and childcare.
1. Plan implementation period:
The four-year period from April 1, 2018 to March 31,
2021
2. Details
Objective 1: We‌will promote the creation of anenvironment that facilitates the use ofcompatibility support.
April 2018 onwards, we will hold
Action: From‌
presentations etc. regarding how to use the system,
and will promote understanding of the system.
Objective 2: We‌ will put in place a consultation system in
relation to compatibility support and work styles.
Action: ‌From April 2018 onwards, we will implement a
survey to determine key requirements
From September 2018 onwards, we will
establish the consultation system andimplement related education.
Objective 3: ‌We will adopt measures that contributeto the adoption of flexible work styles.
Action: ‌From April 2018 onwards, we will evaluate thepotential for adopting a work-from-home system.
End

Support for Combining Work and Family Care
Labor and management at Zeon work together to achievea balance between work and family responsibilities for
employees with family members requiring in-home care; wehave set up a consultation desk to support such employees.
In FY 2018, we also held training for the purpose of
improving the capabilities of the consultation desk.

Improving Working Environments, Encouraging
Dialog, and Supporting Self-reliance
Our focus is on encouraging dialog (communication)
to create an atmosphere in which all employees display
sensitivity to each other based on shared awareness, andin so doing enhance our worksite capabilities.
We consider communication, not only between
managers and employees, but also within the workplaceand between workplaces, to be the foundation of all
corporate activity. Through communication, we aim
to remove barriers between organizations, unify ourdirection, and help employees to feel satisfaction andpride in their work.

Labor Agreements and Communication between Labor andManagement
Joint Declaration by Labor and Management Aimedat the Growth of the Company
1. ‌We will make mutual understanding and trust thecornerstone of all management-labor relations‌ e will perform our respective roles to strengthen
2. W
company infrastructure and build a company of which
we can be proud3. ‌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.

47
CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Dialog with Management
Opportunities for active engagement withmanagement are available in the form of policy briefingsand other venues, in which management members up
to and including the President visit worksites to provide
explanations and talk with employees.
Submitting Complaints
Zeon’s labor agreement includes rules for making
official complaints.
We have established rules for preventing sexual
harassment, which is conduct subject to disciplinary
action under our employment regulations, and we have
set up a consultation desk specifically for resolving sexual
harassment-related complaints.
We also conduct an educational program on theprevention of harassment for all staff as part of ourdiversity training.

Health Management Initiatives
Adopting an approach that takes individual physicaland mental health as the foundation for healthmanagement, we take steps to maintain and improve thephysical and mental health of employees.
In addition to healthcare guidance provided bynurses, we also provide statutory medical examinations
as well as detailed medical examinations by industrial
physicians. We are also working in collaboration witha health insurance cooperative association to prevent
employee’s health conditions from becoming serious
illnesses.
In regard to mental health, besides providing
mental health education, several worksites have
implemented stress checks to assist employees in better
understanding the physical and mental effects of stress.
We have also set up an educational system using selfcare and e-learning courses to encourage employees tocheck their stress levels at any time, not just at the time
when company stress checks are conducted. In addition,
we have assigned psychiatrists and psychotherapists to
support our industrial physicians.
In recognition of these efforts, we received certification
as a White 500 Company in the 2019 CertifiedHealth and Productivity Management Outstanding
Organizations Recognition Program (Large Enterprise
category). Performing environmental measurements
on chemical concentrations, dust concentrations, noiselevels, and other conditions in work areas at our plants
also helps us to make improvements to workplaceenvironments.
We introduced an ICT-based health and prevention
information service that allows employees to checktheir medical data from a computer or smartphone atanytime from anywhere. The service also provides healthinformation tailored to the person’s health data. Using
ICT, we are also participating in health-promotion events
to encourage employees to take an active interest in theirhealth through the health and prevention information
service.

