Environmental Report 2013
Abridged Edition

Kobe University

Message from the President
The world we now live in is confronted with various challenges.
Environmental issues caused by global warming, and theintensification of international competition over access toresources, energy and food place the international economy andpolitics on an unstable footing. These issues cannot be solved bya single nation; rather, each country must work together for global
solutions to tackle these environmental issues.
In this regard Kobe University is committed to fostering global
competencies among its students through interdisciplinary
research and education in order to equip them with the skills
necessary to play an active role on the international stage.

●World-Class Research
Cutting-edge environmental research is underway at the
Integrated Research Center (established in 2011) on Port Island.
One of the highest profile projects is the Integrated Bio-refinery
Research Project which produces bio-fuels, bio-plastics, andbio-refined chemicals from biomass resources. Another notablepiece of research is the Research Project for Membrane and Film
Technology. This project aims to solve water shortages andpollution through purification treatment using sludge separation
films. It also aims to achieve energy-efficient carbon dioxide
capture and storage (CCS＊１) through CO2 treatment with carbon
dioxide separation films.
The research on membrane and film technology in particular isat the leading edge of world research and is expected tocontribute to the treatment of the radioactive materials that pose ahuge threat to humans and the environment after the Fukushima
nuclear accident caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake. A
facility to research membrane and film technology is underconstruction to further accelerate research in this area.
Kobe University is committed to undertaking world-leading
research. In this respect the University pledges to undertake thedevelopment of technology and systems that improve the global
environment.

● Global Education
In order for us to tackle global environmental issues, it isnecessary not only to possess an in-depth knowledge of thescientific issues, also required is an understanding of the various
human perspectives involved. Kobe University offers a number oflearning opportunities such as the global education program incollaboration with several graduate schools as well as outboundprograms for Japanese students with our partner universities
overseas. Through these educational programs including theenvironmental courses such as Introduction to Environment＊2 or
ESD＊3, we furnish our students with the educational resources toacquire a first-class knowledge on important issues, all the while
keeping relevant environmental matters to the fore.

●Power of Individual Members
The students who attended the second Environmental Report
Workshop, one of the initiatives of the Environmental Report
Working Group, went on to form the Kobe University Students
Environmental Research Team. This team is officially recognizedby the Environment and Facility Management Committee which is
responsible for the University’s environmental management. The
team joined the Working Group this year and we now have an
institutional system under which faculty members, staff members

and students work together on environmental conservation
activities. In order to solve environmental problems and promote
environmental conservation activities, involvement of all
university members is essential. The University will consider
providing incentives and support to those who actively engage inconservation activities through their research, education, or inother ways during their university lives. We expect our students inparticular to play an active role both on and off campus in working
to secure a better environment for the global society.
FUKUDA Hideki
President, Kobe University＊1 CCS (Carbon dioxide Capture and Storage) is a technologythat separates, collects, and stores greenhouse gases (mainlyCO2) that are generated from thermal power plants (mainlycoal-fired thermal power plants) or factories before they are
released to the atmosphere.
＊2 The course Introduction to Environment is offered to allstudents at Kobe University by the Center for Environmental
Management in the hope of sparking their interest inenvironmental studies through studying issues in-depth.
＊3 ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) is an
educational program jointly held by the seven faculties andschools (Faculty of Human Development, Faculty of Letters,
Faculty of Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Faculty ofIntercultural Studies, Faculty of Engineering, and School of
Medicine) under the banner of education for sustainable
development including environmental issues.

Kobe University Charter on the Environment
Environmental Philosophy
As a world-class research and educational institution, Kobe University
pledges, through all of the University’s activities, to preserve the global
environment and to create a sustainable society; the two most important
challenges the world faces today.
Sandwiched by the Pacific Ocean and the Rokko Mountains, Kobe
University enjoys a rare natural diversity in its surroundings which it uses toincrease the number of ecologically-minded students and to disseminate
knowledge gained from academic research throughout the world. Kobe
University pledges to pave a path toward a sustainable global society whichmust be a common goal of humanity, through these efforts and by setting an
example in the preservation and conservation of the environment.

