Kuraray : Report 2024（10,653KB）

Kuraray Report

2024

For Fiscal 2023, Ended December 31, 2023

For people and the planet-

to achieve what no one else can.

Kuraray Report 2024

About the Publication of Kuraray Report 2024

Seeking to Further Dialogue and Deepen Trust with Stakeholders

Since 2018, the Kuraray Group has issued the Kuraray Report so that all stakeholders, including shareholders and investors, can gain a deeper understanding of our efforts toward value creation over the medium to long term.

We are currently implementing the Medium-Term Management Plan "PASSION 2026," extending from 2022 until 2026, which marks our 100th anniversary. Kuraray Report 2024 reports on the progress, results, and issues of the three challenges set out in "PASSION 2026" and explains how we are working to fulfill our social responsibilities through business.

We will continue to pursue constructive dialogue with all of our stakeholders, using the Kuraray Report as one of our engagement tools. We look forward to hearing feedback from readers of this report.

Editorial Policy

The Kuraray Report compiles financial and ESG-relatednon-financial information regarding the Kuraray Group's efforts to create sustainable value.

In compiling the report, we referred to the International Integrated Reporting Framework of the IFRS Foundation and the Guidance for Collaborative Value Creation from the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The report also uses the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards as a reference. A comparison between them is shown on our website.

GRI Standards Content Index

• All financial data is on a consolidated basis.
• Financial data (results) expressed in billions of yen are rounded to the nearest hundred million yen.
• Forecasts and outlooks are based on assumptions and suppositions regarding the future operating environment and economic conditions at the time of publication, which may differ from actual results.

Reporting Period

January 1 to December 31, 2023

• Some information from after January 2024 is included.
• Please note that the "2024" in the title refers to the year this report was published.

Scope of the Report

02

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Approach to Disclosure

Kuraray Report (integrated report)

Puts priority on key financial and non-financial information related to the Kuraray Group's sustainable value creation. Please see the website for a wider range of more comprehensive information and detailed data.

Website

			Offers general information about the
			Kuraray Group, including corporate
			information, products and services,
			R&D, IR activities and finance,
			sustainability, recruitment
			information, and news releases.
	Investor Relations		Sustainability Website
	Offers information on management	Offers information on material
	policy, the Medium-Term Management	issues, our Sustainability
	Plan, various briefing materials, and	Medium-Term Plan, and
	performance-related data.		sustainability-related data.
Corporate Reporting
	Announcement of	Kuraray Report	Corporate
	Financial Results	(financial section)	Governance
	Management	Fact Book	Report

Briefings

Kuraray Co., Ltd. and the Kuraray Group companies

Message from the Manager in Charge of DX Talent Development, Comment from a DX Gold-ClassStudent

Kuraray Report 2024

Contents

03

Kuraray Group Businesses

04At a Glance

05Products with top market share worldwide and products that contribute to the natural and living environments

06Global Portfolio

"For People and the Planet"

07Top Statement

12Our Origins

13A History of Addressing Social Issues

15Our Challenges

16Creating New Value

	Key Points of Kuraray Report 2024
Point 1	Spells out our vision for the next generation,
guided by the challenges we face
Point 2	Clarifies the relationship between efforts
to create value and strengthen capital
	grounded in Our Mission

Asserts the certainty of achieving

Point 3 our goals for fiscal 2026 through ROIC management

P.07, P.16, P.17

P.20, P.21, P.26

P.24, P.48

17Challenges for a Future Vision

Toward Realizing the Vision

20Value Creation Process

21Working to Strengthen Capital

22Roadmap for the Vision

24Building a More Sophisticated Business Portfolio

26Visualizing and Quantifying Social and Environmental Value

Three Challenges

28Our Challenges 1  Sustainability as an Opportunity

29- Planet

31- Product

33- People

36Message from General Manager in Charge of Global HR 37Our Challenges 2  Innovations Starting from Networking

41Dialogue with the General Manager of the Innovation Network Center and the General Manager of the Research and Development Division