48
CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

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,
with the goal of creating safe, stable production systems.
We focus on 5S safety inspections*1, hazard detection*2
activities, and identifying near-miss incidents*3, as wellas 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

1.20
1.00
0.80
0.60

1.06
×

0.76

1.06
×

0.81

×

×
1.15

1.20
1.02
×
0.90
0.94

0.88

0.81

0.47

0.46

0.50

0.40
0.20
0

0.00

2014

× Manufacturing

2015

2016

2017

Specialty Chemicals

2018

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

5S Safety Inspections
5S safety inspections assess operations where safety
is critical to maintaining the 5Ss (Sort, Straighten, Scrub,
Systematize, Sustain).
In FY 2018, we conducted 5S safety inspections on
two occasions. Environment and Safety officers fromall plants participate in the inspections so that they canlearn about 5S activities at other plants and develop
them at their own plant.
The Environmental and Safety Affairs Department
conducted Group company inspections at 10 worksites.

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.

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.

49
CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

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. They also
visit plants on other occasions to communicate directlywith plant workers, who are on the front-line of thecompany’s operations. Senior managers visited plants on
41 days in FY 2017.

*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.

Certification Status
Plant

Obtained Certified
Safety Inspector
statusTakaoka Plant

2000(renewed in 2015)

Kawasaki Plant

1998(renewed in 2017)2008(renewed in 2017)

Tokuyama Plant

2007(renewed in 2016)2012(renewed in 2016)

Mizushima Plant

2006(renewed in 2016)2006(renewed in 2016)

Safety Management Efforts Led by Top
Management
Each year, top management develops the 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 allof our plants.

Obtained Certified
Completion andProcess Safety
Inspector status—

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.

50
CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Occurrences of Accidents and Injuries
FY 2018: Safety incidents* 4(High-pressure gas leak: 3;
Ignition incident caused by static electricity: 1)
Although these incidents did not result in injury tohumans, damage to equipment, or 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.

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Fair Operating Practices
Targets and Results
Compliance
CSR Procurement
Fair and Appropriate Information Disclosure

P. 51
P. 52
P. 53
P. 54

Targets and Results
Enterprise Blueprint for 2020
To meet the expectations of society

Details of current activities(■: Completed, △: Ongoing)

Fair competition•‌Are complying with all laws andregulations, ordinances, agreements,
and internal regulations, and acting withhigh ethical standards based on being amodel for society‌• Management policies are broadly
understood and compliance awareness is
widespread. As a result, by proactively
conducting CSR activities and adapting
to environmental changes, business
continuity as well as sustainable
development are achieved■ E‌ nact and implement management regulations including
those on insider trading and appropriate disclosure omply with internal regulations including△C
the Export Security Control Regulations‌ ppropriately implement regulations to comply with△A
the Act on Prohibition of Private Monopolizationand Maintenance of Fair Trade (Antimonopoly Act)‌ ompliance with the Subcontract Act and△C
the Act for Securing the Proper Operationof Worker Dispatching Undertakings(prevention of falsified contracts)‌Build a system that prohibits bribes△‌Draft the CSR Code of Conduct and the△
CSR Procurement Guidelines‌Employees read the Compliance△
Textbook and take e-learning courses‌Conduct CSR education including△
holding CSR informational sessions‌ old lectures on legal and regulatory compliance△H‌Legal compliance inspections△‌Regularly revise internal regulations (to△satisfy legal amendments)■ ‌Become a signatory to the United
Nations Global Compact

To reduce legal risks● ‌Compliance with internal regulations● ‌Ongoing legal training and information
sharing using the Compliance Textbook
and other materials● ‌Education on the CSR Code of Conduct● ‌Ongoing compliance education● ‌Revise the Compliance Textbook andthe CSR Textbook and hold related
informational meetings● ‌Ongoing CSR briefings by the head of
the CSR division● ‌Support the establishment ofcompliance systems at Zeon Group
companies outside Japan (develop in
the supply chain)● ‌Shift from compliance to sustainability(promote understanding among
management and establish among
employees)

Fair competition• Information is disclosed quickly and‌appropriately, and market value has
increased(Including negative information
regarding business conditions, CSR,
risks, etc.)‌Hold financial results briefings△‌Publish various reports△‌Release information via the company△
website‌ old briefings for individual investors and△H
analysts and respond to investor inquiries‌Hold press conferences for mass media△
outlets and others

To enhance the corporate brand andvalue
1. ‌Improve the website (IR, CSR
information)
2. ‌Strengthen the information
communications structure (PR)3. ‌Communicate information that
supports ESG investment

