Development and Expansion of Environmental Contribution Products

Environmental Contribution Products

To produce chemical and industrial products, we use natural resources, emit CO₂, and generate waste, all of which impact the environment. However, considering the entire lifecycle of products from raw material extraction to final product disposal, there are cases where the presence of these chemical and industrial products helps reduce the environmental impact.
The Nippon Shokubai Group’s products are used throughout supply chains as well as in everyday products, the equipment used to produce those products, infrastructure, and elsewhere. Thus, we evaluate how our products contribute to reducing environmental impact.
Our internal certification committee examines checklists, numerical data, and other information to certify Environmental Contribution Products. From FY2022, we have received an annual third-party review prior to examination by the internal certification committee, and have reflected the views and advice obtained from the review in examination materials. Five products were newly certified in FY2025.

Applications in parentheses

Environmental Contribution Products

Preventing global warming/conserving energy

Types of contribution	Product life stage	Application	Certified product
Reducing GHG emissions	Manufacturing	Binding agent for fish feed in aquaculture	AQUALIC™ H (for feed)
		Concrete admixtures	AQUALOC™
		Multifunctional hydrophilic treatment agent for synthetic fibers	PET-4G* (product using recycled PET) [SINO-JAPAN CHEMICAL CO., LTD.]
	Use	Material for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries	IONEL™
		Solid-state battery materials	ICPDAP™, ICPSEB™
		CO2 absorbent	Aminoalcohol* (for absorbent) [NIPPON NYUKAZAI CO., LTD.]
		FO (forward osmosis) system components for seawater desalination	Draw solute
	Disposal	Paint, adhesive materials, and reactive diluent	Isobornyl Acrylate
		Paint and adhesive materials	Ethyl Acrylate
		Adhesive, Synthetic resin	2-Octyl Acrylate
		Same as conventional products	ISCC PLUS certified products
		Water and oil repellent, Temperature sensitive adhesive	BeA-N* (Behenyl Acrylate) [NISSHOKU TECHNO FINE CHEMICAL CO., LTD.]
		Detergents, Pesticides, Metal processing oils	SINOPOL* (Products partially made from renewable raw materials) [SINO-JAPAN CHEMICAL CO., LTD.]
		Disinfectants	SINOTEX* (Products partially made from renewable raw materials) [SINO-JAPAN CHEMICAL CO., LTD.]
Energy conservation	Manufacturing	UV-curable reactive diluents	VEEA™
	Use	Material for solid oxide fuel cells	Electrolyte sheets for solid oxide fuel cells
		Automotive damping materials	ACRYSET™ (for damping materials)
		Optical and electronic materials	ZIRCOSTAR™

Reducing chemical emissions/preserving air quality

Types of contribution	Product life stage	Application	Certified product
Reducing chemical emissions	Use	Water-based paints	UWR™, ACRYSET™ (for water-based paints)
		Emulsifier for emulsion polymerization for water-based paints	NEWCOL*1*2 (for emulsion polymerization) [NIPPON NYUKAZAI CO., LTD.]
			SINONATE*1 (for emulsion polymerization) [SINO-JAPAN CHEMICAL CO., LTD.]
			Reactive surfactant*1 (for emulsion polymerization) [SINO-JAPAN CHEMICAL CO., LTD.]
		Water-based adhesives	EPOCROS™
		UV-curable paints	AOMA™
		Dispersants for suspension concentrate (SC) agrochemical formulations	SINOCOL AFC*1 [SINO-JAPAN CHEMICAL CO., LTD.]
Preventing air pollution	Use	Removing hydrocarbons (HC), NOx, dioxins, and other pollutants from exhaust gas	Automotive catalysts
			Waste gas treatment catalysts
			Denitrification catalysts and equipment
			Dioxin decomposition catalysts and equipment

Conserving water resources/water quality/biodiversity

Types of contribution	Product life stage	Application	Certified product
Preventing water pollution	Use	Oxidizing/decomposing hazardous substances in wastewater	Wastewater treatment catalysts for catalytic wet air oxidation
		Water treatment agents	EPOMIN™
		Polymer flocculants	Aminoalcohol*1 (for flocculants) [NIPPON NYUKAZAI CO., LTD.]
		Fire extinguishing agents	NEWCOL*1*2 (for fire extinguishing agents) [NIPPON NYUKAZAI CO., LTD.]
	Disposal	Detergent builders	AQUALIC™ L (for detergent)
Bio-degradability	Disposal	Detergent ingredients	SOFTANOL™
			HIDS™
		Solvents for detergents and paints	Butyl Di Glycol*1 [NIPPON NYUKAZAI CO., LTD.]
		Solvents for electronic materials and industrial cleaning agents	Methyl Propylene Glycol*1 [NIPPON NYUKAZAI CO., LTD.]