44Our Challenges 3  Transformation of People and Organization 47

Business and Growth Strategies

48Message from the Officer in Charge of Finance 51Strategies by Segment

51- Vinyl Acetate

52- Isoprene

53- Functional Materials

54- Fibers and Textiles

55- Trading

Management Foundation

56Message from the Chairman of the Board of Directors 57Corporate Governance

61Executives

64Risk Management and Compliance

66Message from an Outside Director

Corporate Data

67Corporate Overview, Stock Information, Inclusion in ESG Indexes 68Financial and Non-Financial Highlights

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At a Glance(As of December 31, 2023)

Established		Employees
	(Consolidated)

1926 11,906

(Ratio of overseas employees: 41.7%)

Capital	Net sales
(Consolidated)

Bases

101companies in 32countries and regions

around the world

(Production bases: 9 bases in Japan, 46 bases outside Japan)

Operating income	Overseas
(Consolidated)	sales ratio

	¥89billion	¥780.9billion	¥75.5billion	79%
					(Operating income ratio: 9.7%)
Business Segments of the Kuraray Group
	Vinyl Acetate			Fibers and Textiles			Others*
	We manufacture and sell materials ranging from PVOH resin	We manufacture and sell KURALON™ PVA fiber, which is mainly
	Trading 6%
	offering properties such as water solubility and high adhesiveness;	used in reinforcing cement building materials and in automotive
	materials for LCD display applications; PVOH film used in soluble	components; CLARINO™ man-made leather, which has a structure	Fibers and 7%
	unit dose system for detergent and other products; PVB film used	and functionality similar to natural leather; VECTRAN™ liquid
	as an interlayer for safety glass; to EVAL™ EVOH resin that offers	crystal polymer fiber, mainly used as an industrial material due to	Textiles
	excellent gas barrier properties.			characteristics such as high strength and low water absorption;	7%	Net sales
	Isoprene			KURAFLEX™ nonwoven fabrics which are used as household and		Vinyl Acetate
			industrial products; and MAGIC TAPE™ hook-and-loop fastener.		composition	49%
	We manufacture and sell isoprene chemical products made with
	a synthesizing method as well as SEPTON™ thermoplastic elasto-	Trading			ratio
	mer and GENESTAR™ heat-resistant polyamide resin, which are		Functional
	derivatives of isoprene chemical products.			In addition to the manufacture and sale of polyester and other	Materials	by segment
	Functional Materials			fiber and textile products, we sell Kuraray Group products in	23%
			Japan and other parts of Asia.
	We manufacture and sell methacrylic resin that offers excellent
	transparency and weatherability, dental materials enabling resto-	* Others indicates business segments not included in the reportable		Isoprene
	rations that closely resemble natural teeth, activated carbon
	segments, including the engineering business.		8%
	whose high adsorption performance is used to purify air and water,
	and water treatment equipment.

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Products with top market share worldwide and

products that contribute to the natural and living environments

At Kuraray, we use our unique technical strengths to create products that the world has never seen before. Starting with the world's first commercialization of PVA fiber, we moved on to produce PVOH resin which is a raw material of PVA fiber; optical-use poval film, which is essential to liquid crystal displays; EVAL™ EVOH resin, which features excellent gas barrier properties; and a lineup of various commercialized chemical products that use the world's only synthetic isoprene monomers as materials. Sales of products with the highest*1 global market share that we have created using our unique technologies accounted for 61% of the Kuraray Group's total sales in 2023.

We are working to expand the lineup of these products, many of which also contribute to the Kuraray Group's mission of improving the natural and living environments, helping to bring about a sustainable society.

