Water Resources
Policy
In conjunction with climate change, deforestation, population increases, and other issues, the problems of water shortages, deterioration of water quality, and flooding, which are worsening on a global scale, are environmental risks that could severely impact our business activities. With an understanding that the sustainable use of water resources is a key issue, we have made water an explicit part of the Toyota Tsusho Group's Environmental Policy and we are actively working to reduce water consumption and reuse water.
To this end, we have formulated a water management plan within our ISO 14001 environmental management system. We have also set targets for one Group companies with high water burdens and are working to reduce those burdens.
The one out of 569 Group companies that have formulated water management plans account for 0.2% of the total.
Toyota Tsusho Group Water Usage Initiatives
The Toyota Tsusho Group is cognizant that the sustainable use of water resources is a crucial issue and expressly indicates this in its Group environmental policies. The Group is working to raise use efficiency and reduce usage by optimizing usage and implementing comprehensive re-use. We are working to reduce water consumption by reusing rain water in the washrooms at our Nagoya Head Office.
We evaluated water risks in countries where we operate using the WRI Aqueduct water risk assessment tool and identified regions in India and other countries at risk of severe water shortages, flooding, and so on (water-stressed regions). We conduct business in these regions with an understanding of the risks. To address the water released by business sites in Japan, we periodically maintain and manage water treatment facilities and conduct thorough management and monitoring of the concentrations of contaminants in waste water in accordance with voluntary standards.
The Group has no facilities, assets, production, or revenue in water stressed regions of Japan. In addition, we are not in violation of any national or regional licensing standards or restrictions concerning water quality or usage (including legal violations).
Our affiliated company, Techno Trends Auto Park Pvt., Ltd. (India), is working to reduce water consumption by reusing treated water after its own wastewater treatment for gardening and domestic wastewater. It is also accepting the treatment of wastewater from neighboring business partners and is working to prevent wastewater from being discharged outside its premises to protect the living environment of surrounding residents.
External Collaboration
CDP (Water Security)
Since 2017, we have been responding to the CDP water security questionnaire, a global information disclosure program on corporate water risks. We received a "A-" evaluation as a result of the responses to the CDP questionnaire conducted in 2023.
Performance Data
*For this scope of calculation, only domestic water is included, so the intake water volume and waste water volume are the same.
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shimane (1,000 m3) | 283 | 260 | 302 |
| Ehime (1,000 m3) | 403 | 375 | 331 |
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount of water withdrawal (unit: 1,000m3) | Rivers, lakes, and natural ponds | 0 | 18 | 22 |
| Wells and boreholes (groundwater) | 607 | 6,984 | 7,727 | |
| Water collected at the mining site | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| City water (potable water) | 1,189 | 3,245 | 3,570 | |
| External drainage | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Rain water | 0 | 41 | 0 | |
| Water collected from the ocean | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 1,796 | 10,288 | 11,319 | |
| Extremely High | 22 |
|---|---|
| High | 137 |
| Medium - High | 45 |
| Low - Medium | 70 |
| Low | 116 |
| Target | (Office) Fiscal 2022: 33% reduction in water usage compared to fiscal 2020 (40 liters/employee/day) |
|---|---|
| Result | (Office) Fiscal 2022: Water usage of 36 liters/employee/day |
Due to the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the actual result for the fiscal year 2022 was 36 liters/employee/day against a target of 40 liters/employee/day, greatly exceeding the target.
| Target | (Office) Fiscal 2023: Water usage of 38 liters/employee/day |
|---|
Given that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to lessen in the fiscal year 2023, and corporate activities are expected to be similar to the pre-pandemic period, we have set a target of 38 liters/employee/day, which is slightly higher than the fiscal year 2022 results.
Third Party Certification
Third-party certification has been obtained from LRQA Group Limited for a portion of the performance data above.