Environmental Principles

1. To foster and support ecologically-minded students.
2. To promote research on sustainability of the global
environment.
3. To promote environmental preservation andconservation activities that set an example forothers to follow.
Enacted on September 26, 2006

Third-Party Review
As one of Japan’ s leading universities, Kobe University has
created the Environmental Report 2013 which clearly details the
University’ s contribution to the environment through theiradvanced interdisciplinary research and environmental
education. The University’ s efforts are highly rated because it
offers students a number of environmental education programs,
specifically Introduction to Environment and ESD which allow
them to acquire an extensive knowledge on environmental
issues, particularly those with a global reach. In addition, throughthe Environmental Report Workshop and the formation of theKobe University Students’ Environmental Research Team, theUniversity is making efforts instill in students the ability to play anactive role in the global society. One of the unique activities
performed by the University is the manner in which it proactively
obtains opinions from students which are then reflected in any
environmental preservation activities and future Reports. Moving
forward, the University is expected to use the Report topromulgate the manner in which environmental management is
implemented, as well as to delineate environmental targets andplans and, in subsequent editions, its success in these respects
to stakeholders on and off campus.

3. It is advisable to create a new section for the Achievementwith Respect to Environmental Goals and Plan, in which the
University’ s numerical targets, e.g., energy consumption, tobe listed, so that progress can be understood quantitatively.
4. In the Environmental Education, Research and Topics section,some research projects are introduced. I understand thatmany more environmental research projects are underway at
Kobe University. The listing of all those research projects on
the Report would facilitate the dissemination of the
University’ s research activities to society.
5. Communication in- and outside of the University also plays an
integral part in disseminating progress. I suggest that theReport include activities with external stakeholders such as
local residents regarding environmental issues.

The following are my comments on the preparation of theEnvironmental Report for future reference.
1. Various environment-related laws have been applied to theuniversities in Japan. I suggest that the Report includes
information on environmental laws that are relevant to Kobe
University regarding energy, water, atmosphere and waste. It
is also advisable to state each division’ s responsibility andthe status of compliance with such regulations. This will makeit easier for readers to understand the significance ofenvironmental performance, leading them to take moreproactive stance with respect to improving the environment.
2. In the section on environmental performance the Report statesthat “during the second term of the Mid-term Plan, Kobe
University aims to reduce CO 2 emissions by 15%, setting
FY2004 as the base for measurement” . However, how thegoal was formed is not stated. It is recommended that theReport includes the mandatory reduction set by such laws as
the Energy Saving Act and a concrete plan for achieving any
goals set. As Kobe University actively engages in the
reduction of greenhouse gases through its innovativetechnology, it is expected to provide an advanced andconcrete plan for energy management to achieve this goal.
For other items such as waste management, more concrete
efforts, e.g., goal setting, are expected.

Professor YAMADA Etsu
Center for Environmental Science
Kyoto Institute of Technology

Professor Yamada has been a professor at the Center for Environmental Science at the Kyoto Institute of Technology since 2006. She
received her B.A. from the Division of Chemistry, Faculty of Scienceat Kyoto University and was awarded Doctor of Science from the
Graduate School of Science at Kyoto University. In 1993, she started
working at Kyoto Institute of Technology as a lecturer and in 1998 she
became Associate Professor. Since 1993, she has also served as a
Deputy Director for the Center for Environmental Science at the
Kyoto Institute of Technology. She is President for the Academic
Consociation of Environmental Safety and Waste Management,
member of the Kyoto Environment Council, and member of theEnvironment Committees in Kyoto Pref., Kyoto City, and Hyogo Pref.
She specializes in research on the resolution of causes for increased
persistent organic material in closed water zones, such as Lake Biwa,
the dynamic analysis of cross-border pollution by air pollutants, andthe analysis and treatment of difficult-to-dispose-of waste.

Environmental Agenda: A Dialogue Between 3 Students and the President
Three students from the Kobe University Students’
Environmental Research Team, IMAHASHI Ryo,
OHIRA Kenji, and FUKUDA Yusuke, conducted aninterview with Kobe University President, FUKUDA
Hideki, on August 5, 2013 in order to learn about thevarious ways Kobe University is engaged inenvironmental conservation activities.

