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Sustainability Material Issue １ Promoting Environmental Initiatives for a Sustainable Planet
Reduce CO2 emissions throughout business activities.
Reduce CO2 emissions throughout product life cycles.
Achieve a CO2 emissions reduction effect in excess of Lion’s own emissions to help society become carbon negative.
Promote actively the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) and renewable activities.
| Indicators (2030) | Petrochemical-derived plastic use rate⇒70% or less |
|---|---|
| Progress (2022 results) |
97% (Japan) Rate of containers and other packaging using sustainable materials: 3.2% |
| Globally Common Measures to 2030 |
|
Reduce water usage throughout product life cycles
The Lion Group understands that the use of raw materials is the use of resources. We therefore work to reduce our use of raw materials by making product contents more compact, expanding our lineup of refill products and making containers lighter.
Raw Material Usage (Domestic Household Products)
The Lion Group is promoting a wide range of initiatives aimed at realizing a resource-circulating society. We aim to minimize the volume of resources used in business operations, collect resources after their use, and effectively reuse or otherwise employ those resources that retain utility in business operations.
To reduce container and packaging materials, Lion complies with the Lion eco-standard, which is designed to evaluate products over their entire life cycles by examining each life cycle stage, from raw material procurement to distribution and disposal. We are increasing the concentration of such products such as laundry detergents, fabric softeners and dishwashing detergents to make their containers more compact while using sophisticated design technology to make containers more lightweight.
In 2021, Lion’s total container and packaging material usage was around 57,100 tons, almost the same as the previous year.
Going forward, we will continue working to reduce container and packaging material usage through such means as making products more compact and developing innovative container structures.
Lion’s Container and Packaging Material Usage (Domestic Household Products)
＊Until fiscal 2021, only containers and packaging materials are taken into account; starting in fiscal 2022, some product plastics are as well.
Plastic bottles can be refilled and reused. Film packaging for refill packs can be produced using less material than product bottles, and because they weigh less and take up less space after use, they also help reduce household waste.
Going forward, we will work to minimize the use of plastic materials by both reducing and reusing.
Lion’s Use of Plastic for Packaging and Reduction Effects
Lion proactively uses recycled plastic in products and containers. Our dishwashing detergent bottles, liquid laundry detergent bottles and toothbrush blister packs are made with plastic recycled from disposable drink bottles and other sources.
| Type of plastic | Type of product | Product name | Parts using recycled plastic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) | Dishwashing detergent | CHARMY Magica, etc. | Bottle |
| Liquid laundry detergent | TOP SUPER NANOX | Bottle (including large sizes) | |
| Liquid laundry detergent,hand soaps, body soaps | TOP SUPER NANOX, KireiKirei hand soaps, Hadakara liquid body soaps |
Pop-up sticker | |
| Liquid clothing detergent | TOP Clear Liquid Antibacterial | Refill pouch | |
| Toothbrushes | NONIO,Systema Sonic Assist Brush,Clinica Advantage,etc. | Blister dome packaging | |
| Polyethylene | Fabric softener | OFLAN Aroma Rich | Bottle |
| Refill pack | |||
| Liquid laundry detergent | TOP SUPER NANOX For Odors | Refill pack |
As of May 31, 2023
Aiming to achieve a continuous cycle of plastic use in society, Lion is conducting pilot testing for the recycling of used products and containers and packaging in cooperation with household product manufacturers, recyclers, retailers and municipalities.
| Recyclable items | Activity name | Area | Main partners |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toothbrushes | Toothbrush recycling | Over 1,000 locations nationwide | TerraCycle |
| Joint municipal toothbrush recycling | Sumida-ku, Itabashi-ku and Taito-ku | ||
| Refill packs | RecyCreation | Ito-Yokado’s Hikifune Store Welcia Pharmacy stores (parts of Tokyo and Saitama) |
Kao Ito-Yokado Welcia Pharmacy Store Hamakyorex |
| Kobe Plastic Next: Joining Forces to Recycle Refill Packs | 75 stores and 3 other facilities in Kobe City |
Kobe City Household product manufacturers Retailers 18 recycling companies |
|
| Bottles and refill packs | “Getting healthy with the planet” JACDS Circular Economy Project (June–December 2022) | 31 locations in Yokohama City | Japan Association of Chain Drug Stores distribution companies 4 household product manufacturer |
| Bottles | Making New Bottles from Used Bottles Collaboration among consumers, local governments, and companies | Higashiyamato City, Komae City, Kunitachi City, Joso City | 4 household product manufacturers |
As of May 31, 2023
Promoting Circulation of Plastic Containers and Packaging Resources through Partnerships
Kao and Lion are reaching out beyond their corporate groups in an effort to recycle plastic refill containers and packaging (film packaging), aiming to realize a resource-circulating society.
To accelerate the adoption of recycling, building basic systems for resource collection and developing recycling technologies are indispensable. At the same time, it is necessary to change mindsets across society in cooperation with stakeholders, including consumers, with regard to, for example, sorting plastic packaging after product use.
To this end, we are conducting the following four activities.
