Sustainability
Value Chain Management: Occupational Safety and Health
Basic Approach
The Mitsuboshi Belting Group recognizes people as the source of value for achieving sustainable growth. The Group regards protecting employee safety and health and maintaining and improving the systems that support them as one of its most important management issues. Under its Occupational Health and Safety Basic Policy, the Group implements initiatives that contribute to protecting and improving employee health and safety.
Management System
The Safety, Health and Environment Meeting is convened twice a year. It is chaired by the executive officer responsible for safety and the environment, and its members comprise all department general managers. The President and members of the Management Council review the implementation report compiled by the General Safety and Health Manager and use the results to review strategies, policies, and plans. The revised strategies, policies, and plans are communicated through the district general safety and health managers to the Safety and Health Committees, which serve as the main implementation bodies, and are translated into policies and plans for each workplace. The Committees monitor and evaluate implementation monthly, compile the results, and report them through the district general safety and health managers to the Company-wide General Safety and Health Manager.
In FY2025, to improve its occupational health and safety management system, the Group obtained ISO 45001 certification for five sites: Kobe Head Office / Kobe Plant R&D center, Shikoku Plant, Nagoya Plant, Ayabe Production System Development Center, and Seishin Plant. The Group will work to expand the scope of certification.
Strategy and Implementation Status
The Group identified the risks and opportunities that occupational safety and health may present to its business activities and used the results to formulate specific measures.. Its priority areas are thorough compliance with revised laws and regulations, prevention of occupational accidents through risk assessment, and maintenance and improvement of health examination and occupational accident management systems.
| Related item | Risk (▼) / opportunity (△) | Measures (initiatives / activities) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compliance with laws and regulations | △ | Improvement of corporate reliability through early response | Internal audits, legal and regulatory education and training, development of qualified personnel, and deployment of legal information such as legal revisions |
| ▼ | Damage to corporate value due to violations of laws and regulations or customer requirements | ||
| Occupational safety traffic safety |
△ | Stable production by securing safety, and synergistic effects from improved safety awareness | Risk assessment, KY activities, safety and health education, safety patrols, work environment measurement, capital investment in safety measures, and utilization of drive recorder data |
| ▼ | Decrease in workforce and decline in corporate value due to increases in occupational accidents and traffic accidents | ||
| Health management mental health |
△ | Enhancement and stability of labor vitality through maintenance of health | Health examinations (periodic health examinations, lifestyle-disease checkups, special health examinations, and comprehensive medical examinations), stress checks, occupational physician patrols, and interviews with occupational physicians |
| ▼ | Reduced workforce availability due to an increase in employees experiencing health issues | ||
| Disaster prevention and mitigation business maintenance and restoration |
△ | Business continuity and early recovery through early response, and improvement of corporate reliability | Evacuation drills, emergency evacuation drills using an app, capital investment in disaster prevention and mitigation, and promotion of all-hazards BCP |
| ▼ | Suspension of business activities and decline in corporate value due to insufficient emergency response | ||
Thorough Compliance Based on Revisions to Laws and Regulations
In response to new chemical substance regulations introduced through revisions to the Industrial Safety and Health Act, the Group is strengthening compliance and awareness by establishing a management system that includes the appointment of chemical substance managers and other responsible personnel.
Prevention of Disasters through Risk Assessment
Risk assessment is a fundamental method for preventing occupational accidents and ensuring employee safety. The Group identifies potential hazards and harmful factors at production sites and in other work environments and works to eliminate or reduce them. In addition to assessments conducted under annual plans, the Group conducts risk assessments when necessary, including when processes are changed, to prevent occupational accidents and diseases.
Traffic safety is also positioned as one important risk, and the Group continues initiatives to prevent accidents through strengthening risk management, monitoring through internal audits, and reviewing rules.
FY2025 activity targets:
・Zero occupational accidents
・Zero at-fault traffic accidents
Maintenance and Improvement of Health Examination Systems and Occupational Accident Management Systems
In addition to legally required periodic and special health examinations and stress checks, the Group works with the health insurance association to provide lifestyle-related disease examinations and other cancer screenings free of charge. Employees who meet the eligibility requirements may also receive comprehensive medical examinations, brain examinations, and cardiac examinations at the Company’s expense.
In FY2025, the Group achieved a 100% completion rate for legally required health examinations, and all applicants received the other examinations for which they applied.
| Item | Unit | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of lost-time injury victims | Persons | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Lost-time injury frequency rate | ー | 1.44 | 0.7 | 0 | 0 | 2.66 |
| Number of fatal accident victims | Persons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fatal accident frequency rate | ー | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Customer Health and Safety
The Group gives the highest priority to employee and customer health and safety and systematically promotes the following initiatives to reduce chemical substance risks and minimize environmental impacts.
- Thorough Chemical Substance Management
The Group has established “Chemical Substance Management Procedures,” which indicate specific implementation procedures. For chemical substances contained in products, work-in-process, raw materials, and auxiliary materials, the Group manages them based on domestic and overseas laws and regulations (Chemical Substances Control Act, RoHS, REACH, etc.), appropriately understands and evaluates usage status, and works to reduce environmental impact and ensure the safety and health of employees and customers.
The Group has standardized the process for collecting information from suppliers and established a mechanism that enables chemical substance risks to be appropriately managed from the procurement stage.
- Promotion of Green Procurement
Based on the Green Procurement Policy and the Green Procurement Implementation Guidelines, which set out specific implementation procedures, the Group promotes the adoption of materials that take environmental and occupational health and safety considerations into account. The Group also conducts second-party audits of suppliers as necessary, confirms the status of their environmental and safety initiatives, and promotes the development of a sustainable supply chain.
The “Green Procurement Standards” have been established as guidelines for suppliers, and specify concrete requirements, such as establishment of environmental management systems and provision of environmental information, and the Group works to disseminate them.
- Operation of SDS (Safety Data Sheet) System
For chemical substances handled by employees of the Group, SDS are properly prepared and managed, and information on hazards and handling precautions is shared internally so that employees can work safely. When new chemical substances are introduced, the Group conducts risk assessments based on SDS, formulates safe operation methods, and provides education.
For products, work-in-process, and raw materials provided by the Group, the Group has established the “Safety Data Sheet and Label Management Procedures” for the purpose of enabling customers to understand in advance the impacts on safety and health and the environment, to handle them appropriately, and to prevent accidents and disasters before they occur. The procedures define the scope of application and specific management methods and are operated throughout the Group.
- Ensuring Transparency through Disclosure of the List of Products Compliant with Environmentally Hazardous Substances
To enable customers to use the Company’s products with confidence, the Company publishes on its corporate website a List of Products Compliant with Environmentally Hazardous Substance Requirements, which summarizes the compliance status of chemical substances contained in its products. The Company updates the list as necessary in response to changes in laws and regulations and customer requirements.
The Company will continue these measures and contribute to a sustainable society by providing safe and reliable products while reducing environmental impacts.
Collaboration with External Organizations
The Company participates in the Japan Rubber Manufacturers Association, an industry organization, and acts as a member of the association’s Safety and Health Committee. In the committee, information is shared and opinions are exchanged on occupational safety and health issues common to the rubber product manufacturing industry, and studies are advanced toward disaster prevention measures and improvement of safety and health standards. Through participation in such cross-industry initiatives, the Company contributes to improving occupational safety and health not only in its own company but also in the entire industry.