Fair competition• Appropriately‌manage confidential
information including trade secrets andpersonal information■ ‌Establish the Information Management 1. ‌Maintain confidential information
Committee
management‌Proper implementation of internal
2. ‌Review and implement measures△regulations (information management
addressing environmental changes
regulations, personal information
related to information management
protection management rules, etc.)
inside and outside Japan‌ Education through e-learning△‌Operation of information management△
systems (Documal, MOSS)△C‌ onduct information security audits

Social responsibility in the value chain•‌Select business partners based on
the CSR Procurement Guidelines andperiodically confirm the Guidelines’
status of implementation

1. ‌Develop and establish the CSR Code
■ Multiple-sourceof Conduct and CSR Procurement‌ omply with laws and regulations on△Ccompetition including the Antimonopoly Act
Guidelines in the supply chain‌Satisfy the RoHS Directive, bans on
2. ‌Build the supply chain CSR survey△
substances, etc.
database‌Purchasing following the CSR△
Procurement Guidelines

Future initiatives and targets

1. ‌Foster and establish an intellectual■ ‌Institute regulations on intellectual
Respect for property rights
property mindset through ongoingproperty rights and intellectual‌ romoting understanding on the handling of•P
intellectual property rights (including tradecompliance and intellectual property
property management
secrets)
education‌ E ducation using the Compliance Textbook△• ‌The system of monitoring otherand intellectual property education‌Hold meetings on countermeasures forcompanies’ intellectual property rights to △other companies’ patents and patent
prevent violations is functioning properly
risk audits as appropriate

52
CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

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

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

Compliance Committee
FY 2018 Results• ‌Educated staff on global assignments on compliancewith antitrust regulations and preventing bribery• ‌Built a compliance education system for overseas local
staff• ‌Conducted workshops on legal compliance at plants
and subsidiaries• ‌Checked the level of compliance understanding throughe-learning
Antitrust 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 2018, 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. R P. 21)

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 2018 results: 37 departments (14 departments at
Zeon Corporation, 10 Zeon Group companies and 12
plants inside Japan, 11 Zeon Group companies outside
Japan)FY 2019 plan: 38 departments (15 departments at Zeon
Corporation, 9 Zeon Group companies and 12 plants
inside Japan, 11 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.

53
CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

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.

Procurement Initiatives
We forbid substances whose handling is prohibitedand monitor for the presence of substances governed bylaws and the RoHS Directive. We also proactively disclose
information on the substances contained in our products.
We conducted a customer questionnaire in FY 2013.
In recent years, we have been sharing information andworking to instill CSR to provide a uniform response
as the Zeon Group to inquiries about sustainableprocurement from customers, suppliers, and research
institutes related to ESG investing.
To also implement the same kind of response in our
supply chain going forward, we will update and continue
to conduct the CSR procurement questionnaire that we
conducted in 2013.
As we do this, we will keep the following points inmind.
• ‌Maintaining the ability to regularly conduct thequestionnaire• ‌Ensuring that the questionnaire contents incorporate
society’s changing expectations

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 weprocure raw materials with their cooperation, we
confirmed that they do not use substances applicable toconflict minerals.

54
CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Fair and Appropriate 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 our name recognition 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 CSR management.

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

Advertising and PR
We conduct locally based advertising and PR activities
with the aim of enhancing the Zeon brand.
TV commercials• Broadcast‌regions: Currently on air in the Kanto region
and Toyama, Fukui, Okayama, Yamaguchi, and Kagawa
prefectures• TV‌ commercials for Asia are broadcast throughout
Southeast Asia via satellite TV programs

New TV commercial

New advertisements
From 2018, a series with the “Chance” and “OnceMore” chapters is being rolled out.

