Ascertaining water risks for corporate business activities and taking suitable countermeasures are growing in significance. The JVCKENWOOD Group has set a target to reduce water use as follows.
■Reduction in Water Consumption
We reduced water use by 37% from the FY2019 level in FY2023.
In FY2023, water consumption decreased due to the termination of operations of the overseas production plant JVCKENWOOD Technologies Singapore Pte. Ltd and Shanghai Kenwood Electronics Co., Ltd and the rebuilding of the Yokohama Head Office building. Meanwhile, the Group has been steadily implementing measures to reduce water use on a constant basis. As a specific example, we are working to recycle water by recycling wastewater (for details, see Initiatives Pertaining to Wastewater). We also recognize the importance of complying with laws and regulations pertaining to water quality, and no violations were committed in FY2023.
Water usage (FY2019-2023)
Water usage (by type) (FY2019-2023)
Unit: t
Type | FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Waterworks | 163,858 | 137,286 | 147,896 | 118,082 | 108,504 |
Industrial water | 79,986 | 56,030 | 33,250 | 49,419 | 42,614 |
Fresh groundwater | 12,455 | 11,134 | 11,841 | 9,899 | 9,703 |
Fresh surface water (rainwater) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total usage | 256,299 |
204,450 | 192,987 | 177,400 | 160,821 |
Coverage: refer to “Change in water usage by business location”
Change in water usage by business location (FY2019-2023)
Unit: t
Japan/overseas | Company name and location | FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Japan | Head Office & Yokohama Business Center | 19,841 | 15,365 | 16,579 | 7,559 | 8,506 | |
Hachioji Business Center | 23,364 | 16,534 | 14,304 | 15,251 | 15,804 | ||
Hakusan Business Center | 8,766 | 5,443 | 5,726 | 5,404 | 6,023 | ||
Kurihama Business Center | 13,774 | 12,361 | 13,001 | 11,820 | 15,019 | ||
Yokosuka Business Center | 4,253 | 2,947 | 3,067 | 2,990 | 2,875 | ||
JVCKENWOOD Yamagata | 4,147 | 3,341 | 3,147 | 3,327 | 3,594 | ||
JVCKENWOOD Nagano | 4,554 | 3,958 | 3,720 | 6,419 | 5,641 | ||
JVCKENWOOD Nagaoka | 11,554 | 11,791 | 10,460 | 10,139 | 10,167 | ||
JVCKENWOOD Creative Media | 9,235 | 9,311 | 9,318 | 9,404 | 9,515 | ||
Victor Entertainment | 3,931 | 3,027 | 3,115 | 2,852 | 2,653 | ||
JVCKENWOOD Video Tech | 851 | 567 | 597 | 495 | 498 | ||
JVCKENWOOD Design | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Malaysia | JVCKENWOOD Electronics Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. | 38,303 | 33,965 | 27,300 | 31,860 | 29,529 | |
Thailand | JVCKENWOOD Electronics (Thailand) Co., Ltd. | 11,577 | 8,266 | 7,267 | - | - | |
JVCKENWOOD Optical Electronics (Thailand) Co., Ltd. | 24,278 | 16,175 | 15,416 | 19,630 | 17,636 | ||
Indonesia | PT JVCKENWOOD Electronics Indonesia | 55,708 | 39,855 | 33,250 | 29,789 | 24,978 | |
People’s Republic of China | Shanghai Kenwood Electronics Co., Ltd. | 18,504 | 19,697 | 21,977 | 18,535 | 8,383 | |
Singapore | JVCKENWOOD Technologies Singapore Pte. Ltd. | 3,659 | 1,846 | 1,743 | 1,726 | - | |
Total usage | 256,299 | 204,450 | 192,987 | 177,400 | 160,821 |
To address the rising water risk in recent years and to use water resources in a sustainable manner, the JVCKENWOOD Group is endeavoring to ensure as far as possible that the water used and the wastewater generated in its business activities are reusable water resources. For example, at our Head Office and Yokohama Business Center, we recycle about 5,000 m3 of water annually by purifying gray water from kitchens and cafeterias as well as wastewater from toilets to recycle it. This helps reduce the amount of drinking water and industrial water that we use (see diagram below). In FY2023, we spent approximately 5.12 million yen of costs for the maintenance of septic tanks and other water-related expenses.
With regard to wastewater quality, the actual amount of 28 hazardous substances specified under the Water Pollution Prevention Act contained in our wastewater was 0.58 tons in FY2023, achieving the target to beat our FY2022 result of 0.62 tons. The water management plan is introduced by six business locations including the Head Office and Yokohama Business Center.
Water recycle system
Wastewater volume (by type) (FY2019-2023)
Unit:t
FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sewers |
250,267 |
182,481 |
139,585 |
134,313 | 109,799 |
Rivers |
- | - | - | - | - |
Other |
- |
3,562 |
31,059 |
29,789 | 29,529 |
Total | 250,267 | 186,044 | 170,644 | 164,102 | 139,328 |
Coverage 1: refer to “Change in water usage by business location”
Coverage 2: Basically, the calculation is based on actual measured wastewater volume. For some sites where wastewater is circulated, the amount of wastewater after circulation is aggregated.
The Group identified regions where water shortages and flooding are a concern (water-stressed regions) by using the Aqueduct tool provided by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and has confirmed that two of its business locations operate in these regions. The total amount of water used in the two business locations was 26,019 tons in FY2023, which represented 16.2% of the total water use by the Group. We aim to actively work toward reducing water use in the regions, considering that the significance of doing so is particularly high in achieving our global target for water use reduction. In addition to the Group’s measures to reduce water use, we undertake activities to support stakeholders faced with water risks in the regions. In FY2020, we provided support such as donation of care bags to 22 employees of JVCKENWOOD Optical Electronics (Thailand) Co., Ltd. who suffered flood damage.
The Group participates in the Water Project launched by the Ministry of the Environment. The purpose of the Water Project is to introduce companies’ measures to preserve the water environment and communicate the importance of water, as well as correct information on water. We exchange information with other participants and utilize the exchanged information for our measures to preserve the water environment.
For details, see the website of the Water Project.
Coverage: refer to “Change in Water usage by business location”