Nippon Steel Corporation
What do our scores mean?
The organizational score represents the degree to which the organization influencing climate policy and legislation. Corporations also have relationship scores reflecting their links with influencers like trade associations. Both are combined to place the corporation in a performance band. Full details can be found here.
Update August 2021: If limited evidence had been collected either on a company's direct policy engagement (Organization Score) or industry association links (Relationship Score) this is signified with an ‘n/a’ (not available). If limited evidence has been collected in both areas, the Total Score is also given as n/a. Full details and links back to any primary evidence that has been collected can still be located on the company’s profile.
Engagement Intensity
The engagement intensity (EI) is a metric of the extent to which the company is engaging on climate change policy matters, whether positively or negatively. It is a number from 0 (no engagement at all) to 100 (full engagement on all queries/data points). Clearly energy companies are more affected by climate regulations and will have a higher EI than, for example retailers. So an organization’s score should be looked at in conjunction with this metric to gauge the amount of evidence we are using in each case as a basis for scoring. On our scale, an EI of more than 35 indicates a relatively large amount of climate policy engagement.
Relationship Score, December 2020
A new batch of industry associations has been uploaded onto the InfluenceMap system and the relationship scores recalculated accordingly.
Updated terminology, February 2021
We adjusted the terminology used to describe the queries running down the left-hand side of our scoring matrix and added additional explanatory text to the info-boxes. This has no impact on the scores and methodology. It has been done following user feedback to improve clarity.
- Details of Organization Score
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What do the 0,1,2 and NSs, NAs mean?
Each cell in the organization's matrix presents a chance for us to assess each data source against our column of climate change policy queries. We score from -2 to 2, with negative scores representing evidence of obstructive influence. "NA" means "not applicable" and "NS" means "not scored" - that is we did not find any evidence either way. In both cases, the cell's weighting is re-distributed over others. Red and blue cells represent highly interesting negative or positive influence respectively. Full details can be found here.
- Details of Relationship Score
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What is the Relationship Score
A corporation, as well as its organizational score will have a relationship score. It is computed by aggregating the organizational scores of the Influencers (trade bodies etc.) it has relationships with, weighted by both the strength of these relationships and the relative importance of the Influencers towards climate change policy. Full details can be found here.
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QUERIES
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DATA SOURCES | ||||||
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Main Web Site
The main organizational Web site of the company and its direct links to major affiliates and attached documents. |
Social Media
We search other media and sites funded or controlled by the organization, such as social media (Twitter, Facebook) and direct advertising campaigns of the organization. |
CDP Responses
We assess and score responses to two questions from CDP's climate change information request (12.3 a & 12.3c) related to political influence questions (currently these are not numerically scored by the CDP process). |
Legislative Consultations
Comments from the entity being scored on governmental regulatory consultation processes, including those obtained by InfluenceMap through Freedom of Information requests. |
Media Reports
Here we search in a consistent manner (the organization name and relevant query search terms) a set of web sites of representing reputable news or data aggregations. Supported by targeted searches of proprietary databases. |
CEO Messaging
Here we search in a consistent manner (the CEO/Chairman, organization name and relevant query search terms) a set of web sites of representing reputable news or data aggregations. Supported by targeted searches of proprietary databases. |
Financial Disclosures
We search 10-K and 20-F SEC filings where available, and non US equivalents where not. . |
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Communication of Climate Science
Is the organization transparent and clear about its position on climate change science? |
1
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1
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NS | NS | NS |
1
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NS |
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Alignment with IPCC on Climate Action
Is the organization supporting the science-based response to climate change as set out by the IPCC? (the IPCC) |
0
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1
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NA |
0
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NS |
0
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NS |
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Supporting the Need for Regulations
To what extent does the organization express the need for regulatory intervention to resolve the climate crisis? |
-1
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NS | NS |
-1
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NS |
1
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NS |
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Support of UN Climate Process
Is the organization supporting the UN FCCC process on climate change? |
0
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-1
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NS | NS | NS |
1
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NS |
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Transparency on Legislation
Is the organisation transparent about its positions on climate change legislation/policy and its activities to influence it? |
0
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NA |
-2
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NA | NA | NA | NS |
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Carbon Tax
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: carbon tax. |
-1
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NS | NS | NS | NS |
-1
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NS |
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Emissions Trading
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: emissions trading. |
NS | NS | NS | NS | NS |
-1
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NS |
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Energy and Resource Efficiency
Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: energy efficiency policy, standards, and targets |
0
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NS | NS | NS |
0
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NS | NS |
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Renewable Energy
Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: Renewable energy legislation, targets, subsidies, and other policy |
NS | NS | NS | NS | NS | NS | NS |
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Energy Transition & Zero Carbon Technologies
Is the organization supporting an IPCC-aligned transition of the economy away from carbon-emitting technologies, including supporting relevant policy and legislative measures to enable this transition? |
1
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NS | NS |
-1
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-1
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0
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NS |
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GHG Emission Regulation
Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: GHG emission standards and targets. Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: Standards, targets, and other regulatory measures directly targeting Greenhouse Gas emissions |
NS |
-2
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NS | NS | NS |
1
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NS |
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Disclosure on Relationships
Is the organization transparent about its involvement with industry associations that are influencing climate policy, including the extent to which it is aligned with these groups on climate? |
-1
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NS |
-2
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NA | NA | NA | NS |
Open PDF file of Data Source
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
President of Nippon Steel is in the Executive Committee.