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CSR REPORT
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Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Communication with Shareholders
Policies related to constructive dialogue with shareholders
Dialogue with shareholders is led by the Department ofCorporate Communications and overseen by the director in
charge of CSR. The Department of Corporate Communications,the Corporate Planning Department, the Accounting and Finance
Department, the General Affairs Department, the Legal Affairs
Department, and other departments exchange information as
appropriate to provide accurate and unbiased information toshareholders.
We will continue to expand the avenues of dialogue apartfrom 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 Department of Corporate
Communications collects and analyzes feedback received indialogue with shareholders and makes reports to the President as
appropriate. Based on management regulations including thoseon insider trading and appropriate information disclosure, we
strictly control unreleased important information while engaging
in dialogue with shareholders to prevent information leaks.
General Meeting of Shareholders
On June 28, 2018 (Thursday), we held our 93rd Annual
General Meeting of Shareholders in a conference room at the
Head Office. To help investors have a clearer understandingof our business, on the day of the meeting we also set up abooth to introduce clients’ commercial products that containour products. We mail out notices approximately three weeks
prior to the meeting to allow investors who cannot attend themeeting to exercise their voting rights based on a full review ofthe proposals. We also publish the details of resolutions fromthe General Meeting of Shareholders on our corporate website.
In addition, audio files of quarterly financial results
briefings and videos of presentations given twice a year by top
management on the current status of management at Zeon areavailable on our corporate website.

highlighting the history of the growth and the market
advantages of our energy materials, which are attracting
increasing attention for their ability to contribute to better
battery performance and safety.
We will continue to improve the Midyear Report to makeit more accessible and better meet shareholders’ needs.

94th Midyear Report

Annual Report and other Midyear Reports, see
http://www.zeon.co.jp/ir_e/library/businessreport.html
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 and dividends, see
http://www.zeon.co.jp/ir/stock/dividend.html (Japanese only)

Communication with Investors

トップによる説明動画の配信

Video of a presentation by President Tanaka

For more information about the General Meeting of
Shareholders, see
http://www.zeon.co.jp/ir_e/stock/meeting.html
For more information about financial results briefings, see
http://www.zeon.co.jp/ir_e/library/presentationmeeting.html
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 94th Midyear Report, issued in December 2018,
included a special feature on lithium ion battery materials,

We actively engage in communication withinstitutional investors and analysts both inside andoutside Japan.
We held analyst briefing sessions to announce our FY
2018 quarterly results in July and October 2018, and in
January and April 2019. In addition to briefings on ourcurrent management situation by the President, we also
provided a progress report and description of the businesstopics in our mid-term management plan SZ-20 Phase III,
which began in FY 2017, at the second quarter financial
report and annual financial results briefing session. We
have also deepened understanding of our company
through technical seminars and giving worksite tours.
To individual investors, we strive to provide up-to-date
information on our business. For example, we publish
online content for individual investors on our corporatewebsite, and participated in a briefing session held forindividual investors in March 2019.
Furthermore, we are working to distribute information
for investors through various opportunities such as
releasing a video introducing Zeon on the TSE (Tokyo
Stock Exchange) IR Movie Square.

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Consumer Issues
Targets and Results
Quality Assurance

P. 56
P. 56

*For chemical product safety, see Environment (→P. 34)

Targets and Results
Enterprise Blueprint for 2020
To meet the expectations of society

Details of current activities(■: Completed, △: Ongoing)

Future initiatives and targets

Protecting consumers’ health and safety △‌ Have a quality management system• ‌Achieve first-rate global standards inbased on ISO 9001
‌ Manage quality assurance risksboth quality and cost△(product liability lawsuits, supply
obligations, product recalls, andcredibility loss due to rumors)‌ Improve processes (reduce losses,△
improve consistency)‌ Develop activities for production△
innovations‌ M easure customer satisfaction (CS)△to understand the current satisfactionlevel, set targets, and promote
improvements

1. ‌To maintain and expand conditions
where Zeon products are chosen● ‌Establish systems to definitively reducecomplaints, process abnormalities, anddefects, prevent defective products
from leaving Zeon, create corporate
quality trusted by customers, andfurther improve customer satisfaction● ‌Develop initiatives for chemical
substance regulations● ‌Develop Zeon’s quality management
system at Zeon Group companies
outside Japan and at outsourcing
partners‌ Develop business based on business△plans

1. ‌Research and development,
manufacturing, and sales that address
consumer issues faced by society

Sustainable consumption• ‌Developed and launched a series of
products that are beneficial to society

Quality Assurance
Quality Assurance Policies
In accordance with our basic philosophy and CSR
Policy, we define our basic policy for quality assurance asfollows.
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.

