Current Status of Environmental Impact and Environmental Targets and Outcomes

Current Status of Environmental Impact

The following tables outline the environmental impact (material balance) of the manufacturing activities at KIOXIA Group.
Although the environmental burden shows an increasing trend, as we are increasing production capacity in response to the growing demand for communications infrastructure, we continue to work on reducing this burden by means of various initiatives.
We have set specific targets for the reduction of the environmental impact per storage capacity output and other indicators to plan and implement measures, and to verify levels of achievement.

For details of the environmental impact of each manufacturing site and its activities aimed at helping to protect the environment, see manufacturing site’s environmental reports.

Input

*Table can be scrolled horizontally

  FY2019 FY2020 FY2021
Chemicals*1 (tons) 47,147 56,418 63,539
  - VOC*2 (tons) 14,208 16,985 18,330
  - PRTR*3 (tons) 5,946 7,214 7,539
City water*4 (thousand ㎥) 30 59 71
Industrial water*4 (thousand ㎥) 19,766 22,764 24,417

Output

*Table can be scrolled horizontally

  FY2019 FY2020 FY2021
Greenhouse gas (thousand tons) 2,186 2,365 2,542
Chemicals*1 (tons) 518 639 625
  - VOC*2 (tons) 479 599 583
  - PRTR*3 (tons) 3 3 2
Waste (tons) 81,211 93,914 105,737
  - Recycled volume (tons) 61,268 67,925 75,025
Wastewater (thousand ㎥) 14,733 17,300 18,445
NOx (tons) 27.0 28.7 26.6
SOx (tons)
  1. Chemicals targeted for reduction
  2. VOC (volatile organic compounds): Causative agents such as IPA, butyl acetate and cyclohexanone that generate photochemical smog.
  3. PRTR (pollutant release and transfer register): A system to ascertain, compile and disclose data on hazardous chemical substances (such as water-soluble zinc compounds, 2-aminoethanol, silver and its water-soluble compounds, etc.) discharged into the environment from any source or transported from work sites in waste.
  4. All fresh water

Targets and Outcomes

KIOXIA Group promotes business activities that contribute to the realization of a sustainable society by setting its own environmental targets. The following table summarizes the environmental targets of KIOXIA for FY2021 and their achievement status.

We again achieved all environmental targets in FY2021 thanks to our energy-saving activities promoted across the organization and our efforts to reduce the amounts of used and discarded chemical substances at our flash memory manufacturing plants. We are also actively engaging in social contribution activities with employee participation and biodiversity conservation activities, primarily at our manufacturing plants.

We adopted the “rate of change of environmental impacts per storage capacity output FY2013 basis” as our target, excluding the reduction of CO2 emissions from energy sources. Accompanying our plans for production line expansion, the environmental impact of KIOXIA’s activities is expected to have increased in FY2022 compared with the previous year, and our cross-functional environmental initiatives will continue.

*Table can be scrolled horizontally

Environmental targets and objectives FY2021 Target FY2021 Result FY2021 Achievement Status
Development of products, the manufacturing of which has a reduced environmental impact  Reducing the environmental impact of production processes through miniaturization of devices 3 or more measures per year 3 measures
Mitigation of global warming Reduction of COemissions from energy sources ≥ 23,313t-CO2 29,652t-CO2
PFCs*5 emissions
(Rate of change from FY2013)
≤ 68.9% 57.9%
Promoting efficient use of resources Total amount of waste generated minus amount of valuable waste
(Rate of change from FY2013)
≤ 34.5% 30.2%

Total waste generated

(Rate of change from FY2013)

≤ 23.1% 21.0%
Water intake
(Rate of change from FY2013)
≤ 24.6% 23.2%
Reduction of environmental risk Emissions of chemical substances to air and water
(Total amount, rate of change from FY2013)
≤ 22.0% 18.0%
Biodiversity conservation Biodiversity conservation Periodic monitoring of indicator species Periodic monitoring of indicator species
Promotion of environmental communication Social communication Charity eco bazaars, collection of recyclable waste, donations, etc. Held charity bazaars, collected recyclable garbage, made donations, etc.
Community communication Local communication Communicated with local people (e.g., meetings with local residents' associations)
Raising environmental awareness Raising environmental awareness Measures for raising awareness Held awareness-raising programs (e.g., monthly environmental events)

(✓: Achieved, ×: Not achieved)

  • *5 PFCs: Alternative to CFC gas used in manufacture of semiconductors. PFCs gas has high global warming potential.

Effective Use of Resources

Although the amount of waste generated is tending to increase as the scale of our factories expands, we are striving to promote effective use of resources throughout our entire supply chain with the aim of reducing our environmental footprint. In addition to collecting and recycling waste generated during manufacturing, we are also proactively reducing our consumption of chemicals and gas by improving manufacturing processes and using environmentally friendly packaging.

Collection and Reusing of Fluorite

By processing waste materials generated during the product manufacturing process, we collect resources and extract value from them, thereby reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill. We have reduced the amount of sludge containing hydrofluoric acid by about 30% by treating the hydrofluoric acid wastewater generated in the manufacturing process at an artificial fluorspar manufacturing facility and recovering it in the form of calcium fluoride (artificial fluorite). The artificial fluorite recovered is used as an alternative to fluorite, an imported natural resource, and is a material used by fluorinated product manufacturers. These efforts contribute to reducing the import volume of fluorite, which is a rare resource.

Waste Recycling (Calcium Fluoride) Waste Recycling (Calcium Fluoride)

Use of Environmentally Friendly Packaging

KIOXIA has been extending its use of environmentally friendly packaging. Memory chips and silicon wafers are transported between KIOXIA and subcontractors or material suppliers during manufacturing and processing. To maintain the quality of these delicate components, we use durable plastic cases that provide effective protection during transportation and ensure cleanliness. We inspect and reuse these cases after use, and the reuse ratio is approximately 60% for memory chips and nearly 90% for wafers.

When packaging SSD products for delivery to corporate customers, we use both plastic inner trays that achieve high shape accuracy to firmly anchor the contents and recyclability*6, and cardboard packaging materials (examples: outer box for transportation, inner box, etc.) that are strong and easy to recycle. In FY2021, we reduced the inner box’s unfolded dimensions by approximately 15% by reviewing its design.*7

  • *6  A single material is used for ease of recycling.
  • *7 We plan to utilize this new compact external packaging for all new products.