Taiheiyo Cement Corporation

No leading practices were identified for the company in the governance and strategy area

Resource exploitation and circularity
The company discloses its inputs, including its material footprint.

Solid and air pollution
The company reports some activities to reduce plastic use and waste in its own operations.

No leading practices were identified for the company in the social inclusion and community impact area

Sustainability strategy and accountability
Taiheiyo Cement discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability impacts as well as the outcome of this process, in relation to its sustainability strategy. While it discloses some targets, it does not disclose group-wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain. The company reports consistently against all its targets. No evidence was found that the company links performance criteria in senior executives’ remuneration policies to targets and objectives which cover nature, including biodiversity, and social issues. Finally, it does not disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise regarding nature-related topics.

Stakeholder engagement
Taiheiyo Cement discloses an overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities. The company does not disclose its process for engaging with stakeholder groups beyond its materiality assessment.

Lobbying
Taiheiyo Cement discloses a list of trade associations of which it is a member wherever it operates, however it does not disclose a clear and detailed framework for assessing alignment of its trade associations with nature-positive policies. Moreover, the company does not report potential misalignments between the lobbying activities of its trade associations and nature-positive policies.

Impact and dependencies assessment
While Taiheiyo Cement discloses it has conducted environmental assessments, it has not holistically assessed its impacts or how it depends on nature, including biodiversity. It has an opportunity to start such an assessment across its value chains, focused on quantification of its impacts or dependencies.

Key areas and species
The company does not disclose key species or areas important for biodiversity affected by its operations or suppliers. It has an opportunity to increase its transparency.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
No evidence was found regarding the company’s efforts to avoid ecosystem conversion, including deforestation, or promoting ecosystem restoration. The company has an opportunity to develop a strategy and publicly report on specific, time-bound targets.

Resource exploitation and circularity
Taiheiyo Cement does not report quantitatively on its group-wide circularity performance. The company does not disclose efforts to improve soil health.

Water
While Taiheiyo Cement discloses water withdrawal related information, the information disclosed shows an increasing trend. It does not disclose a time-bound target to reduce water withdrawal across its own operations. The company does not report how much water is withdrawn for its own operations in water-stressed areas. Moreover, it does not engage with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal. Taiheiyo Cement does not report a decrease in water pollution and discloses limited information regarding its water discharges. Furthermore it does not disclose its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality, report on water pollution, nor disclose targets to reduce water pollution. Taiheiyo Cement does not disclose a commitment to respect the right to water. The company does not disclose its processes for implementing preventive and corrective action plans for identified specific risks to the right to water and sanitation in its own operations.

Solid and air pollution
No evidence that Taiheiyo Cement is reducing the production of hazardous waste and plastic use and waste in its own operations was found. It does not report on the amount of plastic waste generated and proportions directed from or to disposal. Taiheiyo Cement commits to limiting its emissions of nitrogen and sulfur oxides and dust levels per tonne of clinker to the levels achieved in 2011, however it does not report on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants nor disclose targets to reduce air emissions across the most material parts of its value chain.

GHG emissions
While Taiheiyo Cement discloses its GHG emissions, it is unclear which scopes are covered by the disclosures and no further relevant evidence that the company discloses quantitative reductions in its emissions across all scopes was found. It has a specific emissions reduction target, but it is unclear what is comprised in the target and no further relevant information was found. The company has an opportunity to disclose a reduction target for its greenhouse gas emissions across all scopes, which is aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory and disclose progress towards it.

Invasive species
The company has not identified any activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive alien species in its own operations.

Safe, healthy, clean environment
The company does not disclose a commitment to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment or to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
The company does not disclose a commitment to respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights or land rights of local communities.

While Taiheiyo Cement discloses that it conducts due diligence in general, it has an opportunity to specify that it conducts human rights due diligence that includes a process for identifying human rights risks and impacts through its business relationships. It can also improve by describing a process for assessing the human rights risks it has identified and to disclose what it considers to be its salient human rights issues. A description of this process would include how relevant factors are considered, such as geographical, economic and social factors. No evidence was found that Taiheiyo Cement has a global system in place to act on, prevent or mitigate its salient human rights issues. No evidence that the company provides an example of the conclusions reached and actions taken or to be taken on at least one of its salient human rights issues as a result of assessment processes was found. While the company discloses the categories of stakeholders it engages with generally on sustainability issues, it is not clear if these stakeholders are those whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities. No evidence that the company provides examples of its engagement with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities was found.

While Taiheiyo Cement provides a statement expecting its suppliers to commit to respecting the health and safety of their workers, no evidence was found that it is a formal policy, approved and signed off by the highest governing body. It has an opportunity to disclose a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage or that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage and to describe how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates. The company has an opportunity to disclose the coverage of collective bargaining agreements and to describe how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in relation to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Taiheiyo Cement discloses a global tax strategy, but has an opportunity to disclose a policy on bribery and corruption and its processes for identifying and addressing bribery and corruption. The company does not disclose its approach to lobbying and political engagement in a public policy document.