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CSR REPORT
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Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Quality Assurance System

Framework Supporting Quality Assurance at Zeon

To consistently manufacture products that reflect theneeds and wants of customers and to ensure productquality, Zeon is advancing integrated quality assurance
activities companywide, across manufacturing, sales,and engineering 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)
Production
preparations

Product
planning

1. Acquisition‌of international quality standard
certifications by Zeon Corporation
In 2010, we integrated the ISO 9001 certifications
obtained throughout Zeon and have maintained this. In
the 2017 regular inspection, we also received a transition
inspection to the 2015 version and completed thetransition.
2. ‌Status of Zeon Group Certifications forInternational Quality Standards
Site

Quality
Assurance
Department
Design reviewof planning anddevelopment

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.

ISO
9001*1

Japan Zeon Kasei Co., Ltd.
Technology
development(Research
center)Product
designMid- to Long-Term Initiative Policy andInitiatives from FY 2017
In our mid- to long-term management plan SZ-20, we
set the 2020 quality assurance goal of “global uniform
quality and cost compatibility.” For the three years of
FY 2014 to FY 2016, we defined our quality assurance
policy as “Aim to create mechanisms that will facilitate
quality assurance even if things change (even if Zeonor the world changes).” We then conducted quality
assurance activities to achieve this.
To develop this quality assurance policy across Zeon
Group over four years starting in FY 2017, we revised
the policy to read, “Aim to create mechanisms that will
facilitate Zeon Group quality assurance even if thingschange (even if Zeon or the world changes).” We areconducting quality assurance activities across Zeon
Group to this end.

Zeon Polymix Inc.

p*3
pZeon Medical Inc.

p

Zeon North Co., Ltd.

p

Tokyo Zairyo Co., Ltd.

p

Zeon Chemicals Yonezawa Co., Ltd.

p

Optes Inc.

p

Tohpe Corporationp

Outside Zeon Chemicals L.P.
Japan
Zeon Chemicals (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

ISO
13485*2p
p

Zeon Advanced Polymix Co., Ltd.

p

Zeon Chemicals Singapore Pte. Ltd.

p

*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 ‌The logistical materials division has acquired certification limited to
STEC®.

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Framework to Achieve Product Safety
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 database of the substances in our raw
materials and products, even those present in minutequantities, and building a chemical substancesmanagement 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.
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 anauditing team comprised of auditors from other divisions.

Communicating Safety Information
For more information about safety information forchemical products handled by Zeon, see Chemical
Product Safety Information (R P. 34).

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CSR REPORT
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Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Human Rights
Targets and ResultsUpholding Positive Working
Environments by Protecting Human
Rights and Prohibiting Discrimination
Protecting Human Rights in the Supply ChainSignatory to the United Nations
Global Compact andEstablishment of the Human Rights Policy

P. 59

P. 59
P. 60

P. 60

Targets and Results
Enterprise Blueprint for 2020
To meet the expectations of society

Details of current activities(■: Completed, △: Ongoing)

Future initiatives and targets

Discrimination and vulnerable groups,■ ‌Release Zeon Group’s CSR Code1. ‌Provide information on the Zeon
avoidance of complicity
of Conduct and CSR Procurement
Group’s CSR Code of Conduct and CSR
section on respect for human rights• The‌
Guidelines on the Corporate Report
Procurement Guidelines to businessand prohibition of discrimination inand the Zeon corporate website
partners (business, procurement, andthe CSR Code of Conduct has beenmaterials purchasing departments)△ ‌Conduct CSR education including
shared with all Zeon Group companies
reviewing compliance texts, e-learning, 2. ‌Build a database of external reports
and Zeon Group business partners, andand CSR information sessions
related to respect for human rights atcompliance with the prohibitions on child ■ ‌Establish a policy specific to humanbusiness partners (supply chain CSR
labor and forced labor are confirmed
rights and implement it across the Zeon
survey database) (CSR PromotionGroup
Department)

Upholding Positive Working Environments by Protecting
Human Rights and Prohibiting Discrimination
In the provisions of our CSR Code of Conduct, we emphasize respect for human rights and prohibit discrimination.
We strive to be a company that understands and accepts diverse values, and where no person is discriminated against
based on gender, age, nationality, or other attribute.

