Water Use Reduction

Material Issue

Environmentally Responsible MONOZUKURI
(Product Development and Manufacturing Practices)

Policy

The Fuji Oil Group established the Basic Policy of Environmental Integrity in 2015.

Governance

The Fuji Oil Group has established the Sustainability Committee*1 as an advisory body to the Board of Directors that is chaired by the President and CEO. From a multi-stakeholder perspective, the committee deliberates on and monitors Water Use Reduction, a priority action to address material ESG issues,*2 and makes recommendations to the Board. The Group implements related initiatives under the oversight of the Head of Safety, Quality and Production Technology Headquarters, the Executive Officer, to achieve the Environmental Vision 2030/2050.*3

StrategyGRI: 303-1, 2

Water resources are one of the most important resources in fulfilling our Group’s social mission to develop the potential of food ingredients and contribute to the happiness and well-being of the people by offering delicious and healthy food. Proper management of water resources is an important issue in the production of agricultural products, which serve as our main raw materials, and in the manufacturing and processing of our products.*1 In recent years, droughts and floods have been increasing due to climate change, adversely affecting agricultural production. In 2022, 2.2 billion people around the world lacked stable access to safe water.*2 An estimated 5 billion people will face water scarcity by 2050 due to the rising global population and intensification of climate change.*3
Inadequate or delayed responses to water resource issues can increase the risk of constraints on business activities. At the same time, efforts to promote the efficient use of water resources and introduce recycling technologies can help reduce environmental impacts and achieve a sustainable society.
With this understanding, we reviewed our environmental vision target for water use reduction and set a new FY2030 target of reducing water consumption intensity by 20% from the base year (FY2020). The entire Group is working based on the Environmental Vision 2030/2050 to reduce the amount of water use. We evaluate water-related risks at each business site and will take appropriate measures. In addition, to reduce negative impacts associated with water withdrawal and wastewater, we work as a Group to adjust management practices based on our own independent indicators established to exceed national and regional regulations and standards, with the aim of achieving our targets.

  • *1 See ESG Data Book for total water withdrawal, breakdown by water source, total water withdrawal from regions with water risk, and other information.
  • *2 UNICEF

    https://data.unicef.org/sdgs/goal-6-clean-water-sanitation/

  • *3 “State of the Global Climate 2021,” World Meteorological Organization (WMO), (2021)

Risk managementGRI: 303-1, 2

Fuji Oil Group manages water-related risks as a Group significant risk. This includes water withdrawal, impact on water quality, storms, floods, and violations of wastewater regulations. To manage these risks, each Group company follows a Plan-Do-Check-Action (PDCA) cycle, which includes identifying material risks, planning and implementing a management strategy, evaluating results, and making improvements.
For water-related risks at Group sites, we refer to Aqueduct*1 and risk maps to assess water risks in regions where Group companies have operations. As a result of these assessment, we implement measures for improvement, and monitor them regularly. The FY2024 Aqueduct analysis identified that a production site in Belgium is in a water basin with high water stress risk, so we have continued taking appropriate measures to reduce water withdrawal risks by using canal water for industrial use and recycling wastewater. The analysis also identified that some production sites in the U.S., Japan, and Southeast Asia are located in high-risk areas with regard to water pollution, but all production sites comply with the laws and regulations related to wastewater in each country. We have already taken measures to address previously identified compliance risks relating to wastewater regulations at a Group company in China and flooding risk at a Group company in Indonesia.
For water risks related to our raw material production, we assessed risks associated with water stress, drought, water quality, flood, and water pollution in our nature-related risk analyses for palm oil- and cocoa-producing countries in FY2023.*2

Metrics and targets

FY2030 targets*1 FY2024 results*1 Progress on FY2030 targets
20% reduction in water intensity*2 (All Group companies) 36% reduction 180%
  • *1 Base year: FY2016
  • *2 Water use per unit of production

At least 90% complete At least 60% complete Less than 60% complete

FY2024 Goals FY2024 Results Self-assessment
Set new water use reduction targets
  • Established new targets. Starting in FY2025, we will promote activities to achieve new reduction targets
    (NOTE: This Sustainability Report covers the previous targets.)
    FY2030 (base year FY2020):
    20% reduction in water use (intensity)
Promote ongoing efforts to reduce water usage and raise employee awareness
  • Implemented internal awareness-raising through environmental audits at four Group companies
  • Broad deployment of successful examples of water use reductions among Group companies

Analysis

Water use intensity in FY2024 was 36% lower than the base year (FY2016), an improvement of three percentage points from the previous fiscal year’s 33 % reduction. This represents a 180% achievement rate relative to our target by FY2030. We reviewed the most appropriate conditions of our water use optimization at production lines in Japan. We also improved water recycling systems and revised the cleaning frequency of production facilities at Group companies outside Japan. All these actions contributed to a reduction in our water usage. For better environmental management, we aimed to make improvements through efforts such as environmental audits and spreading successful examples, and shared our approach to water conservation and water resource efficiency. Through environmental data collection systems, we also collect and analyze water data in a timely manner at each company to improve our reduction rates at the company level.
In FY2024, we established a new target with an upward revision of the water use reduction target set in FY2018. In setting the new target, we took into account the results of water risk assessments at each Group company based on Aqueduct and the status of each company’s response, as well as the results of water-related risk analysis in palm oil- and cocoa-producing countries. We will continue working to improve water use efficiency while paying close attention to water risks and environmental regulations.

Annual water use and water intensity

Next steps

Through the efforts of all our production sites, we were able to achieve reductions that exceeded our water reduction target. To make more effective use of precious water resources, we will work on the following initiatives from FY2025 onward to achieve our new target.

  • Broad deployment of successful examples of reduction efforts
  • Work to continuously reduce water usage (and usage intensity) including by implementing the PDCA cycle through the implementation of environmental audits.

Specific initiatives

Water conservation efforts at Group companies

Examples of water conservation activities in FY2024 are as follows:

  • At Blommer Chocolate Manufacturing (Shanghai) Company Ltd. (China), rain water and cooling tower discharge was reused for cleaning around buildings.
  • At Palmaju Edible Oil Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia), we improved production efficiency by reducing downtime, repaired leaks, and reused steam condensate as hot water.
  • At Tianjin Fuji Protein Co., Ltd., we reduced water consumption by adjusting water supply valves.

Related documents