Denka is a co-sponsor of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations to promote social welfare.
The Japan Association of Athletics Federations has launched the JAAF x SDGs Project, "#letsthink" in an effort to address social issues through athletics, together with athletics circles.

As part of this initiative between JAAF and Denka, “CLEALEAD”, an eco-friendly food tray manufactured by Denka Polymer, was used at the food and beverage kiosk at the "Relay Festival 2022/The 106th Japan Track and Field Championships(Relay Games)" held at the National Stadium on Sunday, Saturday, October 1 and 2. Approximately 3,754 people, including students and businesses, participated in the event, which drew an audience of 4,656.
Exhibition panels were set up at the venue to promote a further understanding of SDGs, raise corporate awareness of the Denka Group, and promote understanding and penetration of our Group business activities.

With the SDGs as our compass, we will continue to strive to be an organization that is indispensable to society.

Omi Plant holds a disaster prevention drill each year to prepare for possible plant emergencies. The event over the last two years has been held on a smaller scale and over a shorter period to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The event this year focused on prompt and accurate reporting and relaying of information, firefighting and drills for the monitoring of plant equipment and the surrounding facilities together with the Itoigawa Fire Department. In preparation for possible future disasters, we will continue training throughout the year to maintain safety and establish systems to ensure a prompt response in the event of an emergency.

Volunteer cleanup activities have been held twice a year as part of CSR activities, but were postponed due to the prolonged spread of COVID-19. Despite the ongoing nature of COVID-19, we have come to understand the importance of social activities, and for the first time in three years, the cleanup volunteers have resumed their activities. Plant volunteers worked on the day to collect empty cans, plastic bottles and waste paper near local residences and along the roadsides in the area adjacent the plant.
With this resumption, we will continue to strive to work as one with the community.

As a result of our application to the 2022 Ichihara City awards program for companies promoting child-care and work-life balance, we received notification of our selection in recognition of our efforts and attended the awards ceremony held at the Ichihara City Hall on March 13. The awards ceremony was attended by Plant Manager, Mr. Tokumoto and Ms. Takada, responsible for styrene polymerization at the plant while also raising her own children,and were presented with a certificate of commendation by Mayor Koide of Ichihara. This project seeks to raise awareness of the need to create an environment that supports child-care throughout society by inviting and honoring corporations, etc., that have business offices or offices in Ichihara City and are actively working to support the achievement of child-care and work-life balance. As part of our initiative to create a “workplace where people want to come back tomorrow”, we will continue to make positive efforts to create a work environment where employees can achieve a good child-care and work-life balance and alleviate any anxiety or concerns.

On February 18, the completion of "Ichihara Get The Point" was unveiled at Yume Hall in Ichihara City, where a letter of appreciation was presented by the City to Denka and Toyo Styrene for our cooperation in the Ichihara Get The Point project. The collaboration between Denka and Toyo Styrene aims to promote the recovery of post-consumer polystyrene materials and the implementation of a chemical recycling business with Ichihara City as a form of social implementation of the polystyrene chemical recycling business. At the unveiling, a certificate of appreciation was presented to participating companies which was followed by presentation of a certificate of appreciation to our Plant Manager, Mr. Tokumoto by Mayor Koide of Ichihara. This was followed by an interactive session of "Ichihara Get The Point" attended by Ichihara Promotion Ambassador, Suzuran Yamauchi. The completed "Ichihara Get The Point" will be distributed to elementary, middle and high schools, universities and special needs schools around the city. "Ichihara Get The Point" an educational game that allows people of all ages to learn more about SDGs, is a simple game in which players create items using resource cards and compete for the total number of points set for each item, allowing everyone from elementary school students to adults to experience two worlds "a world where individual interests take priority" and "a world where we work with others to achieve sustainable prosperity".

On February 1, a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a styrene chemical recycling plant was held at the proposed construction site, attended by officials from the head office, Toyo Styrene, Chiba Plant, and construction workers. The event consisted of a prayer given by the high priest Tokita of Omiya Shrine, a purification ceremony, followed by a groundbreaking ceremony, in which a representative from each of the participants presented tamagushi and prayed for safe construction and that the construction period would proceed as scheduled. After the completion of this project, we hope to contribute to the early establishment of a decarbonized, recycling-oriented society by aiming to utilize chemical recycling throughout the entire styrene chain in order to fulfill our social responsibility as a petrochemical product manufacturer. In addition, we will also be participating in the "Creation of an Ichihara-based circular economy", an initiative undertaken by Ichihara City, the future city of SDGs, on a platform that brings together local residents, businesses and government.

