Water Resources

Environment

Water Resources

Basic Concept of Efficient Use of Water Resources

Furukawa Electric Group engages in the efficient use of water resources in order to contribute to the sound material-cycle society. The entire group reduces water consumption, recycle and reuse 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.

Targets and Achievements

Targets and achievements for FY 2020 are shown in "Targets and Performance of Environmental Conservation Activities".
While the total amount of water resources used decreased in FY 2020, the intensity of water consumption increased. The intensity of water consumption per unit of production was 1,450m³ /100 million yen, an increase of 8.1% from FY 2017. While the Group will continue to use the water resources necessary for production processes, etc., the Group will also continue its efforts to conserve and recycle water, and manage water quality and wastewater volume.
The Group has revised "Environmental Targets 2030" and has established a new target for the reduction of water consumption in February 2022.

Targets and Performance of Environmental Conservation Activities (Environmental Targets 2030)

Use of water resources

Initiatives

Formulation of Water Management Plan

The Group has established water management plans at the total Group level and at each business company level, and has been engaged in reduction of water consumption. As of July, 2021, 42 companies (47%) of the 89 Furukawa Group companies had established water management plans.

Initiatives to Reduce Water Consumption at the FAS Headquarters

The cooling towers in the plant required periodical chemical cleaning to remove precipitated components in the circulating water, and a lot of water was required for its cleaning process. Therefore, a purification system was installed to prevent precipitation, and the process was improved to require no chemical cleaning. As a result, the Company could reduce waste, reduce water consumption (50% reduction in running costs), and save energy by improving cooling efficiency.

Identification of Water Risk Areas and Water Stressed Areas

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 incorporats them into the BCM plan chart for improvement. In addition, no water stressed areas were identified. The Group will continuously conduct surveys, and if water stressed areas are identified, the Group will communicate with the local government and other stakeholders in the area in order to implement countermeasures.
Furthermore, Costs associated with water-related risks (capital investment, etc.) were 730 million yen in FY2020.