Initiatives Endorsed and External Recognition

We have joined the GX League established based on the GX League Basic Concept advocated by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The GX League was established as a forum where a group of companies proactively working on green transformation (GX) and other players taking on the challenge of achieving GX such as the government, universities and financial institutions can come together as one to hold discussions to transform the entire socio-economic system and to put those ideas into practice to create new markets. We will continue to contribute to the development of a sustainable society by proactively working on climate change problems caused by global warming in the future.

Toagosei endorses the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and participates in the TCFD Consortium. We will disclose information from the perspective of strategy, risk management, and governance on both climate-related risks and opportunities for our business based on the TCFD's recommendations.

Toagosei has joined the Japan Clean Ocean Material Alliance (CLOMA), a consortium of companies that aims to address issues of marine plastics. We aim to promote the 3Rs and further implement measures, such as developing alternative materials, in contributing to the realization of a sustainable society in terms of solving the problems of marine plastics.

We are a member of the Japan Business and Biodiversity Partnership, which supports the biodiversity initiatives of businesses. Toagosei recognizes the importance of preserving biodiversity in realizing a sustainable society and is taking an active part in continuous green space conservation activities around each business site,along with river and coastline cleanup activities. As a member of the international community, we will continue to promote activities that contribute to the conservation of biodiversity.

We have joined Japan H2 Mobility (JHyM) in order to promote the popularization of fuel cell vehicles (FCV) and fuel cell buses (FC bus) in realizing a hydrogen society. We opened the Toagosei Hydrogen Station Tokushima, on a site adjacent to our Tokushima Plant.

The White Logistics Movement is a national movement in Japan that promotes initiatives aimed at creating a better work environment and improving productivity in truck transportation and greater logistics efficiency through collaboration among all relevant partners in logistics. Toagosei has formulated a declaration of voluntary action in support of this purpose and is working to promote "White Logistics."

The Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding Organizations Recognition Program is conducted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, in collaboration with the Japan Health Council. The program recognizes corporations that are implementing excellent health management measures. Among the certified organizations, the top 500 companies receive the White 500 designation, which we have received for five consecutive years. The Toagosei Group will continue to treat health management as an important task and strive to maintain and improve the physical and mental health of its employees.

We are certified as a "Sports Yell Company 2024" as a company that is actively engaged in promoting the implementation of sports to improve the health of its employees. Under this certification system, the Sports Agency certifies companies that are actively engaged in promoting sports activities to improve the health of their employees, with the aim of promoting the implementation of sports among the "working-age" population and building social momentum for sports.

Kanagawa Prefecture runs a system called "Kanagawa Treatment and Work Balance Promotion Company," which certifies companies that provide leave programs or work programs for maintaining a work-life balance to employees who require cancer treatment, so that they are able to receive treatment while working. Toagosei meets all the requirements of the certification system, and has been certified as a Platinum Company.
Around one third of the working population in Japan is said to be working while suffering from some type of illness. In addition to detecting such illnesses at an earlier stage, Toagosei will focus on developing support systems aimed at achieving a balance between treatment and work.

Kurumin certification is a program in which the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare certifies qualifying companies as companies which support childrearing. To receive this certification, companies have to formulate a general employer action plan based on the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children. They must then achieve the targets set in that plan and satisfy certain standards. We acquired this certification on August 7, 2023. We will continue to create an environment where it is easy for diverse human resources to work and where they can work dynamically utilizing their individual abilities.

We received Eruboshi certification from the Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare, which recognizes companies with outstanding initiatives in promoting the active participation of women in the workplace. We meet the certification criteria in the four categories including recruitment, continuous employment, work styles such as working hours, and diverse career tracks. Going forward, we will continue to support the active participation of women in the workplace.

Toagosei's Hirono plant acquired a Gold rating, the highest sustainability rating, from EcoVadis (based in France) for 2019 and 2023 (top 5%) and Platinum rating from 2020 to 2022 (top 1%; a new category established in 2020). EcoVadis is a global organization that provides sustainability ratings. It currently evaluates over 100,000 organizations and businesses among 200 industries in 175 countries around the world. The Group will continue to provide products with high added-value that will contribute to the realization of a sustainable society.

We have received Halal certification from the Japan Muslim Association on eight inorganic industrial chemical products produced at the Nagoya plant. Halal certification is given to products that can be trusted for use by Islamic consumers. Toagosei is committed to creating more products that meet these demands in Japan and overseas while respecting the human rights and diversity of people all over the world.

The Biomass Mark is given to environmental products that are made from biological resources (biomass) and have been certified as compliant with legal regulations, standards, and specifications in terms of quality and safety by the Japan Organics Recycling Association (JORA).
A number of ARONIX UV-curable resins have acquired the Biomass Mark certification because they are made with biomass derived glycerol and sorbitol.
We will strive to promote the spread of Biomass Mark certification, while providing products that reduce environmental impacts on a global scale in response to various market demands.

The Society of International sustaining growth for Antimicrobial Articles (SIAA) is an organization comprised of manufacturers and testing institutions of antimicrobial / anti-mold agents and antimicrobial / anti-mold processed products. It aims to promote appropriate and safe antimicrobial / anti-mold processed products. Our antimicrobial agent, NOVARON, meets the criteria established by SIAA, with many grades listed under the SIAA.
Owing to its composition of uniform fine particles with almost no hygroscopicity and excellent heat resistance, it is easy to process into films and plastic molded products or disperse into paints.

Toagosei's silver inorganic antimicrobial agent, NOVARON AG1100, is approved by Oeko-Tex, an international consortium, as an antimicrobial agent and also certified with the Ecotex Eco Passport, a safety certificate for chemical agents such as dyes and auxiliaries (certifying organization: Ecotex Office, Nissenken Quality Evaluation Center). In addition to Novaron, which is certified as a safe antimicrobial agent for textile use, we have three other chemical agents that have also received the Ecotex Eco Passport certification, including deodorant. The excellent property of heat resistance and wash resistance in inorganic functional materials lend themselves to applications in a wide range of textiles, including sportswear.
Eco-Tex Eco Passport is a standard widely adopted in the world, which not only meets regulations in Japan but also even more stringent international standards in terms of safety evaluation on chemical agents including dyes and auxiliaries for over 350 types of harmful substances.

The Eco-Rail Mark certifies that a company or product has met the criteria established by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism for using a certain volume of rail freight transportation which has less environmental impact compared to other forms of transportation, such as trucking. Toagosei received this certification in 2014. In the future, we will continue to implement initiatives aimed at reducing environmental impacts in our product transportation.

Eco Mark is an environmental label given to products that support environmental conservation, characterized by a low environmental impact throughout their lifecycle from manufacturing to waste disposal. The resin used in Aron Alpha's containers is Eco Mark certified because it is made with 81% or more in recycled plastic.