Social Occupational Safety and Health

Policy and Basic Mindset

Basic Approach to Occupational Safety and Health Initiatives

The UBE Group strives to continue preventing occupational accidents by making operations inherently safe. The Group’s efforts are designed to foster a safety-driven corporate culture and to reduce risks by enhancing safety initiatives and making continuous improvements. In the area of occupational health, each business site establishes an occupational safety and health management system to maintain and improve corporate activities. The UBE Group also endeavors to ensure the mental and physical health of employees by improving lifestyle habits through health checkups and follow-up care as well as various measures such as mental health consultations.

Management System

We promote occupational safety and health activities under the Environment and Safety Promotion System as part of our responsible care activities.

Targets and Performance

Fiscal 2025 Target: Safety score of 280 or less

With a safety score of 346 in fiscal 2024 we did not achieve our target, so we will continue to promote occupational safety and health activities as we once again aim for a score of 280 or less.

• Number of Fatal and Lost Time Accidents among Domestic Operations

  

• Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate

  

Initiatives

Eliminating Major Occupational Accidents

We have undertaken a range of activities to prevent occupational accidents. In recent years, we have positioned eliminating major occupational accidents as a priority item. We are therefore particularly focused on preventing accidents involving serious injuries.

Specifically, we conduct risk assessments of work that is highly susceptible to serious accidents by taking the characteristics of each workplace into account. Any risk identified through these assessments is robustly addressed as we implement systematic risk reduction measures and endeavor to make operations inherently safe. Other priority items include collaborating closely with partner companies* in safety activities and providing education and training aimed at enhancing safety awareness in order to ensure that safety activities undertaken by partner companies are on par with those undertaken by the UBE Group. Furthermore, we investigate the causes of all incidents regardless of whether or not such events result in lost time. And, based on lessons learned from these incidents and the success of countermeasures implemented, we horizontally roll out amendments within the Group, striving to prevent similar incidents.

• *Partner companies: Including subcontractors like those who take on construction work.

Fostering a Safety-Driven Corporate Culture

The UBE Group upholds a fundamental rule of “Prioritize safety in everything we do” and considers fostering a safety-driven corporate culture as the basis for its safety activities. To this end, we have defined eight elements of such a culture. These are governance, commitment, resource management, work management, motivation, learning, awareness, and communication. In keeping with the findings of assessments based on headquarters’ evaluation standards, business sites identify issues and formulate and execute plans to cultivate a culture of safety as part of ongoing improvement efforts.

Preventing Exposure to Harmful Materials

New systems for regulating chemical materials have been introduced under the Industrial Safety and Health Law, prompting a need for autonomous management of chemical substances based on risk assessments. The UBE Group conducts exhaustive risk assessments for target materials and establishes measures to minimize exposure when handling high-risk materials to ensure that employees are always safe and comfortable in their workplaces.

Under the newest regulations, additions were made to the list of materials targeted for risk assessments in fiscal 2024, and these additions include some of the chemical materials we handle. Accordingly, we conducted additional risk assessments and for those materials clearly identified as high-risk, we evaluated operational reforms and are strengthening measures to prevent employee exposure.

Operational Environment Improvement Example—Sampling Operations for Concentrated Nitric Acid

• Before improvement

  

  Despite the installation of intake ports to catch exhaust fumes at locations where concentrated nitric acid is sampled, there was a risk of exposure due to misting.

• After improvement

  

  Covers were put in place over openings to help prevent misting.

UBE Group Safety and Health Rally

The UBE Group holds a safety and health rally every year. About 300 UBE Group officers and employees as well as business partners from across Japan participate, sharing information and fostering motivation. In addition, individuals and groups that have made particularly outstanding contributions to safety and health receive recognition from the company president. The event also features presentations from small safety groups on their experiences and special lectures from outside instructors about safety and health management, helping to raise safety awareness.

At the end of each rally, all participants, including officers, join together in reciting the Group’s safety pledge, renewing their commitment to eliminating accidents and improving work environments.

Occupational Safety and Health Council

This is a forum in which representatives of the Companywide union and UBE’s occupational safety and health officers gather to review annual occupational safety and health results and plans for the new fiscal year and discuss requests from both sides. Participants share prevailing issues and discuss ways to address them. We reflect forum results in the following year’s plans. Many major accidents have occurred among subcontractors. Labor representatives and management recognize the importance of coordinating better with those firms. Our annual plans accordingly include measures to foster safety activities with subcontractors.

Labor-Management Councils

Following Occupational Health and Safety Council discussions with Companywide union representatives, regional business sites convene gatherings to discuss local union and management requests.

Initiatives for Health Management

• Health management initiatives at UBE