Third-Party Review

I appreciate the fact that Honda has set out global CO2 reduction targets

What is most outstanding in the Honda Environmental Annual Report 2006 is that Honda has established global CO2 reduction targets. The most serious environmental problem in the 21st century is global warming. Global warming threatens our lives by causing droughts, hurricanes, storm surges, forest fires, desertification, and rising sea levels. To deal with these threats, we have to reduce emissions of CO2, which is the greatest contributor to global warming of all greenhouse gases. The Kyoto Protocol was enforced to achieve reductions in CO2 emissions.
Many Japanese companies have been actively implementing measures to reduce CO2 emissions in Japan, but these measures alone are not enough. In particular, Japanese companies that have developed into global corporations should take global measures to reduce their CO2 emissions. There are no national boundaries for emissions. Even if you succeed in reducing domestic CO2 emissions, it will be useless if you increase emissions overseas.
In its annual environmental report, Honda announces and promises to reduce CO2 emissions from its products and production activities all around the world. Specifically, it aims to achieve a 10 percent CO2 reduction in emissions from its automobiles and other products as well as a 10 percent CO2 reduction from the production of automobiles and a 20 percent CO2 reduction from the production of motor-cycles and power equipment. I think that Honda is the first company to announce numerical CO2 reduction targets for all its products and plants around the world. Honda has already been implementing dramatic measures to reduce CO2 emissions from its products and production activities, and it will be difficult for the company to achieve additional CO2 reductions. I expect, however, that Honda will be able to accomplish this by using abilities that separate it from other companies. Honda will provide a good example with its CO2 emissions reduction and prove that you can reduce emissions if you really want to do.
Honda’s annual environmental report intelligibly explains that technological development, including the development of hybrid vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, and superclean diesel engines will greatly contribute to the attainment of CO2 emissions reduction targets. Not limited to describing anti-global warming measures, the report gives easy-to-understand explanations of Honda’s fiscal 2005 environmental measures taken at various stages, from product development to the recycling of end-of-life products, as well as an evaluation of those measures.

Honda needs to hold a stakeholder meeting

There is, however, room for improvement in Honda’s environmental activities. The company could hold a stakeholder meeting every few years to directly explain its environmental measures and listen to any comments or evaluations its stake-holders may have. This will allow Honda to create new ideas for the future. At the beginning of the report, Mr. Fukui, the president of Honda, announced that the company is firmly determined to reduce its environmental impact by using its technologies. It would be great if the president stated this directly to the stakeholders of the company. Honda announced its ambitious CO2 reduction targets in the annual environmental report, which is indeed impressive. However, it would have made readers feel closer to Honda if profiles of Honda’s highly praised associates working at the forefront of environmental technologies and development-related anecdotes were introduced in the report. Finally, I expect Honda to actively utilize its technologies and know-how to prevent global warming for the good of society. Honda could make it even clearer that it aims to become a company that society wants to exist by getting more involved in society at large.