Group Companies outside Japan

Nippon Shokubai America Industries, Inc.

Principal business	Manufacture and sale of superabsorbent polymers, polymers for concrete admixture, water soluble polymers, and acrylic emulsions

At the Houston facility there were two large-scale shutdowns held in FY2024. Safety Slogan Contests have traditionally been held annually before this planned maintenance events, promoting employee involvement and strengthening the site’s safety culture.  The winning slogan for 2024 was “Safety is a way of life, not just a job.” This slogan was printed on a large banner near the entrance to the facility and was on decals that were distributed to employees, contractors, and visitors to keep the importance of ‘working safely’ fresh on the mind for all.
Additionally, both the Houston and Chattanooga sites have implemented a Safety and Environmental Observational Program that empowers all employees to document and correct hazards found in the plant. Employees can enter the observations using a desktop, a paper form, or the Observation Program’s App. Safety Committee members vote on the observations each month and the employee who submits the observation deemed most beneficial to employee safety and/or site environmental stewardship receives an award.  However, the real reward is a safer workplace for everyone.

NIPPON SHOKUBAI EUROPE N.V. (Belgium)

Principal business	Manufacture and sale of acrylic acid and superabsorbent polymers

We are continuously striving to improve safety awareness and develop a safety culture. Many process safety initiatives support the improvement of overall safety behavior within the company, with the ultimate goal of achieving a sustainable safety culture in the coming years.
In FY2024, many initiatives were also developed. One of these was a virtual reality exercise in which our employees participated.
Using VR technology, a virtual production plant was created with various risks such as confined spaces, chemical and electrical hazards, working on scaffolding, dangerous traffic and hoisting, poor housekeeping, and many other potential dangers. Each participant received a VR headset and a control device to identify potential risks their avatar encountered during the safety tour in the virtual plant.
After their first virtual experience, all participants received personal safety feedback. With this new information, they returned to the virtual world a second time. Being more aware of potential risks, it was clear that our employees were able to identify more risks than during their previous virtual plant tour.
This kind of exercise helps to improve the overall safety vigilance of our employees and will eventually further enhance our process safety behavior as part of our DNA.

PT. NIPPON SHOKUBAI INDONESIA

Principal business	Manufacture and sale of acrylic acid, acrylic esters, and superabsorbent polymers

We consider Biodiversity Conservation as one of the main issues that must be addressed in relation to sustainability. It is our duty to maintain and preserve the environment so that future generations can enjoy the abundant oxygen provided by trees. Cisitu Biodiversity Park Ciomas, Serang, Banten, located approximately 45 km form our company, was built on November 28, 2023. This initiative is a collaboration between the NGO Rekonvasi Bhumi and our company, and also involves the Harapan Jaya Forest Farmer Group.
We held a biodiversity event at the Cisitu Biodiversity Park on December 4, 2024 to celebrate the first anniversary of the Plantation Program and Indonesian Tree Planting Day. Inviting many stakeholders made the event lively. Among the invitees were NGO Rekonvasi Bhumi, the Head of Banten Environmental Service, Serang Regency Environmental Service, the Cilegon City Environmental Service, the Ciomas Sub-District Head, the Cisitu Village Head, the Harapan Jaya Forest Farmer Group, a student representative from SMP Negeri 02 Ciomas, the local community, and an employee representative from our company.

NISSHOKU CHEMICAL INDUSTRY (ZHANGJIAGANG) CO., LTD. (China)

Principal business	Manufacture and sale of superabsorbent polymers

As part of process safety and disaster prevention initiatives in FY2024, our company conducted three emergency drills. In June and November, we carried out daytime emergency drills in collaboration with the local fire department and first-aid center, as we do every year. Additionally, to enhance our emergency response capabilities, we conducted a nighttime emergency drill for the first time in October.
The nighttime drill was conducted assuming a leakage caused by a rupture in the reboiler pipeline, with twelve participants including manufacturing personnel, sewage treatment personnel, power distribution room duty personnel, and packaging personnel. Among them, the manufacturing personnel wearing a chemical protective suit and putting on an air respirator, took charge of the emergency response.
During the daytime drills, the plant manager issued the evacuation instructions, but during the nighttime drills, the on-duty supervisor took on this role. After the training, in the review meeting, it was pointed out that the evacuation and assembly took longer than expected and needed improvement.
We believe this drill has improved our employees’ capability to evacuate and respond to emergencies at night. We plan to conduct nighttime drill in FY2025 as well, and we are considering incorporating fire extinguishing drill for small groups.
We strive steadily to improve the level of RC activities and maintain a safe state without accidents.

SINO-JAPAN CHEMICAL CO., LTD. (Taiwan)

Principal business	Manufacture and sale of surfactant and other chemicals

In the manufacturing industry, we are actively working to prevent process safety accidents and occupational accidents, and site patrol inspections play an important role in this effort. However, traditional patrol inspections, which primarily involve visual checks and recording on paper, risk becoming a mere formality.
As part of our process safety and disaster prevention initiatives in FY2024, our company has introduced a smart patrol inspection system. By adopting a scanning method using dedicated equipment, inspection accuracy has significantly improved. Additionally, automation has enhanced work efficiency, and features such as task management, history search, and approval functions have streamlined management. The shift to paperless operations has also reduced environmental impact.
We will continue to strive to prevent accidents in the future.

SINGAPORE ACRYLIC PTE LTD

Principal business	Manufacture and sale of acrylic acid

In the Shutdown Maintenance Briefing 2024, we emphasized the importance of Responsible Care (RC) initiatives focused on process safety and disaster prevention, and occupational safety and health. The events, held on June 26th and July 3rd, provided key personnel with opportunity to review existing safety measures, discuss potential improvements, and reinforce essential safety behaviors.
Central to the discussion were process safety and disaster prevention, with detailed reviews of major incidents at other companies, which highlighted the need for strict rules and procedures. The session also highlighted the importance of near-miss reporting and its analysis.
In our occupational safety and health initiatives, we emphasized basic safety behaviors such as ‘think before you act’ and the proper use of handrails on stairs. To ensure employee health, we presented strategies for heat stress prevention using Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT^*1) monitoring and measures for hearing protection. Additionally, we highlighted the importance of training for critical life-saving techniques such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR^*2), oxygen resuscitation, and the operation of an automated external defibrillator (AED^*3) used during cardiac arrest.

*1 WBGT: an index for assessing the risk of heatstroke
*2 CPR: stands for ‘Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation’
*3 AED: stands for ‘Automated External Defibrillator’