CSR at the Metals & Minerals Company

CSR at this Division Company

Promoting CSR through the development and stable supply of mineral resources

We promote CSR with the entire ITOCHU Group, while pursuing the following missions:
1) development and stable supply of mineral resources; and
2) initiatives for solar- and recycling-related businesses that are ecological to the earth.

Ichiro NakamuraPresident, Metals & Minerals Company

CSR Action Plans

Key points of our FY2012 action plans

As a global company, we will promote environmental management and businesses that are environmentally friendly both domestically and at overseas Group companies. We will also continue to promote CSR education and training.

Click here for details of our CSR action plans

Major CSR Initiatives

Integrated Recycling Business at Dalian Changxing Island, China

The Metals & Minerals Company, together with a major Japanese recycling company and Chinese partners, established an integrated recycling business for steel, nonferrous scrap, consumer electronics, home appliances and plastics, Dalian New Green Recycle & Resources Corporation, at Dalian Changxing Island Harbor Industrial Zone in China, with a groundbreaking ceremony held on 24 December 2010.
Going forward, Dalian New Green, as the only recycling facility licensed by the Chinese Government at Dalian Changxing Island Harbor Industrial Zone, is planning to install cutting-edge equipment and sophisticated Japanese environmental technology to further improve operations. The aim is to set this facility apart as a model for all integrated recycling centers built in China in the future.

Rendering of the completed facility

Partnership with Abengoa Solar of Spain in solar power generation business

In December 2010, a partnership was formed with a major Spanish solar power generator, Abengoa Solar, to develop solar power projects in Asian and European countries. An agreement was also reached to jointly construct two 50 megawatt concentrating solar power plants in Extremadura in western Spain and carry out power generation business. ITOCHU will take a 30% stake. Commercial operation is scheduled to start in 2012, with power generated at these plants sold to the grid based on the Spanish feed-in tariff system^(*). Taking advantage of abundant sunlight in Extremadura, the two plants will produce enough energy to meet the electricity needs of about 52,000 households and achieve emissions reductions totaling approximately 63,000 tons of CO₂ per year.

* Feed-in tariff system: A system for purchasing electricity at preferential rates designed to promote the use of renewable energy sources

Two solar power plants jointly operated with Abengoa Solar

Establishment of Soligent, LLC, largest solar distribution company in US

The solar power distribution business has been expanding significantly in recent years due to heightened environmental awareness and government support measures. ITOCHU has been developing its solar business in the US, one of the three major solar markets in the world along with Europe and Japan, acquiring system integrators ^(*) Solar Depot in June 2007 and SolarNet in April 2009. These two companies were integrated in February 2011 to further bolster the business, creating SolarNet Holdings, the U.S.’s largest solar distribution company for mainly household and industrial use. （changed its company's name to Soligent, LLC in June 2012） Going forward, synergistic effects from integration will be targeted through unification of sales networks and reducing costs.

* System integrator: Operator that handles design, sales, and construction of solar power generation systems that combine solar cell modules and peripheral equipment