Furukawa Electric Group engages in the efficient use of water resources in order to contribute to the sound material-cycle society. The entire group work on reducing water consumption and recycling, and reusing water. In addition, the Group makes efforts to control and understand the amount of water consumption and discharge at each works. The Group will continue its efforts to further reduce water consumption in the future.
We revised Environmental Target 2030 in February 2022 to improve intensity of water consumption by 10% or more compared to FY2020.
While the total amount of water resources used in FY2022 was increased compared to FY2020, the intensity of water consumption per unit of production was 1,110m3 /100 million yen, a decrease of 23.4% compared to FY2020. We will continue to promote the effective use of water resources necessary for production processes and to manage water quality and discharge amount by working on regular checks for water leakage, water-saving, and recycled water usage.
Targets and Performance of Environmental Conservation Activities
The Group has established water management plans at the entire Group level and at each business company level, and has been engaged in reduction of water consumption. As of July 2023, 42 companies (45%) of the 93 Furukawa Group companies had established water management plans and started addressing the reduction of water consumption.
The cooling towers in the plant of Furukawa Automotive Systems headquarters had required periodical chemical cleaning to remove the precipitate in the circulating water, and it required a large quantity of water for its cleaning process. Therefore, we introduced a purification system to reduce water consumption, resulting in an improved process that prevents the precipitate from forming and eliminates the need for chemical cleaning. As a result, Furukawa Automotive Systems could reduce waste, reduce water consumption (50% reduction in running costs), and save energy by improving cooling efficiency.
Shenyang Furukawa Cable Co., Ltd. (SFC) had treated domestic wastewater and then drained into rivers, but decided to reuse it as circulating cooling water for its production facilities. The wastewater is treated to a level sufficient for reuse as a circulating coolant and online monitoring system constantly confirms that it meets the standards for use as a circulating coolant. As a result, the amount of groundwater use was reduced.
The Group has identified water risk areas (flood-hazard area) and water stressed areas (water supply shortages areas) for its major works in Furukawa Electric Group by utilizing municipal hazard maps and World Resources Institute (WRI) AQUEDUCT. As a result, two works have been identified as water risk areas: Hiratsuka Works and TMS in Indonesia. The Group conducts annual risk assessments, including those for water resources, and incorporates them into the BCM plan chart for improvement. In addition, no works were identified as water stressed areas. The Group will continuously conduct surveys, and if water stressed areas are identified, the Group will communicate with the local governments and other stakeholders in the area in order to implement countermeasures.
Furthermore, Costs associated with water-related risks (capital investment, etc.) were 312 million yen in FY 2022.
Water Recycling and Reuse Volume Data
Third-Party Verification of Water Withdrawal and Discharge Data