EnvironmentGlobal Warming Countermeasures・Biodiversity
As part of our initiative to protect the global environment and contribute to sustainable systems, we take measures to conserve biodiversity while supplying and developing eco-friendly products that both save energy and generate energy.
Our Global Warming Countermeasures
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from melting furnaces is a vital issue in the glass manufacturing industry, which uses a high volume of energy for melting, and it is a top priority for us.
Oxy-fuel Firing Glass Melting Furnaces
An oxy-fuel firing furnace differs from an air combustion furnace in that nitrogen is not taken into the furnace, which means that less exhaust gas (and consequently exhaust heat) is produced, thus reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Furthermore, the generation of thermal nitrogen oxides (NOx) in a furnace is reduced.
In 1993, we installed Japan’s first oxy-fuel firing glass melting furnace. This technology has now been adopted for almost all of our furnaces.
Fuel Conversion in Glass Melting Furnaces
We have been making a shift to fuels that produce lower carbon emissions—actively switching to the use of natural gas over the last 20 years. In 2010 we completely stopped using heavy oil, and in 2020 we achieved a natural gas usage rate of 99.7%.
Increasing Electricity Usage in the Glass Melting Process
In the current melting process, both gas and electricity are used. When using electricity, we insert electrodes into the molten glass, a method of heating that uses the direct passage of electric current. This method is highly energy efficient, and produces less exhaust heat than gas combustion. Carbon emissions can also be reduced going forward by introducing renewable energy sources. To achieve this, our Group is promoting a shift to hybrid melting furnaces that can be powered by electricity.
A further shift to all-electric melting furnaces is the direction in which we are headed, with the aim of achieving carbon neutrality in the future.
Protecting Biodiversity
To fulfill our social responsibility as a corporation, we are required to make efforts to protect the global environment in our business operations. We have identified “consideration for the environment” as one of our key values, and we have been working to reduce our environmental footprint. Committed to the principle of leaving nature untouched, except for the locations required for our business operations, the Notogawa Plant maintains natural forests that make use of the native vegetation of the local Suzuka Mountain Range, and has even left local streams undisturbed since it was established. Flower seedlings are also grown in a greenhouse inside the plant and used to beautify the local area.
In addition to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, our employees participate in volunteer work to maintain forests carried out by a local forestry cooperative, and we take part in the extermination of invasive fish species in an effort to protect the ecosystem of Lake Biwa. Through such initiatives, we are working to conserve local biodiversity.
The Lake Biwa Carbon Credit Partner Agreement
In March 2021, we entered into a partner agreement with the Shiga Prefecture Afforestation Public Corporation, a general incorporated association whose director is the governor of Shiga Prefecture, Taizo Mikazuki. The Lake Biwa Carbon Credit system, began in 2021, allows Shiga Prefecture to use the national government’s J-Credit Scheme to earn credits for amounts of CO2 emissions reduced through energy-saving measures or the utilization of renewable energy, or for the amount of CO2 absorbed through forest management. The Shiga Prefecture Afforestation Public Corporation can then sell those credits to partners.The system’s aim is to achieve net zero carbon emissions in Shiga in the future. The funds from the buying and selling of offset credits are used to protect forests, from which the water of Lake Biwa originates, creating a positive cycle of reinforcement between the Shiga CO2 Net Zero movement and Lake Biwa environmental conservation efforts.
Since 2018, we have been purchasing J-credits continuously from the Konze Forestry Association in Ritto, Shiga Prefecture, and this is our second case of purchasing J-credits through the Lake Biwa Carbon Credit system. We will continue on a regular basis to purchase credits produced in the prefecture, and support over the medium-to-long term forest conservation activities in Shiga, our home prefecture, to contribute to the Shiga CO2 Net Zero movement and the conservation of Lake Biwa.