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| Honda has been delivering its products to
its customers all over the world to share its joys with them, while at the same
time making every effort to solve environmental problems, recognizing the impact
it has on the global environment. We are now determined to continue to fulfill our environmental responsibilities, which are now increasing in their importance, while serving more than 20 million customers. |
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| A rapid increase in the consumption of fossil fuels
such as oil and coal seen after the industrial revolution has resulted in a
rise in temperature, which exerts an influence over the ecosystem and increases
wind and water damage. The emission of CO2, which
represents a typical greenhouse gas, has been increasing since fiscal 1990,
in ordinary households and in the transportation sector. |
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| Resources used for automobiles are roughly divided into
oil and metal resources. For oil, which has been supporting the automobile
society, the time remaining before depletion is being prolonged, but in view
of increasing consumption, the absolute amount may decrease. For mineral resources,
it is said that the amount presently mined per month greatly exceeds the total
consumption of mineral resources before the beginning of the industrial revolution! |
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| The ozone layer surrounding the earth absorbs most ultraviolet
rays in the sunlight and thus protects the living creatures on the earth. The
use of CFC-12 for automotive air conditioners, which destroys the ozone layer,
was fully discontinued in 1995 but there is still a problem of how to collect
and completely destroy CFC-12 from end-of-life air conditioners. |
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| Air pollution is caused by carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons
(HC), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and suspended particulate matters (SPMs), and
the emission of these sub-stances should be reduced. In recent years, the emission
from a single automobile has been remarkably reduced thanks to the development
of exhaust gas cleaning technologies, but total emissions have remained on
the same level due to an increase in the overall number of automobiles through
the progress of motorization. For example, approximately 30% of areas do not
meet the NOx emission standards according to data obtained from pollution monitoring
stations located on roadsides. |
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| In the high economic growth period, it was required
to take measures against dust and sulfur oxides (SOx) generated from fuels
combusted in metal casting furnaces and against water pollutants contained
in waste-water. Most of these pollutants have been considerably reduced thanks
to the development of pollution prevention technologies. It is now required
to reduce the environmental impacts caused by our production activities by
reducing the use of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for drying paints for
parts, properly managing the transfer of chemical substances used, and by reducing
landfill waste. |
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| In recent years, the leaching of harmful substances
from landfill sites has become a problem and people are increasingly demanding
advanced waste disposal measures and opposing the construction of new landfill
sites. On the other hand, waste disposal costs are rising, causing the illegal
disposal of waste. Presently, approximately 5 million vehicles are wasted every
year as end-of-life vehicles, around 70 to 80% of which are recycled. The remaining
20% or so are shredded and such shredder residue also needs to be reduced. |
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