Eiji HASHIMOTO
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
President of Nippon Steel is Chairman of the World Steel Association
Kosei Shindo
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
President of Nippon Steel is in the Executive Committee.
Eiji HASHIMOTO
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
President of Nippon Steel is Chairman of the World Steel Association
Kosei Shindo
How to Read our Relationship Score Map
In this section, we depict graphically the relationships the corporation has with trade associations, federations, advocacy groups and other third parties who may be acting on their behalf to influence climate change policy. Each of the columns above represents one relationship the corporation appears to have with such a third party. In these columns, the top, dark section represents the strength of the relationship the corporation has with the influencer. For example if a corporation's senior executive also held a key role in the trade association, we would deem this to be a strong relationship and it would be on the far left of the chart above, with the weaker ones to the right. Click on these grey shaded upper sections for details of these relationships. The middle section contains a link to the organization score details of the influencer concerned, so you can see the details of its climate change policy influence. Click on the middle sections for for details of the trade associations. The lower section contains the organization score of that influencer, the lower the more negatively it is influencing climate policy.
Climate Lobbying Overview: Nippon Steel Corporation appears to have limited engagement on climate policies and has not clearly communicated its stance on any specific climate policies or regulations. On its website, it has recognized climate variability as an important issue, and in 2019 highlighted its participation in emissions reduction initiatives. Despite this, the company appears to support the long term role for coal in the energy mix and retains memberships to several, powerful industry associations opposing climate policy.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: In its corporate environmental position statement, accessed in 2020, Nippon Steel Corporation appears to recognize the economic imperative of tackling climate change and the need for measures to reduce its sector emissions, although it also states in the same source this should be achieved through the development of a “super innovative technology”. In 2019, the company also appeared to support the export of these emission reduction technologies to other countries. On its website, the Chair of Nippon Steel, Eiji Hashimoto, appears to acknowledge the need to respond to global mega-trends including the shift to EVs and GHG emission reduction, adding that steel as a priory material will continue to be vital in global economic development (accessed 2020).
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: In its corporate environmental position statement, accessed in 2020, Nippon Steel Corporation appears to support improved energy efficiency and reduction in CO2 emission in its sector through innovative technology solutions, as well as the export of these technologies to developing countries for global CO2 reduction. However, there is no evidence of engagement with specific policy or support for standards. In 2015, its Representative Director and Executive Vice President Soichiro Sakuma gave a presentation to the 'Innovation For Cool Earth Forum' where he stated Keidanren's position, appearing to oppose legislated GHG emission reduction targets, and calling instead for a "well-balanced energy mix".
Positioning on Energy Transition: At METI's committee meeting held in March 2021, Nippon Steel suggested the 3E+S should be at the forefront of any energy mix considered and a certain level of fossil fuel sources were desirable to be included in the energy mix. Similar statement was made at an earlier meeting held in February 2021 also. At an interview held in 2020, the chair of Nippon steel appears to support an expanded role of hydrogen in the production of steel, however the source of hydrogen production was not clear.
Industry Association Governance: Nippon Steel has not disclosed a list of its memberships to industry associations, nor has it disclosed an assessment of its alignment with its industry associations on climate change.
Nippon Steel holds prominent positions and membership in key Japanese trade associations, including Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) and Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF). Between them, these two associations have actively opposed a number of climate regulations in Japan, including a carbon tax, an emissions trading scheme, renewable energy legislation and Japan’s long term GHG emission reduction targets.
The current Representative Director and Chairman of Nippon Steel Corporation (Shindo Kosei) is currently the Vice Chair of Keidanren, and other executives have served as Executive Chairman of Keidanren in the past (Imai Takashi, Saito Eishiro, Inayama Yoshihiro). The Representative Director and President (Hashimoto Eiji) is currently the Vice Chairman of The Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF). Nippon Steel's Honorary Chairman (Mimura Akio) is the Chair of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI).