Environmental Certification

To further intensify activities with respect to environmental conservation and improved safety at its facilities, Nippon Express is seeking to obtain certification for ISO 14001, the international standard on environmental management systems, and Green Management Certification at each facility.

In June 1998, Nippon Express gained ISO 14001 certification for three service centers (since consolidated into two) at the Tokyo Air Service Branch in Baraki (Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture), followed by five centers in March 2000, two centers in March 2001 and, in March 2002, two more centers: Nagoya Air Cargo Center and Takamatsu Air Cargo Center. We are working to obtain and enhance ISO certification at still more facilities, including those other than the Air Cargo Business Division.

First certifications, June 24, 1998	Tokyo Air Service Branch: Baraki Export Cargo Center
	Tokyo Air Service Branch: Baraki Air Cargo Distribution Center
Additional certifications, March 30, 2000	Tokyo Air Service Branch: Narita Airport Logistics Center
	Nagoya Air Service Branch: Nagoya Distribution Center
	Osaka Air Service Branch: Nanko Air Cargo Center
	Fukuoka Air Service Branch: Fukuoka Air Cargo Center
	Tokyo Air Service Branch: Yokohama International Air Cargo Center (moved)
Additional certifications, March 30, 2001	Hiroshima Air Service Branch: Hiroshima Domestic Air Cargo Center
	Sendai Air Service Branch: Sendai Airport Logistics Center
Additional certifications, March 29, 2002	Nagoya Air Service Branch: Nagoya Air Cargo Center
	Takamatsu Air Service Center: Takamatsu Air Cargo Center
New certification, May 31, 2005	Shikoku Heavy Haulage Construction Branch

Green Management Certification is a system of certifying and registering businesses that promote environment friendly management (Green Management) and have achieved a certain level. The certifying body for Green Management is the Foundation for Promoting Personal Mobility and Ecological Transportation, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The Green Management Certification system began as a basic environmental certification for small and medium-sized trucking businesses. However, Nippon Express developed this further by instituting initiatives at each approved facility—placing emphasis on environmental performance evaluation followed by certification through third-party screening—after which they are considered to be effective environmental management systems operating at the facility level. Currently, we are focusing our efforts on the certification of mainly trucks and warehouses.

The Kyoto Protocol Target Achievement Plan adopted by the cabinet in April 2005 refers to the “dissemination and acceleration of Green Management in transport businesses, Ewhile the operation policy of the Revised Energy Conservation Law which came into force in April 2006 recommends the selection of freight haulers who are considerate of the environment (businesses that have obtained ISO 14001 certification and Green Management Certification).

As of July 2007, the situation with regards to Green Management Certification is as follows: nationwide, in the truck division 235 facilities out of approximately 1,030 Nippon Express non-consolidated truck facilities, and 11 Group companies in 26 facilities have obtained certification; and in the warehouse division, which began operating from July 2005, 28 Nippon Express non- consolidated facilities and one Group company in one facility have obtained certification.

Specific initiatives to obtain Green Management Certification involve recognizing the environmental impacts in the table below, taking steps to deal with them, and recording the results.

Inspection/repair items with environmental impacts	Specific impacts	Responses
Exhaust gases	Black smoke: needs maintenance	Routine visual checks for black smoke are important. Regularly use tester to measure black smoke concentration. Immediate inspections (determining causes) and maintenance are important when something is wrong.
Air filter	Poor fuel economy: increases CO2 Black smoke: needs maintenance	Regular cleaning and changing is important.
Engine oil	Poor fuel economy: increases CO2	Regular oil changes are important.
Tire air pressure	Black and white smoke Poor fuel economy: increases CO2 (10% pressure drop worsens fuel economy about 3%)	Routine tire pressure checking with tire gauge is important.
Muffler	Improper installation or damage cause noise.	Listen for unusual noises.
Air conditioner	Leaking refrigerants are greenhouse gases. Dirty evaporators cause air conditioner inefficiency, which worsens fuel economy.	If air conditioner cools poorly, immediately inspect and repair. Regularly clean the evaporator.

• Frequently Asked Questions about IR (FAQ)

Related Information

• Promoting Modal Shift
• Initiatives to Introduce Low-pollution Vehicles and Enhance Fuel Economy
• Reducing the Use of Packing Material
• Collection and Delivery System Improvements
• Reducing Waste and Advancing the 3Rs