A COMMITMENT TO THE ENVIRONMENT

A Commitment to the Enviroment

s a responsible corporate citizen, NKK subscribes to the belief that efforts to reduce the impact of operations on the environment must be voluntary and continuous. This is the cornerstone of good business management.
      Taking the industry lead, NKK has stressed business activities that are in harmony with the environment. The Corporation has adopted leading-edge technologies and systems, including desulfurization and denitrification equipment, to ensure that operations exert as little negative impact on the environment as possible.
      We contribute to living environments through the products and technologies of the Steel and Engineering divisions, and we provide solutions to environmental problems in several business fields, including waste treatment and recycling, air and water quality control, energy conservation and efficient energy use.
      We will build on the results achieved to date, and guided by a goal to support regional development and the creation of a recycling-oriented society, we will strive to realize greater progress in environment- and energy-related objectives to grow along with the communities in which we work.

Status of Environmental Protection Activities at NKK

Reducing Energy Consumption at Steelworks to Prevent Global Warming

·	Have cut energy consumption per ton of crude steel produced by about 20% since the oil crises of the 1970s
·	Participating in the Voluntary Action Program for Environmental Protection by Steelmakers, established by the Japan Iron and Steel Federation, which calls for an 11.5% reduction by 2010 in the amount of energy consumed in the production of steel, based on 1990 levels
·	Utilizing waste plastics as blast furnace fuel
·	Expanding applications of regenerative burners
·	Reducing environmental impact from a logistics perspective through such efforts as shortening transportation distances, selecting the most expedient modes of transportation and enhancing carrying capacity

Effectively Utilizing Waste Products

·	Recycling waste plastics for use as fuel in blast furnaces
·	Using nearly 100% of furnace-generated slag in innovative applications
·	Have achieved recycling rate exceeding 99% for steelmaking by-products applied as reusable resources
·	Recycling steel cans

Ensuring Air and Water Quality

·	Preserving air quality with installation of flue gas desulfurization and denitrification equipment
·	Maintaining water quality through: biological wastewater treatment with activated sludge; ammonia liquor treatment; and the application of activated sludge, neutralization, oil extraction or sedimentation, depending on properties of the wastewater
·	Preventing dust emissions through such measures as water spraying in raw material yards and tight sealing of conveyor connections, as well as the installation of high-performance dust collectors and other equipment

NKK and NKK MARINE & LOGISTICS CORPORATION are involved in the volunteer ocean observation activities of VOS Nippon, a nonprofit organization that gathers data on ocean conditions from automated measuring equipment installed aboard the ships of participating companies.


	Surface water monitoring system developed by VOS Nippon

Each time NKK MARINE & LOGISTICS’ main cargo ship returns to Japan from a voyage in open seas, VOS Nippon will collect the data recorded by the onboard surface water monitoring system and make the information available to interested researchers.
NKK will continue to embrace measures geared toward the prevention of global warming and will uphold its cooperative ties with VOS Nippon to pinpoint warming trends and the mechanisms that precipitate climate change.