ROHTO Pharmaceutical conducts its business activities using the bounty of precious nature created by biodiversity.
Our important responsibility is to conduct business activities with consideration given to creating an environment in which various living things can coexist.
In 2022, we clarified our policy on biodiversity conservation.
We will contribute to the realization of a sustainable society by fulfilling our social responsibilities related to biodiversity in cooperation with our stakeholders.
Biodiversity Conservation Policy
Recognizing that all of our business activities benefit from and impact the natural environment, we are committed to preserving biodiversity for a sustainable society by working in harmony with the natural environment.
- We will strive to understand how our business activities relate to and impact biodiversity, and work to avoid or minimize the impact.
- We will strive to conduct our business activities in a manner that takes into consideration the ecosystems of the regions in which we operate.
- We will strive to preserve the environment by promoting the development of products and technologies that take biodiversity into consideration.
- We will strive to raise employee awareness of biodiversity and support and promote environmental preservation activities through cooperation and partnerships with a variety of related stakeholders.
- We will comply with national and international agreements and laws regarding biodiversity.
Paper resources
We have established a policy of using environmentally friendly paper such as papers with forest certification and recycled paper as well as reducing the amount of paper resources used. Product packaging, sales promotional materials, company brochures and other leaflets, and paper used in the office are switched to paper with forest conservation credentials.
Palm oil
Palm oil, a vegetable oil extracted from oil palms, is also used as a cosmetic ingredient (fatty acids and glycerin). In recent years, however, various problems have arisen, including the destruction of tropical rainforests to make way for oil palm plantations as well as issues related to the human rights of plantation workers. Setting targets for the selection and procurement of sustainable raw materials, we have joined the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and are pursuing initiatives.
Dealing with microplastic beads
Microplastic beads are an ingredient used in products for cleansing and rinsing, but recently concerns have been raised both in Japan and overseas regarding their environmental impact, such as marine pollution. We stopped adding microplastic beads to our new cleansing products in 2010, and in 2016 we completed the switch to microplastic bead-free formulas for our existing cleansing products.
Consideration for marine pollution and coral protection
In recent years, the impact on coral and marine life caused by certain ingredients in sunscreen formulations have emerged as issues. We have developed a sunscreen that does not contain ingredients implicated in marine pollution and coral die-off, launching the Skin Aqua “NEXTA” series in February 2022. We are also continuing awareness-raising activities, centering on Okinawa. Recognizing that the lack of a global standard for evaluating the impact of cosmetic formulations on corals is an issue, we established a new method for evaluating the effects of formulations on the growth of Montipora Blainville and Acropora Oken through joint research with Innoqua Inc. Going forward, the method can be used to evaluate the impact of cosmetic formulations, not only those of sunscreens, and is expected to lead to development of more environmentally friendly products.