Interview scene (from left: Fukuda, Ohira, Imahashi, President Fukuda)

ImahashiToday, we are here to learn about the various
environmental conservation activities Kobe University
engages in, as well as the President’s message to thestudents, who compose the majority of the University’s
members.
Ohira
There are three basic policies in the Kobe University
Charter on the Environment: education, research, andconservation activities. Could you please give us specificdetails on each aspect?
President
Environmental education covers a wide variety of topics.
Kobe University, having 11 faculties and 14 graduate
schools from arts to sciences, is able to offer an educationthat provides students with a fundamental knowledge of the
global environmental agenda whether their major be in thehumanities or sciences. The University also focuses oninterdisciplinary environmental research.
As mentioned in the Environmental Report 2013, theIntroduction to Environment or ESD courses provide
fundamental knowledge on the environment to students
across all faculties.
As you all know, Kobe University established theIntegrated Research Center in 2011 on Kobe Port Island.
The center is pursuing interdisciplinary research projects
and promoting new research projects that integrate different
academic fields including the humanities and sciences.
Some examples of environmental conservation activities
pursued by Kobe University include standardizing thesorted trash bins across all campuses and replacing
energy-inefficient equipment. In the meantime, we needmore active participation from each member of the
University to further accelerate environmental conservation
activities.

FukudaThe University has set a goal to reduce CO2 emissions by
15% compared to FY2004. Could you provide us with somespecific policies designed to help achieve this target?
President
Efforts have been made to reduce energy usage and CO2
emissions through upgrading facilities to energy-efficientones in a systematic manner. However, due to the Great
East Japan Earthquake and the subsequent accident at the
Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, the electric powercompanies have seen a drastic change in the operational
status of their nuclear power plants, and the CO2 conversion
coefficient of electricity has changed as well. As a result, weare actually in a difficult situation with respect to meeting
this target.
CO2 emission will increase if Japan stops using nuclear
power and instead relies more on fossil fuels such as
thermal power for its electricity. While solar and wind power
generators are eventually expected to replace nuclear andthermal power plants, their capacity to produce electricity is
not yet sufficient to meet current demand.
It is still absolutely necessary for us to secure ample
cleaner energy for the continuous technologicaldevelopment and so scientists have an important
responsibility to develop new technologies that do not
produce CO2 or that can capture and store any CO2emissions.
Kobe University will continue our initiative for energy
saving through the adoption of energy-efficient equipment in
our facilities as well as awareness-raising activities. At thesame time we will persist in our efforts to develop new
scientific technologies that can have significant impact in
the future.
Imahashi
On May 24, 2013, Kobe University concluded apartnership agreement with the City of Kobe, one of themodel environmental cities in Japan. With the partnership,
would it be possible for the two parties closely collaborate insolving environmental problems?
President
Kobe University and the City of Kobe entered thepartnership agreement after discussing various topics suchas regional development, science and technology, anddisaster prevention. One of the projects is the membrane
and film technology used for water treatment. The
technology enables us to produce high-quality water as well
as saving energy, space, and costs involved in sewage
treatment.
The membrane technology at Kobe University, which is at
the cutting-edge of global research, is garnering worldwide
attention due to its potential for reversing global warming
through the treatment of CO2 or radioactive contamination
created in nuclear accidents.
The University is committed to further promoting
technology or system development that can solve
environmental issues around the globe.

