Social Biodiversity and Community Engagement

Biodiversity

Our group clearly states its commitment to biodiversity through its Environmental Policy and strives to recognize and reduce the overall impact of its business activities. All employees are encouraged to remain mindful of their relationship with nature and to promote conservation activities in collaboration with local communities.

Biodiversity Policy

1. We promote initiatives to minimize negative impacts and increase positive effects on natural capital—including biodiversity and ecosystems—through our surface modification technologies.
2. We are committed to strengthening our efforts across the entire supply chain to address climate change, promote resource conservation and recycling, and reduce the use of environmentally harmful substances.

Key Challenges in Biodiversity Initiatives

In line with our Biodiversity Policy, we position ourselves as contributors to the Nature Positive initiative, which aims to conserve and restore natural capital as a core element of our business activities.
In line with the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework, we assess and respond to our dependencies and impacts on nature, as well as related risks and opportunities.
We also conduct water resource risk assessments and are committed to the sustainable use and management of water resources.

Participation in the Keidanren Biodiversity Declaration Initiative

Our group supports the Keidanren Declaration on Biodiversity and the Action Guidelines issued by the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) and participates in the Keidanren Biodiversity Declaration Initiative.
Guided by our corporate philosophy—“We are contributing to the effective use of limited resources on planet Earth, creating new value of resources through surface modification of all kinds of materials, preserving the global environment, and realizing an affluent society”—we regard the conservation and restoration of natural capital, including biodiversity and ecosystems, as an essential responsibility.
Through the following initiatives, we will continue to work toward the realization of a society that lives in harmony with nature:

• Providing products and services that give due consideration to biodiversity
• Minimizing negative impacts on natural capital and maximizing positive impacts
• Improving resource efficiency through technological development and process improvements
• Promoting collaboration across the entire supply chain

• Related Initiatives
• Keidanren Declaration of Biodiversity and Action Guidelines
• Keidanren Initiative for Biodiversity Declaration

Water Risk Assessment

Our group evaluated water resource risks at each of our production and processing sites using the WRI Aqueduct 4.0 tool.
The analysis was conducted based on the “Business-as-Usual (bau30_ws_x_I)” scenario, enabling us to identify the level of water stress at our sites across various regions worldwide.
We visualized the geographical distribution of our sites and identified those classified as having “High” or greater water stress.
This assessment has allowed us to identify potential risks in business operations dependent on water resources. It serves as a foundation for developing countermeasures to support sustainable business management.

*1: Evaluated under the 2030 Business-as-Usual Scenario.

Community Activities

At the Nihon Parkerizing Group, we have established the Policy on Social Contribution Activities, guided by which we engage in various activities together with people from local communities.

We engage in diverse activities tailored to local needs as part of our activities for contributing to local communities. At the same time, we strive to coexist in harmony and cooperate hand-in-hand with local communities, governments, and residents.

Social Contribution Activity Policy

1. The Nihon Parkerizing Group will work to achieve the harmonious co-existence of each of its business sites in Japan and other countries and the local community in the area where they are located, thereby contributing to the sustainable development of local communities.
2. The Nihon Parkerizing Group will collaborate with local communities to engage in community-based activities, including environmental protection activities.
3. The Nihon Parkerizing Group will develop a corporate culture that will enable employees to participate in social activities voluntarily as members of the local community.

Activities to Support Children and Their Future

Provision of Learning Opportunities to the Children Who will Represent the Next Generation

From 2008 to 2012, we invited elementary school children from the neighboring area to increase their familiarity with chemistry through experiments, including experiments related to rust prevention treatments, hydrophilic treatments, cold forming, surface observation, chemical reactions (color changes caused by reactions, pH-test paper, and color changes permitting observation of patterns), and the three states of matter (freezing experiment using liquid nitrogen).

Exchange with Junior High School Students                            

In June 2019, we invited junior high school students in the neighboring area to attend a lecture entitled “Chemical Substances and Our Life” and conduct surface treatment experiments (demonstrations) and analyses.

• Why is surface treatment necessary?
• How is a surface treated?
• What happens as a result of surface treatment?
• Let’s observe various things using a microscope.

