Resource Circulation

Waste Reduction
Reducing Water Use

カテゴリーアイコン_資源循環.png Reducing Water Use

Global water scarcity risk is growing due to the increasing world population, economic growth in developing countries, and climate change. As a business group that uses a large amount of water in its manufacturing processes, the Shinko Group recognizes the importance of water resources as a material issue from the standpoint of business continuity, and we are promoting efforts to reduce water use and recycle water.

Response to water risks

The effects of increasingly severe water risks such as water scarcity, water pollution, floods and droughts, and competition for water resources are becoming more apparent worldwide.
The Shinko Group uses the World Resources Institute's (WRI) Aqueduct, one of the global assessment tools for water risk, to assess water risk, including physical risk, regulatory risk, and reputational risk, at its production sites in Japan and overseas to confirm the status of its production sites.
As a result of this assessment, it was found that none of our production sites have water risk or water stress levels that are High or Extremely High. Therefore, at the time of the assessment, there was no water withdrawal or water discharge in areas with "High" or "Extremely High" water stress.

Assessment of Water Risk and Water Stress at Production Sites1 (FY2023)
1.Assessment of Water Risk and Water Stress at Production Sites2 (FY2023)(水リスクストレス評価表).png

Production sites
Japan:
Kohoku Plant, Wakaho Plant, Takaoka Plant, Arai Plant and Kyogase Plant
Asia:
KOREA SHINKO MICROELECTRONICS CO., LTD. (KSM)
SHINKO ELECTRONICS (MALAYSIA) SDN. BHD. (SEM)

According to Aqueduct 3.0 assessment criteria
Aqueduct 3.0 assessment index "Overall Water Risk"
Aqueduct 3.0 assessment index "Baseline Water Stress"

As for the amount of water withdrawal, 99% of the water is taken from areas with water stress levels of "Low-Medium" or lower, as shown in the pie chart below.
However, we will continue to reduce water use and improve the water recycling rate to maximize resource circulation, taking into account that the water risk and water stress situation is constantly changing.

Water Withdrawal Rate According to Water Stress Level5 (FY2023 Results for Production Sites)
2.Water Withdrawal Rate According to Water Stress Level (水ストレスレベル円グラフ).png

Water stress levels defined by aqueduct 3.0

Results of Activities(FY2023)

Reporting boundary: Shinko Group in Japan

In FY2023, we achieved the rate of reducing water use at 1.5% (59,166 m3), far exceeding our target of reducing water use by at least 1.0% (38,270 m3) of the FY2020 level. From the viewpoint of resource input, we were able to avoid the input of 59,166m3 of new water resources. As a result, we have reduced water use by 3.8% (146,811m3) in the three years since FY2021, when we started the activities for the medium- to long-term environmental targets, and we are on track to achieve the target for FY2030 of a 5% reduction.
We will continue to promote initiatives to further reduce water use, as water use is expected to increase due to the launch of a new plant and increased production.

Medium- to Long-term Environmental Targets Cumulative Results of Water Use Reductions
3.Reduction of water use(水使用量進捗グラフ).png

Total Water Withdrawal and Amount per Unit of Sales6
4.Total Water Withdrawal and Amount per Unit of Sales (総取水量と原単位グラフ).png

Amount per unit of sales: Amount of water withdrawal per 100 million yen of sales

Examples of Water Use Reduction Activities

Water use reduction activities are approached from both facility and process perspectives, focusing on water reuse, review of water supply for product cleaning, and rationalization of production lines.

●Water reduction through process review

At the Takaoka Plant (Nakano City, Nagano Prefecture), water use was reduced by reviewing the usage of existing equipment. The plant has water curtains to prevent air containing chemicals in the plating process from leaking out of the equipment, and it was confirmed that cutting the amount of water supplied for the water curtains by about 33% that no adverse effect. We were able to reduce water use by a total of 2,310 m3 by extending the project horizontally to other equipment.

5Water reduction through process review (ウォーターカーテン図).png

Reuse of Wastewater from Manufacturing Processes

We have long been working to recycle wastewater discharged from manufacturing processes back to clean water, which is then used again in the manufacturing process. The average water recycling rate for all plants is over 40%, contributing to the reduction of new water withdrawal.

●Improving the water recycling rate through the separate recovery of wastewater

The Chikuma Plant (Chikuma City, Nagano Prefecture), which was completed in December 2023, has adopted, from the design when the plant was built, a wastewater treatment flow that recovers wastewater discharged from the manufacturing process by sorting it into small pieces, with the aim of further using water effectively. This has made it possible to recycle a larger amount of water.
When the Chikuma Plant reaches the operating rate expected at the time of plant construction, the water recycling rate at the Chikuma Plant is expected to be 1.3 times higher than that of our existing plants.

6.Water reuse flow chart (水の再生フロー図).png