E :Environment
Contribution to a Decarbonized Society

Emissions

KPI Responsible Departments Our position and Targets Review of FY 2024 Activities Introduction of Initiatives Future challenges

KPI

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Item FY 2023 results FY 2024 results
Emissions of greenhouse gases (Consolidated)
Scope1　588 thousand tons
Scope2　494 thousand tons
Scope3　25,718 thousand tons 		(Consolidated)
Scope1　591 thousand tons
Scope2　545 thousand tons
Scope3　40,405 thousand tons
  • Boundaries are expanding
Ozone-depleting substances Emissions of CFCs
(Non-consolidated) 1,384 tons
(Domestic) 1,391 tons		 Emissions of CFCs
(Non-consolidated) 594 tons
(Domestic) 606 tons
HAPs (Hazardous Air Pollutants) (Domestic) 16.9 tons (Domestic) 54.3 tons

Responsible Departments

Each business location
  • Activities are conducted by each location, and the direction of policies and activity measures are decided on by bodies that include the Global Warming Countermeasures Committee and the Chemical Substance Management Committee.

Our position and Targets

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

We use resources to manufacture and sell various rubber products such as tires, hoses, and belts. In particular, we recognize that reducing the amount of emission in the manufacturing process and the use-phase is a particularly important initiative that will lead to the prevention of global warming and environmental pollution, as well as continuous business operation at each site.

Our policies and position relating to emission

The Yokohama Rubber Group will work to minimize the burden on the environment by providing products and services in accordance with the "Yokohama Rubber Environmental Policy" and the "Yokohama Rubber Group Action Guidelines".
To this end, we will develop and introduce environmental technologies while working together with various people involved in the provision of products and services to promote the reduction of emissions into the atmosphere throughout the entire value chain.
We are determined to control the emissions not only by complying with international agreements on emission, and the regulations of each country, such as the Energy Conservation Act, the Act on Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures in Japan, and regulation-responding policies from related organizations such as the Japan Rubber Manufacturers Association, but also by voluntarily setting even stricter standards.

Risks and opportunities of the Yokohama Rubber Group associated with greenhouse gas emissions

<Risks>

Risks include an increase in facility investment costs for emissions reduction, an increase in energy costs related to the use of renewable energy, and an increase in investment costs necessary to deal with the deterioration in working environments due to global warming as well as to take countermeasures.

<Opportunities>

By the reduction of emissions the atmosphere, we contribute to society through promoting the efficient use of energy necessary for operation, conserving the environment of the areas we operate our business, and externally providing heat-insulating materials, etc. Controlling not only the emissions of greenhouse gas but also those of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and air pollutants makes it possible to reduce the cost of environment-related investment, which will leads to a reduction in product manufacturing costs.

Use of offsets

Offsets are not used.

Vision (attainment goal) / target

As international regulations related to emissions become increasingly stringent, as a general rule we aim to achieve control standards equivalent to those of the developed economies.
The Yokohama Group is working to reduce total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as an energy use reduction target.
  • Long-term target:
    • Achieve net zero CO2 emissions (carbon neutrality) in our activities by 2050
  • Mid-term target:
    • Reduce CO2 emissions from company activities by 40% by 2030 compared to fiscal 2019.
    • Encourage suppliers to collaborate with us in meeting our targets.

Measures for vision achievement

Our Group conducts the following measures to monitor and reduce the environmental burdens generated throughout our activities including production activities, R&D, and office work.
  1. We set voluntary control criteria that are stricter than those required by laws and regulations and constantly conduct monitoring.
  2. We regularly report legally-required measurement results to government authorities and local residents.
  3. We enhance activities toward the reduction of environmental burdens, such as one for the improvement of our production process.
    We promote the switch of energy source to be used, the introduction of renewable energy, the control of exhaust heat with heat retention and insulation materials, and the introduction of the latest environmental technologies and systems.
  4. Prevention of environmental pollution
    We identify environmental pollution risks and take remedial measures accordingly, and regularly implement monitoring and measurements, etc.
  5. Chemical substance management
    We ascertain the suitability of chemical substances contained in materials to be used in our products at the time of adoption or when laws and regulations are changed.
    We minimize the use of environmentally hazardous substances in our business activities and products, and control the emissions of VOCs and hazardous substances.

