Safety is the most important foundation of the manufacturing industry. In the Kureha Group, the Health and Safety Committee, supervisory departments, and all workplaces are developing various safety activities in their respective roles, with the aim of achieving zero accidents resulting in injury or death. We are also committed to educating the people who support these activities.
As chemical-related companies, we handle hazardous substances, high-pressure gases, and toxic substances on a daily basis, so we consider security and prevention of industrial disasters to be the most important responsibilities of the Group, and we thoroughly manage our facilities and operations. We aim to maintain safety, security, and the trust of our local communities, therefore we not only comply with laws and regulations, but we also establish our own control standard values and practice preventive maintenance of equipment.

Kureha Group is committed to both occupational health and safety, and prevention of industrial disasters under its Responsible Care Policy.

Kureha and its Group companies have quality, environmental, and occupational safety management systems and a systematic approach to ensure that no detriment is caused to customers, local communities, or employees by its business activities. For occupational safety and health, we are actively promoting the introduction of ISO 45001, prioritizing the safety and health of all of our workers, and conducting health and safety activities with the aim of achieving zero occupational accidents. All employees are constantly aware of strictly avoiding accidents and going home safely, and they thoroughly follow established rules, never take shortcuts and never break promises. To ensure continued safety, facilities and equipment are updated appropriately.

In accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Kureha has a Health Committee at our head office and a Safety and Health Committee at each business site, where labor and management work together to promote initiatives that meet the needs of each business site. Each committee reviews health management, improvement of the work environment, and prevention of accidents. The minutes are posted on our internal online information system, making them available to employees.

We have a Kureha Group Responsible Care Council, and as part of its activities, it promotes safety activities throughout the Group. In meetings, which are held twice a year, Group companies share examples of safety activities and analysis of trends in accidents. In addition, information on accidents is promptly shared within the Group with the aim of preventing similar accidents.

KPI for group companies are currently under review.

Every year during National Safety Week in July, each Kureha Group site carries out activities in line with the idea of Safety Week. At the Iwaki Factory, the implementation of safety measures and awareness among employees are improved through initiatives from the convention on safety and patrols by site executives.
Also, during National Occupational Health Week, which takes place in October every year, activities are organized in line with the idea of Health Week, as well as hygiene management and health-related activities and lectures.

Kureha Group proactively conducts chemical substance risk assessments to protect the health of employees. Risk reduction measures are taken under the leadership of the chemical manager and the person in charge of personal protective equipment management for operations identified as high risk.

We opened the Skills Training Center in November 2005 at the Iwaki Factory, so employees can learn to work with a heightened sense of danger by experiencing simulations of dangers that may occur during work.
In FY2023, education for subcontractor employees was continued from the previous year, with 380 employees having taken the course by the end of October. In addition, education for supervisors was repeated starting in February 2024. Also, a VR disaster experience system was introduced to increase sensitivity to danger and was added to the experience menu.

The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations and other regulations to prevent occupational accidents caused by chemical substances have been partially amended. At least one chemical substance manager must be appointed at plants that manufacture and handle chemical substances for which risk assessment is mandatory. Kureha appoints chemical substance managers for each workplace in a plant where chemicals are handled, providing detailed support.

Every year, the Iwaki Factory conducts a comprehensive disaster drill for the entire site to prepare for large-scale disasters and accidents. Individual training is also conducted on an ongoing basis to improve communications and other initial activities in the event of a disaster, as well as disaster suppression capability according to the equipment and substances handled. In addition, to prepare for natural disasters, which have become increasingly severe in recent years, the company is reviewing how it sets operating standards for heavy rain and strong winds, checks the integrity of its facilities, deals with flying debris, and ensures employee safety.

Comprehensive disaster drills were held at two sites of the Plastics Processing Factory: the Ibaraki site and the Kaibara site, with the General Manager of the Production and Technology Division in attendance.
At both sites, the drills were conducted assuming there was a limited number of personnel to minimize damage safely and quickly. It was an opportunity to reaffirm the necessity to develop response skills and reduce disasters while protecting the safety of employees through drills in a variety of situations, and to raise disaster awareness and improve response capabilities.

Kureha collaborates with Group companies involved in logistics to carry out training and education for disaster prevention and safety during freight transportation, and we are working to make sure procedure manuals and communication systems are examined and followed.
At the monthly safety meetings for crew members of Kureha Unyu Co., Ltd., which transports chemicals, employees are alerted about any logistics accidents that have occurred and notified of changes in the equipment of our business partners. We also carry out hands-on training using actual vehicles and chemicals to raise safety awareness of crew members and eliminate accidents.

Kureha is working to eradicate all logistics accidents that occur during transportation of our products. With continuous safety training of Kureha Unyu crew members, strengthening undercarriage inspections, and various other measures, we are working to prevent leaks and other such things that could lead to serious accidents, and also working to reduce delivery errors and all other logistics accidents. The total number of logistics accidents for fiscal 2023 was 68.

Kureha endorses the White Logistics Movement advocated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and on September 18, 2019 has submitted a Declaration of Voluntary Action to the White Logistics Movement secretariat.