Nippon Steel Corporation

No leading practices were identified in the governance and strategy area.

Resource exploitation and circularity
Nippon Steel Corporation discloses its inputs, including some of its material footprint.

No leading practices were identified in the social inclusion and community impact area.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
While Nippon Steel Corporation discloses a process to identify materiality, no evidence that the company discloses a materiality assessment could be found in the public domain. The company also does not disclose group-wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain. The company has an opportunity to link performance criteria in senior executives’ remuneration policies to targets and objectives which cover nature, including biodiversity, and social issues. Furthermore, while Nippon Steel Corporation discloses a directors’ skills matrix, it does not provide sufficient information on the directors’ expertise in terms of sustainability.

Stakeholder engagement
While Nippon Steel Corporation discloses some issues raised through stakeholder engagement, this does not translate into an overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities. The company also does not disclose its process for engaging with stakeholder groups beyond its materiality assessment.

Lobbying
The company does not report on its lobbying and advocacy practices on nature-related issues, nor whether these activities align with its sustainability strategy. There is an opportunity to improve transparency on this topic.

Impact and dependencies assessment
The company has not holistically assessed its impacts or how it depends on nature, including biodiversity. It has an opportunity to start such an assessment across its value chains, focused on quantification of its impacts or dependencies.

Key areas and species
The company does not disclose key species or areas important for biodiversity affected by its operations or suppliers. It has an opportunity to increase its transparency.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
Nippon Steel Corporation does not disclose a commitment to ensure zero conversion nor a commitment to minimise ecosystem conversion. The company also does not disclose activities to minimise ecosystem conversion. Furthermore, it does not disclose a commitment to restore ecosystems nor details and outcomes of ecosystem restoration projects in areas affected by its own operations or by its suppliers.

Resource exploitation and circularity
The company does not report quantitatively on its group-wide circularity performance. While the company discloses activities to improve soil health, it has an opportunity to disclose a target to improve soil health in its production or sourcing practices.

Water
While Nippon Steel Corporation demonstrates it is reducing water withdrawal in its own operations, it has a strong opportunity to disclose a time-bound target to reduce water withdrawal across its own operations. The company also does not report how much water is withdrawn for its own operations in water-stressed areas nor does it engage with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal. The company reports a decrease in water pollution. While Nippon Steel Corporation regularly reports on water pollution, the company has an opportunity to disclose targets to reduce water pollution. Furthermore, the company does not disclose a commitment to respect the right to waternor does it disclose its processes for implementing preventive and corrective action plans for identified specific risks to the right to water and sanitation in its own operations.

Solid and air pollution
The company is reducing the production of hazardous waste as well as plastic use and waste in its own operations. While Nippon Steel Corporation reports regularly on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants, it has an opportunity to report time-bound targets to reduce air pollutants across the most material parts of its value chain.

GHG emissions
While Nippon Steel Corporation has a time-bound target to reduce its scope 1 and 2 emissions and reports progress against it, the company has an opportunity to set a scope 1 and 2 emissions target aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory was found. The company is reducing its scope 3 emissions but does not disclose a time-bound target to reduce its scope 3 emissions.

Invasive species
No evidence was found that the company identifies the activities that could lead to the introduction of IAS in its own operations. No evidence was found that the company identifies the activities that could lead to the introduction of IAS in its value chain.

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
The company does not disclose a commitment to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment or to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
Nippon Steel Corporation does not disclose a commitment to respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights or land rights of local communities.

The company has an opportunity to describe a comprehensive process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts across all its activities, especially through its business relationships. The company has an opportunity to describe a process for assessing the human rights risks it has identified and to disclose what it considers to be its salient human rights issues. A description of this process would include how relevant factors are considered, such as geographical, economic and social factors. While the company discloses that it conducts routine human rights risk assessments and that it remediates in locations with the highest risk, no evidence was found that it has a global system to act on all its salient human rights issues. No evidence that the company provides an example of the conclusions reached and actions taken or to be taken on at least one of its salient human rights issues as a result of assessment processes was found. The company has an opportunity to disclose the stakeholders it engages with on human rights risks.

The company has a publicly available policy statement which shows it is committed to respecting the health and safety of workers. No evidence that the company has a publicly available statement of policy that expects its suppliers to commit to respecting the health and safety of their workers was found. The company states that it provides minimum wage to its employees, however, the company does not disclose if minimum wage is sufficient to maintain a decent standard of living for employees and his/her family. Also, it does not disclose a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage. No evidence that the company describes how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates was found. No evidence that the company describes how it works to support the payment of a living wage by its suppliers was found. The company has an opportunity to disclose the coverage of collective bargaining agreements. The company has an opportunity to describe how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in relation to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

The company discloses a statement related to fair tax payment, however, a statement in report is not considered to be a part of formal policy document. Also, there is no evidence that the company has a publicly available global tax strategy, which is approved by the highest governance body. No evidence that the company describes the process for identifying its bribery and corruption risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations was found. No evidence that the company includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with business relationships was found. The company does not disclose its approach to lobbying and political engagement in a public policy document.