Water

Approach to Water｜Targets and Results｜Water Initiatives

  • Approach to Water

    Water is the source of life, nurturing diverse ecosystems as it circulates and interacts with the atmosphere, soil, oceans, and rivers on Earth; it is also an essential resource for people’s lives and economic activities. Global population growth, economic development, water pollution, and climate change have led to water shortages and increased flood risks, which have become major social issues, raising concerns about serious impacts on ecosystems, people’s lives, and economic activities.
    For the SHIONOGI Group (“SHIONOGI”), water is an indispensable resource for business operations and must be appropriately conserved and managed. We have identified “water” as environmental materiality and assessed the impact of water risks—such as water stress*1 and flooding—on its business, as well as the impact of its business activities on the water environment, and promoted efforts for appropriate management.

     

    *1 Condition of strained water supply and demand

Targets and Results

Graph of water consumption and productivity
Water consumption by source, Drainage by destination

Water Initiatives

Enhancing Water Resource Management through Accurate Measurement of Water discharge Volume

In FY2023, the SHIONOGI Group EHS Action Targets were reviewed and a new goal for water resources was set: “Achieve a water resource return rate of 85% or more in FY2035.” The water resource return rate*2 is an indicator of how much of the water withdrawal by an operating site is returned to the same catchment area (i.e., the region where rivers and lakes gather).
To accurately measure this indicator, the volume of the water discharge must be precisely measured. Therefore, in FY2024, we developed a plan to install measurement equipment to accurately determine the water discharge volume. Measures tailored to the equipment structure of each operating site will be promoted, aiming for accurate measurement of the water discharge volume and enhanced water resource management.
 
*2 Water resource return rate (%) = (water discharge volume ÷ water withdrawal volume) × 100
Click on the image to enlarge
image

Environmental Impact Assessment of Pharmaceuticals in Water discharge (Pharmaceuticals in the Environment)

Attention to pharmaceuticals released into the environment is increasing, as seen in the publication of documents on “Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (PiE)”*3 by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The proper handling of water during pharmaceutical manufacturing and the appropriate management of pharmaceutical inclusion in factory water discharge are important. When starting new product manufacturing processes, we confirm that the pharmaceutical concentration in the water discharge is designed to be at a level that does not impact the natural environment.

In particular, as a company responsible for infectious disease drugs, we inactivate antimicrobials in the water discharge from each building at antimicrobial-manufacturing plants and confirm that their content is at a level that does not affect the natural environment before discharging the water discharge outside via in-house treatment facilities. By thoroughly implementing these measures, we strive to control the release of antimicrobials from our plants and prevent our manufacturing facilities from becoming a source of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). For more information on the environmental release management of antimicrobials, please refer to the AMR section.
*3 OECD “Pharmaceutical Residues in Freshwater” (external link)

Selected as a Leadership Company for the Sixth Consecutive Year in the CDP “Water Security 2024”

In the “Water Security 2024” program conducted by CDP*4, an international non-profit organization, we have continuously received the highest “Leadership” rating since its first response in 2019.
image
*4 CDP
CDP is a non-profit organization whose primary activities involve requesting companies and local governments to disclose information on their actions for climate change control, water resource protection, forest conservation, and other environmental issues based on the request of institutional investors and major corporate clients around the world with a strong interest in environmental issues, thereby promoting actions to tackle environmental issues. CDP is now one of the world’s most useful information disclosure platforms on environmental issues.