Appropriate Management of Water Resources

The KOBELCO Group is reducing its use of water in production processes by optimizing water use, and by reusing and recycling water. We also limit the output of pollutants to public waters by purifying wastewater from production processes with treatment systems suited to its characteristics.

In WRI Aqueduct (as of September 2020), the production sites of Kobe Steel, Ltd. are not located in regions where “Water Stress” is high or higher. In addition, the volume of water from the suppliers for our production sites is ensured, and we believe that the risk of water withdrawal affecting production is low. At Kakogawa Works, for example, the risk of water intake affecting production is thought to be low because upstream from the water used is the Gongen Dam (total storage capacity: 11.12 million tons), constructed to ensure a stable supply of industrial water from the Kakogawa River as well as the Kakogawa Weir (total storage capacity: 1.96 million tons) and the Heiso Dam (total storage capacity: 9.40 million m3), which were constructed to ensure the flow rate of industrial water.

Of the Group’s 33 major production sites in Japan, 15 that account for 45% have formulated water management plans, monitor water intake, discharge and recycling, and are working to properly manage water resources and reduce environmental impact.

At Kakogawa Works, we are promoting the effective use of water resources, such as by monitor withdrawal and discharge through continuous measurement of flow rates at drains, and by recycling water to use again at the site after purifying wastewater from each production process through coagulation sedimentation, sand filtering, etc. In this way, the water recycling rate^*1 reaches approximately 97%.

In Toyama Prefecture, where Nippon Koshuha Steel Co., Ltd. is located, the amount of water allocated to companies is ensured, but in order to leave enough water for snow clearing, every year the Prefecture calls on factories, workplaces, offices, and snow-clearing equipment managers to voluntarily save water from December to February. In order to do its part, Nippon Koshuha Steel is working to reduce its water usage as much as possible.

There were no serious issues of non-compliance, payments of severe fines or penalties, nor any serious leaks over the permitted level in water quality/quantity that are viewed as a violation of standards and regulations.

Kobe Steel, Ltd. has been responding to questionnaires from CDP^*1, an international NGO, since fiscal 2009. Please refer to the following for our response to the 2020 Water Security Questionnaire.