Engaged in the Global Environment


Approach of the Ajinomoto Group to Environmental Initiatives

  • Contributing to issues in 21st century human society through business

The Ajinomoto Group will continue, through its business activities, to make a contribution to the issues of human society in the 21st century—global sustainability, food resources, and healthy living—with the ambition of working for life over the next 100 years.

The group has identified three important "environmental" issues that need to be tackled in order to achieve these goals: conserving ecosystems and biodiversity, building a low-carbon society and building a recycling-oriented society, and is pursuing prioritized initiatives in these areas.


Revised the Ajinomoto Group Environmental Philosophy and Basic Environmental Policies

In April 2011, the Ajinomoto Group revised its Environmental Philosophy and Basic Environmental Policies. After five years since the previous revision in 2006, issues concerning sustainability of the global environment and society have become increasingly serious. The circumstances and structure of international society, communities and corporate activities have significantly changed, or are about to change. In 2009, on the centenary anniversary of the Ajinomoto Group, a pledge was made to work for life by contributing to humanity and nature on the earth towards the future.

In this 2011 revision, taking a step further, the group's business activities are more closely linked with initiatives in global sustainability. It states clearly that the Ajinomoto Group strives to realize a sustainable environment and society, and grow together with society, through our business activities.

Click here for more details: Issues concerning global sustainability

The Ajinomoto Group Environmental Philosophy and Basic Environmental Policies

Environmental Philosophy

Preamble
The business activities of the Ajinomoto Group are sustained by the trust1 of international society and people in each region of the world, and rely upon a healthy global environment2 and people living in peace and prosperity.3 Health and prosperity are closely related to the local diversity of ecosystems and society.

Modern society, however, continues to expand beyond the limits of what our planet can sustain—in terms of the use of resources and energy, as well as environmental impacts and emissions such as greenhouse gases, waste, and chemical substances. Human activities are threatening biodiversity, causing climate change, and increasing the scale of natural disasters, water shortages, food shortages and other problems. These threats are leading to a crisis for all life, and they affect human daily life. Rapid economic development in developing countries is also escalating the seriousness of global environmental issues.4 The world needs models of economic development that do not diminish local diversity.5
The business activities of the Ajinomoto Group also have impacts and are affected by those impacts. We strongly hope that society will continue to need what the Ajinomoto Group can offer. For that to occur, we believe it is necessary to conduct business activities that contribute to the transformation of modern society into a low-carbon, resource-recycling society in harmony with nature.

Main Text
The Ajinomoto Group works to benefit all life (hence our slogan "Work for Life") and contributes to the realization of sustainable society.

We conduct our business activities and grow together with society, while aiming to sustain the interrelationships between the functioning of unique and diverse forms of life in each region on Earth, and to ensure that all people, including future generations, are able to enjoy a better life in a healthy global environment.

Revised in April 2011

Basic Environmental Policies

Understanding Interdependence and Impacts
At both the global and local levels, we ascertain and evaluate in a timely manner the state of the global environment and society upon which the Ajinomoto Group's business activities depend. We also ascertain and evaluate, both quantitatively and systematically, the impacts that the Ajinomoto Group's business activities have on them.
Minimizing Impacts

We fully comply with environmental regulations in each country and region, and adhere carefully to international standards and codes. We also establish our own voluntary standards to challenge and achieve,6 and seek to minimize the impacts on the environment and ecosystems that arise from all business activities7 of the Ajinomoto Group.

We strive to achieve optimal efficiency in the use of resources and procure natural resources in amounts and with methods that conserve biodiversity and ecosystems.8
Providing Value
We offer products and services and propose technologies and systems that contribute to the lives of people, and to life on Earth, by preserving and nurturing food sustainability and ecosystems, aiming for the transformation of modern society into a low-carbon, resource-recycling society in harmony with nature. We do this by making use of the knowledge, technologies, capacities, and assets of the Ajinomoto Group.9
Cooperating with Others
We work to have a positive impact on the global environment and society through our business activities with related parties in the supply chain, including customers, suppliers, and others.10 At the global and local levels, we promote meaningful collaboration and cooperation with a variety of stakeholders, such as non-governmental organizations, specialized institutions, local communities, and more. We contribute actively to dialogue and consensus-building in our society by offering proposals on the creation of new societal frameworks.11
Providing Information

We systematically summarize and regularly report on the approaches, programs and achievements of the Ajinomoto Group. We engage in dialogue with stakeholders, and through this dialogue verify whether the self-evaluations of our activities are accurate, and consider necessary improvements and new initiatives.

We make an effort to ensure that each of our facilities seeks to see things from the local community perspective and has an open attitude to the public.
Managing Our Group

In order to conduct these activities effectively, systematically, and sustainably, and to make greater contributions, the Ajinomoto Group makes use of environmental management systems in all of its member organizations. We integrate these environmental management systems with other management systems and work to make continuous improvements.

