Conservation of Water Resources and Biodiversity

Although the Nabtesco Group does not currently require a large amount of water nor water of a certain quality for its business operations, we consider the management of water resources to be an important issue for environmental conservation and are working to reduce water consumption, properly manage water quality, and prevent the outflow of hazardous substances.

The amount of water used and discharged at each base are measured every month, and the Group data are accumulated using the environmental information management tool. As for bases where the amount of water per month fluctuates greatly, we conduct surveys to identify contributing factors for the increased water usage, and implement measures to reduce the water use as necessary. As for water quality control, we continuously monitor through monthly voluntary tests and regular inspections by external experts.

In addition, we work on controlling global water usage, including that of overseas group companies Although water usage at our overseas group companies is only 10% of the usage of the Nabtesco Group as a whole, we will continue to implement controls in order to address global water risks.

There were zero violations of laws and regulations at domestic and overseas sites in FY2023. In the future, we will continue to further tighten control over water use.

The Nabtesco Group has collaborated with external initiatives to reduce water usage, responding to CDP Water* since FY2014.

The Nabtesco Group uses groundwater mainly to cool test stands and melt snow in snowy regions (Yamagata and Gifu).

We will continue to make efforts to improve water use.

The total volume of water used by the Nabtesco Group in FY2023 amounted to 615,000 ㎥. Unit sales were 1.85, which were achieved against a target of 2.24. The mid-term target by 2024 was achieved ahead of schedule in 2022.

Due to heavy rain falls caused by recent climate change, the risk of rainwater flooding our plants is increasing. The Nabtesco Group uses oil-based type and water-soluble type cutting fluids in our business operations and recognizes the risk that hazardous substances contained in these cutting might be discharged to rivers if rainwater floods the manufacturing facilities. To prevent this, we are making capital expenditure to install oil-water separation tanks and oil recovery equipment.

In FY2023 we spent ¥34.63 million to enhance the rainwater discharging function, and make our facilities more water-resistant.

Every year, the Nabtesco Group evaluates the water risks posed to its major sites using the Aqueduct tool provided by the World Resources Institute and in reference to the “water vision” announced by the local municipalities. Based on the evaluation results obtained in FY2023, seven sites in China and two in Thailand out of 36 sites have high water risks. However, our facilities outside Japan exclusively utilize tap water, without drawing from underground sources or rivers. Also, the total amount of water used at the sites is minimal and so the impact of the water risks on Nabtesco is limited. Going forward, we will control the risks through ESH audits and monitoring of laws and regulations.

In addition, to further promote action on water risks through the supply chain, we are conducting surveys on water use (water intake, wastewater, water quality, etc.) of Tier-1 suppliers in Japan and overseas, and evaluation of water risks using AQUEDUCT. Each supplier is analyzed and evaluated, with the results provided in the form of written feedback. We also visit specific suppliers directly and conduct interviews at web conferencing. This serves to enhance communication with suppliers while supporting knowledge sharing regarding environmental management and improved environmental stewardship. As well as engaging with suppliers, we actively participate in environmental and water related regional councils, exchanging information and conducting activities related to water conservation in order to maintain harmony with the local community.

The Nabtesco Group does not currently require a large amount of water or a certain quality of water in its business operations. However, some offices pump groundwater from a well on their premises for use. Due to this, in FY2020, the Group also investigated the impact of the use of groundwater to the water resources in the area. First, the Group performed an investigation in the Gifu Region, where the quantity of groundwater used is large. The investigation results show the Tarui Plant (for hydraulic equipment) and Gifu Plant (for aircraft equipment) of Nabtesco in the Gifu Region do not place a large burden on the groundwater resources of Tarui-cho.

The plants will monitor usage to not impact the area, in order to sustain the valuable environment over many years, while still using groundwater going forward.

In addition to the Tarui Area, Nabtesco actively participates in regional councils related to the environment and water, and engages in water conservation activities and information exchange to harmonize with the local community.

The Nabtesco Group evaluated the impact of its business activities on biodiversity by using an external tool, namely the SBTN Sectoral Materiality Tool^*1. As the first step for the evaluation, we carried out a screening to identify the materiality of the impact on biodiversity of the sectors to which our businesses are related. As a result of performing the analysis by defining the pressure categories given the score of “Medium” or higher as “material pressure categories,” we found out that all our Group’s businesses needed to be assessed in more detail. We next used the WWF Biodiversity Risk Filter^*2 to identify the impact according to the location of each base. As a result, two of our bases were assessed to have a large impact on forests with regard to the use of construction materials. However, major materials used at the bases are stainless steel and others, and we believe the actual risk of impact on forests and biodiversity is not so high.

We also conduct similar impact assessments of our supply chain. As a result of such assessment, we determined that the risk of impact on biodiversity at our main suppliers was low. In addition, a medium risk was identified at some of the main customer suppliers (in China).

We will work continuously for biodiversity conservation while advancing our impact assessment method.