On November 28 at NYK’s 12th Environmental Management Conference in Tokyo, three companies were recognized for their improvement of company value. The three — Yusen Logistics Co. Ltd., Kinkai Yusen Kaisha Ltd., and Honma Corporation — were selected from among 46 domestic NYK Group companies.

NYK holds this conference once a year with NYK Group companies to share information on environmental practices and strengthen environmental management. The three recognized group companies were highly commended for connecting their environmental measures to their business activities. Details of the measures are provided below.

- Yusen Logistics Co. Ltd.
Activity: LED light retrofit in own warehouse to reduce environmental burden
Details: The company replaced over 4,000 outdated lights with energy-efficient LED lights at its own warehouses and offices at the Narita logistics center in Chiba and Chubu logistics center in Nagoya, thus reducing electricity use and resulting in about 210.36 less tons of CO2 emissions.

- Kinkai Yusen Kaisha Ltd.
Activity: Introduction of energy-saving coastal RoRo ships equipped with innovative technology
Details: Reduced environmental burden by introducing and operating five new energy-saving RoRo ships from 2015 to 2018 on coastal routes around Japan. Each of these new ships features an electronically controlled slow-speed main engine enabling efficient operation, a thin rudder with an energy-saving device, a highly efficient propeller, and low-frictional-resistance paint.

- Honma Corporation
Activity: Manufacture of RPF (refuse-derived paper and plastics densified fuel) as a recycle business
Details: The company began the manufacture of RPF-derived wood chips and plastics at the end of 2017. RPF can be substituted for fossil fuels, and can reduce CO2 emissions by about two-thirds compared to coal use. Stable waste disposal is also a feature of RPF, thus reducing environmental burden and eliminating the need for final disposal such as landfill refuse.

The conference participants were also captivated by a presentation by Dr. Shuji Aoki of the Center for Atmospheric and Oceanic Studies Graduate School of Science at Tohoku University who spoke about a research survey of carbon dioxide circulation worldwide. The study makes use of observations from containerships, and the NYK Group has contributed to this study by collecting air samples at sea for over 30 years.

NYK will continue to enhance its activities to reduce the environmental impact of the entire NYK Group, and will make an effort to achieve the medium- to long-term environmental targets* for to the sustainable development of society and enrichment of the group’s corporate value.


* Medium- to long-term environmental targets
NYK’s reduction targets for GHG emissions are 30% per ton-kilometer by 2030 compared with a 2015 base year, and 50% per ton-kilometer by 2050 compared with the same base year. The NYK Group will make its best efforts to reduce GHG emissions by increasing the efficiency of fleet allocation, vessel operation, and cargo handling; striving to achieve zero downtime; and realizing visualization and optimization through hardware innovation and digitalization. These targets have been recognized as science-based by the international Science Based Targets (SBT) initiative.

- Related Press Releases
Announcement on June 13, 2018, “NYK Receives SBT Initiative Verification for Commitment to Greenhouse Gas Reduction,” https://www.nyk.com/english/news/2018/1190806_1687.html


From left, Hidetoshi Maruyama, NYK senior managing corporate officer; Yasue Hirata, manager of Facility Management Sec., General Affairs Dept., Yusen Logistics Co. Ltd.; Noriaki Tajima, president of Kinkai Yusen Kaisha Ltd.; Hiroshi Sakakibara, president of Honma Corporation; and Tomoo Kitayama, NYK corporate officer