Development of environmentally-conscious steel products at the Nippon Steel Corporation

Abstract Global environmental problems, including global warming, are extremely important and urgent issues for humankind. The human society that has pursued and enjoyed only the development of global civilization now faces the challenging proposition of sustainable development. In recent years, Japan’s steel industry has positioned global environmental compliance as an important objective in corporate activities and has taken various initiatives to contribute to this sustainable development. These environmental initiatives can be considered in three main categories: (1) reduction in CO2 emissions and energy consumption; (2) promotion of recycling and zero-waste; and (3) environmental protection and environmental improvement. Based on this concept, Nippon Steel has implemented environmental measures for steel production processes and has promoted the development of various environmentally friendly products to meet the requirements of diverse consuming industries. The initiatives launched by Nippon Steel in the development of environmentally conscious steel products (eco-products) for each kind of steel market are introduced here. Representative eco-products that meet the requirements of these industries are described. The 21st Century is said to be the ‘century of environment’. Steel will be continued to be utilized as an eco-material in the next century. Nippon Steel will make great contributions to global environmental protection as an ‘eco-company’ with ‘eco-products’ and ‘eco-processes’.