OhiraWe students account for the vast majority of university
members. Is there any ongoing effort to motivate students toactively get themselves involved in conservation activities?
In addition, what kind of role can students play in suchconservation activities?
President
In recent years, the University has been making efforts togain the attention of students with respect to environmental
issues. For instance, the Environmental Reporting Working
Group has held meetings to go through the Environmental
Report, which provides students with a good opportunity toparticipate in discussions on the environment.
Last year, the students who attended the meeting
conducted an interview with me, and they also formed the
Kobe University Students’ Environmental Research Team
which you have also joined. The team now plays a role in
the related working group as an official member of theEnvironment and Facility Management Committee.
Essentially, what I would like students to do is toinvestigate the related educational programs, research
projects, and efforts that are being implemented on and off
campus, and provide feedback to the University about what
they learned through their experiences. Students can also
propose environmental conservation activities. Throughsuch interaction, I believe students will be able to gain theability to more readily identify problem areas with respect tothe environment. I view students’ voluntary work in this area
as a key part of their educational program.
FukudaIn order to provide incentives to students and also
stimulate their interest in environmental issues, what do you
think about providing more courses on the environment or
implementing a certification program?

as possible to participate. Of course, you will have the full
support of the University.
Ohira
I think promulgation of students’ efforts may work as away of providing incentives to students. For example, theEnvironment Caravan Team randomly checks once a year if
air conditioners are set at an appropriate temperature and if
lights are turned off in classrooms. We can make the resultsof those surveys more visible by converting them intoscores. In addition, the faculty that achieves the highest
score will receive awards, for instance a free copy machine.
President
It might be a good idea although the survey requires quite
a long time and significant efforts if it is to cover all of thecampuses. The details about how the survey results are to
be announced also require further discussion. The idea
could be presented at the presentation competition that you
proposed earlier.
Imahashi
Finally, do you have a message for the students of Kobe
University?
President
Environmental issues cannot be solved solely by work ina single academic field; it requires a well-balanced
knowledge of liberal arts and science. I would like ourstudents to receive an environmental education regardlessof their major and to engage in the most-advanced
environmental research and projects that integrate
humanities and science, as well as other fields. To each
student I say: I hope you will become a person who can playa significant role in our society with regard to solving the
global environmental challenges that lie ahead.

President
If we were to offer more courses on the environment, it
would be as a part of general education, not as a
specialized area. If we were to adopt certification program,the curriculum would require modification. We need to firstclosely examine its effectiveness in other universities whichhave already adopted such a system.
Imahashi
We also would like to propose having a presentationcompetition based on the environment and conservation
activities. We believe that it will help students gain the ability
to identify problems, which you have already identified as a
key skill. Moreover, if the University can help facilitate theimplementation of certain proposals contained within thepresentations then students will become conscious thatthey themselves can improve the environment.
President
I think that is a very promising idea. Students may think of
new ideas which can be put into action quickly in theirfamiliar surroundings. In order for students to increase theirawareness, students should take the initiative with respect
to holding the competition and encourage as many students

OHIRA, Kenji(Faculty of Business Administration, 3rd year)

FUKUDA, Yusuke(Faculty of Business Administration, 3rd year)

IMAHASHI, Ryo(Faculty of Business Administration, 3rd year)

Environmental Education, Research and Topics
The Third Workshop to Read the Environmental Report
In order to disseminate information about the annually
published Environmental Report throughout the campuses, andto have an opportunity to obtain students’ opinion and reflect
them in future versions of the Environmental Report as well as
environmental preservation activities, a third Environmental
Report Workshop was held on June 26, 2013 in a meeting roomof the Takikawa Memorial Hall.
The meeting was chaired by Professor KOKUBU Katsuhikoat the Graduate School of Business Administration, who is alsochairperson of the Environmental Reporting Working Group.
Participating in the lively discussion were seven students, one
co-op staff member, and 13 faculty members including
SHIMAMURA Takeshi, Professor of the Graduate School of
Law and Chairperson of the Environmental Management
Review Working Group, and SETSUNE Jun-ichiro, Professor of
the Graduate School of Science and Director of the Center for
Environmental Management.
A summary of discussion is as follows:• The Environmental Report uploaded to the website is difficult
to locate. We might want to consider analyzing the website
traffic and then consider where best to upload it next time.
• Efforts should be made to increase students’ awareness of
the Environmental Report, especially those who do not takecourses on the environment or have interest in environmental
issues.
• How about generating the Environmental Report withstudents in mind as the main readership?
• Another university’s environmental report included an article
contributed by students which was very reader-friendly. Can
we include some articles from students in the Kobe University

