Product

Product Safety

Each division of the Kuraray Group ensures product safety in its day-to-day new product development and revisions of management (e.g., assessment of the safety and function of products where changes in raw materials and changes in production equipment and conditions are made) by conducting assessments using various risk assessment methods and making improvements and realizing product safety and quality assurance for customers. A committee centering on the Corporate Sustainability Division is organized in accordance with the "Rule for Assessment Committee on Crucial Matter" to study products that require a company-wide study of safety and to verify product safety before developing and marketing. The products to be studied include those that are ingested in the body, that are for medical use, and that use nanomaterials.

In 2024, regarding issues in the development or commercialization of products specified by these Rules, the Committee consisting of internal experts has decided to proceed with the development and commercialization of products subject to this Rule on the condition that appropriate measures will be taken to ensure the safety and environmental impact of products on employees involved in manufacturing and people who will use them.

The Kuraray Group will continue to supply products with appropriate safety measure to employees and users of our products through risk assessment by each business division and/or deliberations by the Assessment Committee for some of the target products.

Chemicals Management

In recent years, there has been a demand for a new approach to chemicals management to minimize the negative effects of chemicals while sustainably developing the chemical industry. For example, the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability was published as part of the European Green Deal. In light of such efforts around the world, we are working with our overseas affiliates to collect information on the latest trends, comply with chemicals laws and regulations, and take various other actions to ensure appropriate management throughout the Group.

Management System

The Kuraray Group’s internal regulations stipulate that the Group’s chemicals management is overseen by the officer in charge of the Corporate Sustainability Division. The Corporate Sustainability Division, as a corporate organization, works to continuously improve the chemicals management system throughout the Group. Each business division responsible for each product is tasked with confirming safety, ensuring compliance with laws and regulations, and communicating information on chemical substances in the supply chain. This is done in accordance with the product's intended use and customer requirements. Our business divisions and the Corporate Sustainability Division coordinate to ensure that our customers can use our products safely.

Compliance with Laws and Regulations, Provision of Information

Providing Information
　The Kuraray Group provides Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) for chemicals offered externally, in accordance with the laws and standards of each country. In addition, when transporting chemical products with specific properties or hazards, we issue transportation documents (e.g. Yellow Cards*) based on laws, regulations, and commercial practices and provide them to logistics companies.

Additionally, we have subscribed to 3E’s Global Incident Response Hotline Service. In case of emergencies, we have established a system to include a 24-hour, multilingual phone number on product SDSs and transportation documents.

* Yellow Card: An emergency contact card that describes the steps to be taken by truck drivers, firefighters, police, and other relevant personnel in case of an accident during transport of chemicals or high-pressure gas.

Global Collaboration
　There is an increasing need to respond to laws and regulations outside Japan, such as compliance with overseas laws and regulations, as well as the registrations of products manufactured at overseas plants. We collaborate with product stewardship managers and regulatory affairs staff at our overseas affiliates to collect information on the status of revisions and applications of chemicals-related laws and regulations in each country, and to share and review this information as appropriate. This system aims to enable the entire Group to respond efficiently and reliably. We are also working on global commonality of regulatory search tools and management tools.

Responding to Changes in Legislation
　The following are examples of major measures responses to chemical-related laws implemented in 2024. We will continue to make efforts to properly comply with regulations on chemicals in Japan and overseas.

Japan
　In accordance with the partial revisions under the Industrial Safety and Health Law (ISHL), it has been mandatory to appoint Chemical Substance Managers and implement related measures starting from April 2024. In our domestic divisions that handle chemical substances, we have appointed Chemical Substance Managers to conduct risk assessments at work sites and take safety measures based on these assessments, as well as to establish a system to properly prepare and manage SDS. Furthermore, with the amendments that introduce or modify designated chemical substances requiring SDS documentation, the number of designated substances will progressively increase starting from 2024. Our company has enhanced our SDS creation system with a mechanism to search for information on additional substances, and we have establish a structure to revise SDSs prior to implementation.
　We have also ensured that new chemical substances are notified under the Chemical Substances Control Law (CSCL) and the ISHL, as well as the quantity of manufacture, etc., under the CSCL.

South Korea
　In accordance with the Act on Registration and Evaluation of Chemicals (K-REACH), we have established an agent (Only Representative, OR) in Korea to handle substances that require registration and reporting. For existing chemical substances with an annual production or import volume of 100-1,000 tons, our company successfully completed the registration of all necessary substances by the end of 2024. For the registered chemical substances, we share appropriate information with our customers and manage actual quantities within the registered tonnage framework in cooperation with our customers.

Education

We have established a Chemicals Management Liaison Meeting as a forum for sharing information between the Corporate Sustainability Division and business divisions (chemicals management managers, persons in charge, etc.). The meeting was held four times in Japan during 2024. In the meetings, participants deepen their knowledge of chemical regulations in Japan and overseas, including the Law Concerning the Evaluation of Chemical Substances and Regulation of Their Manufacture, etc. and the Industrial Safety and Health Law. The meeting also informs and educates them about new internal rules that incorporate voluntary management activities and specific response approaches. Furthermore, in 2024, we invited outside lecturers to hold a total of two in-house seminars on SDS and chemical regulations.

In addition, we have been using webcasts of the Chemical Risk Forum hosted by the Japan Chemical Industry Association. This provides an opportunity for staff to learn about the latest trends in risk assessment and laws and regulations, which are important elements of chemicals management. Because the course can be taken via the Internet, it is attended by a wide range of Group personnel, including not only those responsible for chemicals management in the business divisions but also those in charge at business sites, thereby deepening their understanding of chemicals management.

Chemicals Management System

The Kuraray Group in Japan has introduced IT tools to manage chemical substances. We have linked chemical substance information on raw materials and products registered in the in-house database to external databases that contain information on laws and regulations and on safety information of chemical substances. In this way, we have established a system to facilitate the acquisition of information on laws and regulations pertaining to use and on hazards and the preparation of SDSs, thereby supplying necessary information to the customers.
　A global database has been operated to centrally manage product SDSs for the entire Kuraray Group since 2023. In addition to eliminating duplicate management between sites, this database will enable all Kuraray Group sites to view and download product SDSs. This database also shares information with some of the Kuraray Group's external websites, enabling us to promptly provide the latest versions of SDSs to our customers.

Targets and Results in Product Safety and Chemical Management