Waste Reduction

Material Issue

Circular Economy

Management information

Relevance to our business

As a natural consequence of Fuji Oil Group's business characteristics, the Group's manufacturing processes produce waste. Most of the waste is organic sludge contained in wastewater from the plants and spent bleaching earth generated after adsorbing impurities in the oil and fat refining process. We also pay close attention to product disposal after processing, given its role in food loss and waste.
Reducing waste is important because it conserves the environment through the efficient use of materials and energy resources necessary for our business, and because it helps to reduce the cost of manufacturing. Reusing resources will be increasingly important in the coming years to achieve the circular economy.

Basic approach

The Fuji Oil Group aims to reduce waste in our product manufacturing processes based on the Basic Policy of Environmental Integrity. Our Environmental Vision 2030* shows our Group-wide commitment to waste reduction.

Management system

The ESG Division Officer of Fuji Oil Holdings Inc. oversees initiatives in this area. The Sustainability Committee,*1 an advisory body to the Board of Directors, monitors the progress and results of initiatives as a material ESG issue.*2

Goals / Results

2030 targets*1 FY2022 results*1 Progress
10% reduction in waste intensity*2 (All Group companies*3) 4.7% reduction 47%
Maintain a recycling rate of at least 99.8% (All Group companies in Japan) 99.69% Not achieved
  • *1 Base year: 2016
  • *2 Amount of waste per unit of production
  • *3 Excluding waste volume generated at Industrial Food Services (Australia)

At least 90% complete At least 60% complete Less than 60% complete

FY2022 Goals FY2022 Results Self-assessment
Start collecting environmental data in a timely manner using environmental data collection systems Start operation of environmental data collection systems in cooperation with Group companies
Promote reduction efforts and pursue innovations Raised awareness through environmental audits at seven Group companies

Analysis

Status of progress on 2030 targets

Waste intensity in FY2022 was 4.7% lower than baseline, a change of 1.4 points downward from the previous fiscal year's 6.1% reduction. This represents a 47% achievement rate relative to our 10% reduction target.
In Japan, introduction of new dewatering equipment at Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. has helped reduce scum sludge and convert it into a valuable resource, contributing to overall waste reduction. Waste intensity increased over the previous year at Group companies outside Japan, impacted by an increase in waste due to production issues.
At Group companies in Japan, the resource recycling rate in FY2022 was 99.69%, an increase of 0.22 points from the previous fiscal year's 99.47%. Going forward, we will promote recycling by sorting waste more thoroughly.

Actions taken for FY2022 targets

We carried out initiatives in FY2022 to achieve Environmental Vision 2030. Through online environmental audits, we explained the Vision and shared our approach to resource recycling with Group companies.
We also collected and analyzed data using the environmental data collection systems we introduced in FY2021. We plan to use the insights from this timely analysis to pursue further reductions going forward.

Annual waste generation and waste intensity

  • * Waste intensity was recalculated for years FY2016 onward after making a correction to waste generated outside Japan.

Annual waste generation and recycling rate at Fuji Oil Group companies in Japan

Next step

  • Continuously promote waste reduction and further enhance awareness

Specific initiatives

Waste reduction initiatives

In FY2022, we carried out the following initiatives to reduce waste, among others.

  • The Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. Hannan Business Operations Complex introduced new dewatering equipment to reduce scum sludge significantly.
  • The Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. Kobe Plant reduced waste by converting miscellaneous metals, palettes and other materials into valuables, and by reducing the water content of sludge.
  • Fuji Global Chocolate (M) Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia) and PT. Freyabadi Indotama (Indonesia) ensured proper product quality management and stock management, respectively, to reduce the amount of products subject to disposal.
  • Harald Indústria e Comércio de Alimentos Ltda (Brazil) formed a new partnership with a contractor that can reuse waste, helping reduce the amount generated.

Reducing food loss

The Sustainable Development Goal target 12.3 is to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels, while target 12.5 is to reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse — all by 2030. Reducing business-related food loss and waste by half is also one target of Japan's Food Recycling Act. The Fuji Oil Group has referenced definitions of food loss and waste from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and countries around the world in order to create a definition suitable for our business structure. Going forward, we will model detailed data related to food loss and waste and strive to reduce the amount we produce.

The Fuji Oil Group definition of food loss and waste

Items that were produced or processed for human consumption but no longer have a purpose as food (including as animal feed, etc.).

Complying with Japan's Food Recycling Act

Group companies in Japan promote recycling and work to reuse and recycle food loss and waste pursuant to Japan's Food Recycling Act. The recycling rate in FY2022 was 99.2%, an improvement of 0.3 points from the previous fiscal year. While production volumes increased over the previous fiscal year at Group companies in Japan, focusing on food recycling initiatives throughout the Group resulted in 29,588 tons of food loss and waste being generated in FY2022, a decrease of 4,167 tons (approximately 12%) over the previous fiscal year.
For the food industry, the Act sets a recycling target of 95% for recyclable food resources. The Fuji Oil Group has exceeded a food recycling rate of 97.3% since FY2007, when it first set a food recycling target, and has maintained the rate at such a level or higher. However, expanding production in the future could increase the absolute volume of waste we generate, and we recognize this as an issue. For this reason, we will continue our efforts to maintain a high recycling rate by developing new ways to reuse or upcycle byproducts.

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