Environmental Report, too?
• How about revising the design and contents to attract theinterest of more students?
• Regarding environmental performance, would it be possible
to conduct a piece of comparative research against thenational average?
• It is difficult to understand how the emission of CO2 isaffecting our own lives.
• By disseminating the University’s concept on theenvironment to students, more students will become mindfulof environmental issues and as a result try to reduce their useof electricity.
• We should make efforts to increase the number ofparticipants to the Environmental Report Workshop.
We want to make every effort to see that those opinions arereflected not only in generating the Environmental Report, butalso in environmental conservation activities in general.

(Related website)
http://www.kobe-u.ac.jp/en/about-kobe-university/introduction/
environmental-report/index.htm

Students speaking their opinions

A snapshot of the meeting

Details of Actions Taken in Response to Opinions from Last Year’ s Environmental Report Workshop
OpinionA c t i o n Ta k e nSome of the text, such as that on the images, is illegible.

We created PDF from the Web data, which made it difficult to read the text
on the images. From the Environmental Report 2013, PDF data was createdfirst, followed by the WEB data. Additionally, the text font was resized from 9
to 10 point for easier reading.

The PDF data placed on the website is large, and so took a long time todownload. Would it be possible to make it downloadable in sections?

Starting from last year, the size of PDF data was optimized for faster
download.

In order to make the energy reduction volume in the Environmental Activity
at Kobe University more understandable, how about presenting the figurescompared to the case of a typical households?

Since the Report last year, we added the information of the figurescorresponding to the number of typical households. (Refer to Environmental
Activity at Kobe University–Saving Energy and Preventing Global Warming)

How about creating a portal site to share information on the University’ senvironmental activities and provide a link to the student groups’ websites?

The link to Our Actions in Environment and Saving Energy was added on theright side of the top page of the Kobe University Japanese website. Additional
links to encourage information sharing are to be discussed.

How about including in the Environmental Report the University’ s actions
taken in response to the feedback received during the Environmental
Report Workshop?

From the last year’ s report, the university’ s responses to the main
opinions were added.

In terms of energy conservation, removing some light bulbs seems more
effective and more tangible than some other potential energy-saving policies.

All departments and units themselves examined this suggestion before
going on to implement it.

If there were environmental conservation activities that include incentives forstudents, more students would probably take part.

Further consultation will be made with Kobe University Students’
Environmental Research Team.

How about promulgating how the actions taken by students are connected
to environmental policies?

Further consultation will be made with Kobe University Students’
Environmental Research Team.

Environmental Performance at Kobe University
Saving Energy and Preventing Global Warming
1. Environmental Goal

During the second term of the Mid-term Plan (fiscal year 2010 to 2015),
Kobe University aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 15%, setting FY2004 as
the base for measurement.

2. Energy Flow

Our efforts to save energy have concentrated on educational activities
that involve faculties, administrative staff members and students, as well as
on replacement of outdated equipment with more efficient versions. In
addition, for heating boilers in the Kusunoki area, we changed from ones
that use fuel oil to city gas, which has lower CO2 emissions. It was also
followed by the change of the cooling and heating boilers in the Fukae areafrom fuel oil to electricity.
As a result, the usage of electricity, city gas and fuel oil displayed adecreasing trend in FY2012, while the total amount of CO2 emitted in thesame year increased by 13.6% (1,658 CO2 tons) over FY2011*.
The amount of CO2 emissions by gross floor area increased by 1.6%
2
(1.3 CO2 tons/1000m ) from the base fiscal year (FY2004).
Kobe University will continue its energy conservation activities, andmake efforts to achieve its goal, which is to reduce CO2 emissions by 15%
in basic units during the second term of the Mid-term Plan (FY2010 toFY2015).
*The increase in the amount of CO2 emitted reflects the CO2 conversion coefficient(officially published figure) of the electricity purchased. Especially, the coefficient
was changed from 0.281 (CO2 ton/1000 kWh) to 0.414 (CO2 ton/1000 kWh) in the
Tsurukabuto 2 campus, Kusunoki area, Myodani area and Fukae area as they havecontracts with Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. which relies on nuclear power
generation for much of its operation.

