Responsible Care Program

Under Responsible Care programs, chemical companies pursue voluntary management of chemical substances, transparent disclosure, and communication with the public. Companies committed to Responsible Care take safety, health, and environmental measures across the entire product lifecycle—from development, manufacturing, distribution and consumer use to the disposal—and then disclose the results of their efforts.
Toray Industries implements its program in accordance with the Responsible Care Global Charter.¹ In fiscal 2022, the Company promoted the Sustainability Vision and rigorous chemical substance management.

• 1 The Responsible Care Global Charter was originally established in 2005 to encourage companies to take concrete action that is understandable to external stakeholders. The Charter was revised in 2014, and Toray Industries was a signatory to both the original and revised Charter.

Compliance Status Regarding Worldwide Chemical Substance Regulations

All business divisions of Toray Industries, as well as its group companies in and outside Japan, have chemical substance management systems in place for securing compliance with relevant regulations worldwide, such as Japan's Chemical Substances Control Law and the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) in Europe. As a part of this compliance effort, the Group registers chemical substances registration in accordance with national laws and regulations. The Group also reports production and import volumes, manages substances of high concern, a category that includes substances of very high concern (SVHC) under REACH, and studies the use of alternative substances.
In 2022, in addition to revising its safety data sheets (SDS) to comply with the revised PRTR Law and JIS requirements, the Group took measures to comply with restrictions on chemical substances (microplastics, bisphenol A, etc.) under consideration for restriction under REACH.

Management of Chemicals in Products (CiP)

Toray Industries has established the Toray Green Procurement Guidelines (established June 2004, latest revision June 2022) with the aim of reducing the impact on the global environment of the entire cycle from product development, manufacturing, distribution, use, to disposal. The guidelines address the following legally regulated substances by identifying them as either banned or controlled substances. In addition, the company identifies and manages controlled substances according to the relevant laws and regulations for each business.

Banned Substances

• Class I specified chemical substances regulated under the Japanese Act on the Regulation of Manufacture and Evaluation of Chemical Substances
• Substances banned under the Japanese Industrial Safety and Health Act

Controlled Substances

• 10 restricted substances under the EU RoHS Directive
• Azo compounds that form specified amines under the Japanese Act on Control of Household Products Containing Harmful Substances
• Ozone depleting substances under the Japanese Act on the Protection of the Ozone Layer
• Radioactive substances

Controlled substances other than those listed above are designated primarily in accordance with the laws and regulations pertaining to chemSHERPA².

• 2 chemSHERPA: Information-sharing scheme for chemical substances, managed by the Joint Article Management Promotion-consortium (JAMP) (https://chemsherpa.net/english)

Further Improving Chemical Management in Toray Group

To better respond to increasingly stricter regulations worldwide, Toray Group is working to enhance its chemical management by utilizing IT systems and improving in-house training. The Toray Chemicals Management System (TCMS), which began operating in fiscal 2019, is used to reliably and promptly confirm the registration status of chemical substances and regulations in destination countries, as well as to issue SDS compliance with specific countries’ laws and regulations.
In addition, the Group also established a new in-house education system to raise awareness and increase the knowledge levels of employees in charge of chemical management. In fiscal 2022, Toray Industries conducted training for Group employees who wished to participate on eight topics, including chemical management laws in the U.S. and basic knowledge of chemical management for sales representatives. A total of 3,065 employees took part in the training sessions.