> Social and Environmental activities

Corporate Social Responsibility

As a Member of the Local Community

Basic Philosophy

NSK aims to be a company rooted in local communities. There-

Established in 1991, NSKs Mission Statement unequivocally states

fore, as members of their local communities, our operating bases

the Companys commitment to helping develop society and pro-

around the world undertake social contribution activities that

tect the environment: NSK aims to contribute to the well-being and

include helping educate the next generation and participating in

safety of society and to protect the global environment through its

local initiatives.

innovative technology integrating MOTION & CONTROL. We are

For example, employees at our operating facilities take part in

guided by our vision of NSK as a truly international enterprise and

and support local events, promote tree planting, donate blood,

are working across national boundaries to improve relationships

clean up the areas around their facilities, and donate to welfare

between people throughout the world. Furthermore, our Manage-

organizations. In regions worldwide, we support the education of

ment Principles guide our efforts to realize this Mission Statement.

the next generation by holding

In accordance with our Mission Statement and Management

science classes for children,

Principles, catering to customer needs by providing high-quality

dispatching technical instructors

products and services and responding sincerely to the expectations

to high schools and universities,

of local communities forms the basis of our corporate activities.

providing scholarships, and

NSKs products enable the smooth operation of a wide variety

accepting interns.

of machines and equipment, which improves their reliability and

NSK employees visit an orphanage

(NSK Korea Co., Ltd.).

safety and helps save energy. Our products are incorporated in

many everyday objects such as domestic appliances, automobiles,
and railcars as well as less familiar industrial machinery, wind power
generation equipment, and satellites.
At NSK, we believe that benefiting society by providing products

Highly Rated by the Financial Sector

and services and respecting the many stakeholders involved in

Companies with sound reputations not only for financial results but

our business activities worldwide is a fundamental part of our cor-

also for environmental and social contributions promise long-term

porate social responsibility. We aim to achieve sustained corporate

sustainable growth. Consequently, institutional investors tasked

growth while bearing this responsibility in mind.

with socially responsible investment (SRI) are increasingly focusing on such companies. As of March 2010, NSK is included in four

NSK Supplier CSR Guidelines

well-known SRI indexes: the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific

Index, the Ethibel EXCELLENCE Investment Register, FTSE4Good,
and the Morningstar Socially Responsible Investment Index.

Corporate social responsibility is indispensable for the sustained

growth of companies. Accordingly, not only NSK but also its entire
supply chain must give due consideration to compliance, environ-

Dow Jones
Sustainability Indexes

Ethibel Investment Register

http://www.sustainability-indexes.com

http://www.ethibel.org/index.html

FTSE4Good
Sustainability Indexes

Morningstar Socially
Responsible Investment Index

mental protection, human rights, and health and safety. Since fiscal
2007, we have held presentations to explain our procurement policies
to suppliers, and sought cooperation on specific issues. From fiscal
2009, however, we began developing a more all-encompassing
approach based on NSK Supplier CSR Guidelines. At present,
we are still preparing those guidelines. Upon completion in fiscal
2010, in stages, we will encourage suppliers at home and abroad
to adopt the guidelines.

Explaining NSKs procurement policies to suppliers in January 2010

http://www.ftse.com/Indices/
FTSE4Good_Index_Series/index.jsp

http://www.morningstar.co.jp/sri/index.htm

30 31

GENERAL SHAREHOLDERS MEETING

NSK and the Global Environment

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

REPRESENTATIVE EXECUTIVE OFFICE (CEO)

Promoting Environmental
Protection
through Our Products

(12 directors:
which,
9 are
internal, 3 are outside)
Claiming the Top
Prizeofat
the
Eco-Efficiency
Awards 2009

Curbing advancing climate change has become a pressing global

Reflecting high evaluation of its introduction of unique indicators,

Decision-making
on fundamental
Supervision
of the executive
task. Against
this backdrop,
NSKs products, used
as components

known as Neco, for measuring

environmental
friendliness of
Supervision ofthe
the executive
officers activities

in an array of machines and equipment, respond to societys need

products, NSK took first prize at the Eco-Efficiency Awards 2009,

[ Operational Structure ]

[ Internal Control Structure ]

OPERATIONAL COMMITTEE

INTERNAL AUDIT OFFICE

management policies

officers activities

[ Oversight Structure ]
AUDIT COMMITTEE

(3 directors: of which, 1 is internal, 2 are outside)

COMPLIANCEcreate
DIVISION-HEADQUARTERS
COMPENSATION COMMITTEE
EXECUTIVE
OFFICER MEETING
winning the Award of the Director-General
of the Industrial Science
to protect
the environment
by helping customers
products
Decision-making on fundamental

CRISIS MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

Supervision of the executive officers activities

and Technology Policy and

Environment
of Economy,
(3 directors:
of which, 1 Bureau,
is internal, 2Ministry
are outside)
Supervision
officers activities
that save energy
and
resources. In fiscal
2008,of the
weexecutive
established
management
policies
Trade and Industry (METI).
NSK eco-efficiency indicators, known
as Neco, as an original
CORPORATE STRATEGY DIVISION-HEADQUARTERS

NOMINATION COMMITTEE

DISCLOSURE
COMMITTEE
tool for quantitatively evaluating the environmental
friendliness
of

of the executive
officers activities
Hosted by the JapanSupervision
Environmental
Efficiency
Forum, the Eco-

products under development. Neco is playing a key role in our efforts

Efficiency Awards recognize outstanding corporate initiatives that

to step up the development of environmentally friendly products.

reduce the environmental burden while boosting socioeconomic

At the same time as saving energy and resources in manufac-

activity. NSK received the prize because it used Neco to promote

turing processes and distribution, NSK will make a concerted

environment-oriented R&D and to communicate the merits of its

effort to realize environmentally friendly business management.

products to customers.

(3 directors: of which, 1 is internal, 2 are outside)

Supervision of the executive officers activities

Neco: NSK Eco-Efficiency Indicators

Neco =

Product Value V (product life, functions)

Environmental Impact E
(resource conservation, energy savings)

Product Value UP
brings Neco UP

Environmental Impact DOWN

brings Neco UP
Environmentally friendly product

Developed
product

2
Conventional
product

CSR Report 2010

CSR Report 2010

Conventional
product

Developed
product

0.5
Product Value V

Environmental Impact

Please see CSR Report 2010 for further details of NSKs social
and environmental initiatives. (to be released in October)
URL: www.nsk.com/sustainability/reports.html

An Example of Neco in Action

Improving Automotive Production Lines
Having introduced the NSK eco-efficiency indicators (Neco), which determine levels of
environmental friendliness based on the relationship between product value and the
environmental burden, NSK is capitalizing on Neco when designing new products.
Production systems in which a single automotive production line manufactures several different types of vehicle are becoming increasingly common. However, such mixed

Toughcarrier single-axis
actuator for ultra-high load
applications

production lines present automotive manufacturers with the problem of how to further
improve efficiency given the different production equipment movements and approach
distances needed for each type of vehicle body. When manufacturers attempt to increase
the flexibility of production lines, electrically driven equipment is better suited than tradi-

Neco

tional hydraulic equipment. Consequently, demand for NSKs precision machinery and
single-axis actuator, Toughcarrier, that has a load capacity more than four times
higher and a service life more than 10 times longer than those of previous products. As well
as contributing to the upgrading of production lines, this new products high load capacity
and long service life improve product value and lessen the environmental burden.

parts is growing. For use in production lines, NSK has developed and launched a new

1.00
Conventional
product

9.72
Developed
product