Nissan Furthers Award-Winning Environmental Efforts
20 April 1998
Nissan Furthers Award-Winning Environmental Efforts
TORRANCE, Calif., April 20 -- Nissan North America Inc. has
established a North American Environmental Management Committee to further the
automaker's commitment to creating environmentally responsible products,
policies and procedures.
Nissan's efforts involve a wide range of environmentally responsible
technologies and activities in fuel economy, manufacturing, vehicle emissions,
alternative fuels and recycling.
Nissan's commitment to the environment and its environmental efforts have
received numerous awards and accolades during the past 20 years. (See
attached highlight sheet). The commitment is evident nationally and locally.
Nissan was the only automaker to receive the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's "Best of the Best" award for the company's on-going activities to
stem atmospheric ozone depletion. In addition, the EPA recently presented
Nissan Motor Corp. USA with its "Way to Go!" award for the company's program
encouraging its Southern California employees to commute to work using means
other than single-occupant vehicles.
The new North American Environmental Management Committee was established
Jan. 1, 1998, to expand Nissan's extensive environmental programs. The
committee is led by Nissan North America Senior Vice President Emil Hassan,
who reports directly to Nissan North America President Minoru Nakamura.
Nakamura chairs the committee whose membership includes high-ranking
executives from Nissan's North American engineering, manufacturing, marketing
and market strategy operations.
"This committee complements similar committees established in Japan and
Europe which will work collectively to further Nissan's global environmental
philosophy of the symbiosis of people, vehicles and nature," Hassan said.
"Supporting this philosophy Nissan is extending its environmental management
system with focuses on achieving a cleaner automotive society and conserving
natural resources."
Here is a sampling of Nissan's environmental activities.
Reducing CO2 Emissions and Improving Fuel Economy in Vehicles
* The Nissan 3-liter VQ V-6 engine used in the Nissan Maxima and Infiniti
I30 features a smaller microfinished crankshaft which reduces weight
and friction, thereby increasing fuel economy and power. (The VQ
engine has been named one of the "Best Engines of the Year" for each of
the four years that Ward's Communications has presented the award.)
* Nissan is developing direct injection gasoline and diesel engines which
allow for cleaner cold-starts and substantial improvements in fuel
economy. Nissan's direct injection gasoline engine was introduced in
December in Japan. A direct injection diesel engine will be introduced
this summer in a multi-purpose vehicle in Japan.
* Nissan is offering a continuously variable transmission (CVT) that
improves powertrain efficiency. In 1992, Nissan introduced a CVT on
the Nissan March in Japan and Micra in Europe, and is expanding
application of a new Hyper CVT primarily to 2-liter class cars. Work
also is continuing on CVTs for larger engines.
Reduction of Exhaust Emissions
* A two-way cooling system allows for more efficient combustion of fuel
adhering to cylinder walls, which also increases fuel economy.
* Nissan is looking into methods of quicker "light-off" of catalysts to
make catalytic converters more efficient in the first few minutes of
engine operation.
* Nissan's direct injection diesel engine improves fuel economy by 40
percent and reduces NOx and particulate emissions over other systems.
Alternative Fuel Vehicle Development
* Nissan's Altra EV, set for introduction in California in 1998, is
powered by a lithium-ion battery pack, providing longer range than
other battery systems. Nissan's electric vehicle heritage goes back to
the 1940s.
* In Japan, Nissan is actively working on other alternative-fuel
technologies, including fuel cells, hybrid gasoline-electric,
compressed natural gas and methanol.
* Nissan is developing parallel and series hybrid electric vehicles. The
parallel hybrid system is linked to a CVT to increase efficiency.
Elimination of Ozone-Depleting Substances
* Nissan has been honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for
eliminating chlorofluorocarbons from its vehicles and manufacturing
processes worldwide.
* Nissan was among the first automakers in the United States to install
CFC-12 air conditioning refrigerant recovery systems in its dealerships
nationwide.
Vehicle Manufacturing
* Nissan has implemented a number of measures worldwide to eliminate or
minimize the emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur oxide, volatile
organic compounds and other potentially harmful materials from its
plants worldwide.
* At the Nissan plant in Smyrna, Tenn., engineers have virtually
eliminated the use of cardboard parts containers, replacing them with
reusable containers; built a new water-borne paint plant utilizing a
100 percent electrostatic painting system with significantly less
emissions compared with traditional paint plants, and instituted
programs that have cut the amount of materials going to landfills by
90 percent.
ISO 14000
* Worldwide, Nissan is committed to having plants certified under the ISO
14000 environmental management system guidelines, which sets standards
for an organization to carryout an environmental protection program.
* By the end of fiscal year 1997-98 (March 31, 1998), Nissan assembly
plants in Oppama, Tochigi and Murayama, Japan, had achieved ISO 14000
certification. Within the following year, Nissan plants in Smyrna,
Tenn.; Aguascalientes, Mexico; and Yokohama, Fuji, Kyushu and Iwaki,
Japan, are targeted to be ISO 14000 certified.
Other Nissan environmental activities are aimed at reducing traffic
congestion, making travel more efficient and extensive research and
development work in the broad field of Intelligent Transportation Systems.
"Nissan has a long and productive heritage in environmental protection in
North America and around the world," Hassan said. "It is the collective aim
of our Environmental Management Committees in North America, Europe and Japan
to build on that history so that people and vehicles can exist together."
In North America, Nissan's operations include styling, engineering,
manufacturing, sales, consumer and corporate financing, and industrial and
textile equipment. Nissan in North America employs more than 20,000 people in
the United States, Canada and Mexico, and generates more than 70,000 jobs
through more than 1,500 Nissan and Infiniti dealerships across the continent.
More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan
and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at http://www.nissan-na.com.
NISSAN'S ENVIRONMENTAL HIGHLIGHTS
1970s Environmental Management Department established in Japan
Corporate Environmental Management Rules developed
Establishment of an in-house waste treatment system in
Japan
1980s Promotion of the installation of facilities and
equipment for recycling waste into reusable resources
1981 March Presented with Chairman's Award by the Clean Japan
Center recognizing the Tochigi assembly plant's
recycling efforts
1989 February CFC (chlorofluorocarbon) Committee formed with worldwide
membership
November CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) Committee formed
with worldwide membership
1990 June Discontinuation of all use of CFC foaming agents
1991 June Commercialization of an ozone-safe air-conditioning
system
December Nissan is the sole automaker to be presented with the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Stratospheric
Ozone Protection Award for introduction of vehicles
with ozone-safe air conditioning systems
1992 February Bumper recycling program begun in Europe and Japan
April Discontinuation of all CFCs in washing agents
May Electric Vehicle Committee established with worldwide
membership
1993 February Environmental Management Committee established in Japan
October Presented with the Chairman's Award by the Recycling
Promotion Council recognizing Nissan's bumper recycling
programs
December Cedric EV goes on sale in Japan
1994 May Commercialization of lean-burn engines
April Received third Global Environment Award by the World
Wide Fund for Nature Japan recognizing Nissan's
manufacturing plants' reduction and recycling of waste
into reusable resources
July Commercialization of non-CFC air conditioning retrofit
kits
1995 March Discontinuation of all use of trichloroethane
June Establishment of worldwide Environmental Network Meeting
1996 May Recycling Promotion Department established
1997 February Launch of Prairie Joy EV in Japan
September Only automaker to receive the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's "Best of the Best" award for
efforts to protect the stratospheric ozone layer
SOURCE Nissan North America, Inc.
