Water

KPI

  • Item

    Water intake

  • FY 2016 results

    (Consolidated) 8,925 thousand m3

  • FY 2017 results

    (Consolidated) 8,262 thousand m3

  • Item

    Percentage of recycled and reused water
    (Circulating water/water intake ratio)

  • FY 2016 results

    (Consolidated) 136%

  • FY 2017 results

    (Consolidated) 141%

  • Item

    Water sources significantly affected by water intake

  • FY 2016 results

    (Consolidated) NA
    <Endangered species>
    There are endangered species in the Miya River (Mie), Kanogawa River (Mishima), and Kaname River (Hiratsuka) (red list of threatened species)
    <Intake of water from protected areas>
    Not applicable. There is no intake of water from protected areas.

  • FY 2017 results

    (Consolidated) NA
    <Endangered species>
    There are endangered species in the Miya River (Mie), Kanogawa River (Mishima), and Kaname River (Hiratsuka) (red list of threatened species)
    <Intake of water from protected areas>
    Not applicable; there is no intake of water from protected areas.

Responsible Departments

Each business location

* Performance is managed by the Production Environmental Task Force.

Stance and Target

Why is “Water” a critical issue to be addressed?
Explanation of the reason and background

Yokohama Rubber Group’s use of water consists of two forms: the use of water such as cooling water for boilers and production facilities at production bases (direct use) and the use of water at suppliers of raw materials etc. (indirect use).
For direct use, the risks (physical, regulatory, reputation risk, etc.) vary depending on the region of each business location. For this reason, we believe that it is important to effectively use precious water resources in line with the characteristics of each production base.
In addition, for the indirect use of water in the production process for raw materials such as natural rubber as well, we believe that it is necessary to confirm the situation and take the appropriate responses as necessary. This is based on our stance that if it is not possible to procure raw materials due to water-related risks at suppliers, this could directly result in serious problems that affect our operations.

Water use policy

Our domestic bases have rich water resources, and while we use these resources effectively as a recycled resource*, there are areas with water use constraints among our overseas business locations. For this reason, it is necessary to conduct water risk assessments in these areas and work to ensure that water is properly managed. We also believe that it is necessary to confirm the state of water use at suppliers and work together to adopt countermeasures in the event of water risks arising.
For this reason, we decided on a policy after reviewing the situation from fiscal 2015 to 2017. Furthermore, we will broadly release updates on the progress of these measures through means such as external questionnaires (CDP’s water, etc.) and our website.

* We use water based on formal procedures such as agreements with regions (governments).

Water risk assessments

For many production base areas that use a lot of water, we use existing water risk assessment tools such as WRI’s Aqueduct to confirm potential water risks. As there are cases where the use of only existing tools might be unable to provide a completely accurate picture of the actual water risk, we also incorporate local information to make judgments on comprehensive water risks.
Based on these results, we identify the highest risks among representative water risks for each business location (physical, regulatory, reputation risk, etc.), and consider measures that should be taken, starting with the highest priority risks.

Vision (attainment goal) / target

We will promote 3R initiatives for water at all of our business sites, including in the supply chain, and in each community to strive to use water soundly and conserve water resources. As a result, we will contribute to an appropriate water cycle on a global scale.

水の3R

Measures for vision achievement

At domestic and overseas production bases, we conduct the following initiatives aimed at reducing water intake per unit of output by 1% year-on-year.

  • Reinforce countermeasures for reducing water usage at sites with a high physical risk (water shortage)
  • Thoroughly manage wastewater quality at sites with a high regulatory risk
  • Enhancement of areas communication at sites with a high reputational risk

Review of FY 2017 Activities

  • A water risk assessment is conducted by incorporating local information with the results from WRI’s Aqueduct existing water risk assessment tool to manage risks by country in the categories of water volume risk (India, the Philippines, Italy), water quality risk (Japan, US, Thailand, Vietnam, Russia, Taiwan), and water volume and water quality risk (China, Indonesia). Reduction of 1% over the previous fiscal year was set.
  • We completed a questionnaire relating to the CDP Water program and supply chain water usage once again in fiscal year 2017, and reported to suppliers.
  • We have implemented the effective use of water at all business locations through continuous leakage prevention and improvements to equipment using recycled water. In particular, water closed systems have been introduced at many overseas production bases in response to physical (water shortage) risks. Introduction of Initiatives

Introduction of Initiatives

We have made capital investments at our Mie and Onomichi domestic production bases in leakage protection for facility pipes and recycled water use facilities.
As for our overseas production bases, we introduced a closed-loop system at the time of constructing our plant in India.
In Thailand and China, we collect rainwater and use it as cooling water and for restrooms.
In addition, water treatment facilities are being installed at all production bases to prevent deterioration in wastewater water quality.

イタリア工場での水処理施設

Water treatment facilities at our production base in Italy

At our Nagano Plant, we recycle cooling water, etc., using a water recycling system.

長野-水循環装置

Nagano-water recycling system

We are also conducting biodiversity conservation activities at Mie, Shinshiro, Mishima, and Ibaraki to investigate the impact on rivers that are water discharge sites.

Issues and Future Improvement Measures

A framework will be established for the assessment of global data on water use, and the following initiatives will be implemented.

  • Formulation of Yokohama Rubber Group standards (guidelines) for the proper management of water
  • Enhancing internal awareness of the water initiatives and the need for these initiatives
  • Joint implementation of water initiatives throughout the supply chain