Table 1: Level of CO2 Emission (CO2 tons)
FY2012

FY2004FY2010FY2011

Rokkodai 1 campus

2,029

2,026

1,826

1,765

Rokkodai 2 campus

12,31812,155

10,857

10,743Tsurukabuto 1 campus

1,426

1,270

1,169

1,143

Tsurukabuto 2 campus

3. Amount of Electricity Used

The total amount of electricity used in FY2012 was almost at the samelevel as the previous year (a decrease of 374,000 kWh, representing 0.6%
reduction).
All departments will make a concerted effort with their energy-saving
activities and awareness-raising programs. Future building renovations
will continue to include the introduction of more efficient equipment, withthe goal of further reducing energy consumption.
(1000 kWh)

69,000A reduction of 373,000 kWhcompared to FY2011.

68,07268,000If the output of a typical

67,00065,72866,00065,000 64,738

household is taken to be
4.600 kWh then this isa reduction of

65,355x approx. 81
households

64,00063,000
0

2004

2010

2011

2012

(FY)

Chart 3: Amount of Electricity Used

4. Amount of City Gas Used

The total amount of gas used in FY2012 decreased from the previous
3
year (a decrease of 132,000 m , representing 2.7% reduction).
The reduction was mainly due to less operational time of the gas
generator in the Kusunoki area during the planned electricity cuts at timesof peak usage.
All departments will make a concerted effort with their energy-saving
activities and awareness-raising programs. Future building renovations
will include the introduction of more efficient equipment, working to further
reduce energy consumption.
3(1000 m )
5,100

482

519

517

775

Kusunoki area

18,494

17,22017,51821,6264,900

Myodani area

479

521

472

580

4,700

Fukae area

1,004

1,021

994

1,258

Total

36,232

34,73233,35337,8904,935

A reduction of 132,000 m3
compared to FY2011.

4,913
4,781

If the output of a typicalhousehold is taken to be
200 m3, then that is

4,577

4,500

a reduction of

4,300
x approx. 660
households

4,100(CO2 tons)

40,00037,89038,00036,00034,732x approx. 345
households

33,353Compared to FY2011, this is
an increase of 4,537 CO2 tons,
an increase of

32,000

2004

2010

2011

x approx. 945
households

2012
（FY）

Chart 1: Level of CO2 Emission(CO2 tons / 1000m2)
85

83.24

81.94

80

76.52

75

15% reduction
73.47

0

2004

2010

2011

2012 (FY)

Chart 4: Amount of Gas Used

5. Amount of Fuel Oil Used

The total amount of fuel oil used in FY2012 decreased by 18.4 kl(31.6%) from the previous year.
This was mainly due to the building renovation in the Fukae area which
decreased the operating time of the cooling and heating boilers.
The Rokkodai 1 and Tsurukabuto 1 campuses, and Kusunoki area
stopped using the heating boilers, so the level of usage dropped to zero.
The Rokkodai 2 campus uses a negligible amount of fuel oil for
emergency generators. Fuel oil is not used on the Tsurukabuto 2 campus.
（kL）700
600

69.65

70

583

500
400

65

300

60
0

3,900

36,232

34,0000

An increase of 1,658 CO2 tons
compared to FY2004.
If the output of a typicalhousehold is taken to be
4.8 CO2 tons, then this is anincrease of

228.15

200
2004

2010

2011

2012

2015 (FY)

Base year

Chart 2: Level of CO2 emission by gross floor area

Goal year

100
0

2004

2010

58.17

39.77

2011

2012 (FY)

Chart 5: Amount of Fuel Oil Used

Conserving Resources and Recycling
1. City Water

Volume discarded

900

858.8

800

203.5

200

115.3

401.3

12.9

5.0

378.4

95.3

39.1

100

3

400

Volume recycled

1,000

The total amount of city water used in FY2012 decreased by 122,000m3 (32.4%) from the previous year.
This was mainly due to the Kusunoki area using well water from Feb.
2012 which dramatically reduced reliance on city water.
In addition, in the Rokkodai area general service water is being usedin order to conserve water resources.
(1000m ) 450

