Environmental Considerations
As a member of Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), Nippon Steel has affirmed the Declaration of Biodiversity by Keidanren and Action Policy (revised in October 2018) and has accordingly taken initiatives on biodiversity preservation under the following policy.
In 1971, Nippon Steel launched “Creation of Hometown Forests” programs at all of its steelworks scattered throughout the country. After studies on natural vegetation inherent to the surrounding areas, seeding, and planting seedlings, the steelworks’ programs have produced forests covering an area of about 850 hectares with 30-meter-high trees, providing habitats for various wild birds and animals.
Desertification of seashores has emerged recently as a new environmental problem. Decreasing seaweeds growth is an alarming sign of worsening environments for fish and other living things in coastal areas and telltale signs of immediate impact on coastal fisheries. One element of the causes is said to be a shortage of iron. To revitalize fields of seaweeds and marine plants, Nippon Steel has developed an iron-supply unit by mixing steel slag, a by-product of its iron manufacture, with humus and soil.