Nippon Steel has built an environmental governance and management system that includes not only its own steelworks and factories, but also its group companies in Japan and abroad. Activities to reduce environmental risks are promoted by combining internal and external environmental audits and following the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle.

Nippon Steel has three committees to respond to environmental issues, including climate change: the Environmental Planning Committee, the Environmental Technology & Management Committee, and the Green Transformation Development Committee.

The Environmental Planning Committee is chaired by the Executive Vice President in charge of Environmental Policies. The Environmental Technology & Management Committee is chaired by the Executive Vice President in charge of Technology. Other Executive Vice Presidents, Directors, and Executive Officers are members of these committees. Meetings of each committee are held every six months. The Environmental Planning Committee and the Environmental Technology & Management Committee manage environmental issues such as response to climate change, biodiversity, and nature positive, and response to environmental risks and to create circular economy associated with the air, water, and waste, respectively.

As a part of the enhancement of governance, we regularly hold Environmental Managers’ Meetings and Environmental Group Leaders’ Meetings across all steelworks. In particular, Nippon Steel works to reduce risks related to settled dust, water discharge, and waste including activities, based on the work of expert’s conferences held for each of these areas.

The Green Transformation Promotion Committee is chaired jointly by the Executive Vice President in charge of Environmental Policies and the Executive Vice President in charge of Technology. Other Executive Vice Presidents, Directors and Executive Officers are also members of the Committee. The committee meets as needed to review important matters related to the promotion of carbon neutrality (changes in the external environment, update on the initiatives, etc.).

The content of discussions on climate change and the environment at the three committees are reported and discussed as one of the risk management items of the entire company at the Management Committee and the Board of Directors meetings, both of which are attended by the Chairman and the President. The Board of Directors oversees the risk management by being regularly reported about important management risks which were initially reported and discussed at the Management Committee. Environmental issues, including climate issues, are addressed at least four times a year. In this way, climate change and other environmental management are integrated into our overall governance.

Work at maintaining and improving the level of environmental management

In accordance with the international standard ISO 14001, Nippon Steel has built an environmental management system, with each steelworks general manager serving as the responsible person. Each year, in addition to an internal auditing of each steelworks and a management review by its general manager, each steelworks is audited by the Environmental Technology & Management Division of the Head Office. Environment officers of other steel works and facilities also participate in these audits to cross-check. In addition, periodical reviews are conducted by the ISO certification agency.

For the Group companies (71 companies subject to environmental review) including those overseas, a direct interview is conducted by a member of the Environmental Technology & Management Division of the Head Office to improve management levels. This is part of the corporate governance conducted by the Internal Control/Audit Department of the Head Office.

ISO14001 registration status (as of October 1, 2024)

Reviewed by JIC-QA＝Japan Inspection Corporation Quality Assurance

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Environmental risk management concerning Group companies

From the Group companies in Japan, Nippon Steel has identified 45 companies (as of April 2024) as having certain environmental impact and holds meetings for those companies twice a year. In the meetings, we share information including the latest trends of environmental laws and regulations, cases of environmental initiatives with the goal of reducing environmental risks. In addition, we have established a venue to share information within the portal site to disseminate information on environmental regulatory trends and the troubles.

Environmental education

Nippon Steel regards environmental management as an important basis for our business and continuously provide environmental education to each rank of new employees, mid-level engineers, and managers on the subject of basic environmental policies, medium-term environmental management plans, environmental compliance, etc. We encourage our employees to acquire national qualifications, such as those of pollution prevention managers and energy managers, as well as to take ISO 14001 internal auditor training.

Environmental education (training for mid-level engineers)

Status of compliance with the environmental laws and regulations

In fiscal 2023, Nippon Steel was not ordered to pay any penalty for violation of legalobligation or rules concerning the environmental laws and regulations.