We are working inside and outside of Japan to curb greenhouse gas emissions in every phase of the production process
In the Hitachi Group, we are helping to prevent global warming by cutting the emission of CO2 and other greenhouse gases by improving production, by adopting energy-efficient industrial equipment, and by switching to greener fuels, such as natural gas.
By fiscal 2012, we will cut the use of heavy oil in the Group to one-tenth the fiscal 2005 level, largely by switching to natural gas for material production, where heavy oil consumption is high. Because the repeated forging and heating used in producing materials, such as special steels, consumes much energy, we are rethinking continuous production and how to conserve energy through streamlining and other process improvements. We are trying to reduce CO2 emissions by installing inverter-based equipment and other energy-efficient systems—among the best in the industry—that are manufactured within the Hitachi Group.
In fiscal 2008, we raised our CO2 emission reduction target for fiscal 2010 from 7 percent to 12 percent (from fiscal 1990). This new figure is in line with the industrial sector reduction target in the Japanese government’s new Kyoto Protocol Target Achievement Plan, revised in March 2008 (11.3–12.1 percent). To ensure that this target is reached, we set—and review annually—CO2 emission objectives for each business group and company. As well, we are obliged to meet the targets of the eight industry associations that we belong to. Group operations that do not belong to industry associations (hospitals and offices, for instance) are working toward a 25 percent reduction in CO2 emissions per unit production.
Japan’s amended Law Concerning the Rational Use of Energy, recently revised to strengthen energy conservation in offices and other business operations, went into effect in April 2009. This law increases the number of Hitachi Group operations subject to regulation, and we are taking steps to ensure more meticulous management. These steps include revising our environmental load evaluation system, collecting energyuse data from all business sites, and establishing common standards for operating equipment.
At the same time, 16 sites of Hitachi, Ltd., and 12 companies in the Hitachi Group’s electrical and electronics sectors have been participating in a Japanese program, launched in August 2008, entitled the Experimental Introduction of an Integrated Domestic Market for Emissions Trading. In this way, we are helping to formulate rules on emission reduction and technological development, as well as the design of an emission trading system. Since 2003, the Hitachi Group as a whole has participated in the Japanese Voluntary Emissions Trading Scheme (Ministry of the Environment), helping to identify issues and build a knowledge base on calculating CO2 emissions and other practical aspects of emission trading.
In fiscal 2008, the Hitachi Group invested 7.7 billion yen in energysaving measures throughout Japan, yielding a 50,000-tonne drop in CO2 emissions. Altogether, we have reduced CO2 emissions in Japan by 259,000 tonnes, or 86 percent of the 1990 level.
Trends in CO2 Emissions in Japan
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[topics] Fuel Switching Initiative
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Compact natural
gas-burning once-through
boilers with integrated
control systems
Since fiscal 2005, we have reduced heavy oil consumption by switching fuels. Based on the Group’s own energy-saving technology and know-how, the switch mostly affects the materials sector, which accounts for more than 60 percent of CO2 emissions. At the Shimodate Works of Hitachi Chemical Co. Ltd., where semiconductor materials and functional films are made, natural gas has replaced oil in steam boilers, which are smaller and have been modernized with integrated control systems. As a result, CO2 emissions fell to 45,000 tonnes in fiscal 2008, down sharply from 127,000 tonnes (fiscal 1990). We are also switching to natural gas (from heavy oil) for other equipment, including power generators and organic solvent deodorizers. The goal is to eliminate heavy fuel oil use by fiscal 2010, for even greater reductions in CO2 emissions.
Many of our production plants outside Japan are not in countries that signed the Kyoto Protocol. Nonetheless, because we believe that reducing global warming is independent of location, we distribute handbooks explaining our environmental management system in English and Chinese to raise awareness of energy conservation. In China and the Americas, where increased production sharply raises CO2 emissions, we hold conferences of environmental managers to help pinpoint and resolve local environmental issues. To promote energy savings, moreover, we have set the goal of reducing CO2 emissions per unit production by 1 percent annually. We can achieve this goal by installing energy-efficient equipment whenever we expand production or build new facilities.
Owing to the transfer of production and the construction of new factories outside of Japan, CO2 emissions increased 7.6 percent from the previous year to reach 1,514 kilotonnes in fiscal 2008. At the same time, emissions per unit production fell by 3.3 percent (fiscal 2003).
Trends in CO2 Emissions outside Japan
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Emissions of HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons), PFCs (perfluorocarbons), and SF6 (sulfur hexafluoride)—all greenhouse gases—rose by 12.5 percent in fiscal 2008 because of expanded production. We are systematically installing scrubbers to reduce PFC emissions.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Breakdown
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In fiscal 2008, 510 MWh of the electricity that we used came from solar and other renewable energy sources. Some Hitachi offices used electricity (445 MWh generated by wind power) supplied by Japan Natural Energy Company.
We both manufacture and ship products—ranging from semiconductors to heavy equipment. Our manufacturing and shipping operations collaborate to reduce transportationrelated emissions by cutting the weight and size of products and packaging, as well as through a modal shift to rail and oceangoing ships. We are also increasing truck loads to reduce CO2 emissions, shipping jointly with other companies, and devising new ways to ship containers of varying sizes. To promote energy efficiency, Hitachi Transport System, which handles about 40 percent of shipping within the Hitachi Group, equips all vehicles with digital tachographs linked to the Truck Information Control System. This system, developed in-house, checks daily fuel efficiency.
CO2 emissions from transportation increased 12 percent from the previous year due to an increase in shipments of basic materials, predominantly metals. However, energy used in transportation per real unit output was cut by 1 percent due to a modal shift that boosted the volume of rail and marine shipping in the Group by more than 60 percent over the previous year. In fiscal 2008, a Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems product earned the Eco-Rail Mark, bringing the number of Eco-Rail Marks in the Hitachi Group to five products, two companies, and one business site.
Trend in CO2 Emissions from Transportation
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