A growing number of electronic equipment and IT companies in Japan, including NEC Corporation, and Canon Inc., are reorganizing their domestic and international distribution systems as a part of their environmental activities. They are attempting to reduce CO2 emissions from their operations by shifting from truck-and-air to train-and-ship based logistics and distribution systems.

NEC will fully switch this year from air to marine transport for shipping desktop personal computers manufactured in China to Japan. The CO2 emission levels from using ships are less than one thirtieth those of air transport.

Canon set the goal og 20$ reduction of CO2 emission per sales by the end of 2006 from the 2000 level. They also set individual objectives for efficiency in logistics, including overseas plants and sales offices.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport has started preparations for legislation on governmental support for "modal shifting," which is aimed at moving shippers toward the use of low-pollution modes of transport.



Posted: 2002/08/24 06:01:05 AM
Japanese version

TAG Global warming , Government , Manufacturing industry , System/Law , Transportation