Under these themes, we made the students feel close to the chemistry in everyday life. At the same time, we also explained our Chemical Substance Management System. We had them understand the importance of the proper handling of chemical substances.

Support for Infection Control at Elementary and Junior High Schools

Tour of the Kansai Plant Given to High School Students

Initiative to build an open workplace environment: Workplace tour for high school students

At the Kansai Plant, we give workplace tours for high school students who will graduate and start working afterward. We occasionally provided a 1.5-hour tour of the manufacturing plant, including a brief explanation of the plant. The tour aims to enable students to experience our corporate activities and tell other children representing the next generation about what they experienced, saw, and heard at the plant.

To allow high school students to imagine themselves working at the plant, we have employees from the same high school join them and give them time to listen to specific stories told by people older than them working at the plant and ask questions. We hope they will share what they have experienced and felt with younger generations.

Other

• Student internship program
  In FY2016, we began offering an internship program to students to give them opportunities to participate in a work experience program. This internship program, intended for university students, is provided at the Central Research Laboratories in Kanagawa. It includes practical work to develop a perspective on working and tours of the laboratories. The final part of the program consists of work in proposing new research themes in surface treatments and creating reports related to this research. The unique thinking and ideas of the highly imaginative students are also presented, making the program a good opportunity for the employees who attend the sessions to learn new things. In FY2020, we began to conduct online remote workplace tours and distribute videos via the Internet to control COVID-19 infections, allowing students to deepen their understanding of the content of work and what it is like to work.
• Internships for persons with disabilities
  In cooperation with special needs schools, we provide ongoing internships for people with disabilities. Through internships, we are promoting efforts to have them directly experience the work environment and working styles, and to help them find employment.
• Introduction of farm-type employment service for people with disabilities
  We have introduced a farm-type employment service for people with disabilities with the aim of providing a place where people with disabilities can contribute to society through work and creating employment. The vegetables harvested from the farm are donated to children's cafeterias and shared with employees.

Unique Initiatives Taken at Business Sites

• Fukuyama Plant and Fukuyama No. 2 Plant
  Initiatives for contributing to local communities: Clean-up of roadside drains in the Nonohama district
  Every year, Fukuyama Plant and Fukuyama Plant No. 2 proactively participate in the clean-up (soil removal) of wastewater drains, which is conducted as part of the activity to clean up the whole school area hosted by the town development promotion committee of the Nonohama district of Fukuyama City, Hiroshima, where the plants are located, thus contributing to the local community.

• Aichi Plant
  Initiatives for contributing to local communities: Fire drills, clean-up activities, and traffic safety activities (traffic safety monitoring on streets)
  We cooperate with the Handa Chamber of Commerce & Industry and other parties in fire drills, clean-up, and traffic safety activities (traffic safety monitoring on streets).
  
  

• Itami Plant
  Initiatives for contributing to local communities: Measures against natural disasters (evacuation drills and stockpiling of emergency goods) and clean-up activities
  To prepare for natural disasters, we conduct evacuation drills, stockpile emergency goods, including goods we will distribute to the residents of neighboring areas, and install AEDs. In addition, we regularly clean up the bus stop and the area peripheral to the plant, collect Illegally dumped waste and mow the grass as part of our activities to contribute to the local community.

• Utsunomiya Plant
  Initiatives for contributing to local communities: Measures against natural disasters (evacuation drills and stockpiling of emergency goods) and clean-up activities
  To prepare for natural disasters, we conduct evacuation drills, stockpile emergency goods, including goods that we will distribute to the residents of neighboring areas, and install AEDs. In addition, we regularly clean up the area around the plant and implement traffic safety activities during traffic safety weeks to contribute to the local community.

• Hiratsuka Plant No. 2
  Initiatives to reinforce the system for responding to natural disasters: Measures to address natural disasters (evacuation drills and the stockpiling of emergency goods) and clean-up activities
  To prepare for natural disasters, we conduct an emergency drill once a year and provide daily training on measures to prevent secondary disasters. We also clean up the area around the plant and engage in other activities to contribute to the local community.

Overseas: Group Company Initiatives (FY2024)

Donation Activities

Our group donated FY2024 to the nonprofit organization Friends Without Borders Japan.