Environmental protection initiatives

The Suzuken Group sees protection of the global environment as one of the most important issues for the 21st century and aims to be a “best partner that contributes to the health of the earth and smiling and fulfilling lifestyles of all people.”

CO2 emissions from our business activities is another concern. Most of these emissions are from the use of gasoline in our vehicles and electric power at our sales offices throughout the country and show the interrelatedness of business activities and the burden on the environment. The Suzuken Group not only complies with all environmental laws and regulations but also strives to minimize environmental burden while working with local communities.

Important problems we are focusing on inside Japan include pharmaceutical waste and medicines that go unused.

Minimizing social costs such as these is one of the Group’s most important management concerns.

One of Suzuken's corporate philosophy, 'By creating new value, we contribute to the improvement of health on Earth and to healthier and better lives for all people.' indicates our philosophy and desire to contribute to every aspect of people's health as well as the Earth's health.

Centering on pharmaceutical distribution, all health-related fields are within the business domain of Suzuken. We continue to create new value in a wide health-related area that we call "health creation."

At Suzuken, we recognize that one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century will be protecting the global environment, and we aim to be the best partner by contributing to a healthy earth and a world where each and every person is healthy and has a fulfilling life full of smiles.

To that end, we will strive for continued improvements by establishing and implementing an environment management system based on contribution to sustainability by means of resource and energy conservation, reduction and recycling of waste, reduction of CO2 emissions, and improvement of operational efficiency in cooperation with the local community, not to mention complying with all environment-related laws, legislation, and agreements, etc.

In order to ensure that this environmental policy bears fruit, we will make sure that our employees and relevant parties are fully aware of it, and we will make an effort to gain the understanding of the general public through disclosure of our policy.

By implementing the PDCA cycle as part of the Group’s environmental policies and taking steps to deepen the environmental consciousness of every one of our employees, as well as striving to improve our business activities, we continuously and systematically endeavor to reduce our resource and energy usage.

Toward the goal of realizing a sustainable society, our Sustainability Committee is working to reduce CO2 emissions and other important issues relating to environmental protection, as well as reducing social costs. It also works to manage the risk that climate change poses to our business activities.

In Suzuken's pharmaceutical distribution business, we are promoting eco-driving initiatives by switching to energy-saving vehicles such as light vehicles and hybrid vehicles and using telematics services, as well as working to reduce electricity use by installing energy-saving equipment and devices. We are also contributing to a reduction in CO2 emissions by making deliveries more efficient, through efforts such as constructing an optimal delivery system based on customer needs and reducing frequent and express deliveries by way of inventory management proposals.

Through the Smart Logistics initiative that we are conducting in collaboration with SoftBank Corp., we will give consideration to shipping efficiency, with a view to achieving real-time visualization of pharmaceutical distribution, as well as joint distribution and joint shipping, as we work to ensure a reliable supply of pharmaceuticals while keeping CO2 emissions low.

Governance relating to climate change is embedded in our governance framework for sustainability management. Our environmental policy expresses our aim "to be a best partner that contributes to the health of the earth and to healthy, fulfilling lives filled with smiles for all people.” Under this policy, we will aim to achieve a sustainable society and manage the risks of climate change factors in our business activities.

Based on various scenarios^※1 publicized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Administration (IEA), the Suzuken Group has assessed and analyzed, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the financial impact of envisioned climate change risks and opportunities on our business activities.

(1) Envisioned scenarios

(2) Overview of risks and opportunities, impact on finance

Based on the sustainability promotion framework, the Sustainability Committee will discuss the impact of climate change on the Suzuken Group and report to the Board of Directors on relevant proposals under consideration.

Also, we view maintaining our social infrastructure function of “safe, secure, and reliable pharmaceutical distribution” as a critical theme in terms of risk management. In addition to total traceability and quality improvements in accordance with global standards, we are promoting countermeasures to enable uninterrupted distribution even when incidents such as natural disasters occur, through efforts such as building a nationwide BCP network centering on Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka.

The Suzuken Group has endorsed the pledge to be carbon neutral by 2050, and the Group as a whole^※2 has adopted a CO2 emissions reduction target of 40% (compared to 2020) by 2030 for Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

We promote the sorting of waste by displaying sorting guides on the trash cans, and we also practice sustainable procurement.

Energy conservation activities in offices include turning off the lights at lunchtime, making sure that standby mode is enabled on computers, and efficient use of air conditioning.

In addition, efforts are being made to install energy-saving equipment and devices such as photovoltaics, LED lights, photoresponsive lights, and high-efficiency air conditioners in offices and some distribution centers.

Photovoltaic panels with a total maximum power generation capacity of 70 kW (equivalent to 1,750 40W fluorescent lamps) have been installed at our distribution centers in Hanshin (10 kW), Kanagawa (20 kW), Chiba (20 kW), and Miyagi (20 kW).

In terms of sales and delivery efforts, we are trying to reduce the amount of gas used by switching to hybrid vehicles and light vehicles for our fleet. As of March 2022, 87.0% of our fleet has been switched to fuel-efficient vehicles. We are also attempting to enforce eco-driving for sales and delivery vehicles.

In terms of IT-related energy conservation activities, efforts are being made to replace old IT equipment (e.g., computers and servers) with energy-saving models.

Based on the idea that using limited resources effectively will lead to a reduction of the burden placed on the environment, the company is undertaking the measures described below:

Suzuken is promoting activities such as strict enforcement of double-sided copying and the use of electronic documents aimed at efficient use of paper resources.

We promote the sorting of waste by displaying sorting guides on the trash cans, and we also practice sustainable procurement.

Chemical and other substances used as pharmaceutical ingredients can impact ecosystems when they are emitted or disposed of during a manufacturing process. Therefore, strict management based on environmental laws and regulations intended to minimize those impacts is essential. Furthermore, it is important to see to it that manufacturing plants are properly managed from environmental and sanitation/hygiene perspectives.

Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusho Co., Ltd., which manufactures pharmaceuticals, has established an Environmental Committee and formulated targets with an action plan for environmental protection. Efforts are underway to identify emissions of chemical substances and to exercise proper management in accordance with the PRTR system in order to reduce emissions of air pollutants. High-efficiency systems are gradually being adopted, and visual representations of energy usage are being advanced to save energy and counter climate change. The amount of material recycled is being increased to reduce the final waste disposal rate