- Home>
- Sustainability Report>
- Sustainability Management>
- Material Issue 2: The Development and Sale of Reliable and Safe Products and Services that Consider the Environment and Society
Material Issue 2: The Development and Sale of Reliable and Safe Products and Services that Consider the Environment and Society
Basic Policy
Sumitomo Forestry Group provides products and services related to our customers’ lifestyles center upon wood mainly for housing. While it goes without saying that we attend to customer's peace of mind and safety in providing products and services, we also believe that engaging in development and sales mindful of creating a sustainable society is a crucial role that our Group must fulfill.
One of the areas which we can contribute the most in reducing environmental impact is the reduction of greenhouse gases emissions from housings that people live in. Net Zero Energy Houses (ZEH) and other housing measures in Japan offer guidance to creating eco products as well as advocate excellent long-term housing as an asset. Sumitomo Forestry will contribute to a sustainable society by setting ZEH order quotas and other targets for environmentally-friendly products in addition to recommending ZEH housing while tailoring specifications to customer needs in order to reduce the energy consumption of each household.
Management of Material Issue 2
Within our Mid-Term Sustainability Goals, our Material Issue 2 “the development and sale of reliable and safe products and services that consider the environment and society” is broadly divided into four goals, which we incorporate into our management practices through inclusion in annual activity policy and measures for each department. We also assess the impacts that the material issue has on society and the environment.
Targets of Material Issue 2
- Increasing environmentally conscious products and services
* Including reducing greenhouse gas emissions towards creating a decarbonized society (SBT: Scope 3) - Creating an environment that considers biodiversity
- Expanding businesses that contribute to resolving social issues
- Promoting sustainable and innovative technological development
Impact on Society and the Environment
Targets of Material Issue 2 | Impact (Influence) |
---|---|
* Including reducing greenhouse gas emissions towards creating a decarbonized society (SBT: Scope 3) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Management of Each Target
Ratings in the table below
Achieved:◯ Not achieved but improved from previous year:△ Not achieved and declined compared to previous year:✕
Increasing Environmentally Conscious Products and Services
* The period for FY2020 results is from April 1 to December 31, 2020.
Specific steps based on issues and strategies | Indicators for Evaluation | Managing department | FY2020 target | FY2020 result | FY2020 value | FY2021 target |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Increase value added by carbon stock from use of timber | Carbon stock in wooden architecture in Japan (t-CO2) | Housing and Construction Division | 199,417 | 185,715* | ✕ | 199,509 |
* The period for FY2020 results is from January 1 to December 31, 2020.
*1 Environmentally-friendly products consist of the following: (1) local seedlings, (2) permeable paving material, (3) green wall construction, (4) rooftop greening, (5) biotope and (6) use of recycled materials
*2 The period for FY2020 results is from April 1 to December 31, 2020.
Creating an Environment that Considers Biodiversity
Specific steps based on issues and strategies | Indicators for Evaluation | Managing department | FY2020 target | FY2020 result | FY2020 value | FY2021 target |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Expanding sales of native species | Sales of native species logs (unit: trees)* | Housing and Construction Division | 450,000 | 416,000 | ✕ | 500,000 |
* The period for FY2020 results is from January 1 to December 31, 2020.
Expanding Businesses that Contribute to Resolving Social Issues
Specific steps based on issues and strategies | Indicators for Evaluation | Managing department | FY2020 target | FY2020 result | FY2020 value | FY2021 target |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of rooms added through new facilities construction | Number of rooms at private-pay elderly care facilities (rooms) | Lifestyle Service Division | 1,764 | 1,764* | 〇 | 2,014 |
*As of December 31, 2020
*1 The number of households (with an annual electricity use of 3,120kWh per household) to which electricity could be supplied, based on the amount of electricity supplied annually by the renewable energy business.
*2 The period for FY2020 results is from January 1 to December 31, 2020.
Promoting Sustainable and Innovative Technological Development
Specific steps based on issues and strategies | Indicators for Evaluation | Managing department | FY2020 target | FY2020 result | FY2020 value | FY2021 target |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Solve technical issues toward achieving W350 Project | The current state of progress in W350 Project development | Tsukuba Research Institute | Basic design formulation toward achieving W30 (Design for actual property planned) |
Completion of basic plan | △ | Materials development and basic design formulation toward achievement of W70 |
Toward the Future
The percentage of orders for ZEH type houses out of new custom-built detached housings increased from 38% in fiscal 2018 to 48.2% in fiscal 2019 and 52.1% in fiscal 2020. However, we did not meet our 80.0% target. Sumitomo Forestry will continue to promote the economic, disaster prevention and health benefits of ZEH as well as encourage an even higher number of orders toward achieving a target of 80% in fiscal 2021, which is the final year of our mid-term management plan.
In terms of the amount of electricity supplied by renewable energy business, although we were not able to achieve our target, we were able to supply power worth the annual electricity use of 215,768 households through the stable operation of the Mombetsu Biomass Power Generation and other renewable energy plants. We aim to supply power worth the annual electricity use of 373,826 households in fiscal 2021 with the addition of power that will be generated in the Kanda Biomass Power Generation Plant which is scheduled to start operation in fiscal 2021.