We engage in systematic education and awareness-raising activities so that each member of the Ajinomoto Group understands his or her role and required competence, and this understanding leads to concrete action.

Revised in April 2011

 

Notes

  1. Society's license that permits corporations to exist, operate and grow.
  2. The ecological (environmental) resources needed to continue operating. These include the essential raw materials, energy, and genetic resources necessary for the productive activities of the Ajinomoto Group, and also the very basis of life on Earth that provides diverse and abundant ecosystem services so essential for human life. Healthy ecosystems support and maintain biodiversity.
  3. The social and economic resources needed to continue operating. The business segments of the Ajinomoto Group—including food, bioscience and fine chemicals, and health and pharmaceutical products—are in markets that have an important role in human lives.
  4. Developing countries have ecosystems that play important roles within the total Earth system. Developed countries have already followed a path that places an excessive burden on ecosystems. If rapid economic development in developing countries follows the same path, the result will lead to risks to the fragile local ecosystems and the local communities that depend upon them, and ultimately, to global risks.
  5. When pursuing efficiencies at the global level, the challenge is to avoid losing diversity at the local level as one of the negative impacts of economic globalization.
  6. Example: The Ajinomoto Group Zero Emissions Plan.
  7. The entire scope of our businesses, including supply chains and the lifecycles of our products and services.
  8. Under the Aichi Targets—the new strategic plan adopted by the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in October 2010—one strategic target agreed through international consensus was to keep the impacts of the use of natural resources well within safe ecological limits by 2020, at the latest.
  9. Examples:
    ･Making greater richness of taste possible and bringing greater happiness to society, even with less consumption of food resources
    ･Contributing to the recovery and restoration of ecosystems and ecosystem services
    ･Providing and proposing useful products, services, technologies, and systems that when used will result in significant reductions (i.e., substantially positive impacts) that can offset the use of resources and energy due to our business activities (i.e., substantially negative impacts). Ideally, the net effect of all impacts will be positive (i.e., "net positive").
    ･The development of products and technologies that use life sciences knowledge and technologies to utilize the functions of ecosystems and biological resources.
  10. Examples:
    ･Support to secure safe and sustainable food resources for primary producers of agricultural, livestock, and fishery products
    ･Proposing environmentally friendly options for consumers
  11. Examples:
    ･Policy proposals
    ･Participating in international conferences, being involved in the establishment of international codes, standards, guidelines, etc.
    ･Demonstrating initiative (leadership) through cross-sectoral voluntary activities
    ･Participating in the initiatives of international, expert, non-governmental, and non-profit organizations, etc.

Initiatives and Progress toward Zero Emissions

The Ajinomoto Group strives to minimize environmental impact arising from all of its business domains, with the overarching goal to help create a low-carbon, recycling-oriented society that co-exists harmoniously with the natural environment. Toward this end, the group systematically carried out measures according to the 2008–2010 Ajinomoto Group Zero Emissions Plan, a revised version of the 2005–2010 plan, in fiscal 2010. Steady progress was made and significant results were achieved. The group is now embarking on the 2011–2013 Ajinomoto Group Zero Emissions Plan with more ambitious targets to further minimize environmental impact.

Zero emission goals and fiscal 2010 results

Goals (target values) FY2008–2010 Plan FY2011–2013 Plan
Goals Benchmark fiscal year FY2010 results Goals Benchmark fiscal year
CO2 Total emissions in Japan (All manufacturing operations) 498,000 tonnes
or less
(6% reduction)		 1990 427,000 tonnes 493,000 tonnes
or less
(7% reduction)		 1990
Per-unit emissions 20% reduction 2002 43% reduction 35% reduction 2005
Discharged water Biochemical oxygen and nitrogen content BOD ≦ 10 ppm
TN ≦ 5 ppm		 - Goal achieved at 20 out of 39 sites BOD ≦ 10 ppm
TN ≦ 5 ppm		 -
Per-unit volume of discharged water 20% reduction 2002 77% reduction 70% reduction 2005
Per-unit volume of water consumption - - - 70% reduction 2005
Resource recovery ratio of waste 99％ - 99.4％ 99％ -

The Ajinomoto Group Input and Output Balance

Contributing to the Creation of a Low-Carbon Society Contributing to the Recycling of Resources Maximizing Usage of Food Resources
Contributing to the Creation of a Low-Carbon Society Contributing to the Recycling of Resources Maximizing Usage of Food Resources

Information and Reports on Environmental Initiatives

The Ajinomoto Group provides detailed information regarding initiatives aimed at conserving the global environment on its Environment Conservation Web site, and publishes the Ajinomoto Group Environmental Report annually. The report is also available in PDF format.