Sustainability

Water Usage Reduction

Focus SDGs

  • 6.water,sanitation
  • 12.consumption,production

Management information

Relation between themes and business activities

The Fuji Oil Group's business activities require water resources in the production of agricultural products that are procured as raw materials and in the manufacturing processes of the Group’s products.

Basic approach

With full recognition of the relation between water resources and its business activities, the Fuji Oil Group aims at preserving water resources in its product manufacturing processes based on the Basic Policy of Environmental Integrity.* The Environmental Vision 2030,*2 to be fulfilled by 2030, shows our Group-wide commitment to the reduction of water usage. We believe that we can contribute directly to the conservation of water resources by enhancing the efficiency of water usage in our product manufacturing processes. The objective is the sustainable use of limited water resources. In addition, to assess and minimize the impact of our business activities on water resources, we monitor water-related risks and implement necessary countermeasures. We treat wastewater according to standards and regulations imposed in each country or region in which we operate.

* Refer to the URL below for details on the Basic Policy of Environmental Integrity.

https://www.fujioilholdings.com/en/about/policy/

*2 Refer to the URL below for details on the Environmental Vision 2030.

https://www.fujioilholdings.com/en/csr/environment/management/

Promotion system

We promote our initiatives to reduce our water usage under the supervision of the Chief “ESG” Officer (C“ESG”O). Moreover, the ESG Committee*, which is an advisory body to the Board of Directors, confirms the progress and results of these initiatives as a priority theme for ESG management.

* Refer to the URL below for details of the ESG Committee.

https://www.fujioilholdings.com/en/csr/approach/

Objectives / Results

2030 targets

In FY 2018, we formulated the Environmental Vision 2030 with 2030 as the target year. In the vision, we set a Group-wide target of reducing base-unit water usage* by 20% from the base year of 2016 by 2030.

* Base-unit water usage: Water usage per unit of production

Progress toward the 2030 targets

In FY 2019, the base-unit water usage of all Fuji Oil Group companies decreased by 11% year on year and by 24% from the base year. While the year-on-year rate of the decrease in Japan was 4%, that outside Japan was 10%. This reduction of our water usage is a result of Group companies’ activities to reuse wastewater and save water. In addition, the introduction of a water-related data collection method common to all Group companies enabled us to obtain more accurate data on the realities of our water usage.

FY 2019 objectives

  • Establishing optimal methods of collecting and analyzing water usage data and disclosing accurate information

FY 2019 results

In FY 2019, the total amount of water use at Group companies in Japan was 2,417,000 kL, a 5% decrease from the previous fiscal year. The total amount of water use at Group companies outside Japan in the same fiscal year was 2,365,000 kL, a 9% increase from the previous fiscal year. This increase was mainly a result of growth in production volume.
We began collecting detailed data on water, and were rated A− as a result of the CDP Water Security Questionnaire 2019. Taking advantage of what we learned about important indicators related to water resources from the CDP Water Security Questionnaire, we thoroughly monitored the status of water usage at our Group companies with the aim of allocating further Group-wide efforts to conserving water resources.

Annual water usage and water usage per unit of production

Annual water usage and water usage per unit of production

Next Step

We will continue to reduce water usage across the Fuji Oil Group by enhancing the efficiency of water use in our manufacturing processes, reusing wastewater and by other means, with the aim of fulfilling the Environmental Vision 2030. In FY 2020, we will promote training activities targeting Group companies outside Japan. We are currently assessing the introduction of a data collection system that will help streamline the data collection process. The new system will be introduced in FY 2020.

Specific initiatives

Risk management and countermeasures

The Fuji Oil Group actively promotes the reduction of water use in operating areas with risk of water shortages. For example, some Group companies in China make the PDCA cycle function under a possible water risk scenario to perform risk management from the perspectives of business continuity in the event of the depletion of water resources and water quality management.

Specific initiatives to reduce water usage

In FY 2019, the following water-saving activities were conducted at Group companies.

  • Promoting the conservation of water resources at Fuji Oil Europe (Belgium) by producing and using recycled water in collaboration with nearby plants
  • Installing a temperature control device at Fuji Oil (Zhang Jia Gang) Co., Ltd. (China) to reduce evaporated water
  • Reducing the amount of water used in cooling equipment at Palmaju Edible Oil Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia)
  • Reducing water usage by enhancing the management of water usage at Fuji Oil (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
  • Beginning to use NEWater, reclaimed water produced on the initiative of the Singapore government, at Fuji Oil (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. to conserve water resources
  • Reusing wastewater at Harald (Brazil) to irrigate the company’s garden