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Nikkei Ecology

June 2004 Issue

Cover Story

Take advantage of the improving quality of product procurement; Environment-friendly products can improve your corporate competitiveness

Make best use of the “green chain” in your business


Part 1. “Green chain” is a new form of inter-business collaboration
Measures for chemical substances taken by corporations change the form of inter-business collaboration and the quality of the supply chain

Part 2. Needs for corporate social responsibility (CSR) accelerate the development and expansion of the “green procurement”
TDK Corporation fully starts a new procurement scheme with a CSR concept “to make green procurement profitable”

Part 3. Part manufacturers function as the hub of the green chain
Sinano Kenshi Co., Ltd. eradicates the use of prohibited chemical substances by “all-out mobilization of personal connections to prevent contamination”

Part 4. Parts manufacturers join the designing and development of final products
Nippon Chemi-Con Corporation assists the production of energy-saving photocopiers by “providing the copier manufacturer with information on part designing in detail”

Part 5. Material manufacturers support the foundation of green chain mechanism
Musashi Paint Co., Ltd. takes measures against volatile organic compounds (VOC) into their business perspective, because “manufactures have obligation to eradicate the use of prohibited substances”

Part 6. Service sectors, too, can improve their eco-friendliness with green chain
KARITSU CO., LTD. takes on challenges at the second stage of distribution system reform by introducing an ‘eco-friendly distribution system’ in automobile part transportation

Report

Kokuyo Co., Ltd. reflects the philosophy of the top management on routine works to make a rapid achievement of environmental issues in corporate performance evaluation

Vice-Rector Itaru Yasui’s “Eco Michelin”
Foods for specific health use: Health effects are clearly proven along with their negligible impact on the environment

e!Communication between Corporation and Housewives
Refillable products: Housewives favor them for their lower prices and environment-friendliness

Technology Frontline / Products
Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. develops parts made from 100% waste plastics

Technology Frontline / Elements
Kyushu Electric Power Co., Ltd. and others develop a new anticorrosive coating for metals that last for 100 years

Technology Frontline / Trend
Ford Motor Company adopts Toshiba Corporation’s new motors for their hybrid automobiles

Technology Frontline / Academy
Yuzo Shigesato, professor of Aoyama Gakuin University, develops new window panes that keep the room cool in the summer and warm in the winter

This Month’s Company
Mutenka House Inc. builds “chemical-free houses”

Actions by Local Governments/ Ask the top management for the next step
Akiko Domoto, Governor of Chiba Prefecture, reviews every policy issue from a “recycling” point of view

Environmental Dialogue with Top Management
Masayasu Kitagawa’s “Frontline of Environmental Management” (final of the series)
Yotaro Kobayashi, Chairman of the Board of Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.: “Money spent on the environmental measures should no longer be considered as cost, but investment. CSR should be developed free from standardization”

Trend and News

Automobile Recycling
Achievement of “100% recycling” becomes shaky while willingness to accept scrap cars vary among electric furnace companies

Preventing Global Warming
Germany discloses its National Allocation Plan (NAP) for CO2 emission; its leniency on industries is criticized

Environmental Policies
China builds model districts and exchanges information with Japan in speeding up the preparation for a recycling system of consumer electronics

Industrial Waste
Gifu Prefecture government and the polluters cannot avoid facing the pursuit of responsibility for the 520,000 m3 of illegal dumping in the prefecture

Natural Energy
Collision death of a white-tailed eagle intensifies the “bird strike” issue, bringing the coexistence of wind power generation and nature conservation into debate

Fuel Cell
Fuel cells for home use are about to be launched on the market, while the gap between expectation and reality remains large

Environmental Measures
Sharp Corporation’s new factory for LCD TVs starts its operation, aiming at the top position both in productivity and environmental measures

Inside-Out

Truth about the illegal sales scandal of used consumer electronics to the black market by Yodobashi Camera Co., Ltd. and Bic Camera: Part 1
The incident reveals flaws in the Law for Recycling of Specified Kinds of Home Appliances and the needs for positioning a reuse system with an international viewpoint

Defects of the consumer electronics recycling ticket system and heated competition among retailers play a role behind the scene.
The incident reveals flaws in the Home Appliances Law, including need to recognize reusing of used appliances in other countries as a legitimate way to reduce the waste

Reports from Think Tanks Overseas

Environmental Finance
While tax systems that reflect environmental costs are being developed in European countries, reform of subsidy policies increases its importance

Rocky Mountain Institute
“Industrial symbiosis,” a new form of cooperation among businesses, succeeds in Denmark by using each other’s waste

SustainAbility
Corporations need robust and strategic risk management with profound understanding of society’s expectation for their responsible corporate activities

Wuppertal Institute
Germany adopts National Allocation Plan (NAP) just in time to start emission trade in January 2005

From WorldWatch
Bush regime’s abstinence-only programs neglect women’s rights in developing countries

Environmental Seminar

Easy-to-understand Environmental Law - Food-safety related laws by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries / Record of each cow and all beef is centrally managed, while restrictions on fertilizer and agricultural chemicals are fortified

How to read European Regulations - Directive on Establishing a Framework for the Setting of Eco-design Requirements for Energy Using Products (EuP) / The framework directive expands the discretion of EU officials

New Trend of ISO
Self declaration Part 3 / Improvement of environmental management continues even after the self declaration

Zero Emission Grade Report - The Seiyu Ltd. / The supermarket chain succeeds in over 30% reduction of waste at a shopping center by recycling raw garbage with a large-sized disposal equipment and a refrigerator

Global Warming Prevention Measures in Our Company - Tokyo Electric Power Company / TEPCO emphasizes energy saving features of electricity-only housing and combats co-generation power systems with heat pumps

New Environmental Study - The environmental industry in China / From automobile emission measures to recycling, the rapidly growing market is filled with opportunities for Japanese corporations to use their technologies

Environmental Laws Q & A - Waste Management and Public Cleaning Law / Is wood waste, once sorted, not industrial waste anymore?

This Month’s Environmental Law - Disclosure of chemical release and transfer for fiscal 2002 / The disclosure based on the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register Law indicates 510,000 tons of chemical substances released and transferred in fiscal 2002, marking 23,000 tons of reduction from the previous year

Learn from This Environmental Report - Mitsui O.S.K. Lines / Personal profile of the management members is introduced in box columns, while photos of people in charge of the environmental measures increase the readers’ interest

Column

Kankan Gakugaku (Active Argument over Environmental Issues) - Tatsuya Yamaguchi, entertainer: “Farming needs more than human efforts”

Eisuke Ishikawa’s “The Eco Industries in the Edo Period” - Publishing industry flourished in the Edo Period

Takashi Morieda’s Dining Room on Earth - The rich flavor of fermented amino acid is a gift we found whilst making efforts to preserve fish

Fieldwork Japan - Hydraulic power generation in the pipes of water supply system is developed as a cooperative project between a local government and business sector

Pioneer - Masatoshi Miyaki sells the light, not the lamp, of fluorescent