Environmental Report
2022 Abridged Edition

Message from the President
Masato Fujisawa, University President
April

2005: Professor, Kobe University Graduate
School of Medicine
February 2014: Director, Kobe University Hospital
February 2018: Executive Assistant to the President,
Kobe University
April
2019: Dean, School and Graduate School of
Medicine, Kobe University
April
2021: President of Kobe University

Kobe University, championing the philosophy of “harmony between theory and reality” in the cosmopolitan port city of Kobe,
strives to pursue knowledge and cultivate individuals capableof contributing to society, producing numerous graduates withactive careers across varied ﬁelds.
Looking at the world today, there are many problems occurring
on a global scale, such as the COVID-19 pandemic that began
the year before last. Natural disasters such as earthquakes
and localized torrential rains; climate problems related to global
warming; environmental and energy crises facing societies that
aim to become carbon-free; poverty, famine, and food problems
in developing countries; human rights issues related to race andgender; peace issues involving nuclear weapons; the chaos ofinternational politics; health and welfare issues in super-aging
societies. There is no end to the list of challenges we must face,and all of these are global issues that the whole world should
coordinate their responses towards and work on resolving together. At Kobe University as well, we aim to actively engage incutting-edge international joint research and education directed
towards resolving these worldwide problems.
In Japan, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made the following
announcement in his general policy speech to the 207th Diet
Session on December 6, 2021: “To realize the goal of a carbon-neutral society by 2050 and the target of a 46% reductionin emissions by FY 2030, we will revise regulations to maximize
the introduction of renewable energy and invest boldly in clean
energy-related ﬁelds.” With the administration’s “new capitalism”
at the core, a clean energy strategy is being formulated that will
create economic growth out of measures to combat global warming.

To realize a carbon-neutral society by 2050, not only technological innovation, but also economic and social innovation is essential, and for that, broad knowledge ranging from the humanities
and social sciences to the natural sciences is necessary.Throughtheir education, research, and social contribution activities,
universities are expected to play a significant role in creating
scientiﬁc knowledge that forms the basis of governmental/ regional policies and innovation, and have a mandate to make thisknowledge widespread. Universities also play an important rolein encouraging their communities to reduce their carbon footprint
by serving as hubs of knowledge in each community, then expanding that community model to the rest of the world.
In light of this, Kobe University will participate in the University
Coalition for Achieving Carbon Neutrality as a platform to improve the university’s functionality and dissemination power inthis area by strengthening cooperation with national and local
governments, businesses, and other universities and colleges
both in Japan and abroad.
Mirroring the slogan of ‘multidisciplinary co-creation and collaboration’, all of our staﬀ and students will work together in order tobring about creative improvements and invigorate Kobe University’s core image as a global knowledge hub that pulses with theshining light of our future society. As society continues to change
as we reach the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kobe University
will become the center of the community, aiding the local revitalization of the economy, culture, life, the environment, and humanactivity, while striving to broadcast information throughout Japanand the world; doing our utmost to contribute towards global society.
Thank you all for your continued support and cooperation.

Message from the Director of the Center for Environmental Management
University-originated Carbon Neutrality
Atsunori Mori, Director of the Center for Environmental Management
The COVID-19 pandemic has made its way into a third season.
For now, there doesn’t seem to be a clear way out. As a result,
we have been forced to change our lifestyles dramatically andour daily freedoms continue to be severely restricted. In addition, resource and energy crises have also begun to cast a longshadow over economic activities, primarily in Europe. This began
in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine, since both countries
are leading producers of resources and materials for export. In
Japan as well, the waves of these crises are felt in the depreciation of the yen and rising prices, and the future is becoming
increasingly uncertain. Assuming that nuclear power cannot be
relied upon to provide a stable source of energy and oil prices
remain high, we will be forced to use coal-ﬁred power generation,
but this clearly goes against the trend towards carbon neutrality.
The dialing down of previously strong pressure from European
countries could give Japan a temporary respite from meeting numerical targets that aim towards realizing a carbon free society.
However, we must not simply relax. Humankind may suﬀer fromunknown diseases and wars that lead to social unrest, however
so long as we foolishly continue our economic activities by burning materials that keep releasing carbon dioxide into the atmo-

sphere,the air temperature will rise, the polar ice caps will melt
and harmful UV rays will break through the ozone layer. This will
push the hands of the doomsday clock forwards.
In the short-term, we must pay careful attention to how targets
for reducing CO2 emissions set forth by governments and local
governing bodies are affected and revised due to recent circumstances. To realize a sustainable society, we must surely
continue the eﬀorts we have made up to now without faltering.
As individual enterprises in society, it is also essential for universities to seriously work to meet numerical targets for reducing
CO2 emissions, which aim towards realizing carbon neutrality.
Furthermore, as research institutions, universities have a duty
to society to disseminate intellectual information such as revolutionary basic research and technological achievements that can
provide guidance to the nation and to the rest of the world on how
to achieve carbon neutrality. At Kobe University, we hope that wecan be of service to society by creating our own environmental
innovations towards making sustainable society a reality, whileworking to unite the diverse wisdom of our faculty to save energy
and resources.