Resource circulation / Waste reduction

Types of contribution	Product life stage	Application	Certified product
Reducing resource consumption	Use	Hollow fiber membranes	Polyvinylpyrrolidone
Waste reduction	Use	Detergent builders	High-performance polymer for cleaning (AQUALIC™ L series SB)
	Disposal	Concrete admixtures	AQUAGUARD™
		Waterproofing materials	HAL e‑COAT* [EMULSION TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.]

Promoting the Reduction of CO₂ Emissions Throughout the Entire Lifecycle of Products

Among the Environmental Contribution Products of the Nippon Shokubai Group, we evaluate those that make a particularly significant contribution to reducing CO₂ emissions using the Carbon Life Cycle Assessment (cLCA) methodology.
cLCA is an evaluation method that compares the life cycle CO₂ emissions of a finished product that uses a specific chemical product with those of a comparable finished product that uses an alternative product. The difference in life cycle CO₂ emissions between the two is regarded as the additional emissions that would occur in the absence of the specific chemical product and is quantified as the product’s contribution to CO₂ emissions reductions.
The evaluation results represent potential CO₂ emissions reductions estimated under specific assumptions. They should not be interpreted as actual CO₂ emissions reductions achieved across society or as avoided emissions attributable to our actual sales volumes.

Products expected to contribute to reducing CO₂ emissions

1. Assessment prerequisites
   The CO₂ reduction from using storage batteries is attributable to its regulation of fluctuations in power output for optimal economic efficiency in balancing supply and demand for electricity.
   Because future hydrogen supply cannot be reliably forecast, the fuel-cell assessment is based on residential fuel cells that generate electricity by reforming city gas. The comparison baseline is thermal power generation.

1. A product of our Group company.
2. Assessment prerequisites
   Aminoalcohol was used as an absorbing solution when CO₂ was separated and collected, and the amount of energy required mainly for the separation and collection was evaluated. The comparison target was CO₂ emissions without the separation or collection.

1. Assessment prerequisites
   Potential CO₂ emissions reductions if all multi-unit residential buildings constructed in one year were built as long-life residential buildings. Service life was assumed to be 100 years for long-life multi-unit residential buildings and 50 years for conventional multi-unit residential buildings. CO₂ emissions associated with the construction, operation, and disposal of the residential buildings were evaluated in accordance with the Guidelines for Life Cycle Assessment of Buildings published by the Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ).

1. Assessment prerequisites
   The evaluation assumes four-color printing on a full-size A-series printing sheet (0.55 m² per sheet), with an ink consumption of 3.2 g/m². The assessment was conducted by comparing a commercially available offset printing press with a commercially available UV printing press.

1. Assessment prerequisites
   Vehicles to be driven 10,000 km per year for 10 years. Compared to vehicles with asphalt sheet as the vibration-damping material.

1. Assessment prerequisites
   According to the usage time described in the Carbon Footprint Product Category Rules, the product was evaluated as being in use for two years. A smartphone incorporating ZIRCOSTAR™ in the optical material was evaluated as achieving a 3.6% reduction in power consumption as an energy-efficiency benefit.

1. Assessment prerequisites
   Potential CO₂ emissions reductions if all fish feed produced in one year for aquaculture were replaced with moist pellets (MP). MP, which uses AQUALIC® H as a binder, contributes to CO₂ emissions reductions in aquaculture because it contains less fishmeal than conventional dry pellets. Since fishmeal production requires substantial energy for raw material procurement and drying processes, reducing its use helps lower CO₂ emissions.

Note: The assumptions described above are provided for estimation purposes only and do not guarantee actual service life or performance.