Showa Denko Group: Recycles 4.43 Million Aluminum Cans in fiscal 2019

Showa Denko, its Group companies and their cooperative companies pursued to perform aluminium can recycle activity in fiscal 2019 (April 2019 - March 2020), collecting approximately 4.43 million cans: equivalent to about 67.8 tonnes of aluminium when converted at the rate of 15.3 grams of aluminium per can. This conversion rate was declared by Japan Aluminum Can Recycling Association as the average of FY2018.

Showa Aluminum Can Corporation, a consolidated subsidiary of SDK, started its aluminium can recycling activity in 1972. The activity spread across the Showa Denko Group in 2001, continuing until today.

SDK comprises in-house program to educate employees about aluminium can recycling and officially commend workplaces and individual employees following employees' participation rate or volume of collected cans, aiming to vitalize the recycling activity. In fiscal 2019, a total of 8,057 employees, or 97.6% of all Group employees in Japan, participated in the activity.

The aluminium cans are first collected and then purchased by the Group and used mainly by Showa Aluminum Can Corporation to produce aluminium cans to contain beverages. Recycling of aluminium cans not only contributes to the promotion of efficient use of resources but also reduces electricity consumed to produce aluminium by 97%, compared to the process in which they produce aluminium from bauxite ore. The Group donates the money resulting from the recycling activity to regional councils of social welfare, welfare facilities, and volunteer groups that aid people with special needs. Thus, this activity has been firmly established as a social action of the Showa Denko Group.