*1 Based on in-house research

Proportion of sales of products with	Sales ratio of products that contribute
top market share worldwide		to the natural and living environments
						Products that contribute to the natural environment
			Top market			Products that contribute to the living environment
		Others			Others

share

worldwide

			%				%	%	%	%
		%			%
				%	%
	%				%		%
%				%	%	%
				(FY)						(FY)
										P.31

Products with Top Market Share Worldwide

PVOH resin (excluding China)	Optical-use poval film	Water-soluble PVOH film	EVAL™ EVOH resin	SentryGlas™
			(ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer)	ionomer sheet for structural glazing*2

Isoprene chemicals	GENESTAR™	Activated carbon	KURALON™, KURALON K-II™	VECTRAN™
	heat-resistant polyamide resin		PVA fiber	liquid crystal polymer fiber

*2 In the high performance structural and stiff interlayer for the architectural glazing market

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Global Portfolio

Main Group Locations

The Kuraray Group has expanded its businesses globally under a principle of making and selling products in the best-situated regions. Our overseas network now includes 101 companies in 32 countries and regions, and sales outside Japan account for 79% of total sales. Going forward, we will continue to strengthen the global production and sales networks to meet the needs of countries and regions worldwide.

China

11 companies, 5 production bases

●

●

Net sales

●●● ●

¥105.2 billion

Japan

●

● ●

Sales ratio

23 companies, 9 production bases

●

●

●

●●

13.5%

- 2024 Kurashiki

●●● ●

●

●

Optical-use poval film production line

●

Net sales

went into operation

● ●

Net sales

- 2025 Saijo

●●

¥166.8 billion

Plan to start operation of VECTRAN™

●

●

¥171.3 billion

●

liquid crystal polymer fiber production line

●

●

●

Sales ratio

- 2026 Miyoshi

●

Sales ratio

Net sales

●

21.4%

Plan to start operation of inorganic

21.9%

●

dental material production facilities

●

¥204.9 billion

●●

Sales ratio

●

United States

26.2%

10 companies, 19 production bases

●

Sales Ratio

- 2024

Vinyl Acetate

Net sales

Started operation of

Isoprene

virgin activated carbon

¥84.2 billion

Functional Materials

production line

●

- 2026

Europe

Sales ratio

Fibers and Textiles

Plan to expand

32 companies, 16 production bases

10.8%

Net sales

Trading

production capacity for

Others

EVAL™ EVOH resin

- 2022 Belgium

¥48.5 billion

●

●

Started operation of reactivated

Asia

carbon production line

Sales ratio

- 2024 Poland

14 companies, 5 production bases

6.2%

Started operation of new plant for

Other regions

- 2023 Thailand

water-soluble PVOH film

- 2024 Belgium

Isoprene plant production site went into operation

11 companies, 1 production base

Plan to expand production capacity

- 2026 Singapore

for EVAL™ EVOH resin

Plan to start operation of new plant for EVAL™ EVOH resin

* Net sales by region for fiscal 2023 are classified by country or region based on

Group Network  Head Office | 9 Production bases | 2 Laboratories  Regional sales locations  Plants  Laboratories  Other sales locations customer location.

* Timelines for each region include trends in capital investment and M&A during the period of the Medium-Term Management Plan "PASSION 2026." (As of April 2024)

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Top Statement

President and

Representative Director

Aiming to be a company that seizes upon opportunities for change, transforms itself, and tackles issues facing society in the next generation: "For people and the planet."

Embracing challenges is essential for a company to evolve and grow

Since its founding in 1926, the Kuraray Group has strived both to achieve business growth and contribute to society. Our first President, Magosaburo Ohara, and our second President, Soichiro Ohara, through their ingenuity and hard work surmounted technical challenges to provide value to society. At the same time, stressing the importance of the Company's social responsibilities, they focused on addressing a variety of social issues, including labor and environmental issues.

This conviction has been passed down to the present day, as expressed in Our Mission: "We are committed to developing new fields of business using pioneering technology that improves the environment and enhances the quality of life throughout the world. 'For people and the planet-to achieve what no one else can.'"

The business of the Kuraray Group is manufacturing, centered on specialty chemical products created using our proprietary technology. Fulfilling Our Mission through our business activities requires us to generate innovation in step with the changing times. It is vital to maintain the outlook and the drive to embrace challenges without fear of small failures.

From the outset, the Kuraray Group has had an uninhibited, open-minded corporate culture. As the business has grown, though, a somewhat conservative mindset has begun to take root alongside that culture. It's wonderful to think things through carefully and take action to minimize risk, but in an era that changes moment by moment, such an approach alone cannot be expected to lead to significant new growth for the Company.

