Sustainability Report 2010 017 Protecting the Environment
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
NISSAN Sustainability Report 2010 017 Protecting the Environment Micra Protecting the Environment Achieving a Symbiosis of People, Vehicles and Nature Nissan’s Business Activities and the Environment 018 Environmental Management 020 Reducing CO2 023 Protecting the Air, Water and Soil 033 Toward Sustainable Recycling of Resources 036 Our Ecosystem and Biodiversity Approach 041 NISSAN Sustainability Report 2010 018 Protecting the Environment Protecting the Environment Nissan’s Business Activities and the Environment WEB Nissan’s vision of an ideal society is “a Symbiosis of People, Vehicles and Nature.” Since Please see our website for adopting this environmental philosophy in 1992, we have worked hard to make it a reality, detailed information on our constantly assessing the impact of our vehicles and corporate activities on the global environmental activities. http://www.nissan-global.com/ environment while making every effort to address such issues. We will continue to make EN/ENVIRONMENT/ proactive efforts, working with society to create a brighter future for our planet and generations to come. Achieving a Sustainable Mobility Society In 2009 the United States, under the new administration of President Barack Obama, and other nations began boosting environment-related spending. These moves were meant to help counter the severe worldwide recession and global warming, and they had particular impact on the automobile industry, with governments introducing stronger fuel-efficiency requirements, stricter regulations of emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases and policies including subsidies and tax incentives to promote a transition to more fuel-efficient vehicles. This greatly increased the consumer demand for environmentally conscious cars. In the area of CO2 emissions reductions, the Japanese administration of the Democratic Party of Japan proposed the medium-term target of reducing emissions by 25% from 1990 levels by 2020, and the major industrialized economies took a leadership position at the G8 Summit in L’Aquila, Italy, in moving toward low-carbon societies with agreement on a target of an 80% reduction by 2050 in industrialized countries overall. In the future, the debate on the ideal frameworks for action is expected to take place in line with the Copenhagen Accord the document signed at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that noted the scientific consensus on the need to limit the rise in global temperature to within 2 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, the harsh economic situation continues, and balancing growth with environmental measures will be a major, ongoing challenge for businesses. To get through the recession, companies will need to have a vision for the future, maintain and strengthen their competitiveness through innovative environmental technologies, and create new value, while at the same time providing against risk. At Nissan, we will continue making sincere and proactive efforts toward further innovations based on our medium-term environmental action plan, Nissan Green Program 2010, to realize a sustainable mobility society in which people and vehicles coexist with nature. Nissan’s Approach to Environmental Issues Motor vehicles are built using a quantity of resources and are primarily powered by fossil fuels such as gasoline and diesel. As a global automaker, Nissan takes active steps to identify the direct and indirect impacts of its business on the environment and subsequently minimize them. Furthermore, our ultimate goal is to reduce the environmental impact caused by our operations and Nissan vehicles throughout their lifecycle to a level that can be absorbed naturally by the Earth, leaving as small a footprint on the planet as possible. Nissan aims to be a “sincere eco-innovator.” We show that we are sincere by taking a proactive stance toward addressing environmental challenges and reducing the real-world environmental impact. We believe that being an eco-innovator means providing our customers with optimal value in the form of innovative products, technologies and services as contributions to a sustainable mobility society. We also believe that we can contribute to sustainable development through our environmental initiatives. We are actively working to contribute to the protection of the global environment through sustainable mobility to achieve “a Symbiosis of People, Vehicles and Nature.” NISSAN Sustainability Report 2010 019 Protecting the Environment Nissan’s Three Key Issues After considering the impact of various environmental issues, including climate Reducing change, the burden placed on the ecosystem CO2 and humans by environment-impacting Emissions substances, and mineral and water resources, To reduce CO2 Nissan defined three key issues to be tackled: emissions reducing CO2 emissions, reducing other Reducing Recycling emissions (to protect the air, water and soil) Emissions Resources and recycling resources. We are working to to protect in line with the atmosphere, three Rs: achieve specific goals in each of these areas in water and reduce, reuse, soil recycle order to minimize the impact of Nissan’s motor To reduce other To attain resource vehicles and business activities on the emissions substances recovery rate of 100% to atmospheric levels environment. We feel that these issues can be resolved in a sustainable way only by offering customers the right products at the right time and right cost. Reduction of CO2 emissions, which Nissan considers one of its top priorities, is being advanced companywide under a “QCT-C” framework that adds the component of CO2 to the traditional management indices of quality, cost and time. Moving Toward Long-Term Goals The ultimate long-term strategy for automakers to help protect the environment and create new demand is to develop zero-emission vehicles, which have essentially no environmental impact while being driven. Nissan has committed to becoming a zero-emission leader, and we are working energetically in pursuit of this goal. In fiscal 2009, we announced the Nissan LEAF, our first mass-production entry into the EV space. The Renault-Nissan Alliance also formed cooperative ties with national and local governments around the world, working to expand partnerships toward the eventual realization of a zero-emission society. We are also implementing our medium-term environmental action plan, Nissan Green Program 2010, which we launched in December 2006 as a means to help the company as a whole achieve key environmental targets and establish needed frameworks by 2010. We made a number of achievements in this pursuit in fiscal 2009, including our joint development of a next-generation continuously variable transmission (CVT) with an affiliate, JATCO Ltd., and our prompt moves to expand our range of environmentally conscious cars by outfitting them with engine and CVT modulation, alternator regenerative systems and reduced drag. Expert Comment Mie Asaoka President Kiko Network Nissan is working to be a leader in zero-emission mobility, and its efforts to develop and promote electric vehicles (EVs) should be an effective way to reduce CO2 emissions. Growing numbers of consumers are looking at the total cost of vehicle ownership, including fuel prices, and choosing EVs based on their economic sensibility. We have seen rapid shifts in smart grids and renewable energy in the last few years, and we may see a new type of automobile society sooner than we think. This is a society where EVs are a part of power infrastructure built with smart grids and relying increasingly on renewable energy sources, and where they play a role in promoting the development of compact urban environments. In tackling the challenge of climate change, we need to address issues in a broad range of areas, including energy and water resources. We have gone beyond the stage where companies could consider actions to address these on an individual basis. Today they must work in partnership with governments and other industries. I fully expect that Nissan will show strong leadership in bringing together these actors as it works toward the achievement of a low-carbon society. NISSAN Sustainability Report 2010 020 Protecting the Environment Protecting the Environment Environmental Management Nissan has identified three major environmental issues on which to focus its energies: reducing CO2 emissions; protecting the air, water and soil; and recycling resources. To make progress in these areas, we believe a management system is needed that achieves maximum results by organically linking divisions engaged in product and technical development, production, logistics, marketing and sales. We are building a global environmental management framework and establishing targets and action plans in all areas of activity to promote consistent approaches. Our Framework for Global Environment Management Stakeholders Communication Three Key Issues Reducing CO2 Emissions Products Manufacturing Marketing Protecting Air, Water, Soil & & & Technology Logistics Sales Recycling Resources Nissan Global Environment Management Sincere Eco-Innovator Environmental Management Framework Nissan has created the organizational system shown below to clarify areas of activity, with the aim of promoting environmental management worldwide. Our Global Environment Management Committee (G-EMC), headed by Nissan’s chief operating officer, decides overall policies and the proposals to be put before the Executive Committee. The Global Environmental Planning