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The revised Act Concerning the Rational Use of Energy was put into effect in April 2006. As a Specified Consigner*1 defined by the law, Asahi Glass has set the target of reducing per-unit CO2 emissions from its transportation activities by 1% on average per year for the period from 2007 to 2011. Our transportation volume totaled 800 million ton-kilos*2 (equivalent to 69,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year) in fiscal 2006, the base year from April 2006 to March 2007.
In fiscal 2010 (from January to December 2010), due to a decrease in the ratio of marine transportation following changes made to the composition of products to be shipped, CO2 emissions per ton-kilo increased by 0.5% year on year, but decreased by 8.2% relative to the base year. We will continue to improve our transportation efficiency by consolidating our manufacturing and transportation sites, promoting modal shift that includes the proactive use of railway and shipping, upsizing transportation vehicles, expanding the use of low-emission vehicles and highly energy-efficient ships, and making effective use of local ports.
In November 2010, AGC Logistics was selected as a transporter who had implemented excellent modal shift measures by the Japan Federation of Freight Industries, in recognition of the fact that in fiscal 2009 the company increased the ratio of cargo transported by railroad and ship by 0.5% from the fiscal 2008 level in weight with regard to long-distance mass transportation.
*1 Under the law, companies that consign freight transportation of a volume of 30 million ton-kilos or more per year are classified as "Specified Consigners." There are 874 Specified Consigners in Japan (as of June 2009).
*2 When freight weighing one ton is carried over one kilometer, the transportation volume is represented as one ton-kilo.
Topic
Reducing Environmental Impacts through Optimization by Multimodal Transportation (Europe)
Trailer loaded on a wagon for transportation by rail
AGC Glass Europe (AGEU) is improving its transportation activities for the prevention of climate change. As part of this effort, the company has been introducing multimodal transportation*3 of flat glass between its factories in Belgium, Italy and Czech and the distribution centers. Transportation by truck provides more flexibility. On the other hand, transportation by rail provides the following merits: the amount of CO2 emitted per tonne-km is below one-sixth the amount of CO2 emitted from transportation by truck, and glass products can be transported more safely because the train accident rate is very low. Moreover in France and Germany, where the load on trucks is strictly limited, the use of railway transportation helps increase the efficiency of transportation because the limit on the load is relaxed as a result of using railway transportation.*4 AGEU increased the rate of multimodal transportation to 13%*5 by fostering the use of railway transportation between its major production bases in Europe in 2010. The company will further increase the rate to 20% by 2011, thereby further increasing the transportation efficiency while reducing CO2 emissions.
*3 Transportation of goods by a single transporter, in which at least two different means of transportation, such as truck, rail and shipping are used.
*4 In France and Germany, the total weight of a truck is limited to 40 tons, but for multimodal transportation combining truck and railroad, the limit is relaxed to 44 tons.
*5 Calculated for transportation (on a tonne-km basis) of raw glass and glass for solar devices (excluding transportation in Russia)
Promoting the Use of Full-Trailers for Freight Transportation
Transportation by full-trailer
To increase its transportation efficiency, the AGC Glass Company is fostering the use of large transportation vehicles, namely 27-ton full-trailers (total length: about 18 m) in Japan, where four-ton and 10-ton trucks are mainstream commercial trucks. The In-house Company is proactively promoting the delivery of cargo in a large lot by full-trailer so far as it is possible, which is by about 40% more fuel-efficient than transportation by 10-ton truck. The ratio of transportation by full-trailer increased from 5.9% in 2009 to 11.1% by the end of 2010 (on a ton-kilo basis).
Reducing CO2 Emissions from Transportation Through Modal Shift to Marine Transportation (Japan)
New domestic vessel equipped with an energy-efficient screw
In November 2009, Asahi Glass Kashima Plant and AGC Logistics Kashima Branch were given commendation from the Director- General of Maritime Bureau of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in recognition of their great contribution to the Ministry's eco-ship modal shift project. The commendation was given for the following points; (1) the transportation of freight between the Kashima Plant and Hokkaido, which exceeds 10,000 tons in weight annually, is done almost 100% by ship, and (2) Asahi Glass (shipper) and AGC Logistics (transporter) have been making a concerted effort to foster a modal shift based on AGC Group's integrated environmental management system. As a result of the commendation, Asahi Glass and AGC Logistics obtained an approval from the Ministry to use the eco-ship mark*6 to show that they are companies contributing to environmental conservation through maritime transportation.
When replacing a vessel used for domestic transportation with a new one, Asahi Glass cooperates with the transportation company as early as from the design phase, in order to reduce CO2 emissions from the ship. In 2009, the transportation company began operating a new ship equipped with an energy-efficient motor screw, which contributes to improving the combustion efficiency of the ship by about 8% compared with domestic vessels with conventional screws.
*6 Only shippers and transportation companies that use environmentally friendly maritime transportation above a certain rate are approved to use the eco-ship mark as environmentally friendly companies. The eco-ship modal shift project committee makes examinations of applicant companies and approves the use of the mark to qualified companies.
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