Grade summary

Last year, Sumitomo Chemical landed a 16th place on ChemScore. This year, the Japanese company ranks 48 on the list. Nine points less than in 2021, in large part due to a fatal incident last fall, makes Sumitomo Chemical the company with the steepest decline compared to last year. Even though 91 percent of the company’s chemical production is unknown to us – since it’s sold outside of EU and US markets, where there are generally no public records – we were still able to find eight hazardous substances in its product portfolio. The company markets sustainable products aimed at reducing plastic use. Several safer alternatives suited for independent third-party platforms such as ChemSec’s Marketplace could be identified, even though they are not marketed there. The use of recycled materials was also identified, but there is no mention about these materials being free from hazardous chemicals. In November of 2021, an employee was killed at the company’s Ehime plant. This means that Sumitomo Chemical plummets from six to zero points in the Lack of Controversies category.

How did we come to this score?

Opportunities for improvement

1. Increase transparency
   Only 9 percent of Sumitomo Chemical’s production of hazardous chemicals is known to us. We have requested that the company disclose information about its chemicals management, but the company has not responded to that request. In order to be more transparent, Sumitomo Chemical should disclose the full list of hazardous chemicals that it produces, including the volume of each of these chemicals as well as its percentage of the total revenue. It would also be wise to specify which chemicals are intended for end products and for intermediate use. Generally speaking, information about chemicals sold in EU and US markets is available through public records, which is not the case in other parts of the world. For that reason, Sumitomo Chemical should make the details of its revenue generated outside of these regions public to ensure chemical transparency and allow for a comprehensive global evaluation.
2. Market safer alternatives
   We did identify safer alternatives in Sumitomo Chemical 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 market these is ChemSec’s Marketplace, where buyers and suppliers can find and market safer alternatives.
3. Prevent further controversies
   Sumitomo Chemical has been involved in an incident leading to the death of an employee 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 Sumitomo Chemical 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.

Category breakdown