Zeon Corporation CSR Code of Conduct (Excerpt)
As a member of the Zeon Group, I understand the Zeon
Group’s corporate philosophy and CSR Policy, and I
undertake to act in accordance with the following:(1-2 Labor laws and regulations)(iii) I‌ will not commit discrimination based on birth,
nationality, race, ethnic group, creed, religion, or sex/
gender.
(4-3 Diversity)
I will value community values such as cultures,
traditions, customs and religions.

Studying the CSR Textbook and theCompliance Textbook and E-learning
Employees periodically study the Compliance
Textbook in their department. Their level of complianceunderstanding is checked using an e-learning course
in July each year. Questions are set respectively for
management, business, manufacturing, and R&D toassess whether the knowledge and information needed
to ensure compliance is sufficiently understood.

(7-2 Human rights)
I will value human rights.
(7-3 Respect for each other)
I will value respect for each other.

Checking the level of compliance understanding through e-learning

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

CSR Education Including CSR Informational
Sessions
In June 2019, the 10th CSR informational session was
held. The session topic was Society’s Expectations andthe SDGs. We explained in easy-to-understand terms
how we were transitioning from CSR focused mainly on
legal and regulatory compliance to CSR that also focuseson many of the issues contained in the SDGs and is able
to meet society’s expectations while seeking to create
and increase corporate value.
CSR informational session

Protecting Human Rights in the Supply Chain“Respect for human rights and considerations for work environments” forms part of the Requests to Suppliers sectionof the CSR Procurement Guidelines.

Procurement Initiatives
In recent years, we have been sharing information
and working to instill CSR to provide a uniform response
as the Zeon Group to inquiries about sustainableprocurement from customers, suppliers, and research
institutes related to ESG investing.
To also implement the same kind of response in our
supply chain going forward, we will update and continue
to conduct the CSR procurement questionnaire that we
conducted in 2013.
As we do this, we will keep the following points inmind.
・‌Maintaining the ability to regularly conduct thequestionnaire・‌Ensuring that the questionnaire contents incorporate
society’s changing expectations

Signatory to the United Nations Global Compact andEstablishment of the Human Rights Policy
In June 2019, we became a signatory to the United
Nations Global Compact. Becoming a signatory to theUnited Nations Global Compact and following its 10
Principles serves as the foundation of our stated Zeon
Group goal to meet society’s expectations and clearlypresents to our stakeholders our basic stance on humanrights, labor practices, the environment, and preventing
corruption in our company activities. We also believe
this will advance our CSR management based on world
standards.
Following our signing on to the United Nations Global
Compact, in August 2019 we established the new Zeon
Group Human Rights Policy.

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Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Community
Basic Approach and Initiatives
Targets and Results
CSR Core Projects

P. 61
P. 61
P. 63

Basic Approach and Initiatives
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 2012, we launched CSR Core Projects, which are
initiatives we selected from proposals submitted by Zeon
Group companies. The CSR Core Projects are activities

that focus on social contributions outside the scope of
our core business operations and provide employeeswith an opportunity to turn their attention toward social
issues.
We plan and develop activities in three broad
categories: 1) various activities related to supporting
reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake,2) shared projects conducted across multiple Zeon’s
plants and Group companies, and 3) projects conductedindependently by Zeon’s plants and Group companies.
We are developing these activities with a focus on theirsynergistic benefits.

Targets and Results
Enterprise Blueprint for 2020
To meet the expectations of society

Details of current activities(■: Completed, △: Ongoing)

Future initiatives and targets

Community involvement, education, and △‌Develop CSR Core Projects (social
culturecontribution activities by Group as•‌Zeon’s social contributions area whole, among locations, and atunderstood, receive recognition, and are
individual worksites)
supported‌Communicate CSR activities (reports,△
website)● ‌Develop the CSR Core Projects basedon a defined Zeon Group activity policy‌ Upgrade and enhance the system△for promoting volunteer activities(establish a volunteer leave system)‌Introduce volunteer activities and△promote and support participationin them (volunteering to support
reconstruction from earthquakes, etc.)● ‌Raise employee awareness for social
contributions• Conduct‌
CSR education including CSR
informational sessions
a social contribution policy• Establish‌for the entire Zeon Group (e.g., onwater)● ‌Create a system to support volunteering(volunteer registration system, etc.)● ‌Create opportunities for social
contributions from exchanges withlocal councils of social welfare, nongovernmental organizations and nonprofit organizations