From the left : FY2009・FY2010・FY2011・FY2012

1,100 (t)City Water/General Service Water

8.1

50.3

4.2

10.9

2.0

0

350

Oﬃ
r

s

per

es

ape

ce p

spa

azin

New

box
es

dw

te

late

r re

ape

ard

er p

e

s

was

ottle

tible

bag

gar

bus

dbo

Mag

Car

Oth

Raw

Com

rs/b

150

s

200

ss ja

255.9

250

Can

Gla

tles
bot
PET
te
was
te
Bulk
was
ible
ust
mb
Inco

300

e

ast

100
50
0

Chart 8: Amount of Solid Waste Produced by Types for FY2009 - FY2012
2010

2011

2012

(FY)

The total amount of solid waste produced in FY2012 increased byabout 8% from that in FY2011. This was mainly due to the increase in theamount of bulk waste produced. The recycling rate decreased by 2% in
FY2011, which represented 20% of total waste in FY2012 (See chart 9).

Chart 6: Amount of City Water Used

2. General Service Water
In the Rokkodai area, water resources have been conserved by using
Rokko Mountain river water as general service water for flushing toilets
and in laboratories, etc. In addition, Kusunoki area started using well
water from Feb. 2012.
3
The use of general service water increased by 119,000 m (117.3%).
Efforts aimed at the efficient use of water resources will continue.
(1000m ) 250

221.1

1,500

Recycling rate

16.3％
1625.117.6％
1395.722.2％
1306.119.5％
1405.5

1,000

0

200

2009

2010

2011

2012 (FY)

Chart 9: Changes in the Total Amount of Solid Waste Produced
from FY2009 Through FY2012

150

82.8

101.7

Trends of Usage in Office Paper

50
0

（t）
2,000

Volume discarded

500

3

100

Volume recycled

2010

2011

2012

(FY)

Chart 7: Amount of General Service Water Used

Chart 10 shows trends in the amount of office paper used from FY2010
to FY2012.
The volume of office paper used increased by 16.03 tons (approx.
7.6%) from FY2011.
We need to continue our efforts to reduce office paper usage bymaking it a common practice to have paperless meetings and lectures, tomake copies using both sides of the paper, and to use the blank side of
paper that has been used on only one side.

General waste

Chart 8 shows the amount of general waste produced from FY2009 to
FY2012. Volume recycled indicates the volume of waste that was able tobe converted back into resources, and the numbers inside the chart itself
show the exact values for 2012. Bulk waste slightly decreased from 2009
to 2011, however, it increased by roughly 15% in 2012 due to building
renovations and the relocation of laboratories within the University. In
addition, the amount of incombustible and combustible waste was almost
the same as the previous year, while that of other paper related waste
experienced a slight increase. This was mainly due to the increased useof packaging, envelopes, and flyers. Efforts to decrease waste should bemade by recycling this material. In 2012 the volume of office waste paper
increased, but almost all of the increased amount was successfully
recycled. Recycling for all other waste remained in line with the previous
year.

Printing paper (for color)
（t）
250
200

215.12
1.05
14.51

Printing paper (for black & white)211.650.92
13.96

227.680.09
0.75
Increased 7.6%
from FY2011

150
100

199.56

196.77226.8450
0Copy paper

2010

2011

2012

Chart 10: Volume of Office Paper Used

(FY)

