Nippon Paper Group, Inc. (President: Masatomo Nakamura) is pleased to announce that the Company has revised the Charter on the Environment for the first time in six years and established a new environmental action plan for the entire Group. The new plan, called "Green Action Plan 2010," sets out in writing for the first time, an action program for the entire Group.

 

Until recently, individual Group companies had developed their own environmental charters and action plans. A highlight of the recent revision is to more clearly define the Charter on the Environment and the Environmental Action Plan of the Nippon Paper Group as the fundamentals of the Group's environmental activities in light of the changing circumstances surrounding the environment in the past few years. Under the Group's unified environmental management, each company in the Group will set out its own environmental action plan, which will call for tangible action.

 

The main points of the revised Environmental Charter are as follows. Prior to the revision, the Company studied a number of opinions and comments it gathered from a wide range of stakeholders in February this year.

 

(1) Philosophy

"Consideration to biodiversity" has been added.

 

(2) Basic Policy

The following commitments have been added:

- Promotion of action against global warming

- Compliance with environmental statutes

- Active environmental communications

 

In addition, the new environmental action plan, Green Action Plan 2010, provides for certain activities, including those listed below:

 

- Reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels 10% from the fiscal 1990 level on a per-product basis and fossil fuel consumption 13% from the fiscal 1990 level, also on a per-product basis, in accordance with the Voluntary Action Program for the Environment of the Japan Paper Association (JPA).

- Continue with the overseas afforestation to plant trees to reach 200,000 hectares.

- Increase the ratio of waste independently recycled into products with the aim of finally achieving 100% recycling into products.

- Implement comprehensive control of chemical substances used in product manufacturing and other processes.

- Step up environmental communications by engaging in active dialogs with the public and the government.