Shin-Etsu

Shin-Etsu Chemical is one of the largest chemical companies in Japan. The company produces and distributes synthetic resins and other chemical products such as fertilizers. Shin-Etsu also manufactures electronic materials such as semiconductor silicon and synthetic and rare earth quartz. Its US-based subsidiary – Shintech – is the world’s largest producer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

Total score

11 / 48

Grade Summary

Shin-Etsu Chemical produces 4 highly hazardous chemicals, including 1 persistent. This may not seem all that bad, compared to the other companies in the ranking, but it’s still a portfolio full of problematic substances. Also, there is no…

Product Portfolio

3 / 18

Shin-Etsu Chemical produces/uses 4 highly hazardous substances – 4 SIN List chemicals, 1 PIC, and 1 HHP – 3 of which are included on the EU’s REACH Candidate List. 1 of these highly hazardous substances is either banned or severely restricted, with set dates when production needs to cease (1 Authorisation List substances, no POPs). The company produces 1 persistent chemical. Persistent chemicals are particularly problematic, since they do not break down, but instead accumulate in humans and the environment. Because of this, persistent chemicals should be of extra concern for investors; substances that are not considered a problem today could become huge liabilities in the future.

Please note that there is no available data for the 67 percent of the company’s production that takes place outside of the EU and US. Lower EU/US production means higher uncertainty with regard to the total production of hazardous chemicals, which will have a negative impact on the company’s score in this category.

Development of Safer Chemicals

3 / 12

Shin-Etsu Chemical has a method in place to screen and assess the sustainability of its products, but does not include the intrinsic hazards of ingredients in the screening process. Neither does it exclude substances with toxic properties from its new products. Shin-Etsu Chemicals actively markets safer alternatives on its own website, but not on ChemSec Marketplace. The company does not have any true circular products, processes or innovations. Shin-Etsu Chemicals does not use bio-based resources. Nor does it source or treat recycled materials in a sustainable way, which is one of the key elements of a circular economy. Shin-Etsu Chemicals is, however, actively reducing the hazardous waste it generates.

Management & Transparency

2 / 12

The Japanese company does not produce only sustainable products and it does not have a timed phase-out strategy for hazardous substances that go beyond regulatory compliance. It shares chemical safety information on its website and is following a credible code of conduct standard. Shin-Etsu Chemical did not respond to ChemSec’s attempts to communicate around its ChemScore ranking and it does not share any information about what kind of chemicals it produces in regions with low regulatory demands for transparency (e.g. Asia). Shin-Etsu Chemical does not have a circular economy program in place, and it is lacking objective and measurable circular economy targets.