Community involvement‌• An organization for promoting volunteer
activities among employees has been
established, and employees actively
volunteer in various ways

FY 2018 results
Number of employees participating involunteer tours: 48(cumulative total of 473 employees)

Community involvement■ ‌Formulate and utilize disaster recovery• ‌Guidelines for coexisting with local
support standards‌ Donations and charity activities
communities have been created and are △(Furukawa Scholarship, expenses forused, and good relations have been builtwith local communities
community promotions, Red Cross,etc.)‌ Maintain good community relations△
and have community exchanges
and participate in community• Sponsor‌
festivals and events including summer
festivals at plants• Community‌cleanup activities
tours (receive plant visitors,• Plant‌internships)●M‌ aintain and expand exchanges withlocal communities
the reconstruction of the• Support‌
Tohoku region• Devise‌and implement ongoingmeasures to support recovery fromdisasters• Actively‌
participate in community
activities● ‌Through dialogue with stakeholders
including local communities, identify
expectations from society, the current
level of meeting those expectations,and set targets

62
CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Enterprise Blueprint for 2020
To meet the expectations of society

Details of current activities(■: Completed, △: Ongoing)

Future initiatives and targets

Community involvement△ Charity activities for NPOs, etc.
• Have‌a system able to make donations
promptly to help people during disasters● ‌Create budget for charity activities andintegrate managing departments● ‌Clarify standards for selecting donation
recipients and review multifaceted
contributions

Technological development and accessto technologies
Explore the needs of society and cultivate
the seeds to meet these needs based on
unique technologies and unparalleledproducts to create new business andmake contributions to society● ‌Strategy for “reinforce” and “explore” inthe Research and Development Divisionand business divisions

Furukawa Scholarship
The Furukawa Memorial Foundation is anincorporated foundation with a 50-year history ofgranting scholarships to Japanese and foreign students
experiencing financial hardship to encourage themto 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 3,124 people.

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CSR REPORT
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Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

CSR Core Projects
The CSR Core Projects are activities that focus on social contributions outside the scope of our core business
operations.

Status of CSR Core Project Initiatives
Project

Detailed initiative

FY 2019 target

Support for Great East Japan Earthquake reconstruction
Participation in reconstruction volunteer
tours

Started in October 2012
64 tours as of March 2019 (total of 473
participants)
Disaster recovery assistance(Minamisanriku, Rikuzentakata),
agricultural assistance (Iwaki), fishingindustry assistance (Kesennuma), etc.

Continue the initiative(Frequency target: 1–2 times per month)

Eat and Root for Restoration! campaign

Support the recovery of industries by
eating foods grown in the disasteraffected areas
Offer a menu of Tohoku-grown foods
at the employee cafeteria and Z Plaza(employee lounge)

Continue the initiative

Participate in building a forest
embankment to protect lives*

Support for and participate in tree
planting for Heisei-no-mori in Otsuchi
Town (sponsored by Yokohama Rubberand Otsuchi Town, Iwate Prefecture)since FY 2013

The tree planting was concluded in FY
2015. Maintain our ties with Otsuchi
Town through activities including postplanting maintenanceChemistry Classroom

Summer vacation events and classes
where local residents conduct
experiments while touring our locations
Head Office: Children’s summer holiday
chemical experiment show (every year
from FY 2013 to FY 2017)
Tokuyama Plant: Experiment classrooms
during industrial tourism tours forparents and children
Zeon Chemicals Yonezawa: Experimentclassrooms at the Youth Science Festival
in Yamagata
Takaoka Plant, Kawasaki Plant:
Experiment classroom activities during
factory visits, giving lessons at local
elementary schools
Research & Development Center:
Kawasaki City Summer Holiday Selfdirected Research Seminar

Hold chemistry classrooms (increase thenumber of events held at our locations)
Expand the conducted experiments(create a new experiment package)

Eco-cap recycling campaign (collecting
used plastic caps)

Began counting caps at all Zeon Group
companies in FY 2012

Continue the initiative

Green purchasing of office supplies

Purchasing office supplies with minimal
environmental impact (notebooks, bookbinding tape, folders, etc.). Of the
44 items stipulated under the Green
Purchasing Law, we switched to 22 items(50%)

Continue the initiative

Shared projects

Independent projects
Topics selected by promotional
committees

Engaging with local communities
Continue the initiative
Participation in community events: Sponsor
and provide support for various events
Cleanup activities
Educational support: Internships, sending
instructors to schools, etc.