Through the above activities, we are working to improve the economic efficiency of collection and recycling as a whole. First, we are launching collaborative RecyCreation* activities to sort and collect film packaging and raise awareness in cooperation with local residents. By doing so, we are sharing information about the technological hurdles to plastic film packaging recycling.
Going forward, we will advance RecyCreation activities. Furthermore, we are investigating ways to make containers more recyclable and developing technologies for the horizontal recycling of film packaging into new packaging with the aim of achieving a continuous cycle of plastic use.
These RecyCreation activities received the Selection Committee Chairman’s Commendation in the fiscal 2021 Good Practices of Consumer-Oriented Management Awards.
*“RecyCreation” denotes upcycling through which more enjoyable and improved products are developed and resulting in new value creation, rather than recycling materials for the purpose of reproducing the same types of materials. The concept of this initiative is “Throwing it away after use. We want to change this common practice.”
We have released a concept film presenting these initiatives
Youtube (Japanese)
In-store Collection of Used Refill Packs—Recycling Field Testing
RecyCreation activities are under way at Ito-Yokado’s Hikifune Store (Sumida-ku, Tokyo) and 31 Welcia Pharmacy stores with the aim of field testing the sorted collection of film packaging from used refill packs. Under this initiative, a special collection box has been installed at the store to collect customers’ used refill packaging for such products as laundry detergents and shampoos.
We have released a concept film of how to wash a used refill pack
YouTube (Japanese)
Demonstration of the Horizontal Recycling of Refill Packs
In 2020, Lion began partnered with Kao Corporation on a project aimed at realizing a resource-circulating society by plastic product packs, through which a portion of its used refill packs have been collected.
On May 29 2023, the collaboration launched a recycled plastic version of the XXL refill pack for Lion’s TOP SUPER NANOX For Odors,a highly concentrated liquid laundry detergent. The materials used to create the refill pack consisted in part of recycled materials from used refill packs that had been collected. (Limited quantities available.)
This packaging incorporates 9% recycled materials derived from factory waste and 1% derived from recycled consumer products.
Being a designated business operating under the Containers and Packaging Recycling Act, we contribute toward the cost of recycling not only our own goods but outside consignments. For the most recent status of operations under this system, please visit the Japan Containers and Packaging Recycling Association website.
The Japan Containers and Packaging Recycling Association [Japanese]
About the Toothbrush Recycling Program
Program participation is very easy and free.
Participants receive points according to the weight of the toothbrushes that they send. The points can be exchanged for plastic products produced through TerraCycle's recycling program or donated to a charity of the participant’s choice.
Toothbrush Recycling ProgramDomestic Group company Lion Pet Co., Ltd. is currently rolling out the Love Cats Love Earth Sakura Project, through which it donates cat litter boxes and cat litter sets to support people fostering rescue cats. The cat litter boxes are made from 10% recycled plastic from toothbrush recycling.
The containers and packaging for our powder laundry detergents and other products are made with recycled paper containing recycled pulp.
The containers and packaging of some Lion products are made with biomass plastic, made from such plant-based raw materials as corn and blackstrap molasses, a byproduct produced in the process of refining sugar from sugarcane.
| Type of plastic | Type of product | Product name | Parts using plant-based plastic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polyethelene terephthalate (PET) | Dental rinse | NONIO | Bottle |
| Body soap | Hadakaraliquid body soaps | Bottle | |
| Toothpaste | CLINICA Advantage NONIO, etc | Tube | |
| Polyethylene | Liquid laundry detergent | TOP SUPER NANOX | Refill pack |
| Laundry bleach | Bright STRONG Gel | ||
| Hand soap | KireiKirei Medicated Hand Conditioning Soap |
As of May 31, 2023
Lion’s four domestic plants all achieved zero waste emissions＊ in 2002. All of Lion’s operating sites,＊＊ including research institutes and offices, achieved zero waste emissions in 2017.
* Our definition：The waste recycling ratio is 99% or more, excluding recycling residues
** Chiba Plant, Odawara Plant, Osaka Plant, Akashi Plant, Hirai Office Site, Sapporo Office, Sendai Office, Headquarters/Tokyo Office, Nagoya Office, Osaka Office, Fukuoka Office, Lion Chemical Co., Ltd. Fine Chemical Production Site, Lion Chemical Co., Ltd. Oleochemical Production Site, Lion Specialty Chemicals Co., Ltd. Yokkaichi Plant, Lion Specialty Chemicals Co., Ltd. Ono Plant
Total Waste Generation
(Domestic)
Total Waste Consigned to Final Disposal in Landfills (Domestic)
Total Resources Recovered
(Domestic)
Total waste generation overseas in 2021 was down year on year as a result of initiatives to promote recycling. We will continue to advance initiatives to reduce waste going forward.
Total Waste Generation
(Overseas)
Total Waste Consigned to Final Disposal in Landfills (Overseas)
Total Resources Recovered
(Overseas)
All maintenance and management information for overseas consolidated subsidiaries is published (in Japanese only) in accordance with the Waste Disposal and Public Cleansing Act (Article 15-2-3, Paragraph 2).