Climate Action
Approach and Background
Environmental destruction and the negative economic impacts of abnormal weather and natural disasters caused by global warming are becoming ever more serious. Within the activities of corporations, the need to reduce CO₂ emissions is urgent.
We are taking action to meet the challenges of climate change in a variety of ways, such as by using renewable electricity at plants, the installation of solar panels, the use of LED lighting, the improvement of energy use efficiency in production facilities, and the electrification of company-owned vehicles.
Mid- to Long-Term Environmental Targets and Results
＊ Scope of data:Data from group-owned global plants is integrated. Electricity, water and CO₂ are counted for the US Oral care plant, and electricity and CO₂ are counted for Tsubamex
Consumer Business ＝ Oral care products, cosmetics, health foods, and other consumer product-related businesses
Industrial Business = Adhesives and sealants for automobiles, construction and electronics, and metal parts for motorcycles and automobiles
＊ Evaluation criteria: ◎ = Exceeds targets, ○ = Mostly on target, △ = Missed target but making progress, × = Worse than before
＊8 Including US oral care plants and our offices in Japan, Americas and Europe
＊9 Base year: 2020 for the Consumer Business, 2019 for the Industrial Business (because 2020 was a year of significant production cuts for the client companies)
“Environmental Data” for details
Expanding the scope of CO₂ emissions calculations
Beginning Scope 3 emissions calculation and disclosure (Japan)
Sunstar previously calculated and disclosed group global emissions volumes in the range of Scope 1 + 2, which cover emissions emitted within the company. Now we are progressively adding Scope 3 calculations emitting from external business activities. The following graph shows the Scope 1 + 2 + 3 CO₂ emissions volumes and ratio for the Japan area in 2023. Sunstar has begun to ascertain its CO₂ emissions volumes across its entire supply chain and is discussing measures to reduce this. We have begun requesting the provision of category one (raw material production) primary data, which makes up a large portion of Scope 3 emissions. By refining our data and working to reduce CO₂ emissions at our partners, we have managed to reduce our 2023 emissions by over 6,000 tons compared to calculations using average emission factors.
＜ Japan Area Total ＞
＜ Consumer Business* in Japan ＞
＜ Industrial Business* in Japan ＞
* Consumer Business ＝ Oral care products, cosmetics, health foods, and other consumer products businesses
* Industrial Business = Adhesives and sealants for automobiles, construction and electronics, metal parts for motorcycles and automobiles and other industrial products businesses (excluding Tsubamex)
Major Initiatives
Promote renewable electricity use (Europe)
At the Sunstar Global Headquarters in Switzerland and at the German plant where toothbrushes and interdental brushes are manufactured, 100% of the electricity needs are met by renewable sources such as hydroelectric power.
Promote renewable electricity use (Japan)
Following on from Switzerland and Germany, in 2021 we began procuring renewable electricity for our plants and offices in Japan. We switched 70% of the electricity used at our Japanese sites to renewable electricity, which resulted in reducing annual CO₂ emissions from these sites by 60% or 8,500 tons for the 2021
At our new mouthwash plant in Yamanashi, which started operation in October 2021, 315 kWp solar panels were installed on the roof, and 100% of the lighting is in LED. With 6.5% of electricity generated in-house, we have reduced CO₂ emissions by 200 tons per year.
In 2023, we installed new solar panels at our Industrial Business’s Germany and Singapore factories. Having set up 910 panels at the German factory and 880 panels at the Singapore factory, we are off-setting roughly 30-50% of the power used at those facilities with renewable energy produced in-house.
CO₂ emission reduction by joint logistics with other industries (Japan)
We are working on joint logistics with different industries to improve efficiency and reduce environmental impact during product delivery. One such effort is promoting collaboration among companies to reduce the number of trucks used and subsequent CO₂ emissions by increasing the loading efficiency.
Reduced CO₂ emissions through renewal and efficient operation of plant facilities (Japan)
At the Tokushima Plant, which manufactures toothbrushes and interdental brushes, we reduced electricity consumption by 300,000 kWh in 2021 compared to the previous year, and we have reduced CO₂ emissions by 60 tons through to 2022. This was achieved by switching to LED lighting, replacing plant equipment and air-conditioning equipment with energy-efficient units, and using air flowmeters to detect leaks and improve operation of production equipment.
At the Takatsuki Plant, we proceeded with switching to LED lighting and electrification of forklifts.
