What does being a sustainability lead mean to you at Kuraray, especially with your extensive background in the chemicals industry?
In January 2022, Kuraray established a sustainability committee led by the President of the Kuraray Group, recognizing the need for leadership in sustainability within the specialty chemicals industry. This led to the formulation of the "three Ps" of sustainability: planet, product, and people. For the planet, the focus is on improving the Earth's environment, reflecting traditional sustainability values. Regarding products, the emphasis is on innovation through sustainable solutions, not just products, with a significant role in product development and partnership with customers for creating sustainable solutions. The people aspect aims at creating a safe and inclusive work environment, upholding the core value of making Kuraray a great place to work.
Creating truly sustainable products in chemicals is difficult, especially at an effective price point. Can you delve deeper into your strategy around sustainable products, particularly with bio-based polymers?
Scaling bio-based polymers presents challenges, notably the cost disparity with fossil-based polymers and consumer willingness to pay for sustainable options. Kuraray addresses this through a portfolio sustainability assessment, providing a lifecycle analysis or carbon footprint for every product, ranked on a scale of one to five for environmental friendliness. This approach not only challenges Kuraray internally to maintain a balanced product portfolio but also aids customers in choosing more sustainable options. Kuraray's offerings include renewable products like PLANTIC™, a starch-based material, and bio-based SEPTON™, showcasing the effort to develop competitive, environmentally friendly products to supplement its traditional petrochemical portfolio.
How does Kuraray manage cultural diversity within its workforce, being a Japanese company with a strong U.S. presence?
Kuraray's goal is to foster an inclusive workforce where diversity is embraced. The daily interaction with a diverse team from around the globe, including Brazil, Europe, Australia, and Japan, highlights the company's commitment to diversity. To integrate different cultures effectively, Kuraray has initiated global teams and systems, such as global employee grading and HR development systems, facilitating unified collaboration. These efforts are complemented by the regular integration and interaction of team members from various backgrounds, ensuring a cohesive and inclusive work environment.
With the pressure on single-use plastics and the environmental impact of plastics, how does Kuraray address concerns from critics and NGOs about its products?
Kuraray's approach is to emphasize the improvement of plastics rather than their elimination. For example, MonoSol®, a water-soluble film made from KURARAY POVAL™ polyvinyl alcohol, showcases Kuraray's commitment to biodegradable solutions. This product, among others, serves various eco-friendly applications, such as seed coating for agriculture, highlighting the potential for plastics to contribute positively to environmental sustainability. Kuraray focuses on educating consumers about the innovative uses and environmental benefits of their products, demonstrating how specialty chemicals can enhance traditional plastics' performance and sustainability.
How is Kuraray leveraging regulatory incentives, like those from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), for sustainability and innovation in the U.S.?
Kuraray actively incorporates internal carbon pricing into all project evaluations as part of its commitment to sustainability and carbon neutrality. This internal mechanism assesses the carbon footprint of projects, influencing the decision-making process to prioritize environmentally friendly initiatives.
The emphasis on carbon neutrality and the practical application of carbon pricing in project assessments demonstrate Kuraray's proactive stance in balancing economic viability with environmental responsibility.
This approach reflects a broader industry trend towards sustainability and innovation, particularly in regions like the US where regulatory incentives support green technology and carbon sequestration efforts.
In the context of reducing plastic waste and its impact on marine life, what initiatives is Kuraray undertaking?
Kuraray is actively engaging in efforts to reduce plastic waste through various programs, including recycling and buyback systems. For instance, in our SentryGlas® production, we have implemented a buyback program where scrap film is returned to us for credit, effectively keeping waste out of landfills. Similarly, for our EVAL™ product, we're collaborating with recyclers to repurpose waste EVAL™ for domestic markets. These initiatives are part of our commitment to not only minimize our environmental footprint but also to manage the lifecycle of our products responsibly, ensuring that off-spec materials are not misused.
With the pressing issue of climate change, what steps is Kuraray taking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and move towards net-zero?
Kuraray's approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions includes the implementation of an internal carbon pricing system to evaluate the environmental impact of new projects and innovations. This strategy is part of our broader commitment to achieving carbon neutrality. We're exploring various technologies and partnerships, such as transitioning to green hydrogen and bio-natural gas with suppliers like Air Liquide, to address the energy demands of our operations more sustainably. These efforts are aligned with broader industry goals, such as the 30% reduction in emissions by 2030 and achieving net-zero carbon by 2050.
Innovation often happens behind the scenes and out of sight. Can you share some innovations in Kuraray's R&D pipeline that you're particularly excited about?
Our R&D team is working on several innovative solutions, including developments in shrink film meat packaging and coffee industry sustainability. As mentioned before, we've created an EVAL™ product, EVAL™ SC, which is chlorine-free and recyclable, addressing the meat packaging industry's initiative to eliminate chlorine from shrink film packaging. Additionally, we're addressing the "coffee 2050 problem" by partnering with the coffee industry to develop biodegradable drip bag coffee filters made from plant-derived polylactic acid-based material which we have been developing at Kuraray Kuraflex. Brand owners are targeting to be 100% recyclable by 2025, and we are focused on helping them to achieve that. These innovations represent our commitment to solving environmental challenges and advancing sustainability across various industries.