In implementing the Medium-Term Management Plan "PASSION 2026," a critical element will be collaboration across the Group, which calls for actions that transcend existing frameworks. Nothing changes overnight, but I sense that the mindset of our employees is gradually moving toward a greater openness to taking on challenges. While capitalizing on Kuraray's capacity for considering things carefully before acting, we will pursue a further shift in the mindset of all our employees, which will guide us in becoming a company that seizes upon changes in society as opportunities and responds agilely, while pursuing its own transformation as it continuously evolves and grows.

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Developing a growth strategy highly attuned to developments in the market

Looking at business performance in 2023, demand was down in the second half of the year and sales volume was sluggish in many of our businesses, yielding a decline in operating income. Market conditions are cyclical, however, we are sure to see a rebound in demand at some point. The important thing is to develop a growth strategy that takes into account the timing of such a rebound in demand and the future vision for the Group.

I try to consider the situation of each of our businesses by grouping them mainly into these categories: 1. businesses and products likely to see a return in demand that hold the promise of growth;

2. businesses and products likely to see a return in demand but that face difficulties in generating profits due to structural problems in the business area or industry; and 3. businesses and products that are seeing waning demand.

We expect a turnaround in demand in the Vinyl Acetate business, a mainstay segment, in the second half of 2024. To this end, we made various investments in growth. Among them, we started operations at our new water-soluble PVOH film plant in Poland in the first quarter of fiscal 2024. We also started operations at our new optical-use poval film production line at the Kurashiki Plant in the second quarter, ahead of schedule. By steadily tapping into demand, we aim to achieve the plan set out in "PASSION 2026" while also moving to start expanding at a pace that exceeds the plan.

In the activated carbon business of the Functional Materials segment, moves to tighten per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) regulations, currently under discussion in the United States, are expected to gradually spread to Europe, Japan, and Asia.

Anticipating this, we will develop and execute a clear blueprint for growth, including capital investment as well as acquisitions and other business expansion.

We will take a similar approach to the dental materials area of the medical business, where we expect growing demand over the longer term.

The isoprene segment sees highly cyclical demand for GENESTAR™ heat-resistant polyamide resin and isoprene chemicals, and we anticipate ongoing adverse market conditions for the time being. However, we expect demand for GENESTAR™ to expand in the future in line with the shift to electric vehicles. Although the isoprene chemicals business has been hard hit by the current downturn in construction demand in China, we plan to steadily tap into rebounding demand. Meanwhile, in the elastomers business, we will move forward with a strategy of adding further value.

Building a more sophisticated business portfolio that informs concrete business restructuring strategies

We evaluate our businesses using the two axes of social and environmental value and economic value, and consider market growth as we seek to build a more sophisticated portfolio. We assess social and environmental value using two indicators: the Kuraray PSA system, based on the Portfolio Sustainability Assessment (PSA) product portfolio evaluation method established by the WBCSD*1, which offers a high degree of objectivity and transparency, and internal carbon pricing (ICP). We evaluate economic value using the twin indicators of earning power (operating cash flow) and efficiency (ROIC). During the first two years of "PASSION 2026," we used these indicators to identify businesses and products with high growth potential and competitiveness.

The next step will involve the Portfolio Strategy Department, which we established within the Corporate Management Planning Office in January 2024, taking the lead in determining whether to expand, maintain, downsize, or withdraw from businesses and products. We will pursue specific measures and allocate resources based on their findings. Resource allocation will include human capital as well as capital investment and acquisitions. Although the growth of a given business may not be feasible, we are looking to shift the many talented people

involved in it into businesses due to be expanded or maintained.

We have earmarked several businesses and products positioned for further growth or to strengthen the Group's foundation, including EVAL™ EVOH resin, PVOH resin, optical-use poval film, water-soluble PVOH film, advanced interlayer solu- tions, GENESTAR™ heat-resistant polyamide resin, activated carbon, dental materials, and VECTRAN™ liquid crystal polymer fiber. On the other hand, businesses that will be hard to maintain are those that offer little synergy or sense of ownership, even if they are currently profitable, and products that are not amenable to passing on the costs of raw materials when those costs rise. We plan to engage in more rigorous discussions regarding specific business restructuring and resource allocation at future meetings of the Board of Directors.

