European Environmental Managers Meeting in Roermond

The Environmental Managers of all European entities participated in this event to exchange and discuss recent environmental activities in their respective companies. The main goal of this meeting was the improvement of common knowledge and awareness as well as common problem solving techniques for environmental issues.

As an introduction to the issue, Manabu Okubo (Environmental Management Group) presented the “SEKISUI Environment Sustainability Vision 2030”, a long-term agenda that guides SEKISUI’s course of action for environmental management. SEKISUI Chemical Group’s activities aim for the realization of a planet on which biodiversity is preserved. The company pursues this ambition by returning natural resources (e.g. air, water, flora and fauna) through higher sales of environmentally sustainable products, by reducing environmental impact on ecosystems, and by preserving the natural environment. By presenting concrete figures concerning the consumption of water and CO₂ emissions the impact of the European companies to this global vision was pointed out. Ikuko Nozawa, also a member of the Environmental Management Group, presented the Environmental education programme, a special training with the aim of schooling employees who can support the group in achieving its long-term vision. Further important topics were presentations from each of the eight managers regarding their environmental activities, e.g. reduction of environmental risks, energy savings, or the reduction of waste. Those were followed by an expert’s presentation on the environment management system based on the ISO 14001:2015 certification. These insightful presentations were the start for an extensive discussion and exchange of ideas. This also presented a great opportunity to learn more about the affiliated companies and their business areas. On the second day, the participants experienced a guided tour through the production facilities of SEKISUI S-Lec, which focussed on environmental aspects like dealing with hazardous materials or the safety of employees. This tour provided a lot of different impressions that were discussed afterwards as well as potential areas for improvement.
The 1^st European Environmental Managers Meeting definitely promoted the environmental awareness of all participants. It confirmed the shared effort to continue the critical exchange about environmental challenges and to pursue the general idea of putting more emphasis on environment and sustainability issues within the European SEKISUI Group.