Environment Day Message from President Kusakari
June 4, 2003
NYK President Takao Kusakari has released the following message to mark the World Environment Day (June 5):
I should like to express some of my thoughts on the occasion of World Environment Day.
Since NYK was founded in 1885, the sea - an irreplaceable treasure for mankind - has all along provided NYK with a broad stage for its activities. Therefore, NYK has been second to none in feeling the importance of protecting the beautiful sea and has always paid full attention to its protection while playing an active role in transporting various goods, people and cultures across the world.
The improvement of day-to-day business and the intensification of on-the-spot efforts are indispensable for our activities to ensure safety and environmental protection. I understand, therefore, that the pursuit of safety for avoiding environmental risks and measures and actions for enhancing environmental efficiency are something that needs to be tackled by each and every member of our management and work force.
At present, there is widespread concern that the Tokyo-centered National Capital Region will suffer a dire shortage of electricity this summer. This, I believe, has great implications for our company's activities in two respects.
For one thing, NYK is charged with the transport of energy resources, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), coal and crude oil. Certainly, it is our company's social mission to help ensure the stability of the "energy supply chain," which constitutes a lifeline for our country. On July 2, 1997, the bottom of an NYK-operated large-sized tanker hit the seabed at Nakanose in Tokyo Bay. Since that time, we have implemented a series of specific measures to prevent the recurrence of a similar accident. Moreover, in order never to forget the lessons learned from the said accident, we have made it a rule to conduct the "Remember Nakanose Campaign" in July every year to see to it that safety measures are always fully implemented by all the quarters concerned and that the results of such measures are properly verified.
Secondly, power-saving effort to cope with the shortage of electricity is now defined as a matter for all global citizens, and each and every employee of our company is now accorded an opportunity to take forward-looking actions to that end. We understand that a keen awareness of the need to protect the environment on the part of directly concerned persons is of immense importance to environmental activities which represent the accumulation of persevering and steady activities. Accordingly, during the period from June through September when a power shortage is expected, our company intends to undertake power saving activities which may not be high-sounding but will require the participation of all our personnel. For instance, we will set a higher-than-usual air-cooling temperature for air-conditioners at our workplaces, allow light dress, encourage early leaving after work and have unnecessary lights put out without fail. Moreover, we will invite our personnel to submit power-saving suggestions that could be immediately effective, and will implement them at once.
Today, I have ordered the inauguration of an "NYK Environmental Campaign" requiring the participation of all our personnel, which will consist of the "Remember Nakanose Campaign" for ensuring the safe operation of all our vessels, including carriers of energy resources, as well as the "Power Saving Campaign."
It is my fervent hope that by the time we see the smiling faces of a winning team of the annual high school baseball tournament at the Koshien Ballpark in Nishinomiya City this summer, the power shortage will be eliminated and our personnel's interest in the environment enhanced further to be followed by the intensification of our activities for environmental protection.
President of NYK