Comments Upon Reading the Kobe Steel Group's Sustainability Report 2008
Profile Professor Katsuhiko Kokubu received his doctorate in business administration in 1990 from the Gradate School of Business Administration at Osaka City University. He served as an assistant professor at Osaka City University and Kobe University before assuming his present post in 2001. Specializing in social environmental accounting and environmental administration, he founded the Institute for Environmental Management Accounting, which utilizes his research results. He has served as a member of the Ministry of the Environment's Study Committee on Reforming Environmental Accounting Guidelines, and as the chairperson of the Working Committee on the Development and Dissemination of Material Flow Cost Accounting commissioned by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Environmental Contributions through Business Operations
A company's environmental response can be broadly divided into two categories: minimizing the burden placed on the environment by its daily activities, and making positive contributions to the environment through its business operations. Until now, most companies have emphasized the former, including the creation of environmental management systems. Once the basis for environmental conservation has been established, however, companies should actively seek to make environmental contributions through their business operations. From this perspective, I believe that the Kobe Steel Group's Sustainability Report 2008 has been edited in such a way as to emphasize this latter ideal, marking the company's entry into a new stage of environmental management.
Quality Assurance
The "Special Feature" on quality assurance in particular showcases this new priority. Four pages are devoted to interviews with managers in charge of quality assurance at some of the Group's major manufacturing facilities. They provide a fresh picture of Kobe Steel's enthusiastic interest in this topic. With regard to the relationship between this section and the rest of the report, however, it would have been nice to see a more detailed explanation of how Kobe Steel's concern for quality assurance is integrated with its overall efforts to conserve the environment. The way that the environment and product quality are combined within the context of overall company management is an important issue, and I would like to see a systematic treatment of this question in future reports.
Product-Centered Explanation of Environmental Performance
Kobe Steel's concern for contributing to a healthier environment is also evidenced in the section on disclosing information on environmental performance, with the disclosed information focusing on products and research development. In the sections, "Products, Technologies and Services to Benefit the Environment" and "Research and Development to Benefit the Environment," separate explanations are given concerning the field of materials and the field of machinery and engineering. This made it easier to understand the Kobe Steel Group's activities. However, because products are inseparable from the manufacturing processes that produce them, I believe the report would be even more balanced if it included a description of reforms made on the environmental aspects of the manufacturing processes. In addition, extremely long-term environmental countermeasures centering on the problem of climate change are currently the focus of concern on a global level. It is my strong hope that the Kobe Steel Group will pursue technical innovation in its products and manufacturing processes in such a way as to reflect a long-term environmental vision.
A Fusion of Social and Environmental Action
The focus of the Group's CSR is on more complete compliance and on social contributions through philanthropy. Regarding compliance, it would seem that one important future issue is how the Group as a whole will proceed. Another important future concern will be how the Group contributes to society through its business operations. In this context it's important to unearth currently hidden needs through dialogue with stakeholders. If this is done, CSR activities can become an open window to society and will help strengthen the corporate organization.
* The Third-Party Comment does not contain opinions concerning the accuracy of the information included in this report.
Editorial Postscript
Secretariat and Publicity Department, Kobe Steel, Ltd. In an effort to help our stakeholders obtain a more intimate view of the Kobe Steel Group's corporate activities, we created a new "Special Feature" in our Sustainability Report 2008, which describes some of the quality assurance efforts we have undertaken in our various business sectors. In the "Materials Balance" section, we included reports on our welding and aluminum and copper operations in addition to our iron and steel operations to provide a more rounded picture of the Group as a whole. Also, continuing our policy from the previous year, we present a progress report on the countermeasures we have adopted to ameliorate the emissions problems that arose at our Kakogawa Works and Kobe Works in May 2006, while outlining our efforts to prevent recurrence. We hope that readers will share their opinions with us so that we can make further improvements in next year's edition.
Secretariat and Publicity Department, Kobe Steel, Ltd.
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