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Copyright(c)2007 Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All editorial content and graphics on this Web site may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express permission of the copyright owner. |
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Nikkei Ecology |
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February 2007Cover Story From illegality and reputation risks to business strategies Biodiversity is increasingly becoming an issue that presses companies to review the whole line of their main business Why biodiversity now? Risks of violating laws and spreading bad reputations are looming up Clearing the legal barriers Illegally harvested lumbers and introduced bees can harm your business Preparing for the potential risks NGOs set pressures on palm oil production and mine development Active measures to show the attitudes Seafood certificate system and new ways to create greenery around the factory can be used to show corporate attitudes for biodiversity conservation Learning biodiversity Now private corporations should join the state governments and NGOs in efforts to conserve biodiversity Report Recycling of automobile batteries Lack of consensus among the members of the industry prevents the new system from implementation Learn about Technologies First Step in Technology [Next-generation stoker furnace] High-temperature combustion can be achieved with a small amount of air while the decreased gas emission improves power generation efficiency 3R’s [Pigmentable recycled plastic] Light-blocking pigments can cover the foreign objects in the recycled plastics Natural Energy [Bioethanol] Japan’s first system to produce bioethanol from waste wooden materials has a capacity of 1,400 kiloliter per year Fuel Cell [High-temperature PEFC] Polymer electrolyte fuel cells operate at 120°C using phosphoric acid molecules to carry hydrogen ions “Honor Students” in Recycling [Used clothes] Old clothes are sorted into more than 130 groups to increase the product values before being sent to the newly developed Southeast Asian market Learn about Environmental Laws Easy-to-Understand Environmental Law [Consumer electronics recycling in Germany] Japan should learn to articulate the responsibilities of corporations How to Read the Environmental Ordinances - Part 1 Ordinances to Conserve Living Environment The lynchpins of municipal policies in environmental conservation may include more stringent regulations than national laws Environmental Laws Q & A Why does the new obligated amount of the new energy use need to be discussed now? This Month’s Environmental Law Details of the Fluorocarbons Recovery and Destruction Law and the actual recovery rate of fiscal 2005 (32%) are announced EU Regulations to Challenge Japanese Corporations – Last in the series Influence of the EU regulations is worldwide Trend and News Environmental Policies in 2007 Enforcement of REACH requires all manufacturers to prepare countermeasures, while global warming measures are to be enforced before 2008 Marketing New eco labels help sales of energy-saving products and increase profits of retailers in the year-end shopping season Preventing Global Warming Nissan unveils the plan to start sales of eco cars with a long-term target to reduce 70% of CO2 emission from new vehicles Energy Conservation New fuel efficiency regulation is to be implemented with obligation for 23.5% improvement over fiscal 2004 Eco Car Volkswagen introduces a new engine to realize extremely high fuel efficiency Environmental Efficiency Five consumer electronics manufactures introduce a common “factor” to show environmental efficiencies of their products, but problems still remain in terms of comparability Environmental Tax Abe Administration already seems hesitant to introduce the environmental tax Preventing Global Warming Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) is to donate the emission rights earned by companies to the government Law for Recycling of Specified Kinds of Home Appliances Difficult problems appear one after another and elongate the discussions, making it impossible for the revision to pass at the current Diet session CSR Rating CEO of Oekom Research AG in Germany: “Information disclosure of Japanese companies can yet be improved especially in social aspects” Green Procurement Database for environment-friendly materials is made public Recycling Ricoh’s recycling business makes first profits by expanding the sales of recycled multifunction copiers CSR Frontline Tackling with the environmental problems in the primary business gives us a good opportunity to reform business processes Climate Change Policies Q and A to understand climate change policies Q: Does the decline of emission rights prices in EU mean decline of the emission rights prices for CDM? A: Different kinds of emission rights prices are mutually dependent This month’s emission rights prices Learn about Environmental Issues Truth and False of Environmental Science [Energy] Is methane hydrate a useful resource? Threats Waiting around the Corner A total of 2,395 hectare of sand dune is lost, the sea waves now threaten the coast residences, and the sea turtles do not lay as many eggs as before Junko Edahiro’s Eye-opening Facts on Environmental Terms in English [BAU (business as usual)] Column Kankan Gakugaku (Active Argument over Environmental Issues) Ritsuko Tanaka, TV personality Challenge the Environmental Policies! - Part 1 Mid- and long-term strategies are lacking Cuisines of Japan Shimi-imo and shimi-dofu (“naturally freeze-dried” potatoes and tofu) are gifts from the cold winds in the northern Japan The ROOTS Japan’s environmental technologies [Solar cells] For the last four decades, the technologies have been developed in isolated islands and outer space until finally becoming practical to use and sell The reality of NPOs [Green Purchasing Network] Efforts to introduce green procurement to Japanese organizations Report Inside-Out Loopholes of Asbestos Regulations - Part 2 Abnormal levels of asbestos have been continuously found in the areas around the industrial waste landfills From BusinessWeek Recycling waste tires into pavement WorldWatch Institute NASA’s division that has been ringing an alarm bell for global warming crisis is now facing the crisis of research standstill before the drastic budget cut Itaru Yasui’s “Eco Michelin” Washers/dryers equipped with a heat pump ECO Seminar Suggesting Eco-management Strategies to the Top Management - Part 1 Seeing innovation as a management challenge Cure for the Headache of ISO Officers Secretes to raise the environmental awareness of employees Key Word Bioethanol/J-Moss World Trend From EU Increasing popularity of simple biomass fuels expands the “energy woods” market From UK Recovery in the CDM programs may not achieve the goal, and the UN’s inefficient examination process is blamed as a cause From USA Scheme to contribute to CO2 emission reduction by using credit cards may encourage consumers to actively participate in global warming prevention measures From Germany Strategic planning for sustainable consumption and production starts by setting a target on the post-Kyoto era From China Biomass energy programs are being enforced to aim at 30 million kW power generation in 2020 |
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