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 usage and recycling, and reusing water. In addition, the Group makes efforts to control and understand the amount of water usage and discharge at each works. The Group will continue its efforts to further reduce water usage in the future.
Environmental Policy/Medium- to Long-term Vision and Targets
Under the Environmental Targets 2030, the Group has set a goal of improving the water usage intensity per sales by 10% or more compared to FY2020.
Efficient use of water resource
●Water usage : Reduce by at least 10% compared to FY2020 (per unit of net sales)
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 usage.
The total amount of water usage (water withdrawal) used in FY2023 was decreased compared to FY2020, and the water usage intensity per sales was 1,110m³ /100 million yen, a decrease of 24% compared to FY2020. We will continue to promote the efficient 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.
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 usage, 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 uasge (50% reduction in running costs), and save energy by improving cooling efficiency.
As an initiative to recycle and reuse water, we are promoting the reuse of treated water at the offices and business sites of domestic and overseas group companies.
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, Hiratsuka works have been identified as water risk area. 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 80 million yen in FY 2023.