Safety in Logistics
Goals and Achievements of Major Initiatives
Reduce CO2 emissions attributable to logistics.
| Scope of target | Japan |
|---|---|
| Goal for fiscal year 2023 | Reduce CO2 emissions attributable to logistics by 1.23% from fiscal year 2022. |
| Achievements in fiscal year 2023 |
|
| Evaluation | ★★★ ★★★ |
| Goal for fiscal year 2024 | Reduce CO2 emissions attributable to logistics by 1.23% from fiscal year 2023. |
- Evaluations are based on self-evaluations of current progress.
Key: ★★★ = Excellent; ★★ = Satisfactory; ★ = Still needs work
Basic Approach
The DIC Group works with logistics partners to minimize risks, including by supplying information needed for the safe shipping and transport of chemicals.
Policies and Organization
Having positioned the reduction of CO2 emissions attributable to the transport of its products as a key aspect of its commitment to promoting Responsible Care, the DIC Group sets annual targets and promotes relative initiatives on an ongoing basis. DIC’s logistics configuration—components of which include transport between production facilities, the transport of products to customers and international logistics—previously centered on a dedicated subsidiary, established in 1999, which operated under the direct supervision of DIC. In a bid to rationalize and increase the efficiency of logistics, in 2011 DIC transferred this subsidiary to a logistics partner—a third-party logistics (3PL) firm*1—and began to outsource its logistics. Since then, the Group has worked closely with this and other logistics partners to improve the safety of, and reduce CO2 emissions attributable to, its logistics activities. To respond better to social imperatives associated with the transport of chemicals over the medium to long term, in January 2016 DIC combined the logistics components of its various departments to create a single Logistics Department with the goal of strengthening logistics management functions that had previously been spread across multiple departments.
The Logistics Department advances initiatives to enhance the safety and reduce the environmental impact of the DIC Group’s logistics. The department consists of the Domestic Planning Group, which devises strategies to optimize logistics in Japan and across Asia, and the Overseas Planning & International Trade Administration Group, which is charged with capitalizing on export controls and free trade agreements (FTAs)*2 in line with the Foreign Exchange Law and implements measures to reduce import–export costs,.
- 3PL firms provide partial or complete outsourced logistics services.
- FTAs are agreements between two or more countries or customs territories to eliminate import taxes, import quotas and other trade barriers for a set period of time, thereby encouraging trade.
Reducing Environmental Impact and Addressing the 2024 Issue
Japan’s logistics industry continues to contend with a shortage of drivers, owing to the growing popularity of e-commerce and restrictions on drivers’ working hours resulting from a legal amendment dubbed the “2024 issue.” In addition, the Japanese government’s target for achieving a 46% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by fiscal year 2030, announced in April 2021, obliged companies to step up efforts to lower the burden of logistics activities on the environment.
Against this backdrop, DIC continues to promote modal shift in the transport of its products in Japan with the aim of curtailing drivers’ working hours and reducing environmental impact. In fiscal year 2023, the Company promoted a variety of initiatives, including increasing transport using a combination of truck, rail and ship, making use of larger trucks and improving loading efficiency, as a result of which it achieved an 8% decline in both energy consumption and CO2 emissions attributable to logistics. DIC is also proceeding with the implementation of initiatives in line with logistics guidelines* established by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
DIC Group companies in other countries and territories also continue to actively advance the use of returnable pallets and other initiatives to lower the environmental impact of their logistics activities.
- Formulated by the Japanese government and announced in June 2023, these are guidelines for initiatives by shippers and logistics service providers for optimizing shipping and improving productivity, thereby shortening waiting and handling times and bolstering the efficiency of commercial activity.
Collaborating with logistics partners to improve loading efficiency
Safety in Logistics
Safety Management Initiatives
The firms to which the DIC Group outsources logistics use containers that comply with the Fire Service Act and other transportation laws, as well as with related UN standards. The Group supplies information needed to display labels complying with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) as well as provides safety data sheets (SDSs) and other documentation to ensure safe shipping whether in Japan or overseas. The Group also shares information on the transport of products requiring UN numbers (i.e., hazardous substances) by sea and air to facilitate the sharing of information, including alerts.
In Japan, the Logistics Department cooperates with logistics partners, meeting regularly to discuss measures for improving the safety of both loading and transport work. In particular, logistics quality issues that inconvenience customers such as leaks, undelivered cargo and delivery errors are designated as incidents for priority attention and decisive steps are taken to improve performance, notably by confirming targets, incident number, causes and preventative measures. Other ongoing efforts include initiatives aimed at preventing the recurrence of past accidents and regular logistics safety campaigns. Members of DIC Group site health and safety committees also participate in each other’s meetings, as well as meetings of logistics partners’ site general managers, with the objective of ensuring safe site operations. The Logistics Department also inspects the offices of logistics partners located onsite at its main domestic production facilities. In fiscal year 2023, issues were pointed out at three of these offices, after which improvements were confirmed. In addition, to ensure effective responses to emergencies during transport, DIC requires transport personnel to carry Yellow Cards,* making it possible to prevent the spread of damage in the event of an accident.
- Yellow Cards are part of activities recommended by the JCIA. These cards contain information about the correct actions to take if an accident occurs. They provide contact details to ensure proper responses by transportation companies, firefighters and police officers if an accident occurs during the transport of chemical substances. Transport personnel must carry these cards at all times.
Regular meeting with a logistics partner
Yellow Cards carried by transport personnel
TOPICS
Hybrid Meeting Format Takes Firm Root
DIC has adopted a hybrid format for its meetings with 3PL firms that enables participation either remotely or in person. This format has since taken firm root. In safety training, the Company used photographs and videos to encourage intuitive understanding and allow the horizontal sharing of case studies. These efforts contributed to a 3% decline in the frequency of accidents in fiscal year 2023.
Online meeting with a 3PL firm
VOICE
We are promoting logistics practices underpinned by an awareness of sustainability and BCPs.
The operating environment for logistics services is constantly in a state of flux. Issues faced in fiscal year 2023 included geopolitical risks arising from the Red Sea crisis, low water levels in the Panama Canal caused by global warming, and in Japan, the need to address the 2024 issue and the push to advance the White Logistics movement. In this environment, the Logistics Department remains keenly aware of the importance of grappling earnestly with such issues and recognizes that promoting logistics underpinned by an awareness of DIC’s BCPs is the only way to ensure the stable transport of our products. To this end, we will adopt unconventional approaches to overcoming challenges and will continue working, through our everyday actions, to contribute to the realization of sustainability.
General Manager, Logistics Department, DIC Corporation Kenichi Tsuruta
