Waste Reduction

As the challenges arising from the depletion of natural resources, environmental pollution due to waste, and climate change become increasingly apparent, the transition from a conventional linear economy based on mass production, mass consumption, and mass disposal to a circular economy that utilizes resources in a sustainable manner has become an urgent global issue. Resource consumption and waste generation remain challenges, and companies are increasingly expected to make more effective and higher-value use of resources while reducing waste.
The Fuji Oil Group has incorporated the concept of upcycling into our technological development since our founding, starting with our soy protein business using soybeans as a raw material, and has been working to achieve effective resource use and value creation. We also recognize challenges such as sludge in factory wastewater and spent bleaching earth (SBE) generated in oils and fats refining processes, food loss resulting from the manufacturing stage, and food waste from disposal of products after their expiration dates.
For the Fuji Oil Group, whose mission is to develop the potential of food ingredients and contribute to people’s happiness and well-being by offering delicious and healthy food, using resources efficiently and minimizing waste are the key themes fundamental to its business. We therefore regard waste reduction as an important priority, both for our business and as part of our response to biodiversity loss and climate change.

Analysis

Waste intensity in FY2025 was 23.4% lower than the base year (FY2016), an improvement of 0.5 percentage points from the previous fiscal year’s 22.9% reduction. This represents a 234% achievement rate, compared to our target for FY2030.
At Group companies in Japan, the resource recycling rate in FY2025 was 99.83%, a deterioration of 0.01 percentage point from the previous fiscal year’s 99.84%, but achieved the target recycling rate of 99.8% and more. Going forward, we will promote recycling by sorting waste more thoroughly.
Through the environmental data collection systems we also collected and analyzed waste-related data in a timely manner at each company, in order to further improve waste reduction awareness at the company level.

Figure: Annual waste generation and waste intensity

Image links to a PDF file（382KB）

Figure: Annual waste generation and recycling rate at Fuji Oil Group companies in Japan

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Next steps

As a natural consequence of the characteristics of our business, sludge and SBE account for a large share of the waste we generate, and reducing these types of waste is a challenge. In recent years, these wastes are being increasingly viewed as sources of bioenergy, and their use in clean energy creation has grown. As we explore ways to recycle and effectively use waste, we will work on the following goals for FY2026:

Waste reduction initiatives

Our Group’s Environmental Division conducts environmental audits at our manufacturing sites. In relation to waste reduction, the auditors review systems for managing waste by type, including segregation and disposal methods. They also verify compliance with applicable waste-management laws and regulations. They assess whether environmental and legal risks associated with increased waste generation or improper disposal are reduced effectively, and corrective measures are implemented appropriately. During on-site inspections, auditors review waste storage and segregation practices and check for any improper handling in order to reduce environmental impacts or the risk of regulatory noncompliance. In FY2025, we conducted audits at four Group companies outside Japan. Although several minor areas for improvement were identified, we confirmed the sites were generally operating appropriately. Going forward, we will make further improvements systematically.
In FY2025, we carried out the following initiatives to reduce waste.

• * ISCC EU certification by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) is a global certification system for certifying businesses and organizations that manufacture products using sustainable raw materials such as biomass and recycled products.

Waste recycling initiatives

Although total waste generation has declined, reducing the amount sent to landfill remains a challenge. We will continue to strengthen waste segregation and shift more waste toward recycling and resource recovery to improve its recycling rate.

Reducing food loss in manufacturing processes

Referencing definitions of food loss and waste from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and each country and region, we have created our own definition that suits our business structure, which has been used to monitor food loss and waste since FY2023.

The Fuji Oil Group definition of food loss and waste

Items that were produced or processed for human consumption but no longer have a purpose as food (including as animal feed).