Kyowa Hakko Bio, member of the Kirin Group and the parent company of Kyowa Hakko USA, ahs published its first report detailing its impact on global health and sustainability.
 
The company models its business in a way to create shared value in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), through its biochemical technologies.
 
“Corporations have the unique opportunity to make significant impacts on environmental and social issues,” said Gerard Adams, president and CEO, Kyowa Hakko USA. “Kyowa Hakko Bio is consistently advancing CSV [creating shared value] initiatives to address environmental impacts and human rights through every stage of the value chain, and this report allows us to make these efforts accessible to the industries and consumers we serve.”
 
The 2023 CSV Progress Report details the company’s vision, environmental and activity policies, management, target goals, and progress to date regarding sustainability initiatives.
 
Details of the Report
 
In order to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emission by 2050, Kyowa Hakko Bio is shifting to energy-saving equipment, having recently shifted to high-efficiency boilers at the company’s U.S. site in 2020, which reduced annual gas consumption by 8%.
 
The company also aims to shift to 100% renewable energy across all operations by 2040, through Renewable Energy Certificates (I-REC) at its overseas facilities, and leasing unused land to large-scale solar power generation companies to contribute to spreading clean energy.
 
To save water, the company has installed water-saving equipment and implemented a cooling system for recycling and reusing water. The company has also set voluntary wastewater standards which are stricter than those required by regional regulations, and uses excess sludge for composting and other purposes at overseas facilities to contribute to waste reduction.
 
Kyowa Hakko has also set the target of achieving 100% use of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified or recycled paper for packaging materials by 2030, and four of its five sites have already accomplished this.
 
“Consumers are spending their money on brands that align with their personal values, and we’re proud to give sustainability-minded shoppers more confidence to purchase products made with Cognizin, Immuse, and other branded ingredients from Kyowa Hakko Bio,” said Karen Todd, vice president of global brand marketing.

Shortly after the publication of the report, Kyowa Hakko received a Silver sustainability rating from EcoVadis, an organization whcih provides ratings based on four themes of sustainability: environment; labor and human rights; ethics; and sustainable procurement. A Silver designation places Kyowa Hakko in the top 25% of all companies assessed by the organization.