Environment

In addition to complying with environment-related laws, regulations, agreements, and voluntary management standards, YKK AP is working to clarify risks and opportunities in its business and strengthen global environmental management by the senior leadership.
In addition, the YKK AP Group (Japan) operates an integrated company-wide ISO 14001 system to ensure structured operation of its environmental management system. Each of our overseas business sites has acquired and is implementing ISO 14001 certification, and all employees are united in their efforts to promote environmental management.

As part of our environment-friendly practies, the YKK AP Environmental Policy Board Committee, chaired by the president, formulates and approves management policies and strategies regarding climate change and other environmental policies from a management perspective, and confirms the progress thereof. The YKK AP Environment Committee implements these environmental management policies and strategies in sales, development, technology, manufacturing, supply, administration, and overseas divisions, and confirms their implementation status through internal environmental audits among divisions.

YKK AP sets environmental targets for each medium term based on "how we ought to be" for 2050 and Environmental Management Policy.
Under the 6th Mid-term Environmental Business Plan (FY2021–FY2024), we are working toward "how we ought to be" for 2050 by backcasting our targets for 2030, and then setting mid-term achievement targets to be achieved in FY2024, on the basis of which we will set numerical targets and action plans for each fiscal year.

In March 2023, the YKK AP Group (Japan) underwent a periodic audit by an external review organization using the 2015 edition of ISO 14001. The results showed the environmental management system to be functioning effectively as an environmental management tool. Eleven of our overseas business sites have obtained ISO 14001 certification.

In order to contribute to a sustainable society through our products and monozukuri, YKK AP is actively investing in the development of environmentally friendly products and initiatives to reduce the burden on the global environment, such as reducing CO₂ emissions and recycling. At the same time, we will clarify cost-effectiveness and explain our results to stakeholders.

Because the refining of new aluminum ingots requires a great deal of electricity and generates a large amount of CO₂ emissions, improving the recycling rate will contribute to achieving carbon neutrality.
As an initiative in this regard, introducing recycling furnaces will greatly increase the input rate of market-obtained recycled materials, thereby reducing the rate of new ingots used, which leads to significantly reducing CO₂ emissions across the entire supply chain.
Starting with introducing a recycling furnace at the Shikoku Plant, we plan to expand this initiative to other sites, and will step up efforts to achieve a 100% recycling rate by 2030.
In addition to improving the recycling rate, we are also working to cut CO₂ emissions by promoting the procurement of "green aluminum," which is refined from bauxite using renewable energy.

During the manufacturing process for vinyl frame materials and vinyl windows, we strive to minimize the generation of vinyl scraps and chips through efficient production. By reclaiming scraps and chips generated from the production process as vinyl materials, we are working to improve the rate at which they are recycled. We are also actively developing new applications for vinyl scraps. We are also engaged in industry-government-academia collaboration to establish a system to collect and recycle vinyl windows once they have been used.

YKK AP undertakes initiatives to achieve sustainable water use by reducing the amount of water withdrawn and the environmental impact of wastewater discharge through the recycling and reuse of water in the production process.

Companies derive enormous benefits from ecosystems, including the use of biological resources and land, and the purification of water and air. Loss of biodiversity is said to pose the risk of a serious economic crisis.
YKK AP's business activities also benefit from biodiversity, and we will contribute to creating a sustainable society by undertaking initiatives for biodiversity in our business activities while minimizing negative impact to the greatest extent possible. Among many challenges we face, we are particularly conscious of "coexistence with nature," and as such, we aim to reduce the use and emission of highly hazardous chemical substances, provide safe and reliable products, and cultivate harmony with the surrounding environment.

One of the materialities YKK AP set in 2021 to drive sustainable growth is "Co-existence with the environment," and the company is promoting activities to contribute to reducing environmental impact and mitigating and adapting to climate change by promoting a decarbonized, recycling-based society and expanding sales of environmentally friendly products.
Aiming to achieve "zero environmental burden" throughout the entire lifecycle in business activities by 2050, we are creating environmental value at all stages of the lifecycle and implementing global activities to reduce environmental burdens.
In the area of climate change, which is a core issue within the materiality "Co-existence with the environment," we are working to reduce GHGs and adapt to climate change in all processes of our business activities, with the aim of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Having obtained SBT certification in January 2019 and endorsing the TCFD recommendations in May 2019, we are assessing the impact of climate-related risks and opportunities on our business activities and reflecting them in our management strategy.

YKK AP has a Board of Directors as the decision-making and oversight body for important matters such as management policy, an Audit & Supervisory Board as the company's auditing organization, and has introduced an Operating Officer System to help the company promote the execution of business and operations.
In particular, sustainability issues are addressed by the "ESG General Meeting," chaired by the president, which conducts cross-functional activities by formulating policies from a company-wide perspective and rolling them out to related divisions and domestic and overseas group companies.
The Environmental Policy Board Committee, which is chaired by the president and has jurisdiction over the environmental area within the ESG General Meeting, formulates and approves environmental policies and strategies, including on climate change, from a management perspective, and monitors their progress. The "Environment Committee" rolls out these environmental policies and strategies to our manufacturing and sales sites in Japan and overseas, and confirms how they are being implemented through mutual internal environment audits.

In line with the TCFD recommendations, we are identifying and assessing the significant risks and opportunities that the issue of climate change poses to the AP Business.

Risks related to the business as a whole are assessed and reviewed once a year, prioritized by "scale of damage" and "frequency of occurrence," and each risk is managed by the relevant committee or division. Climate change-related risks (natural disasters, inadequate response toenvironmental regulations, etc.) are also identified as key risks and incorporated into the management process, with policies developed and monitored on a global basis by the Environment Committee and the BCM Committee.

In order to achieve carbon neutrality, we have set medium- and long-term goals certified by SBTi and formulated an environmental action plan to achieve them in conjunction with our mid-term business plan. In addition, under the "Evolution 2030" Vision announced in March 2023, we have brought forward our targets to reduce the company's own CO₂ emissions by 80% in FY2030 and by 100% in FY2040 (both relative to FY2013). Progress with respect to these indicators and targets is disclosed in the Environmental Report.

Sustainable products are defined as architectural products that contribute to achieving the SDGs by solving priority social issues such as energy conservation, easy-installation, disaster prevention/mitigation, safety/security, and health/hygiene.