How this Environmental Report was Compiled
This environmental report summarizes the work accomplished in our environmental activities over the past year (April, 2012 to March, 2013) on
the main campuses of our university. It is published under the title Kobe University Environmental Report 2013.
While the intended readers of this report are the members of our university, including students, faculty and administrative staff members, thereport also serves as a tool for stimulating discussion regarding the environment both on and off campus. It also details the environmental research,education, and other activities that Kobe University has conducted, and scrutinizes our efforts with respect to strengthening environmental
management systems under Environmental Performance.
Prior to publishing the Environmental Report 2013 we held the third Environmental Report Workshop, and the following improvements werereflected in the Report based on the feedback received through the discussion session:(1) Until last year’s report, the PDF was generated from the Web data, and as a result some of the text was difficult to read due to its limited
image size. Starting this year, in order to improve the reader experience, the PDF data was generated first, followed by the Web data, andthe font size was changed from 9 to 10 points.
(Note) In 2006, the Environmental Report started to be published on the Web. In 2007, a PDF version was also generated based on the Web
version for those who require hard copies.
(2) In order to stimulate interest in environmental issues among our student body we asked the Kobe University Students’ Environmental
Research Team to design the cover page and edit articles contributed by students (these articles are also available in unabridged versions).

Reference Guidelines ●Environmental Reporting Guidelines, Fiscal Year 2012 Version (Ministry of the Environment, April 2012)
Guidelines for items to be mentioned in environmental reports, second edition (Ministry of the Environment,
November 2007)

Survey locations ●Rokkodai Area:
Rokkodai 1 campus ( main departments: Faculty of Law, Faculty of Economics, School of Business
Administration, Graduate School of Law, Graduate School of Economics,
Graduate School of Business Administration, Graduate School of International
Cooperation Studies, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration)
Rokkodai 2 campus ( main departments: Administrative offices, Faculty of Letters, Faculty of Science,
Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Graduate School of Humanities,
Graduate School of Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Graduate School of
System Informatics, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Organization ofAdvanced Science and Technology)
Tsurukabuto 1 campus ( main departments: Faculty of Intercultural Studies, Graduate School ofIntercultural Studies, and Institute for Promotion of Higher Education)
Tsurukabuto 2 campus ( main departments: Faculty of Human Development, Graduate School of
Human Development and Environment)
Kusunoki area ( main departments: School of Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, and University Hospital)
Myodani area (main departments: Faculty of Health Sciences and Graduate School of Health Sciences)
Fukae area (main departments: Faculty of Maritime Sciences and Graduate School of Maritime Sciences)

Fiscal Year of Project ●Date of Issue ●Publication Date of Next Issue ●Departments in Charge of Publication ●Contact ●URL ●FY2012 (April, 2012 through March, 2013)
September 30, 2013
September 30, 2014 (TBC)
Environment and Facilities Management Committee(Chairperson: SHIMOBAYASHI Masami, Executive Vice President in charge of General Affairs and Facilities)
Environmental Management Subcommittee(Head: SHIMOBAYASHI Masami, Executive Vice President in charge of General Affairs and Facilities)
Environmental Reporting Working Group(Chairperson: Professor KOKUBU Katsuhiko, Graduate School of Business Administration)
Facilities Planning Group, Facilities Planning Division, Facilities Department, Kobe University
1-1 Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 657-8501
TEL: 078-803-5173
E-mail: shis-soumu@office.kobe-u.ac.jp
http://www.kobe-u.ac.jp/report/environmental/2013/

Cover
Kobe University Students Environmental Research
Team joined the Environmental Reporting Working Group
from 2013, and took responsibility for designing the cover
page for the Environmental Report 2013.
In order to raise awareness and interest in the Environmental Report among members of Kobe University, theresearch team invited Kobe University members, including
those in affiliated schools, to submit photographs for thecover page. 10 photographs were submitted.
The selection process took place among the representatives of the University’s environmental groups, including
Kobe University Students’ Environmental Research Team,
Environmental Circle ECORO, and NPO GOMI-Japan.
After an hour-long discussion, the photograph to the left
was selected for the cover page.
HORIE Atsushi, Department of Human Expression, Faculty of Human Development, 3rd year
Location: An open space in front of Building B of the Faculty of Human Development

In the selection meeting, the best shot wasevaluated thus: “Nature and the building are
well-balanced. A bright and clear image” and “Thegrowing image of the young tree overlaps with that of
the environmental situation at Kobe University.”
Kobe University Students’ Environmental Research
Team is grateful toeveryone who kindly
submitted photos.

Second Place
NEKOMOTO Minami,
Faculty of Intercultural Studies, 4th year