Story Business

Japan's iron and steel sector initiatives to tackle global warming - Contributing to mitigation and adaptation in accordance with the Paris Agreement -

Japan's iron and steel sector has carried out voluntary initiatives on global warming based on the three pillars of environmental action, as well as the fourth pillar of innovative technology development. Under these four pillars, the industry has aligned with the Paris Agreement to take the following actions for climate mitigation and adaption, thereby contributing to tackling global warming on a global scale.
1. Providing steel essential to maintain disaster-resilient social infrastructure designed to prevent and reduce future predicted damage as an adaptation measure.
2. Further improving the functionality of steel to contribute to improving the energy conservation of next-generation industrial products.
3. Ensuring low-carbon manufacturing processes in the steel sector worldwide and developing innovative technologies for drastic long-term reductions to accomplish these actions

Organisation	The Japan Iron and Steel Federation
Detail	20181004-015.pdf（Japanese only, PDF, 1.15MB）
Date	04 October 2018

Story Business

Protecting the environment with our stakeholders

For lifestyles with no environmental footprint, we are working with a variety of stakeholders on activities to reduce CO2 emissions throughout the entire lifecycle of our products. In order to promote these activities, we set goals, take actions, publish results, and communicate with stakeholders.
We are creating innovative technologies that lead to consumer lifestyle reform through water conservation products and film containers that significantly reduce the amount of plastic used, developing products, assertively reducing our company’s emissions, enlightening consumers, and carrying out other activities.
With the motto “Let’s eco together”, we work together with a variety of stakeholders to carry out eco-sensitive activities, contributing to achieving multiple SDGs.

Organisation	Kao Corporation
Detail	20181004-016.pdf（Japanese only, PDF, 323KB）
Date	04 October 2018

Story Municipality

Stop global warming through environmental education and achieving a circular and ecological society! - Becoming a society where local resources are shared among cities and rural areas -

In the year following the 1992 Earth Summit, Itabashi Ward in Tokyo announced the Ecopolis Itabashi Environmental Declaration to create a city where citizens and the environment coexist.
For the past 25 years, Itabashi has taken a range actions, including environmental education that places importance on local resources and exchange between people in sister cities like Penang, Malaysia and Nikko, Tochigi.
Although not directly contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emission reduction, it is regions and cities with forest resources that use their local characteristics to support one another, develop human resources, and achieve a circular and ecological society. In the future, these regions will greatly contribute to achieving SDGs including climate change measures, through mutual support between urban and rural areas around the world.

Organisation	Itabashi Ward
Detail	20181004-017.pdf（Japanese only, PDF, 3.93MB）
Date	04 October 2018

Story Business

Protect water and create green power! Biomass generation system

Food production and consumption generates wastewater containing large amounts of oil. It takes 12 tonnes of water to turn wastewater containing 40 cc of oil back into water where fish can live. The key to protecting water is oil removal.
TBM Co., Ltd. develops technology for diesel power generation by separating and collecting wastewater oil and turning it into fuel. The company created a biomass generation system that protects the water and creates green power.
If this system was applied to Tokyo and three other prefectures in the metropolitan area, it would produce 278 GWh of green energy a year. There is the potential for a reduction of 370,000 t of CO2 emissions a year with the multiple benefits of reducing waste and lessening the burden on sewage processing (as calculated by the National Institute for Environmental Studies).
TBM Co., Ltd. is currently cooperating with Yokohama city and other municipalities to apply this system throughout the region by the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Following 2020, the system will be developed for use overseas thereby making a contribution to SDGs in other countries.

Organisation	TBM Co., Ltd.
Detail	20181004-018.pdf（Japanese only, PDF, 417KB）
Date	04 October 2018

Story Business

Working to decarbonize society with a “cyclical resource business model”

Ohtomo Chemicals Ins., Corp is a company providing industrial liquid products for cutting, polishing and scraping to advanced industries that make semiconductors and electronic devices. It is aiming for a circular resource business model that works alongside human progress and aims for coexistence with the environment.

Organisation	Ohtomo Chemicals Ins., Corp
Detail	20181004-019.pdf（Japanese only, PDF, 255KB）
Date	04 October 2018

Story Business

World’s first Buddhist power retailer - “Benefits for all, on four sides”. Planning for future generations with temples and regions.