On January 30, a comprehensive disaster drill was conducted at the Chiba Plant. Partly due to the impact of COVID-19, this was the first comprehensive on-site disaster drill held in approximately four years since October 2018. This year's event was held jointly with Goi Joint Disaster Prevention, with 17 companies and three organizations from the neighborhood in attendance to observe the drill. The drill was held at the CM-4 plant. The drill was conducted on the assumption that an earthquake would trigger a leak of hazardous materials (ethylbenzene) and cause a fire resulting in injuries. It was the first training session in a long time, but the local command post, workplace defense unit, defense headquarters, and members of each defense team worked on their training to fulfill their respective roles. The participants and the city fire department identified issues such as (1) responding to a major disaster and using pictorial training, (2) developing methods for timely and appropriate information collection and sharing, and (3) building an organizational structure to properly conduct firefighting activities. Priority issues identified through this drill will be analyzed and responses made, and repeated training will enhance individual skills and team collaboration to improve the level of plant disaster prevention.

On December 2, a plant tour of Maruzen Petrochemical, Showa Denko Materials (now Resonac), and the Chiba Plant was conducted as part of an annual event of the Miki Kai (a liaison association between 10 coastal companies in the Goi area and six town councils). Participants gathered at the plant and were briefed on the structure of the petrochemical complex and the products manufactured at the plant in Conference Room A, followed by an explanation of chemical recycling being promoted by Denka and Toyo Styrene. This was followed by a tour of the three company plants in a large bus, finally returning to Chiba Plant for a Q&A session, where many questions were asked about safety and security, our SDGs and other topics.

On November 30, two second-grade students from Ichihara Municipal Kokubunjidai West Junior High School were invited to participate in a plant tour. Under normal circumstances, the students would have been invited for two days, however this was reduced to half a day due to COVID-19. The tour started with self introductions, followed by an introduction of the company and plant from personnel from the General Affairs Section, explaining events held at the plant, local community activities, safety rules and manners, and the importance of work. This was followed by a tour around the plant which gave the students a first hand view of the work we do here after which the students commented that seeing the facility first hand made them more interested in the manufacturing industry and gave them a further understanding of the plant and what we do here. After a tour of the plant, the students had the opportunity to make their own plastic bottles which was followed by interviews given by the students. Days later we received a polite thank-you note from the students, encouraging us to continue to engage in educational CSR activities.

On November 29, a total of 10 members of the SDGs Subcommittee, including the chairperson of the Ichihara City and Town Chairmen's Association and Director of the SDGs Subcommittee, and five people from the relevant departments of Ichihara City were invited to take a tour of the plant. The purpose of this tour was to provide an understanding of the chemical recycling plant for used polystyrene resin being developed by Chiba Plant and Toyo Styrene. After a welcome speech by the Plant Manager and an overview of the plant by the General Affairs Section, the participants toured the plant in the following order: styrene monomer ⇒ polystyrene ⇒ BOPS ⇒ DENKA POLYMER Goi Plant ⇒ chemical recycling plant construction site, giving them an image of the recycling process. After the tour, the Plant Manager, General Manager of the Production Department 2, and General Manager of the Polymer Research Department explained various plastic containers, and during the Q&A session, we fielded a large number of questions and opinions from the heads of the various town councils, which made it possible to take the first step toward social implementation of chemical recycling in the future.

On November 22, administrative officials from 15 companies with factories in the Goi and Chigusa areas, including our plant, attended the annual Labor Thanksgiving Ceremony held by businesses associated with the Ichihara City Waterfront Complex at the Omiya Shrine in the local Goi district. The Labor Thanksgiving Ceremony was held in conjunction with the Niiname Festival, a ceremony held at the Imperial Court to express gratitude for the harvest, in which each company offered its products to the gods, and after a congratulatory prayer by the high priest Tokita, the general affairs officers of each company offered tamagushi to express their gratitude for safe and stable operations and prayed for the incident/accident free expansion of operations in the future. To conclude the ceremony, high priest Tokita expressed his gratitude for the harvest and his wish that the livelihood of each company would be as bountiful as the autumn harvest and spread widely as a source of vitality for the nation and its people.

On August 21, we participated in the “Monozukuri Festa” Ichihara, Future City of SDGs organized by the city of Ichihara. The Monozukuri Festa was held at the Welcia Communication Center Ichihara as a festival for elementary school students in Ichihara to learn about the industries of the city and to experience manufacturing firsthand. The festival was divided into four booths, and the Chiba Plant participated in an event where students in grades 1-6 could make their own plastic bottles, drawing and coloring on film to create their own unique plastic bottle. The children had a great time covering their bottles with film adorned with their own artwork and soaking it in boiling water. The film was also introduced as an SDG and a means to promote the recycling of PET bottles.

