Shareholders applaud Nissan Motor as it announces to expand the use of green steel in Japan
A group of shareholders including Corporate Action Japan (CAJ) (hereafter ‘the Shareholder Group’) of Nissan Motor Co. (hereafter, ‘Nissan’) has issued the following statement in response to the Nissan’s announcement of its plans to expand the use of green steel in Japan.
On 7 February 2025, Nissan announced that it will increase the use of low-CO2-emission steel manufactured in Japan, which reduces CO2 emissions throughout the entire vehicle’s life cycle.
The Shareholder Group has been in constructive dialogue with Nissan on the development of a credible climate transition strategy and disclosure. Nissan’s announcement of its plan to increase the use of green steel is a significant step in the direction of a decarbonized society and demonstrates that the company understands how critical it is to accelerate the use of green steel in order to reach lifecycle carbon neutrality. We also welcome this announcement, as Nissan’s clear statement of its commitment to expand the use of low-CO2-emission steel will contribute to the growth of the green steel market in Japan and strengthen the competitiveness of Japanese companies during the period of expected demand increase for green steel in cars globally[1]. As steel parts account for approximately 60% of vehicle weight, this announcement of Nissan will give a positive demand signal broadly through its supply chain. We are expecting a positive reaction by suppliers to accelerate their transition to reduce CO2 emission.
Meanwhile, we are concerned about the evaluation criteria for low-carbon products and the monitoring scheme for CO2 reduction volumes under the mass balance method defined by the Japan Iron and Steel Federation’s current guidelines. We hope Nissan will support discussions on developing a more transparent definition of green steel based on scientific evidence on emission reductions in order to reduce the risk of greenwashing in the future.
In order to improve business value during the shift to a decarbonized society, we expect Nissan will continue its efforts toward transparent disclosure and fortify its decarbonization strategy, which includes increased use of green steel. Simultaneously, we anticipate that other Japanese automakers will proactively examine the increased usage of green steel to accelerate their decarbonization efforts.
Yasunori Takeuchi, CEO / Representative Director at Corporate Action Japan comments:
“We have observed several cases in Europe where automakers and steel manufacturers are collaborating on green steel manufacture and procurement. We consider Nissan’s statement not only indicates growing demand for low-carbon steel but also motivates the broad spectrum of automotive suppliers to decarbonize. Working with institutional investors, Corporate Action Japan will continue facilitating constructive dialogue with companies with the aim of enhancing corporate value in the medium to long term and improving the competitiveness of Japanese industry through the supply chain.”
