As part of our community outreach efforts, we have resumed biodiversity conservation activities around the regulating pond since fiscal year 2021. We conduct aquatic life surveys and bird surveys around the factory to contribute to conservation efforts.
On September 7, 2015, thanks to assistance provided by Nagano Prefectural Government, we signed a “Forest Stewardship Agreement” with Toyooka Village and began to undertake satoyama (traditional community-managed forest) conservation work with respect to the area around the Toyooka Village Gymnasium and Sports Ground. In 2016, our efforts in these activities received recognition in the awarding of the Shimoina Forest Association Chairman’s Prize in the Minami Shinshu Healthy Forests Awards.
Concerning the “Yokohama Forever Forest Project” that has continued since 2007, we concluded the plan for stage VI tree planting activities in 2013, and in 2016 we donated a total of 1,040 seedlings grown at the plant to local towns and villages.
For the Tenryu River which flows through the region, each year we proactively participate as a party in charge of allocations during the river cleanup (the environment picnic).
We also make effective use of opportunities for communication and exchange with the residents of Takamori and Toyooka, for example by arranging plant tours for local elementary and high school students and members of local organizations, etc.
We actively participate in the annual Tenryu River cleanup (environmental picnic) as the designated section leader for our area.
We also strive to deepen the understanding of our business activities and environmental conservation efforts by inviting local elementary and high schools, local chambers of commerce, and other organizations to our factory for tours. Through these exchanges with Takamori Town and Toyooka Village, we listen to the voices of the local community.

We actively welcome visits from our customers, including visits to our material and parts suppliers who support our operations, as well as exchanges between our on-site workers and those of our partner companies. By fostering smooth communication, we aim to become a business that can better meet market demands within the supply chain.

Regarding factory decision-making: safety and health issues are decided by the Safety and Health Committee, environmental and energy matters by the Environment Committee, and quality issues by the Quality Committee. Each of these committees meets monthly. Individual matters are communicated daily through morning meetings led by factory executives. In each workplace, section chiefs and foremen hold workplace meetings to disseminate and share information and to discuss solutions. To address workplace problems without waiting for these scheduled meetings, we promote the 'Horenso and Beyond' activity, encouraging not only reporting, communication, and consultation (Horenso), but also taking the next step toward resolution.
Decisions are communicated to employees through daily dissemination to workplaces and at the factory morning meeting at the beginning of each month.
For compliance awareness activities, all employees receive monthly workplace compliance training using 'Workplace Learning Materials' created by the Compliance Promotion Office of the CSR Division. Furthermore, to expand from point-based to area-based dissemination, the section manager and safety committee members explain the training during workplace safety and health committee meetings.

Supply chain relations

We plan regular visits to our component suppliers, adhering to the "three realities" principle - Genba (actual place), Genbutsu (actual object), and Genjitsu (actual situation) - to confirm their production and quality control status firsthand.
We also hold a supplier conference once a year in the Nagano Plant conference room to share information on market conditions and production plans, as well as to request improvements in Q (Quality), C (Cost), and D (Delivery), thereby strengthening information sharing and communication.
Regarding communication with customers, we strive to understand their expectations for our products, as well as the product quality and services required by the market, through opportunities such as Nagano Plant tours, witness inspections, and QMS audits. Recently, Nagano Plant employees have been visiting customer factories for tours. This allows each employee to understand the environment, safety, and quality initiatives of each customer's hydraulic equipment production and their end-users, which we then apply to further workplace improvements.

Nagano Plant Safety and Health Policy

Disaster-prevention drills

Activities in FY2024:

• Night-time simulation drills: June 27, October 29
• Comprehensive evacuation drills: July 3, November 5

We conduct self-defense fire drills to confirm key equipment for initial fire suppression and maintain the skills of our team members. Each team also conducts drills on using a forklift as a power source during power outages for lighting and cell phone charging. We provide fire extinguisher training to employees, practicing how to use fire extinguishers so they can quickly and calmly extinguish fires in the event of an actual fire.

Nagano Plant environmental policy

Environmental data (Nagano Plant)

Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions

Greenhouse gas emissions at Nagano Plant and their indices (base year = 100)

Effective use of resources / Waste reductions

Measures for discharges into water, air and soil

Data related to water contamination

• Not subject to legal regulation (Voluntary standard measurement, twice or more per year)
• Regulatory values are in compliance with the ordinances of Nagano Prefecture
• Takamori : Water discharged to Oshima River, Toyooka : Water discharged to Terasawa River

Reporting on chemical substance management status (Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) Law compliance)

The Nagano Plant verifies whether secondary materials and auxiliary materials contain chemical substances subject to Safety Data Sheet (SDS) requirements, and in the case of substances where the amounts handled exceed the thresholds specified by the PRTR Law, annual reports are submitted to the national (or prefectural) authorities and safety impact assessment is performed.
Regarding the handling of substances pursuant to the PRTR Law, please refer to the Safety Evaluation Table of Domestic Production Bases.

Participation in the Tenryu River Environment Picnic (Cleanup)

A total of 67 people, including 28 from Yokohama Rubber, participated in the cleanup of the Tenryu River area and the removal of the invasive plant, burcucumber, together with other local companies.

Forever Forest

We completed our activities in the 6th period in 2013, having planted a total of 6,905 trees, exceeding our planned target. Currently, we are monitoring the growth of new seedlings sprouting from the Forever Forest site.
Furthermore, in the bamboo forest adjacent to Forever Forest site, bamboo shoots emerge in spring. Factory employees take them home and enjoy various dishes made with them.

Biodiversity conservation activities

The biodiversity conservation activities, which started in fiscal year 2013, were forced to halt in fiscal year 2017 due to the factory relocation from Takamori to Toyooka. However, the activities resumed in fiscal year 2021, and we began conducting aquatic life surveys around the regulating pond and in the drainage channel where factory wastewater flows.
The aquatic life survey was conducted with some skepticism about whether any organisms would be found in the drainage channel. Although we expected invasive species to be prevalent, we were able to identify several native species.
We plan to also work on promoting recycling within the Nagano Plant premises in the future.

Satoyama Conservation Activity

On June 6, 2024, we conducted a "foster parent" activity. A total of 10 people participated in the clearing of undergrowth and lower branches.

MD Squad activities

As part of the MD team's activities, we have been working on initiatives such as promoting paperless operations, 2S (Seiri and Seiton, sorting and arranging) of the OA server, heatstroke prevention with green curtains, shredder introduction to reduce confidential document disposal costs, and energy-saving efforts.
In particular, for energy conservation efforts, the MD Team and workplaces joined forces to form an Air Leak Eradication Team. Using devices that can quantify air leakage, they improved air leaks from equipment. By improving air efficiency of the equipment itself and fixing 15 leaks each month, we were able to reduce the number of operating compressors from five to four across the entire plant. For our green curtain project, we grew bitter gourds, which we enjoyed eating.

Thorough statutory compliance

In fiscal year 2024, there were no legal violations or external complaints.

Internship

In FY2024, we invited local high schools to participate in our internship program, but unfortunately, we received no applications. We will continue to promote our program to the high schools in FY2025.

Donations to assist the local community

Red Feather Community Chest Donation ￥5,000
Ichida Lantern Floating Festival Donation ￥100,000
Toyooka Festival Donation ￥100,000

Employee Communication

In April, we planned a "strawberry picking" event for employees and their families, which was held over two days. The event was open to all employees working at the Nagano factory, from direct hires to dispatched workers.
A total of 508 people participated in April 2024.

Blood donations

June 20: 51 participants
November 13: 52 participants