*1 Abbreviation for the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

Transforming people and organizations through Our Challenges

The shift in mindset I mentioned earlier is incorporated into Our Challenges, which were laid out in the "PASSION 2026" Medium-Term Management Plan. In terms of the first challenge, "Sustainability as

an opportunity," we are taking sustainability as an opportunity for business creation and promoting it with the collective strength of the Group. In terms of "Innovations starting from networking," we will create a new growth driver by connecting people with people and technologies with technologies, both within and outside the Company. In terms of "Transformation of people and organization," we will work to transform people and organizations via digital-driven process innovation and the promotion of diversity, which will help us bring to bear a broad range of ideas.

All these themes apply to the whole Group, shaping our efforts to work together as "One Kuraray." Through collaborative exchanges that transcend divisions and organizations, we will foster a culture that encourages people to embrace challenge, in which employees stimulate one another.

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Our
Challenges
1	Sustainability as an Opportunity

Accelerating the reinforcement of sustainability as a critical management strategy

Under the theme of "Sustainability as an opportunity," we have summarized our sustainability-related measures in the Sustainability Medium-Term Plan, based on the material issues of the Kuraray Group. We are working off a "3P" model, grouping measures into three Ps: Planet, Product, and People.

Sustainability is a critical element for a company to survive and grow. We also need to step up our sustainability initiatives to better serve society. We hear the concerns of consumer-facing manufac- turers. They recognize that sustainability is a pressing issue. But they note that far-reaching measures like cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions-including Scope 3 emissions-will require massive outlays and take several years to implement. Addressing the demands of the market is not something that can be done overnight. So they are giving a lot of thought and trying out a range of different approaches.

The Sustainability Committee I chair, which has met every quarter, is a venue for discussing Kuraray's response to such sustainability issues. To appropriately address rapidly emerging developments, we plan to increase the frequency of these meetings in 2024 to make faster decisions and take swift action.

Planet

Achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 is a long-term theme guiding the efforts of the entire Group. We will reduce GHG emissions by 30% in 2030 compared to the benchmark year of 2019. Until around 2026, we plan to keep emissions below the 2019 level while expanding our businesses.

GHG emissions were down by about 500 thousand tons-CO2e in 2023 against to the 2019 benchmark, reflecting lower production amid weak demand in the second half of the year. We expect emissions to begin rising in 2024 due to production increases and the operation of new equipment to meet future demand growth, but we will address this by promoting renewable energy, mainly at overseas Group companies. In the United States, we are also exploring carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS*2), where the carbon is a by-product of coal-based activated carbon production. We formed a cross- organizational project team and are seeking to expand this initiative as a corporate project. While exploring CO2 capture equipment, the project is also studying potential storage sites, with an eye to obtaining financial assistance under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

*2 Carbon dioxide Capture, Utilization, and Storage: An initiative to utilize or store CO2 separated from exhaust gas from industrial facilities.

Product

We use the Kuraray PSA system to assess products that contribute to the natural and living environments. In 2023, we completed assessments of products accounting for roughly 80% of Group-wide sales. We were also able to achieve a 56% sales ratio of such products in 2023, in advance of the 54% target set for 2024 under "PASSION 2026."

We are particularly looking to activated carbon and EVAL™ EVOH resin as businesses and products that can make a significant contribution to the natural and living environments.

Activated carbon aids in water and air purification and in the removal of PFAS. As I mentioned earlier, market expectations are rising here, especially in the area of water supply, as PFAS regulations become more stringent, especially in the United States and Europe. Virgin activated carbon is not the only major

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strength of the Kuraray Group-we have also built a system to collect used activated carbon from customers and reactivate and re-supply it. The issue, however, is that the manufacturing process for coal- based activated carbon inevitably produces CO2 as a by-product. We are moving ahead with CCUS initiatives to resolve this issue.

