Message from the Officer in Charge
Making Sustainability a Personal Matter
Since establishing our Corporate Sustainability Policy in 2018 and creating the Corporate Sustainability Division and Corporate Sustainability Committee, Mitsui Chemicals has been addressing a variety of challenges in line with broader societal trends in ESG. We have received external recognition for these initiatives, and we believe some of these initiatives are now industry-leading.Going forward, we will continue to build on these achievements and pursue initiatives that respond to society's evolving demands.
However, we recognize that these initiatives, which were undertaken in response to societal demands and praised externally, are not yet fully understood within the company, and that our employees have not yet come to take personal ownership of these efforts. Our key challenge is to help every employee see how sustainability initiatives contribute to our non-financial KPIs and future profitability, and in turn, to translate that understanding into their own individual work.
To that end, we will continue our existing training programs and activities like the ESG Link Café*, while also creating more opportunities for dialogue than ever before. Through this dialogue, we aim to cultivate an understanding that our company’s sustainability is built on the personal commitment and daily actions of every single employee. We will also provide more opportunities for them to connect sustainability directly to their own job responsibilities.
* ESG Link Café：
An interactive, voluntary online event for all employees, based on the concept of “a place where anyone can feel free to join.”
Key Communication and Engagement Tools
Climate Change Initiatives
Looking ahead to 2030, we are now on track to achieve our VISION 2030 non-financial target of a 40% reduction in GHG emissions. This will be largely driven by the shutdown and downsizing of facilities to optimize production, including the consolidation of our naphtha crackers to a single unit in the Keiyo area, as well as the development of ammonia combustion technology at our Osaka Works and the adoption of renewable energy. Energy conservation is at the core of our efforts leading up to 2030, and we are rigorously implementing energy-saving measures at our production sites.
However, looking beyond 2030, fundamental measures for low-carbonization and decarbonization will be required, necessitating large-scale capital investment. Our Group is committed to steadily implementing initiatives to achieve our major goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. While the adoption of new technologies like CCUS and the transition to renewable fuels are key priorities, there are limits to what we as a company can achieve alone. Therefore, we will also strive to collaborate with other companies and regional partners to advance these efforts.
To address Scope 3 emissions, we have expanded our calculation and disclosure to include major consolidated subsidiaries, moving beyond just Mitsui Chemicals. We have also revised our operational workflows to enable more timely data disclosure for the most recent fiscal year. By further expanding the scope of our calculations and improving the accuracy of our methods, we will gain a more precise understanding of our environmental impact throughout the supply chain, enabling better assessment and management.
Expanding Our Blue Value™ and Rose Value™ Products and Services
Our Blue Value™ and Rose Value™ products and services, which contribute to the environment and improve quality of life, continue to grow steadily, although the pace of expansion has recently slowed somewhat. We use the sales revenue ratio of these certified products as a non-financial indicator to track our business portfolio transformation. As of fiscal 2024, this ratio reached 26% for Blue Value™ and 25% for Rose Value™.
To achieve the 40% target set for 2030 in our VISION 2030, we are holding ongoing discussions in forums like the Corporate Sustainability Committee about initiatives to expand our lineup of Blue Value™ and Rose Value™ products and services. As we advance product development that addresses new technologies and customer challenges through our business portfolio transformation, we are accelerating these efforts, and we believe our Blue Value™ and Rose Value™ offerings will naturally grow.
The Corporate Sustainability Division, which serves as the secretariat, will also work to update the framework to ensure we can properly assess each business division's growth strategies and efforts to solve key social challenges.
Our Commitment to Advancing Sustainability
Recently, we have seen a trend known as the “ESG backlash,” where momentum behind sustainability is slowing due to economic downturns and other factors. Nevertheless, our Group will steadfastly continue its efforts to integrate sustainability into our management and strategy.
For example, as part of our commitment to respecting human rights, we began conducting due diligence at our manufacturing sites in fiscal 2024 and will ensure its continued implementation in fiscal 2025. While remaining fully aware of societal trends, we will determine the right course of action and advance steadily, one step at a time. We will strive to help all our stakeholders understand our initiatives, while also cultivating an environment where every employee is personally committed to advancing sustainability through their daily work.