Our Policies and Approach
Many of Suntory Group products use agricultural products and water as primary ingredients, suggesting a lower risk of environmental pollution from chemicals compared to other industries. However, the production process does involve emissions from boiler combustion and the use of chemicals for equipment cleaning and sterilization, which could pose a risk to the surrounding environment. Therefore, we prepare for all types of abnormalities and emergencies by implementing response measures, conducting regular inspections of equipment and facilities, and strengthening safety education for employees. These efforts enhance pollution prevention from both a hardware and software perspective.
Promotion Structure
Suntory Group’s Global Risk Management Committee identifies and discusses important risk factors, including various sustainability-related issues, and monitors the status of responses.
Additionally, for sustainability-related issues, the Global Sustainability Committee (GSC) formulates strategies to promote sustainable management, promotes initiatives, and confirms progress.
For more information on the promoting structure, see Environmental Management.
Our Initiatives
Preventing Air Pollution
Suntory Group is committed to reducing air pollutant emissions by promoting cleaner energy sources and advanced exhaust gas treatment. Specifically, we are working to reduce SOx and NOx emissions by converting to boiler fuel, sulfur-free natural gas and carbon-neutral fuels, and using low-NOx burners. Each plant has established in-house voluntary standards that stricter than legal requirements and constantly monitors air pollutants such as sulfur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in exhaust gas.
Preventing Water Pollution
For water discharged into the environment, each plant sets its own water quality standards that are stricter than the legal requirements, and uses advanced wastewater treatment facilities and rigorous management to maintain these standards.
Please see Performance Data for BOD and COD wastewater discharge results.
Preventing Soil Pollution
Suntory Group's plants use chemical substances for cleaning equipment and other purposes. These substances are strictly controlled to prevent leakage. However, in the unlikely event of a leakage of cleaning agents or chemicals, each plant has installed dikes around chemical tanks and conducts periodic inspections to prevent soil contamination.
Measures for Alcohol Evaporation
Some amount of alcohol vaporizes from the cask during the storage of whisky. We place collection equipment to prevent any evaporated alcohol from escaping the plant. In addition, regular monitoring (concentration measurement, etc.) is done to confirm if alcohol evaporation can be reduced.
Chemical Substance Management
Suntory Group manages chemical substances in accordance with Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) Law, Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act, Fire Service Act and other related laws.
Waste Management
In terms of proper waste management, we are promoting the digitization of waste manifests to ensure compliance with the manifest system and strengthen centralized management of waste information. In addition, we continue to implement training programs for production sites, sales offices, cultural sites, head office functions, and Group companies to improve their knowledge and skills in waste management through methods such as group training, on-site visits, and role-playing to ensure the proper disposal of waste. We call such a lectures “Waste management seminars” and “Surveillance seminars at waste treatment facility” to improve the knowledge and audit ability on waste management. We continue initiatives for thorough implementation of proper disposal of waste.
Management of PCB Disposal
We store PCB wastes appropriately and report their storage status to the local government based on “Law Concerning Special Measures Against PCB Waste.” We have registered to Japan Environmental Storage & Safety Corporation (JESCO) as a subcontractor for the disposal of PCB and began disposal of equipment that includes PCB from 2007. Status of the use and storage of equipment that includes PCB is as follows.
Quantity of equipment that uses PCB (as of December 2024)
| Stored | Used | Total owned | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capacitor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Transformer | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stabilizer for lighting device | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Claims, Accidents and Lawsuits
Suntory Group implements thorough environmental risk management. In the most recent fiscal year (2024), we had no major environmental accidents, lawsuits, or administrative actions.
