Founding spirit drives Suntory’s environmental efforts

Under its corporate mission, “To Create Harmony with People and Nature,” the Suntory Group has worked to address issues facing our society, including climate change and environmental problems. In 2019, the group established the “Suntory Group Sustainability Vision,” which showcased, to the Japanese as well as the global community, the group’s efforts to help conserve water resources, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, conserve the global environment and protect human rights in supply chains, as well as contribute to spiritually rich and healthy lives of people. It calls on countries, companies, nongovernmental and nonprofit organizations, educational institutions and consumers to work together toward the goal of solving issues faced by society on a global scale.

In an initiative for increasing water resources, the company in 2003 launched the “Natural Water Sanctuary” project aimed at enhancing the replenishment of water in the ground. It was active in Tokyo and 14 other prefectures across Japan as of June 2020. It had a target of cultivating water that totaled at least twice as much as the groundwater used by the company’s domestic plants. The target was achieved in 2019, a year ahead of the deadline. For Suntory, which publicly pledges “Mizu to Ikiru” (“Living with Water”) as the group’s promise to stakeholders, water is key to its corporate activity. Niinami said, “In order for us to make beverages, we need to not just take water from nature but also protect and nurture water resources and pass them on to the next generation.” Suntory also undertakes this activity at its overseas operations and aims to expand it further.

In addition to efforts to enhance the cultivation of water in the ground, Suntory’s water-related efforts, which are known internationally, include measures to save and recycle water at its plants, nature and water education programs for children, and efforts to conserve and regenerate the natural environment. In December 2020, Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd. earned the highest rating of “A” in a water security survey by CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) for the fifth consecutive year. The subsidiary earned the same rating in CDP’s climate change program, which recognizes excellence in environmental conservation activities.

In measures to address climate change, Suntory announced an “Environmental Vision toward 2050” under which it aims to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions to net zero across its whole value chain. Working with stakeholders, Suntory undertakes initiatives such as the introduction of energy-saving technologies, the active use of renewable energy and the use of next-generation infrastructure.

In 2019, it established the “Suntory Group Plastic Policy,” which aims to switch all PET bottles used by Suntory’s global operations to recycled or plant-based materials by the end of 2030, making all of them sustainable. According to Niinami, Japan leads the world in the system for collecting used plastic and the technology for recycling most of it, thanks to the private sector’s role in leading the efforts to develop such a system and technology. He says that what needs to be done next is to develop a system to recycle the waste plastics that have so far been used as a heat source.

But there are issues confronting such an endeavor. One is the huge costs of developing and introducing the necessary technologies, which are expected to progress going forward. In order to recover the costs, instead of just passing them on to consumers, Niinami says, beverage companies need to not just cooperate with rivals but must unite all available resources in the industry, including its supply chains, to achieve technological innovation and reduce costs as well as increase processing capacity. He adds that cooperation by citizens and the support by the government are also necessary. There are in addition urgent needs to reduce the use of virgin plastic and to develop technologies to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide discharged in the recycling process.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the economy and our lives, but it also has created an opportunity for people to realize the usefulness of plastics in preventing infection and for medical treatment. “People used to think plastics must be eliminated because they are ‘evil,’ but such thinking has undergone a significant change,” Niinami said. “They now think plastics should be recycled.”