Water Resource Conservation

Part of the NGK Group Environmental Vision is contributing to the establishment of a recycling-oriented society, and the NGK Group is promoting resource recycling in our business. We believe that promoting efficient utilization of the water needed for manufacturing in our primary business of ceramics can help to reduce the burden on the global environment. Moving forward, we will expand this to our supply chain and endeavor to further improve the efficiency of water utilization and reduce water risks.

Targets and Achievements

Under the fifth 5-Year Environmental Action Plan which started in FY2021, we set water withdrawal per unit of sales for the entire Group as an indicator. We set a target of maintaining a level of 1,000 m³/100 million yen per unit of sales, which was the level in FY2019 before the drop in production due to impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. In FY2024, we achieved this target at 650 m³/100 million yen. In FY2025, we will continue to maintain the FY2019 level of water withdrawal per unit of sales, and will also promote efforts to achieve an even lower level.

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Handling and Risk Management of Water Resources

The NGK Group strives for efficient utilization of water and management of risks related to water resources from the perspective of sustainability.
We are investigating water risks and environmental impacts at each of our locations, using the LEAP (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare) approach recommended by the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
In FY2024, there were no major violations of standards or regulations related to wastewater quality at any NGK Group locations in or outside of Japan.

Evaluation of Water Risks

With regards to all production sites both in and outside Japan, we use simple methods to assess the degree of water shortage at each site based on the amount of water supplied by rivers in the region where it is located. Meanwhile, we commission a detailed third-party analysis focusing on our overseas sites. In its assessment of water supply and demand risks, this detailed analysis forecasts future water supply and demand by evaluating water stress^*, aquifer stress, seasonal variations in the volume of water supply, and the water storage capacity of dams. Aside from this, it also analyzes water disaster risks (floods and landslides) and water quality risks (sanitation and ecology), to provide a comprehensive risk assessment.
These efforts have enabled us to ascertain the water risks at all overseas production sites, and share this information with each site.
None of the sites currently faces serious water risks, but we continue to keep an eye on regulatory trends, and are working to improve water utilization efficiency as necessary.
We also use the analysis tool Aqueduct to assess water risks for our main suppliers with the goal of strengthening water risk management in our supply chain.
In addition, some of our sites in Asia, Europe, and North America are located in watersheds at risk for high water stress, and the volume of water withdrawal in these areas in FY2024 was 1,260,000 m³. This is roughly 31% of the water withdrawal of the entire NGK Group.

Number of Overseas Production Sites in Regions with Latent Water Risks

Water stress: A state in which demand for water is putting pressure on supply. Here we use the ratio of water withdrawal to water supply as an indicator to assess water stress.

Efficiency of Water Utilization at Group Companies

We created guidelines aimed at optimizing water use (implementation status checklist), and conduct current situation surveys which utilize them. Hereafter, we will work to flesh out these guidelines using the results of case research at each Group site, as well as other companies, and promote more efficient water use at each of our sites.

Utilization of Reclaimed Water at NGK CERAMIC DEVICE (NCDK)

The production process for bonded wafers for SAW filters, manufactured by our NCDK Komaki Plant, consumes large quantities of water. So we installed a system to utilize water reclaimed by filtration through ceramic membranes, and began using it in 2022. Adoption of this system has allowed us to supply approximately 28,000 m³ of reclaimed water, out of our approximately 150,000 m³ of water withdrawal during FY2024. Meanwhile, we have introduced an even higher capacity system at the NCDK Fujiyoshida Plant, which uses the same process. So, we are promoting more efficient water use even in Japan, where water supply and demand risks are comparatively low.

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