Mitsui Chemicals

Grade summary

Mitsui Chemicals scores three points less than last year, dropping in the ranking from place 15 to 27. Only 13 percent of the company’s production is sold in the European Union or the United States, where information is available in public records. Based on this data, two hazardous substances have been identified. Mitsui Chemicals scores a decent eight points in the Development of Safer Chemicals category. The company has programs in place to assess the environmental impact and hazards of its products and states that it systematically reduces the use of chemicals of concern. It markets its own brands of sustainable products (Blue and Rose Value) and participates in interesting collaborative projects to develop circular products. The company has targets for waste recycling, but they are not timebound or measurable and therefore not awarded a point in the Management & Transparency category. Neither does Mitsui Chemicals receive any points in the Lack of Controversies category, due to its history of incidents – including a fatal accident in 2021.

How did we come to this score?

Opportunities for improvement

1. Market safer alternatives
   We did identify safer alternatives in Mitsui Chemicals’ product portfolio, but these are not marketed on any independent third-party platform. Therefore, they are hard to find for downstream users looking to substitute hazardous chemicals. A good place to advertise is ChemSec’s Marketplace, where buyers and suppliers can find and market safer alternatives.
2. Prevent further controversies
   Mitsui Chemicals has been involved in incidents leading to fatalities and should re-design or dramatically improve its Environment, Health and Safety strategy. This would help the company to better avoid incidents and make sure that controls – functioning even when human errors occur – are in place. If an accident or spill should happen, it is important that Mitsui Chemicals identifies the cause and publishes a document on strategies that will be implemented to avoid similar occurrences in the future. It is possible to prevent human suffering and environmental pollution when producing chemicals, but it requires a thorough Environment, Health and Safety system.
3. Increase circularity
   The chemical industry finds itself at the beginning of the value chain. Therefore, it has a responsibility to act fast and ambitiously against the ever-growing scarcity of our planet’s resources. Mitsui Chemicals has good ambitions for circular products and processes. To ensure that investors can accurately assess the progress of these ambitions, the company should identify and present the percentage of its total revenue stemming from these sources. It should also develop and present a time-bound strategy with clear indicators on how to make its production more circular.

Category breakdown