Established as an environmental initiative, the Nichirei Group’s Environmental Policy includes themes of promoting sustainable recycling and living in symbiosis with nature. Use of water is an important element that is closely related to these themes.
Water resources are extremely important in aspects of the processed foods business, namely, in the development of farm produce and meat and poultry products, the manufacture of prepared frozen foods, and in sanitation maintenance and control during manufacturing. Water is also necessary in the refrigerated logistics business, such as in the operation of water-cooled refrigeration equipment.
As part of its medium-term environmental targets (for FY2017–FY2019), the Group formulated the following behavioral target, with a focus on its food factories in Japan: “In consideration of the environmental conditions surrounding water in each community, the Group engages in water resource conservation through efficient water usage aimed at sustainable water usage.” By properly managing water use and drainage, the Group will maintain efforts for sustainable water usage and conservation, and reduce water usage while gauging the impact of its business activities on biodiversity.

Regarding water resources used in business, the volumes of water used and wastewater discharged at worksites in Japan are included in the Group’s CSR Report for external publication. These figures, along with other details of the CSR Report, are approved by management and other members of the Group Environmental Protection Committee at its first meeting for the fiscal year which is held in May.
Forest conservation activities leading to the preservation of water resources are publicized internally and externally via the Group’s website and intranet. Hands-on environmental education programs for employees are also conducted at the forests receiving support, designed to raise employee awareness for the environment. In FY2020, we worked on a water risk assessment and disclosed the results.

In terms of water-related initiatives associated with business activities, in addition to water-saving efforts at its food factories and distribution centers, the Group is raising employee awareness such as by displaying posters. At worksites in Japan, the Group keeps track and manages consumption of water and quality of wastewater through regular monitoring in compliance with various laws and regulations. Forest conservation activities have also been conducted, leading to the conservation of biodiversity through protecting and caring for water.
We have set reduction targets for each site and are working to reduce water throughout the Group.
Please refer to the following websites for information on the Group’s main initiatives.

Implementation of water risk assessment

The Nichirei Group recognizes the importance of water resources used for raw material production and business operations in order to build a sustainable supply chain, which is the core of our business, and is working to conserve water resources and reduce environmental impact.

When tackling water risks, it is important to understand the local situation as well as the efforts of the sites.
As a water risk assessment, we evaluate the water risk at our sites using a water risk assessment service from a third-party organization.
In addition to the WRI Aqueduct ^*, which assesses regional water risks, we conducted a questionnaire survey of all Nichirei Group sites in order to understand the status of efforts at the sites.

A water risk assessment was conducted for all of the Nichirei Group's domestic and overseas bases (152 bases), targeting the WRI Aqueduct evaluation items “water volume, water quality, regulation and reputation” (Fig. 1). Table 1 shows the relationship between the number of sites located in water stressed areas and the amount of water intake. We will continue to implement measures to reduce water risk at our three sites (one in China and two in Thailand) where water stress is extremely high.

Figure 1 Water risk assessment flow chart

• *WRI Aqueduct: A tool released by the World Resources Institute (WRI), an international environmental NGO, to easily evaluate the world's water risk from location coordinates or addresses.

• *Excludes sites where the business scale is planned to be reduced and offices / warehouses at overseas sites