AGC Si-Tech Co., Ltd.

We have engaged in volunteer activities on an ongoing basis since 2007.
For example, we donate a portion of our sales proceeds from soft drink vending machines to a Fukuoka Prefecture driver etiquette campaign through Kirin Beverage. We also donate to the Red Feather Community Chest through Asahi Soft Drinks. We collect bottle caps from plastic bottles and donate them to a polio vaccine support fund through the Japan Committee, Vaccines for the World’s Children.
We will continue making donations that benefit society. We will also continue working to achieve a more equal society, one in which not a single person is left behind.

We promote the active participation of all employees.
This starts with maintaining a workplace environment that makes it easy for employees to take childcare leave. We have also established restrooms and toilets with consideration for LGBTQ employees and have made uniforms the same for everyone. Anti-harassment training is implemented on a regular basis.
We seek to establish workplaces where all employees have the opportunity to participate and where their respective experiences, abilities, and ways of thinking are acknowledged. We are creating an environment in which employees feel at home. This includes measures such as introducing free-address workplaces, promoting more active internal communications, and increasing the efficiency of administrative space. We also encourage working from home and allow employees to choose where they work depending on their job circumstances.

Previously, industrial waste from the silica manufacturing process increased as the Company’s products experienced growth. Until the 2000s, the Company relied on landfill disposal. But through joint research with a trading company, we identified processing conditions that were suited to conversion to a cement material, which in turn made recycling possible. In 2020, the recycling rate was 99.9%. In April 2021, the Company was certified by Kitakyushu City for excellence in industrial waste disposal.

Microplastics had been used extensively in the production of toothpaste and cosmetics. However, in recent years, microplastics have been identified as a cause of marine pollution and have been found to potentially impact aquatic life and human health throughout the food chain.
Silica beads have drawn substantial attention as an alternative to these microplastics. Silica is also called silicon dioxide and silicic anhydride; it is an abundant constituent material that is found in around 60% of the Earth’s crust. Our products are mainly made from cullet, which comes from quartz sand containing high levels of silicon. It is a naturally occurring material, a natural blessing that happens to be a major component of the Earth’s crust. As part of the Earth’s natural cycle, it is a safe and recyclable material. To protect the global environment and pass it on to the next generation, we will continue to create products that are friendly to the Earth.