With the goal of achieving a 100% decarbonized and recyclable energy society, Buddhist temples of all sects jointly established the power retailer, TERA Energy Co., Ltd. The company will aim to return a profit to society by selling largely renewable energy. The company’s revenue base will be used to create a local community through temples (including the cooperation of followers and many others) with the goal to contribute to solving various issues in the region. Centering on temples, TERA Energy will contribute to a society with strengthened intergenerational bonds and resilient sustainability, creating a global-scale ripple effect through a network of believers.

Organisation	TERA Energy CO., LTD.
Detail	20181004-020.pdf（Japanese only, PDF, 339KB）
Date	04 October 2018

Story NGO/NPO

Promoting oceans, ocean climate-related actions, and global expansion of Japanese best practices

As well as having a major impact in absorption and fixation of artificial greenhouse gases, the ocean environment is also strongly affected by increasing seawater temperatures, rising sea levels, and acidification. Through cooperation with the World Ocean Forum and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, the Roadmap to Oceans and Climate Action (ROCA) Initiative was established, and launched at 22nd Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22).
With the aim of achieving ROCA proposals, the Ocean Danger Watch website was launched to focus on the warming and acidification of the ocean, and Japanese practices relating to blue carbon were developed internationally, as well as a review of legal frameworks for the transfer of climate origins. These actions contribute to the promotion of climate change mitigation and adaptation from the perspective of the ocean.

Organisation	Ocean Policy Research Institute, Sasakawa Peace Foundation
Detail	20181004-021.pdf（Japanese only, PDF, 309KB）
Date	04 October 2018

Story Business

Daiwa House works toward decarbonisation - through company activities and products/services

In anticipation of its 100th anniversary, the Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd. has drawn up a long-term environmental vision called “Challenge ZERO 2055”, with the goal of reducing the company’s environmental footprint to zero through group, global, and supply chain activities. Challenge ZERO 2055’s goal of decarbonisation received validation as a Science Based Targets (SBT) in August 2018 for being an ambitious goal in line with the Paris Agreement. In order to achieve this goal, Daiwa House joined “EP100”, which aims to double energy efficiency in businesses, and “RE100”, which aims to provide the power required for business management with 100% recyclable energy, a first in the world for the construction and housing industry.
Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd. is working to decarbonize both its corporate activities as well as the products and services that it provides, using results to improve the competitive strength of its business and accelerate its initiatives.

Organisation	Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd.
Detail	20180920-022.pdf（Japanese only, PDF, 360KB）
Date	20 September 2018

Story Business

Using sustainable water sources for water control and energy self-sufficiency, and controlling climate control

Global warming has melted the ice caps and glaciers, increasing the amount of ocean water and raising ocean levels. This has led to large typhoons, tornadoes, heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, and other increases in fluid energy.
Once ice has melted, there are no artificial ways of ever restoring the ice caps or glaciers. However, one idea to combat this is for each country to store water from rainfall underground in mountainous regions thereby controlling fluid energy and reducing floods by letting water flow in controlled amounts from the mountains to generate power in a continuous process that then returns the water to the ocean. This method would store excess water that comes from melting and reduce fluid energy that results in major typhoons, tornadoes, heavy rainfall, and thunderstorms through water control. At the same time, it can be used to generate power as it flows back to the ocean.

Organisation	Yamayoshi Ltd.
Detail	20180920-023.pdf（Japanese only, PDF, 637KB）
Date	20 September 2018

Story NGO/NPO

Using the unwanted local resource of bamboo as a heat source for urban regions

Minamata City gained notoriety as a source of pollution. But now, there is a high level of awareness on community health and environmental issues. Similar to many rural area in Japan, Minamata is facing rapidly burgeoning challenges such as depopulation, aging population, and outmigration of young people. The majority of agricultural workers are over 70 years old, and farm work keeps them too busy to deal with maintaining the mountain forests and bamboo groves. The major type of bamboo in the area is Moso bamboo, which was once used for its shoots, for residence walls, and for 3x3x3m bonito fishing cages. However, bamboo does not have much practical use these days, and is fast becoming an unwanted resource because it is so thick and heavy. Every year, bamboo shoots emerge from the ground in the spring, and above-ground growth is halted after about six months. In fact, this unwanted resource can be made into bamboo charcoal to create heat, achieving a carbon-neutral circular society that does not rely on fossil fuels in rural regions.

Organisation	Nobel Apolication of Plant resources
Detail	20180830-024.pdf（Japanese only, PDF, 1.5MB）
Date	30 August 2018