Community Contribution

Basic Stance

We at the Sumitomo Chemical Group are contributing to communities, based on our Business Philosophy and Basic Principles for Promoting Sustainability, from the three perspectives as follows:

Community Commitment

We commit to a sustained coexistence and collaboration with local communities, utilizing our unique insights, expertise and knowledge to address their ongoing challenges.

Personal Growth

We encourage personal development through our active community engagement where we operate, fostering individual insights and growth that support our business's social value creation.

Community of Care

We aim to broaden our sphere of empathy by conveying our community involvement, contributions and insights with a cohesive voice across all stakeholders.

Examples of Initiatives

  • Social Contribution Activities

  • Global Clean-up Challenge

    Sumitomo Chemical volunteers cleaned Tokyo's Arakawa riverbank. After a seminar on global waste issues, 30 volunteers, guided by local NPOs, collected trash, including fabric and plastics, embedded in the riverbank. The activity highlighted the trash influx into rivers and oceans, underscoring the need for a circular economy.

  • Workshop at School

    At Misawa Works, we conducted science classes for 5th and 6th graders at a nearby elementary school. The employees visited the school to make lectures on what we do at a manufacturing plant and its products, then guided the pupils to conduct fascinating experiments such as a cup that doesn't spill water using superabsorbent polymer. Pupils were excited with the experiments and expressed that they found chemistry interesting and enjoyable.

  • Support for Relief

    Since the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, we have been promoting initiatives involving employee participation to keep the memory of the disaster fresh in people’s minds. Several company cafeterias have been offering the menus that utilize seafood and vegetables from the affected areas to support reconstruction. Additionally, we held the "Sanriku and Joban Support Fukushima Marche" at our Tokyo office.

  • Global Clean-up Challenge

    In 2022, Sumika Environmental Science (SES) received certification for its SDGs initiatives, in part due to its employees working on the “SESDGs” Clean-up Campaigns in areas adjacent to its head office in Osaka once every month. Taking part in the Osaka Marathon Clean-Up operations employees conducted cleaning activities around the Doshomachi area together with other companies residing in the same building. Blessed with fine weather, participants were able to enjoy cleaning up the streets of Osaka. Our Group companies will continue to work on beautifying the local area and preserving the environment.

  • Conservation in Jiri-Rita Park

    The Jiri-Rita Prairie Park, located adjacent to the Valent BioSciences (VBC) manufacturing facility in Osage, Iowa, is a 34-acre native prairie that fosters a diverse habitat for birds, butterflies, insects, reptiles, and small wildlife. It features native grasses, flowering plants, trees, and shrubs, reconstructed from local farmland. Named after the Japanese principle Jiri Rita Koushi Ichinyo, meaning to benefit society at large, the park provides the Osage community with an outdoor classroom, pollinator sanctuary, carbon sequestration, and a solar farm. Public walking trails honor champions of VBC's sustainability journey and feature display gardens supporting monarch butterfly migration, creating a lasting legacy for both the environment and the community.

  • Supporting Children’s Forest

    The Sumitomo Chemical Group has been supporting the activities of the Organization for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement International (OISCA) for many years since joining in 1974. Representatives of children from Thailand and Indonesia who are engaged in the Children's Forest Program, which has been supported by the donation amounts of its officers and employees matched by the company, visited the Sumitomo Chemical Osaka Area and gave a lively update on their activities, in Japanese. Their words, "We are doing our best while feeling the joy that our activities are contributing to the restoration of the ecosystem!" resonated with the participants who attended both in person and online, providing an opportunity to reaffirm the significance of our support.

  • Conservation Site in Ehime

    Sumitomo Chemical has received certification by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment, and registered as one of Other Effective area based Conservation Measures (OECM) in the UNEP- World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) database for the Miyoshima area on the site of its Ehime Works (Niihama City, Ehime Prefecture). The area, which has been maintained and managed as a green space for many years, is home to many tall broad-leaved trees and has been inhabited by rare species such as falcons and ospreys, which are birds on Ehime Prefecture's RedList. Such rich ecosystems have been well received and earned this certification. Sumitomo Chemical will promote environmental protection in conducting its business in an environmentally friendly manner, as well as working to provide products and technologies that contribute to ecosystem conservation, thereby contributing to NaturePositive.

  • Support Education in Nigeria

    Since 2005, Sumitomo Chemical has supported education for children in Africa. Since 2020, we have been contributing to the Clean Our World Project, an initiative run by the Nigeria-based Oando Foundation. The project resulted in significant progress in introducing Climate Action syllabus to students in over 1,000 public primary schools in the Lagos and Plateau States.
    An event was held in Lagos to celebrate these achievements and advocate for a nationwide movement for environmental education. The event brought together over 300 key stakeholders from various sectors, including government, donor agencies, school beneficiaries and national media.

  • Clean-up by Gifu Plant

    At the Gifu Plant, the employees participate in cleaning activities, primarily focusing on weeding around the plant once in every month, on the second Wednesday’s morning.
    This activity has been ongoing for over 30 years. Also, as there is "Anpachi Plum Garden", a park famous with over 100 varieties and more than 1,200 plum trees near the plant, we clean the vicinity of the park during the plum season, contributing to a pleasant visit for the park's visitors.
    This activity helps in coexisting with the local community and serves as an opportunity to enhance the environmental awareness of the employees.

Sustainability