Prevention of Pollution

Basic Approach

Hitachi High-Tech Group is engaged in activities to reduce environmental impact in connection with curbing pollution in such forms as atmospheric, water, and soil pollution, with the aim of minimizing the impact of our business activities on human health and the environment.

Initiatives

Hitachi High-Tech Group is very careful in managing the chemical substances it uses. A system to efficiently grasp the amounts of chemical substances generated and moved in each process of its manufacturing flow has been created using an integrated chemical substance management system (Chemilution) built and used by the Hitachi Group, to appropriately manage a wide range of chemical substances. The status of atmospheric emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which cause photochemical smog, is continually monitored, and since FY2016, PRTR substances have also been subject to monitoring as substances that have a negative effect on human health and the environment. In addition, we are making efforts for a more efficient use of chemical substances by using atmospheric emissions of chemical substances per unit of sales as an indicator. Changes in volume of atmospheric emissions of chemical substances are shown in the following graph.
We greatly exceeded the FY2022 target of 59.8% or better improvement (relative to the base fiscal year) in atmospheric emissions of chemical substances per unit of sales by achieving improvement of 67.8%. This was the result of curtailing atmospheric emissions through improvements to manufacturing processes and other measures.

Performance Data

Initiatives

We have set voluntary standard values for water, and air at our business sites that are stricter than the regulatory limits set by laws and ordinances in their efforts to conserve the living environments of the areas around them.

In the Kasado area of Yamaguchi Prefecture, measures are taken to reduce chemical oxygen demand (COD), which is an environmental indicator for sea areas because it faces the Seto Inland Sea, a place protected by the Special Measures Law for Conservation of the Environment that features the strictest criteria among laws related to the Water Pollution Control Law. More specifically, pollution is prevented by increasing the treatment capacity of night soil septic tanks, replacing old septic tanks that greatly deteriorate the COD value with ones that have larger treatment capacity, through ease of maintenance by consolidating septic tanks and through other measures. Additionally, minute management of water quality has been enabled by a central monitoring system which performs the real-time measurement of water quality at the various facilities of the factories. Factory operation is immediately stopped in case a problem arises. These measures considerably reduce the risk of problems that cause deterioration of water quality. In FY2022, there were no serious statutory violations relating to water quality and so on.

We do not own any facilities that are defined by the Air Pollution Control Act as facilities that generate soot and smoke. In addition, no nitrogen oxides (NOx) or sulfur oxides (SOx) are emitted in the manufacturing process.

Performance Data

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