Even before the recent rise in public interest elevated the conservation of biodiversity, we have long taken it to heart, adopting a management approach that aims to harmonize concerns about the natural environment and business operations.
In the course of constructing refineries and complexes, for example, we have ensured that the green areas within their premises exceed legal requirements. We began building and operating these refineries and complexes, which represent our main business sites, across Japan in the 1950s when the government introduced regulations mandating that businesses secure greenery within newly constructed manufacturing facilities. In response, we have consistently sought to do more than simply meet our legal obligations for square meters of greenery. We have also striven to harmonize our new facilities with their surrounding natural environments. Our approach has resulted in green areas far more extensive than the legal requirement. Initiatives like these are highly evaluated by external organizations. Hokkaido Refinery and Aichi Refinery have received the highest grade of 5 (Superlative Stage) in the “Social and Environmental Green Evaluation System (SEGES)” organized by the Organization for Landscape and Urban Green Infrastructure.
In line with our Environmental Protection Policy, which enshrines the importance of biodiversity, each relevant department is engaged in initiatives to conserve biodiversity.
In addition, the latest Global Risk Report (2020) issued by the World Economic Forum suggests that the threat to biodiversity constitutes a major environmental risk second only to climate change risk, while a special report compiled by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) argues that biodiversity conservation and climate change response must go hand in hand and are not independent of each other. Accordingly, we consider biodiversity conservation initiatives to be of greater importance than ever before.
As discussed earlier, we have long been engaged in biodiversity conservation. Currently, we are striving to integrate our conventional initiatives with biodiversity conservation measures required under the recent global standards. In this way, we are striving to move forward in this field while ensuring no issues are left unaddressed.
Specifically, we have organized our biodiversity conservation initiatives using the following methods.
The primary areas in which our business value chains affect biodiversity are presented in the following diagram. Also, referring to the Protected Planet, a website managed by the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), we have confirmed the proximity of our main business sites to regions requiring particular attention in terms of biodiversity conservation.
