Activity report
Protection and restoration of
the green earth
Utilizing
rainwater
to
tackle water
resource
challenges
Background of the challenge
In regions where
water is scarce,
water resource
circulation is our
mission
Amidst the increasing severity of environmental issues with each passing year, the Toyota Boshoku group formulated its “2050 Environmental Vision” in 2016 and uses it as a blueprint for advancing company-wide initiatives to minimize its impact on water resources.To correctly assess the group’s impact on water resources, we evaluated water risks at the group production sites inside and outside Japan using Aqueduct, an assessment tool developed by the World Resources Institute. The locations of our production sites were assessed based on the water stress index*1 and classified into five levels based on water stress. As a result, we found that TBGT (Toyota Boshoku Gateway (Thailand)), located in Chachoengsao Province, Thailand, faces extremely high water stress. An analysis that took water usage into account further confirmed that this site belongs to a group of sites requiring immediate attention.
*1: The index expresses the ratio of total water demand for a specific region to the available supply (renewable surface water and groundwater). The higher the value, the more intense the competition between users (household, industrial, agricultural, etc.).
Identifying high-risk sites through water stress assessment of Toyota Boshoku group production plants
While TBGT has been promoting the introduction of water-saving toilets and taps for some time, Thailand experiences extremely low rainfall during its dry season, making frequent watering essential for maintaining green spaces on site. Consequently, water conservation alone has proved insufficient to significantly reduce water consumption. The green areas in question not only serve as a place for employees to relax but also provide a vital habitat for local wildlife. We therefore considered different ways to effectively utilize rainwater during the rainy season and came up with the idea of using rainwater collected in tanks.
Our idea
Creating new
water resources
through
dedicated
rainwater
facilities
One use for simply treated rainwater is toilet flushing, which requires relatively low water quality. We focused on installing multiple rainwater collection tanks around toilets since water pressure weakens with distance from the toilets, making pressurization devices necessary. To efficiently utilize rainwater, the tanks are equipped with valves that allow switching between collection and discharge of excess rainwater. We also considered appropriate tank capacity and placement based on the water needs of each usage point.
Activity Report
Towards the
efficient use of
limited water
resources one
step
at a time,
starting
with
what we can
do
Nine rainwater storage tanks were installed by May 2024 in time for the month of June, a month with high levels of rainfall. This resulted in a reduction of 605,000 liters from the annual water usage of approximately 29,000,000 liters. Four more tanks are planned for 2025, with further reductions expected. While other Toyota Boshoku group sites also reuse rainwater, TBGT achieved significant results by introducing large-scale collection tanks and establishing a system for efficient rainwater utilization. Moving forward, we will horizontally expand the concept of rainwater utilization and our water storage know-how across the group companies so that the entire Toyota Boshoku group will be able to contribute to the preservation of the global environment through the effective use of natural resources.
Challenger
