Water resources

　The NOF Group makes efforts for the use and management of water resources as well as the appropriate treatment and management of plant wastewater in accordance with the Management Policy Regarding Responsible Care.
　To this end, each plant and subsidiary is working on the following items.　

　（1）Operation and management of specified
　　　 facilities and wastewater management
　　　 based on the Water Pollution Prevention
　　　 Law
　（2）Thorough employee education on
　　　 environment-related laws
　（3）Assessment of environmental impact when
　　　 new facilities are established
　（4）Review of management status through internal audits
　（5）Disclosure of information through regular community dialogue

Use of water resources
　NOF has been carrying out the efficient use of water resources by estimating the volume of water resources intake and wastewater volume. The volume of water intake of the Domestic Group in fiscal 2020 amounted to 8.498 million m3, of which 1.402 million m3 was groundwater and 2.183 million m3 was city water.
　For the appropriate management and protection of water resources, we conduct employee education and awareness-raising activities, recognize the importance of sustainable water use, and work to reduce water consumption. Our water usage per million yen of sales has improved by approximately 7% over the last two years, making us less dependent on water use.

Prevention of water pollution
　Plant wastewater resulting from production activities is properly treated through treatment facilities and discharged outside the plant. We monitor biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and suspended solids* among others contained in wastewater. Along with ongoing equipment upgrades, we are improving our water quality management system and operating in compliance with prescribed limits. In addition, there have been no cases of violations of laws and regulations related to water quality.