Review of FY 2024 Activities

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions

Response to climate change (Disclose information on TCFD)

Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Scope 1-2) (Consolidated)

Greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2) increased by 0.4% for Scope 1 and 10.4% for Scope 2 compared to the previous fiscal year, due to the addition of the Visakhapatnam Plant in India to the boundary from fiscal 2024. Emissions per unit of sales of Scope 1 and Scope 2 showed slight improvement compared to the previous fiscal year.
  • Actual greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2) for fiscal 2020 to 2023 include actual emissions from Yokohama TWS before its acquisition.
    Emissions per unit of sales of greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 or 2) for fiscal 2020 to 2023 does not include actual emissions from Yokohama TWS before its acquisition.

Scope 3 estimation

Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Scope 3) (Consolidated)
Greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 3) increased by 57.1% compared to the previous fiscal year, due to the addition of Yokohama TWS and the Visakhapatnam Plant in India to the boundary from fiscal 2024. Emissions per unit of sales of Scope 3 increased by 41.4% year-on-year.
  • Emissions per unit of sales of actual greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 3) for fiscal 2020 to 2023 does not include actual emissions from Yokohama TWS before its acquisition. In addition, there were no actual emissions classified in the categories of 8, 13 or 14.

Percentage of emissions by scope

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Breakdown of Scope 3 emissions

　　　　　
（Emissions Unit: thousand t-CO2)
Cat Scope 3 category FY2022 FY2023 FY2024
1 Purchased products and services 4,022 3,381 4,584
2 Capital goods 175 199 253
3 Fuel and energy 129 139 139
4 Transportation and distribution (upstream) 125 136 349
5 Waste 27 29 33
6 Business travel 5 13 18
7 Commuting employees 19 24 29
8 Upstream lease assets NA NA NA
9 Downstream transportation and distribution 59 74 115
10 Processing of sold products 14 10 12
11 Use of products 21,087 20,735 33,212
12 Disposal of products 906 913 1,636
13 Downstream lease assets NA NA NA
14 Franchise NA NA NA
15 Investment 92 67 24
SUM 26,661 25,718 40,405
  • Emissions data (Scope 3) from Yokohama TWS has been included starting in fiscal year 2024.
    There were no actual emissions classified in the categories of 8, 13 or 14.
  • 1 Scope 1: Direct emissions of greenhouse gases by the Company (examples: fossil fuel, natural gas, etc.)
  • 2 Scope 2: Indirect emissions of greenhouse gases by the Company (electric power use, etc.)
  • 3 Scope 3: Greenhouse gases emitted indirectly by the Company through its supply chain activities (manufacturing, transportation, business travel, commuting, etc.)
  • 4 Calculation was conducted in accordance with the criteria of Scope 3 issued by the "GHG Protocol."

Verification of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions

We had the calculation results verified by a third-party institution in order to ensure the accuracy and reliability of our GHG emission calculation.

Emissions of NOx, SOx, etc.

There was no domestic or overseas occurrence of events leading to air pollution.
The emission concentrations of NOx and SOx are controlled to comply with legal regulations on concentration values.
(Domestic) (Unit: tons)
Cat NOx SOx
FY 2022 157.7 22.0
FY 2023 98.8 20.6
FY 2024 104.4 22.3
Regarding the use and emission of ozone-depleting substances, we use class I specified products, such as air-conditioning facilities, which includes the use of chlorofluorocarbon.
In FY2024, waste disposal related to equipment renewal also occurred, but it remained below 1,000 tons: 594 tons for Yokohama Rubber Corporation on its own and 606 tons for domestic operations.
Our VOC emissions increased by 15% year-on-year overall, despite a 5.7% increase in production within the tire business segment covered by the reporting and reduction efforts. (Yokohama TWS will be included starting fiscal year 2024).

