Sumitomo Chemical Launches New "Sustainable Solutions" Initiatives for Contributing to a Sustainable Society

Nov. 4, 2016

Sumitomo Chemical has begun its new initiatives by which the Company's certain products and technologies that will help build a sustainable society through preventing global warming, reducing environment impacts, etc., will be identified as "Sumika Sustainable Solutions" for accelerated development and expanded use ("Sumika" is a shortened form of the name "Sumitomo Chemical Company" in Japanese). The initiatives aim to further enhance the Company's proactive contribution to solving vital challenges facing human society, along with proper disclosure of relevant information, amid the growing public interest in the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda ^*1 and the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues.

The SDGs contain a set of 17 goals that the world is expected to achieve, as adopted at the U.N. General Assembly in September last year, and call on business corporations around the world, among others, to further advance in their endeavor toward building a sustainable society through their business activities. Under the Paris Agreement, coming into effect today, concrete initiatives to tackle climate change are recognized as more important than ever, focusing, for example, on containing an increase in the global average temperature to less than 2°C as compared with a pre-Industrial Revolution level.

Sumitomo Chemical is strengthening businesses of providing solutions to society through offering new functionalities and materials, guided by the Company's business philosophy "We work to contribute to society through our business activities." Those products, which have been identified this time as "Sumika Sustainable Solutions," amount to about 280 billion yen in sales (fiscal 2015). Such products throughout their life cycle are expected to contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by about 52 million tons in total (a figure projected in terms of CO₂ for fiscal 2020^*2).

Sumitomo Chemical aims to double its sales of the "Sumika Sustainable Solutions" products as early as possible, thereby creating and offering a broad range of solutions that will contribute to a sustainable society by capitalizing on the great variety of technologies the Company has cultivated in the past as a chemical company operating in widely diverse industrial fields.

1. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted at a U.N. summit in September last year, represent a new, universal set of goals which the entire world is expected to attain, consisting of 17 priority goals for the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. The U.N. initiatives call on governments, business corporations and society at large around the world to take action that will contribute to realizing the SDGs.
2. The figure is an estimate of reduction in greenhouse gas emissions that will be achieved by the "Sumika Sustainable Solutions" products throughout their life cycle, if it is assumed that the products are sold in fiscal 2020. The estimate has been made in accordance with the guidelines of the Japan Chemical Industry Association and the International Council of Chemical Associations.

"Sumika Sustainable Solutions" Main Products and Technologies

Solutions	Features	Contributions to SDGs
PERVIOTM, lithium-ion secondary battery separator	A material capable of providing high-capacity lithium-ion secondary batteries, contributing to the expanded use of next-generation vehicles, such as electric vehicles
SUMIKAEXCELTM, polyethersulfone	An additive for carbon-fiber reinforced plastics used in aircraft, making aircraft lighter and hence fuel-efficient
CO2 separation membrane	Used in hydrogen production and natural gas refining to remove CO2, it reduces significantly energy consumption for CO2 separation, compared with conventional methods
UV curing for polarizer lamination	Achieves substantial energy saving in the manufacturing of a polarizing film for displays, compared with conventional methods
SUMIKATHENETMEP, EXCELLENTMGMH, polyethylene used for refill pouches	A pouch bag for refilling detergents, etc. made of this polyethylene can be easily cut by hand at its spout, thus reducing wastes, compared with rigid bottles
SUMIMETTM, feed additive methionine	Adding methionine to poultry feed gives improved balance of amino acids in feed, resulting in reduced nitrogen in poultry excrement, a cause for greenhouse gas emissions
OlysetTM Net, anti-malarial long-lasting insecticidal mosquito net	A mosquito net developed for controlling malaria-carrying mosquitoes, helping reduce malaria infection

• At a side event of the COP22 meeting in Morocco starting on Nov. 7, Olyset^TM Net will be introduced as an effective means of controlling disease-carrying mosquitoes whose habitats are expanding due to global warming.

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