| Kobe Steel |
Year |
Japan |
World |
 |
1967 |
Basic
Law for Environmental Pollution Control enacted. |
|
|
1968 |
Air
Pollution Control Law enacted. |
|
| First
blast furnace at Kakogawa Works fired up. |
1970 |
Environmental
Pollution Diet
14 laws enacted or amended including the Basic Law for Environmental
Pollution Control, Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law,
and Water Pollution Control Law. |
OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development)
Council at ministerial level held.
OECD Environment Committee formed. |
Environmental
Control Section formed in Technology Control Department at the
Head Office.
Pollution Control Rules established. |
1971 |
Environment
Agency established. |
|
| Environmental
Control Department formed. |
1972
|
|
United
Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm.
Declaration of The United Nations Conference on The Human Environment
adopted.
United Nations Environment Programme established.
The Club of Rome published "The Limits to Growth".
OECD adopted the "Polluter Pays" Principle. |
| Company-wide
Environmental Conservation Conference held. |
1973 |
First
Oil Crisis
Japan Aluminum Can Recycling Association established.
Law Concerning the Examination and Regulation of Manufacture,
etc
of Chemical Substances enacted. |
|
| Environmental
control regulations established. |
1974 |
National
Institute for Environmental Studies established. |
OECD
Council adopted the Declaration on Environmental Policy, which
calls for assessment of the environmental impact on major public
and private activities. |
| |
1977 |
Industrial
Structure Council compiled a report on how wastes should be
recycled. |
|
Amagasaki pollution suit filed.
|
1979 |
Second
Oil Crisis
Law Concerning the Rational Use of Energy enacted. |
OECD
Council adopted the recommendation "The Assessment of Projects
with Significant Impact on the Environment".
Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP)
formed. |
| Environment
and Disaster Control Department established. |
1987 |
|
Vienna
Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer
Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer
adopted. |
| |
1988 |
Law
Concerning the Protection of the Ozone Layer through the Control
of Specified Substances and Others enacted. |
Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) established. |
| Global
Warming Study Group formed. |
1989 |
Tokyo
Conference on the Global Environment: "Environmental Ethics"
proposed. |
Basel
Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous
Wastes and their Disposal adopted. |
| Shinko
Aluminum Can Back" program launched. |
1990 |
Action
Program to Arrest Global Warming adopted. |
IPCC
First Assessment Report published. |
|
1991 |
Global
Environment Charter adopted by Keidanren (the Federation of
Economic Organizations).
Law for the Promotion of Effective Utilization of Recycled Resources
enacted. |
|
Environment
Control and Energy Department formed.
Global Environment Committee formed.
Basic Policies for the Environment established.
Statement on the Environment approved by International Iron
and Steel Institute (IISI). |
1992 |
Waste
Management and Public Cleansing Law amended. |
United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit)
held in Rio de Janeiro. Earth Charter formulated, Agenda 21
adopted and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) adopted (effectuated in March 1994). |
|
1993 |
Basic
Environment Law enacted.
Environmental Protection and Industrial Location Bureau formed
at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (now Ministry
of Economy, Trade and Industry). |
|
|
1994 |
Basic
Environment Plan formulated. |
German
government promulgated the Act for Promoting Closed Substance
Cycle Waste Management and Ensuring Environmentally Compatible
Waste Disposal. |
Basic
Guidelines for Environmental Protection formulated.
Use of CFCs for cleaning banned. |
1995 |
Container
and Packaging Recycling Law enacted. |
UNFCCC:
The First Conference of the Parties (COP1) held in Berlin.
IPCC Second Assessment Report published. |
|
1996 |
Keidanren
(Japan Federation of Economic Organizations) Voluntary Action
Plan on the Environment drawn up for each industry. |
COP2
held in Geneva.
ISO14001 launched. |
|
1997 |
Environmental
Impact Assessment Law enacted.
Japan's greenhouse gas emission reduction target set at 6% at
COP3.
Global Warming Prevention Headquarters established. |
COP3
held in Kyoto. Greenhouse gas reduction targets for developed
countries decided. |
Kakogawa
and Kobe works received ISO 14001 certification.
