Environmental Management
NSK’s Approach
Addressing environmental issues, such as the increasingly serious advance of climate change worldwide, and building a sustainable world where economic growth and protection of the global environment are both possible are challenges facing all of humanity. The NSK Group’s Mission Statement declares that NSK “helps protect the global environment.” With the environment as one of our core values, we carry out environmental activities to address global issues, contribute to the realization of a sustainable society, and improve our corporate value.
Policy
The NSK Group established the NSK Environmental Policy and the NSK Environmental Code of Conduct in 1997 to reflect its commitment, which spans all of its business operations, to help protect the global environment. In line with this policy, we strive to develop products and services that help reduce environmental impact, and to practice business operations that seek to reduce environmental impact throughout the value chain.
In November 2021, we revised our Environmental Policy in light of growing international attention to environmental issues in recent years and rising expectations for corporate action to address these issues.
The NSK Group has established the Environmental Action Plan to promote ESG management, one of the key issues of MTP2026. In our practice of global environmental management and environmental compliance, we envision “contributing to the establishment of a carbon-neutral society,” “contributing to the establishment of a sound material-cycle society,” and “contributing to the establishment of an environmentally symbiotic society.” To help achieve this vision, we are minimizing the environmental footprint of our business activities and maximizing the environmental contribution made by our products. This is also linked to helping to achieve the SDGs.
NSK Group Environmental Action Plan
Environmental Risks and Opportunities
In the drive to build a sustainable world, efforts are accelerating to strengthen national and regional regulations and to develop initiatives that encourage measures to reduce CO2 emissions, recycle resources, and reduce environmentally harmful substances. Corporate developments also show progress, in areas such as the electrification of automobiles. In line with this, progress is being made in areas such as the electrification of automobiles. Doing its part, the NSK Group identifies and evaluates environmental opportunities and risks in each phase of the value chain and reflects these in its management strategy and environmental action plan to achieve continuous growth. See the diagram below for specific risks and opportunities.
Material and Energy Balance
The NSK Group works with suppliers to reduce environmental impact through efforts such as green procurement and other initiatives. We also strive to reduce the environmental impact of our customers and of society as a whole by providing environmentally friendly products.
Input and Output of Global Business Activities (FY2022 and 2023)
System
◆Environmental Promotion System
Each department implements various measures to achieve NSK’s environmental action plan and continuously monitors and evaluates its progress.
Initiatives related to the environment are regularly reported to the Core Values Committee. The Committee discusses policies to strengthen activities related to the environment, which is one of NSK’s core values, and considers related risks, so that it can suggest improvements to address issues. In particular, with regard to initiatives toward carbon neutrality, which is an essential management issue, the Carbon Neutrality Department sets policies, strategies, and targets from a companywide and mid- to long-term perspective, promoting various measures to achieve goals. Progress is regularly reported to the executive officer in charge and the CEO. Particularly critical measures are decided by the CEO following discussions by the Operating Committee and are deliberated by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors supervises the implementation of these initiatives. The degree of achievement of targets to reduce CO2 emissions is incorporated into the evaluation criteria for the short-term performance-based compensation of executive officers.
*For more information on the Core Values Committee, please visit NSK’s Corporate Governance Structure.
Targets and Performance
◆Mid-Term Management Plan 2026 (MTP2026) Targets, with Targets and Performance for Each Fiscal Year
| MTP2026 Targets | FY2023 Targets | FY2023 Performance | FY2024 Targets | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Environmental management | Maintain ISO 14001 certification at all subject sites | Maintain ISO 14001 certification at all subject sites | Maintained at all subject sites | Maintain ISO 14001 certification at all subject sites | |
| Obtain ISO 14001 certification within 3 years of starting full-scale operations at a site*1 | Obtain ISO 14001 certification within 3 years of starting full-scale operations at a site | No applicable site | Obtain ISO 14001 certification within 3 years of starting full-scale operations at a site | ||
| No serious violations of environmental laws and regulations | No serious violations of environmental laws and regulations | No serious violations of environmental laws and regulations | No serious violations of environmental laws and regulations | ||
| No serious incidents of environmental pollution | No serious incidents of environmental pollution | No serious incidents of environmental pollution | No serious incidents of environmental pollution | ||
| Creating environmentally friendly products | Create environmentally friendly products with a Neco score of 1.2 or higher (ongoing) | Continue with new developments (Develop 1 or more environmentally friendly products) | Developed 3 environmentally friendly products | Continue with new developments (Develop 1 or more environmentally friendly products) | |
Avoid at least 3 million t-CO2 emissions during the use of NSK products | 2.47 million t-CO2 | 2.43 million t-CO2 | 2.49 million t-CO2 | ||
| Climate change measures | Manufacturing, technology, offices | CO2 emissions*2: 50% reduction from FY2017 | 45.0% reduction from FY2017 | 51.7% reduction from FY2017 | 39.0% reduction from FY2017 |