*Forest embankment to protect lives
This activity creates a forest that will act as an embankment protecting local residents against tsunamis. This consists of combining debris from the disaster withsoil to build an elevated area along the coastline, which was damaged during the tsunami triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Various trees native tothe area are being planted on the elevated ground to create a multilayer forest.

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Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Examples of Initiatives
Following are some examples of activities that are partof the CSR Core Projects. Many other activities conductedwith local communities are described in the Site Reports.
Volunteering to support Great East Japan Earthquake
reconstruction
We invite employees to sign up for restoration volunteer
tours open to the public and send employees on the tours
on an ongoing basis. We cover the full cost of the tours toencourage employee participation.
This initiative began in October 2012. In FY 2018, 48
employees participated in volunteer tours. They assisted withrepair work and searched for lost articles in Rikuzentakata
City, Iwate Prefecture; provided assistance for the fishingindustry in Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture; andagricultural assistance in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture.
We turn support into encouragement, and encouragement
into exchange. We intend to continue this initiative in light of
the risk that the memory of the devastation will be forgotten.

Chemistry 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.

RIMTEC: Participation in and presentation of awards at the Omoshiro Taiken(“Fun Experience”) Day activity at Okayama Research Park
RIMTEC also received the 2016 Chemistry Communication Award from theJapan Union of Chemical Science and Technology (JUCST) in recognitionof this activity, which has been conducted jointly with Okayama University
since FY 2012.

Ogatsu Rose Factory Garden, Ishinomaki

Helping plant trees in a disaster-affected area
Since 2012, Otsuchi Town in Iwate Prefecture and Yokohama
Rubber Co., Ltd. have been conducting a tree-planting campaign
at “Heisei-no-mori” in Otsuchi Town as a model project for thecreation of forest embankments that can help to protect lives in
the local community. Zeon has also been participating in this treeplanting campaign since 2013. The fourth round of tree-planting in2015 was the last round; however, we have continued to participate
in related activities by undertaking maintenance work for the trees
planted on the site and providing tree-planting education for local
elementary school children through extracurricular lessons.

Tree-planting education at Otsuchi Gakuen

Zeon Chemicals Yonezawa participated in the 2018 Youth Science Festival
in Yamagata. Staff and children made aromatic air fresheners together byadding our synthetic fragrances to water-absorbing resin containing coloredwater.

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CSR REPORT
2019

Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

Support for Education
Zeon’s plants and Group companies offer assistance toeducational institutions with internships for high school,
technical college, and university students, by welcoming
plant tours by school groups, and by sending special
instructors to give lessons at schools.

Community dialog activity undertaken by Zeon Chemicals (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
in Thailand

Mizushima Plant: plant tour

Optes accepts local high school students for internships.

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.

Summer festival held at Takaoka Plant

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

The Tokuyama Plant sponsors the Zeon Waraku Odori Dance Festival

Responsible Care community dialog at the Kawasaki Plant
We welcomed representatives of local residents’ associations, andrepresentatives of eight member companies of the Kawasaki district of the
Responsible Care Committee.

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CSR REPORT
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Contents

Highlights

Zeon’s CSR

Corporate Governance

Environment

Labor Practices

Fair Operating Practices

Consumer Issues

Human Rights

Community

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.

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

Community cleanup activity near the Tokuyama Plant

Zeon Chemicals L.P. (ZCLP) in U.S.A. has conducted volunteer activities anddonation drives for many years.

Many employees from Takaoka Plant, Optes, Zeon North, and Zeon Medical
participate in coastal clean-up activities

Thailand-based companies Zeon Advanced Polymix Co., Ltd. andZeon Chemicals (Thailand) Co., Ltd. have conducted volunteer cleanups andcharity activities for many years
The companies make donations to various groups including schools, nearby
temples, hospitals, and educational institutions

CSR REPORT 2019

Inquiries: CSR Promotion 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 http://www.zeon.co.jp/index_e.html

Date of publication: December, 2019