Kobelco Environment Creating Project for the 21st Century launched. |
1998 |
Law
Concerning the Promotion of the Measures to Cope with Global
Warming enacted.
Electric Household Appliance Recycling Law enacted.
Law Concerning the Rational Use of Energy (Energy Conservation
Law) amended. |
COP4
held in Buenos Aires. |
Takasago
Works (Casting and Forging Plant and Steel Powder Plant) received
ISO 14001 certification.
Environmental Report issued. |
1999 |
PRTR
Law enacted.
Law Concerning Special Measures Against Dioxins enacted. |
COP5
held in Bonn. |
Hatano
Plant received ISO 14001 certification.
Amagasaki pollution suit filed. |
2000 |
The
Basic Law for Establishing the Recycling-based Society, Law
on Promoting Green Purchasing, and various recycling laws enacted.
Law for the Promotion of Effective Utilization of Recycled Resources
and Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law amended.
|
COP6
held in the Hague. |
Moka,
Chofu and Ibaraki plants received ISO 14001 certification.
Kobelco Ecolife Notebook received Osaka Environmental Award.
Fujisawa Industrial Operations received Kanagawa Global Environment
Award.
Risk Control Policies established. |
2001 |
Government
reorganized and Ministry of the Environment formed.
Law Concerning Special Measures Against PCB (polychlorinated
biphenyl) enacted.
Law Concerning the Recovery and Destruction of Fluorocarbons
enacted. |
COP6
(Part 2) held in Bonn.
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Treaty
IPCC Third Assessment Report: Climate Change 2001 |
Takasago
Works (Takasago Equipment Plant and Takasago Machinery Center)
received ISO 14001 certification.
Global Environment Committee reorganized into Environmental
Management Committee.
Harima, Fukuchiyama and Daian plants received ISO 14001 certification.
Compliance Committee formed. |
2002 |
Energy
Conservation Law amended.
New Energy Special Measures Law, Soil Contamination Countermeasures
Law, Law Concerning Recycling Measures for End-of-Life Vehicles,
and Basic Law on Energy Policy enacted.
Kyoto Protocol ratified. |
Emissions
trading markets opened in U.K. and other countries.
World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg.
COP8 held in Delhi. |
Energy-saving
activities of Kakogawa Works were awarded the 2002 Energy-saving
Excellent Case "Director-General Prize of Agency for Natural
Resources and Energy".
Reorganized into Environmental Control and Energy Group.
Kobelco Eco-Solutions Co., Ltd. and Earth Technica Co., Ltd.
established. |
2003 |
Basic
plan for promoting formation of recycling-based society formulated.
Renewable Portfolio Standard introduced.
Law for Enhancing Motivation on Environmental Conservation and
Promoting of Environmental Education enacted.
Law for the Promotion of Effective Utilities of Resources amended
for home PC recycling. |
EU
Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous
Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS Directive)
adopted.
COP9 held in Milano. |
Nadahama
Science Square opened.
Ibaraki Plant received Osaka Environmental Award.
Aluminum and Copper Company received METI Minister's Award for
aluminum dross recycling.
Received Kobe City Award for Distinguished Environmental Activities
for wide-ranging environmental activities. |
2004 |
POPs
Treaty ratified.
Revised Chemical Substances Control Law came into effect. |
COP10
held in Buenos Aires. |
Stopped
production of chromate-treated electrogalvanized steel sheet.
The Saijo Plant becomes the first plant in Japan to obtain Eco
Action 21 certification.
Development of FASTMET
recycling process received METI Minister's Award. |
2005 |
End-of-life
Vehicle Recycling Law came into effect. |
Kyoto
Protocol published.
COP11 and MOP1 held in Montreal. |
Air
emission problem discovered at steelworks.
Environmental Management Committee launched.
Environmental Control & Disaster Prevention Dept. reorganized. |
2006 |
Revised Law Regarding the Rationalization of Energy Use came
into effect.
Revised Law Concerning the Promotion of the Measures to Cope
with Global Warming came into effect.
Asbestos-related revised laws came into effect (Air Pollution
Control Law and Waste Management Law). |
RoHS
compliance came into effect.
COP12 and MOP2 held in Kenya. |
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