A characteristic of EVAL™, used as a barrier layer in food packaging materials, is that it is difficult for oxygen to pass through. The material is thus useful in extending the expiration date of food, helping to reduce food waste. Storing harvested grains and seeds in storage bags made with EVAL™ also prevents oxygen from entering, creating an environment in which microorganisms and pests cannot survive. This helps in maintaining the quality of grains and seeds and expanding supply. Another outstanding feature of EVAL™ is its ease of recycling. Amid mounting attentiveness to the importance of a circulaR economy, we are receiving increased inquiries about EVAL™, especially in Europe. This is due to the fact that this material is effective when only a small amount is used and because it does not interfere with the recycling of the base polypropylene and polyethylene materials. We therefore resolved to build a new EVAL™ production plant in Singapore in March 2024. The Kuraray Group is aiming to further expand its business as a leading company in EVOH resin and barrier materials, continuing to contribute to the natural and living environments.

People

In the manufacture of products, increasing importance is being placed on the provision of positive working environments and the responsible sourcing of raw materials. In light of this international trend, we formulated the Kuraray Group Human Rights Policy, which incorporates measures for carrying out human rights due diligence. We will continue to progressively implement such due diligence.

Since the early 2000s, the Kuraray Group has expanded its business scale through overseas acqui- sitions. Respecting local autonomy, we have pursued a gradual approach to post-merger integration*3, slowly but surely gaining worldwide buy-in to our mission: "For people and the planet.'' However, there have been delays in compiling the data needing to be standardized globally, which have prevented our personnel systems from keeping up.

We are currently developing a common global HR platform and talent data, and working to give greater visibility across the Group to employees who are candidates for key positions. Part of this effort involved setting various key indicators for 2024 to measure the progress of our actions, including diversity in management and key positions (ratio of women and foreign nationals), the rate of preparing executive candidates, and the rate of participation in global talent development and diversity and inclusion training.

In terms of our HR approach, since laws and customs differ depending on various locations, countries, and regions, there are obviously areas where local management makes the most sense. While maintaining a certain degree of flexibility, we will define facets of our personnel approach that should be common across the Group. I believe this balance is important.

We conducted our first global engagement survey in 2022 to gauge the mutual relationship between employees and the Company, but an analysis of the results showed that our management policies and measures had not achieved full buy-in in the various workplaces and that feedback from the front lines was not being properly taken into account. We take these findings seriously. Our first step is to gauge the actual situation on the ground, and then work to identify issues and pursue improvements in dialogue with various departments. We will continue to conduct surveys and share the Group vision with all employees to boost engagement and bring greater vitality to the organization.

Our
Challenges
2	Innovations Starting from Networking

Achieving new business creation leveraging the comprehensive strengths of the Kuraray Group

The top mission of the theme "Innovations starting from networking" is to create new businesses. In a context in which global circumstances and customer needs are changing at a dizzying pace, the Research and Development Division is taking the lead in pursuing essential innovation based on our core technologies, focusing on backcasting from a market perspective and exploring development that contributes to sustainability. Meanwhile, the key to cultivating new markets and creating new businesses is organizational collaboration, centered on the Innovation Networking Center, which acts as an accelerator for Group-wide innovation.

The approach of the Innovation Networking Center is to address social issues by leveraging the comprehensive strengths of the Kuraray Group at points of contact with customers and markets. By taking a bidirectional approach, both proposing research seeds and responding to market demand, we will intentionally increase opportunities for new business creation. INC brings together a diverse team of people with the backgrounds and skills needed to launch new businesses, including R&D, engineering, production processes, sales and marketing, and project management. Team members bring their skills to bear on each of our themes, creating a system that allows us to both embrace new business challenges and hedge risks by identifying them early on.

We engaged in discussions in 2023 regarding the six strategic areas where the Group is targeting innovation-Automotive, Paper & Packaging, Agriculture, Sports & Outdoors, Architecture & Construction, Life & Personal Care-and the ways we should seek to compete in these areas (innovation

*3 Post-merger integration refers to the process of integration after a merger or acquisition. It consists of three stages: management integration, business integration, and awareness integration.