Introduction of Initiatives

Switch of energy source to natural gas

We have been promoting the switch of the fuel used in domestic plants to gas that is supplied via environment-friendly gas pipelines. Effort has been made even in some countries where a gas pipeline system has not been fully developed. For example, the Vietnam Plant has switched from heavy fuel oil to gas by using tank lorries to transport it, and the India Plant has also switched from heavy fuel oil to gas by using gas cylinder, both of which has contributed to the reduction of CO2 emissions.
Switch to gas cylinders in the India Plant
Switch to gas cylinders in the India Plant

Installation of solar lights

Street lights combining a high efficiency solar panel and LEDs have been installed.
Since using an independent power supply, the street lights will be effective even in the event of a disaster or power outage.
Installation of solar street lights
Installation of solar and wind powered street lights

Employing heat recovery technology to utilize factories’ waste heat for air-conditioning (absorption chilling equipment)

Employing the absorption chilling equipment with a heat recovery system to use waste heat, etc. has contributed to the reduction of CO2 emissions as well as to the reduction of power consumption during peak time during summer months.
Absorption chilling equipment

Steam driven compressor

The plant gets air supply by operating the air compressor powered by the energy generated from the pressure difference resulting from steam decompression, which has never been used before.
Showing results in cutting down power consumption and CO2 emission.
Steam driven compressor

Energy saving improvements through heat insulation materials

We manufacture and install heat insulation materials fitting the size of equipment and piping.
We are implementing energy-saving activities that control heat release by installing heat insulation materials on and near steam pipework in our business locations both in Japan and overseas.
Pipe insulation

Energy-Saving Technology Committee

We have held Energy-Saving Technology Committee meetings to promote the adoption of energy management methods conforming to the Energy Conservation Act and the introduction of energy-saving equipment, which has led to the effective reduction of energy consumption.
Energy-Saving Technology Committee
We are also promoting energy-saving activities from a management perspective.
  1. Promote in-house black illumination, encouraging employees to leave work on time.
  2. Promote a cool biz campaign in summer and a warm biz campaign in winter in-house for energy saving.
  3. Make sure to turn off office automation equipment when they are not being used to reduce standby power consumption.
  4. Enhance energy saving awareness by visualizing electricity usage.
  5. Drive company-wide efforts for energy-saving improvement by sharing information on improvement cases (creating a database)

Noise control

In addition to installing soundproof walls and covers in the factory, we are also working to reduce noise through sound absorption, sound diffusion and reflection, and sound wave attenuation by planting trees on the factory grounds as part of the Yokohama Forever Forest Project (more than 200,000 trees have been planted on the grounds of domestic factories from 2007 to 2023).
We have also formulated an environmental management manual, and at each of our bases we carry out environmental impact monitoring and measurement, including noise measurement, and noise measurement and monitoring at the site boundary. We regularly check to see whether the values are within the voluntary regulatory values set below the statutory standard values.
soundproof walls (Mishima Plant)
soundproof walls (Mishima Plant)
Maintaining the appropriate height and density of greenery along the site boundary to reduce noise levels (Onomichi Plant)
Maintaining the appropriate height and density of greenery along the site boundary to reduce noise levels (Onomichi Plant)

Odor Control

For odor components generated by production equipment, etc., we are working to reduce odors by selecting the following methods, which are effective for each odor component.
(1) Method of causing a chemical reaction with a deodorant
(2) Method of causing a chemical reaction by contacting with a chemical solution in a scrubber
(3) Method of burning in a regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO)
(4) Method of decomposing by the oxidation action of ozone
(5) Method of adsorbing on activated carbon, etc.
In addition, during the belt combustion test, etc., we use exhaust equipment to deodorize the air before sending it to the outdoor exhaust duct.
In order to measure the effectiveness of our odor countermeasures, we exchange opinions with resident monitors at residents' meetings, etc., and we also have external organizations measure the odor at the site boundary, and we are working to maintain the effectiveness of our measures.
Regenerative thermal oxidizer
Scrubber (Suzhou Yokohama Tire Co., Ltd.)
Activated carbon deodorization in the rolling process (Shinshiro Plant)
Deodorant sprayed through ducts (Mie Plant)

Dust control

We have installed a mixer dust collector to prevent powder leakage during the mixing process.
We inspect the dust collector equipment every day, checking for carbon blowing, measuring the filter powder leakage detector, inspecting the temperature inside the recovery tank, and checking for carbon leakage on the conveyor line and rooftop floor.
These measures help to reduce raw material loss and contribute to the environment
Dust collector for dust generated during testing
Exhaust air passing through the dust collector's multi-layered filters (Mie Plant)

Future challenges

Our challenges to be addressed include accurately managing the data on air emission volumes at overseas sales bases, etc. in a global scale, and working to reduce the amount of "emission into the atmosphere" in collaboration with the supply chain.