| Energy usage per unit of sales: 10% reduction from FY2017 | 6.0% reduction from FY2017 | 19.4% reduction from FY2017 | 7.7% reduction from FY2017 | ||
Resource Circulation
| Manufacturing, technology, offices | Industrial waste per unit of sales: Below -9.0% (base year 2017) | Below -6.0% (base year FY2017) | -19.8% (base year FY2017) | Below -7.0% (base year FY2017) |
Maintain a recycling rate of at least 99% | 99% or higher | 99.2% | 99% or higher | ||
| Manufacturing | Waste plastic per unit of sales: (Global) Below -3.0% (base year FY2023) | Waste plastic per unit of sales: (Japan) Below -1.0% (base year FY2022) | 0.0% (base year FY2022) | Below -1.0% (base year FY2023) | |
Distribution (Japan) | Packaging waste per production unit: 14% reduction from FY2021 | Below -6% (base year FY2021) | -23.3% (base year FY2021) | Below -10% (base year FY2021) | |
| Resource Circulation - Utilization of Water Resources | Manufacturing, technology, office | Water withdrawal per unit of sales: 9% reduction from FY2017 | Below -6% (base year FY2017) | -19.5% (base year FY2017) | Below -7% (base year FY2017) |
| Reducing use of environmentally harmful substances | Development and design, procurement, manufacturing | Full response to the 10 EU RoHS2 substances | Full response | Ensured full response in newly developed products Continued efforts to completely eliminate harmful substances in manufacturing processes | Full response |
| Procurement | Conduct survey regarding inclusion of substances on the NSK List of Environmentally Harmful Substances | Conduct supplier audits of the management systems for environmentally harmful substances | Continued to conduct supplier audits and take corrective actions | Conduct supplier audits of the management systems for environmentally harmful substances | |
| Obtain responses from all target suppliers | Continued to obtain responses from all target suppliers | Obtain responses from all target suppliers | |||
Manufacturing (Japan) | Handling of PRTR-designated substances per unit of sales: Continue to reduce by 1% year on year | Below -1% (base year FY2022) | +0.4% (base year FY2022) | Below -1% (base year FY2023) | |
| Biodiversity conservation | Identify the factors in operations that could have a negative impact on biodiversity | Continue activities | Continued activities | Continue activities | |
| Expand social contribution activities related to biodiversity conservation | Continue activities | Continued activities Newly implemented riverbank clean-up in Nagano prefecture | Continue activities | ||
| Educate to deepen employee awareness of issues | Continue activities | Continued activities | Continue activities | ||
*1 Sites with particularly large environmental impacts, including development, design, manufacturing, and distribution
*2 Total greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 equivalent) are obtained by multiplying each type of gas by its global warming coefficient. Emission factors for electricity are variable market standards. These emission factors, which change every year, are published by power companies with which we have contracts, or are given in the International Energy Agency’s CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion.
Initiatives
◆Global Environmental Management
- Acquiring and Maintaining Environmental Management Certification
The NSK Group establishes environmental management at all sites. Environmental initiatives are important at sites involved in development, design, manufacturing, and distribution because these processes have especially large environmental impacts. We require these sites to obtain external ISO 14001 certification—the international standard for environmental management systems—within three years of full-scale operation, such as the start of mass production. Additionally, we work to bolster the effectiveness of our management system at the global level by setting targets, making continuous improvements, and undergoing regular third-party audits. Further, the environmental impact of our ISO 14001 certified sites in terms of energy use, GHG emissions, water consumption, and waste emissions accounts for over 98% of the Group total.
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◆Environmental Compliance
- Environmental Compliance
In addition to compliance with environment-related laws and regulations, the NSK Group does more than merely comply with environmental laws; we adhere to rigorous internal standards that go beyond legal obligations to prevent air and water pollution. In the event of an accident or legal violation that has an impact on the external environment, we promptly report the matter to administrative authorities, investigate the cause, and implement measures to prevent recurrence.
- Environmental Audits
Regular internal audits and third-party audits are conducted at each site around the world. Additionally, the NSK Head Office’s environment-related divisions and regional headquarters conduct audits designed to prevent oil leakages and spills, ensure compliance with environmental laws, and properly manage waste and environmentally harmful substances.
Environmental audit (Europe)
- Remediating Soil and Groundwater Pollution
The NSK Group completely eliminated the use of chlorinated organic solvents by fiscal 2003. However, we are continuing to clean up six sites where past use has left traces of contamination in soil and groundwater. We regularly monitor groundwater and report our progress to agencies.
◆Other Initiatives
- Environmental Education and Training
The NSK Group recognizes that the key to increasing the effectiveness of environmental protection initiatives is for every employee to perform their daily work based on sound knowledge. This is why we continuously offer training to raise employees’ environmental awareness and to deepen their knowledge. Training includes level-specific environmental education for all employees, from new hires to experienced veterans, on such themes as environment management, carbon neutrality, resource conservation (water resources and waste), management of environmentally harmful substances and building an environmentally symbiotic society; environmental e-learning; training tailored to different objectives for the environmental managers in each department; and education for engineers.
Excerpt from “Carbon Neutrality” e-learning program