On July 24, the Chiba Plant participated in the 5th "Sunday School" Learning about the industry and environment of Ichihara! The Sunday School, sponsored by the City of Ichihara, was established in October 2021 at the Welcia Communication Center Ichihara for elementary school students in grades 4 to 6 living in the city, and has been held as a series of 6 classes led by civic groups and businesses from around Ichihara. In order to foster a “zest for life” among children and interaction with friends outside school, students can learn more about their city and have fun doing it through lectures, workshops and various other experiences. Under the theme of "Ichihara-a unique city", past events have included "Ichihara Sightseeing and Kominato Railway", "Ichihara Local Cuisine", "History of Ichihara", and "Ichihara and Golf". On July 24, under the theme of "Industry and the Environment of Ichihara", the Chiba Plant gave an overview of the petrochemical complex in the coastal area of Ichihara City, and Chiba Plant, environmental initiatives, chemical recycling, and other topics, to foster a further understanding of the coastal area around the plant. Participants then had the opportunity to make their own plastic bottles. Following a change of instructors, participants then enjoyed learning the meaning of the 3Rs through a variety of games.

On July 22, a ceremony was held in the power plant area to celebrate the completion of work to reinforce the Chiba utility supply system and was attended by approximately 25 people from Chiba Plant and representatives from construction companies. At the completion ceremony, after a Shinto prayer given by the high priest Tokita of the local Omiya Shrine, a representative from each of the attendants offered tamagushi to express their gratitude for the completion of construction without accident or disaster and prayed for safe and stable operations in the future. With the completion of this work, a state-of-the-art, high-efficiency, large-sized gas turbine was introduced to strengthen the power and steam supply system, strengthen safety measures, innovate processes throughout the utility plant, save energy and reduce costs, and further strengthen the foundation of the Chiba Plant.

Company information sessions were held for second-year students at Maebashi Technical High School. This information session was held for high school juniors about to start their careers, and was designed to help them form an awareness of employment opportunities and to give them an opportunity to think about career choices. Approximately 500 students participated in the session. One person from the Administrative Section of the Shibukawa and Isesaki Plants took the stage to introduce the unique features and products of each plant, showing that the small "materials" we make as a chemical manufacturer, support a prosperous life for everyone. We will continue to participate in activities to increase communication with the local community.

From 1999 to 2022, we have worked together with the local residents of Nakamura and NPOs to plant hydrangeas (variety name: Annabelle) in the median strip along Route 17 in Shibukawa City. This was the last planned activity as a multi-level crossing construction is now planned to relieve traffic congestion near the Shibukawa-Ikaho I.C.

On November 11, employees donated blood in a mobile operation run by the Gunma Red Cross Blood Center. Blood for transfusions is always in short supply, and in order to maximize our contribution, we called for donations by e-mail and posters in advance and by broadcasts on the day of the event, resulting in a line at the reception desk with 69 people waiting to donate blood.

A comprehensive disaster drill based on the assumption of a fire occurring at the Substrates Production Section was held on October 18. At the site of the fire, training included first aid for the injured, reporting, extinguishing the fire, and fire hydrant operation; at manufacturing and research sites other than the fire site, emergency equipment shutdown training; and in the office, setting up a disaster headquarters, communicating with the on-site command center, and contacting related parties.

The Shibukawa Plant achieved a Class 3 accident-free record. This is an award for achieving zero accidents resulting in loss of work and four or fewer accidents resulting in no loss of work in accordance with Shibukawa’s commendation regulations. This is due to a 36-month period from September 17, 2018 to September 16, 2022, in which the plant's absence safety record achieved zero lost time injuries and four or fewer injuries that did not result in loss of work. We will continue to build on our safety record to achieve a Class 4 accident-free record.

On April 26, plant employees worked to clean the Nakamura irrigation dam. This water is an important source of water for agriculture in the local Nakamura area, and flows through the plant premises and adjacent area to nearby rice fields. In response to a request for cooperation from the water union before the intake of water, employees cleaned irrigation canals running through and adjacent to the plant.

A comprehensive disaster prevention drill was conducted on February 28.

Disaster prevention drills were conducted on the assumption that an earthquake would trigger a fire or cause injury while trying to extinguish the fire. This was the first training session in approximately three years due to COVID-19, but the training was conducted quickly and accurately, using camera footage to monitor the situation on the ground in real time. We will continue to conduct regular drills to improve the level of disaster prevention at the plant.

The "Made in Isesaki Product Exhibition", sponsored by the City of Isesaki, was held at the City Shopping Mall, with an exhibit from our plant. The purpose of this annual exhibition is to raise public awareness of the city's manufacturing industry (industrial products, crafts, etc.). 20 companies and organizations with offices in the city participated in the event this year.
More than 300 citizens, from parents and children to the elderly, visited our plant booth on the day. Many employees and their families also visited, giving the employees' families a good opportunity to learn more about our plant. We will continue to cooperate with local government activities and actively promote PR activities to raise the profile of our plant within the community.