Environmental Charter
Kobe University established an Environmental Charter on September 26, 2006 and carries out various environmental conservation activities based on thesebasic philosophy and policies. The environmental and energy-saving eﬀorts of the university are summarized in an annually publicized environmental report.
●Basic Philosophy
As a world-class center for research and education, Kobe University endeavors to advance initiatives that address two crucial modern-day issues: environmental conservation and the creation of a sustainable society.
This university is committed to building pathways towards the realization of a sustainable society, something that remains a shared goal for humanity. To dothis, we are utilizing the local mountains and oceans to cultivate capable, environmentally-aware individuals. We regularly publicize academic informationfrom the cosmopolitan city of Kobe to the rest of the world, and we are leading the way in environmental conservation eﬀorts.
●Basic Policies
1. Cultivate and Support Environmentally Aware Individuals
A university’s greatest obligation is the cultivation of people. We continuously revise our educational programs in order to foster the development of individuals who are always conscious of the global environment and the impact of their behavior on it. By combining knowledge of the humanities, social sciences,and natural sciences, and collaborating with global and local society, we strive to cultivate highly compassionate individuals who possess a thorough understanding of the environment.
2. Promote Research to Maintain and Support the Global Environment
It is necessary to consolidate the results of numerous research studies in order to overcome the various challenges facing to world, conserve the Earth’s
environment and create sustainable societies. We promote research into environmental problems in individual ﬁelds as well as interdisciplinary researchthat combines related ﬁelds, and strive to disseminate the results both locally and globally.
We also support eﬀorts to produce research results that are strongly connected to advancing international society and local communities.
3. Take a Leading Role in Environmental Conservation
Each individual’s behavior is important when it comes to conserving the Earth’s environment. Through our daily activities, we protect the environment, makeeﬃcient use of energy and natural resources, and rigorously manage dangerous substances, thus setting an example as an environmentally-conscious
campus. Furthermore, we disclose information about our environmental conservation activities, continuing to make improvements through communication
with those involved.

Environmental Education, Research and Topics
TopicsPDF P.8

TopicsPDF P.10

Research of University-Originated Urban Innovation Kobe and ESD Exercises

The Kobe University Environment Club Ecofuru ’s on-demand classes

Risa Kojima, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Economics

Yoshikazu Tsuru, Environmental Planning Coordinator, Oﬃce of
Safety and Health/Environmental Management(1)Research of University-Originated Urban Innovation Kobe (Aging Society
and Resource Recycling)
When creating a circular economy, resource separation is a very important
activity that improves the eﬃciency of recycling. In this study, we analyze
the current state of sorted disposal in each generation, especially focusesparticularly on the situation of elderly households aged 65 and older.
(2)ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) Exercises (Recycling ofWaste Plastic and Community Development)
We carried out courses on analyzing and evaluating policies in the pilot program Community Drop-Oﬀ System started by Kobe City in FY 2021 from theperspective of sustainability in ESD Exercises I and II through industry-government-academia-public collaboration.

A site of Community
Visiting a Daiei Kankyo
Drop-Oﬀ (Futaba school Co., Ltd. waste plastic
building)
recycling plant

TopicsConducting a depth
interview

PDF P.9〇Environmental Education Using Environmental Reports
To make the Environmental Reports made at this university better known
within the university, and to gather opinions and feedback from students toguide the creation of future Environmental Reports and environmental conservation activities, we have been holding these events since FY 2011. Since
FY 2014, some coursework such as report assignments and short tests has
been based on Environmental Reports during Introductory Environmental
Studies.
An Environmental Management Guidebook with details about the Environmental Charter of Kobe University and eﬀorts and rules for environmental
management, is also distributed every year to new students and new faculty
members.
〇Introductory Environmental Studies
Global environmental issues represent one of the largest global challenges ofthis century. At the Center for Environmental Management, we hold lecturesin Introductory Environmental Studies A/B as university-wide common subjects.
This year, Risa Kojima of the Graduate School of Economics assumed therole of lecturer in charge, and we added content about efforts to reduce
containers and packaging and resolve the plastic garbage content problem,with the title of SDGs12: Designing the Responsibility to Produce and to
Consume.

To help 3rd grade students at Kobe University Elementary School learn
about the importance of food, we held a 45-minute class combining a card
game about the environment and a lecture on the theme of food loss.
The environment-themed card game was thought up by members of Ecofuru,
who made letter and picture cards related to food.
One of the responses from participating elementary school children was that
we should try not to leave any food on the plate when we eat. Food loss isa familiar theme for elementary school children, and we were able to makethem feel concerned about the environment.

Environment-themed
card game

Playing the environmentthemed card game

Education

A lecture on food loss

PDF P.11

Thinking About the Environment in Terms of Clothing in Daily Life
Mari Inoue, Professor, Graduate School of Human Development andEnvironment & Principal, Secondary School attached to Kobe University
At elementary, middle, and high school, students study subjects such as how
chemical ﬁbers are made and surfactants in Science class,and content with a cultural and social background such as
gender and labor issues in Social Studies class or otherclasses. In Home Economics class, in the area of clothing
in daily life, students learn practical knowledge about thetypes and functions of the diﬀerent kinds of clothing materials: ﬁbers, yarns, and fabrics, based on their background. In
my courses, Clothing Science, Apparel Design, and Home
Economics Education C/D, this knowledge is grasped
from the perspective of environmental issues, and value is The main components
placed upon personally connecting it to sustainable lifestyle.
of comfort

Water absorption lab

Thread reeling lab

Identiﬁcation of ﬁbers
by the sense of touch*For more information see the full Japanese language Environmental Report 2022 on the Kobe University website. (Page numbers at the top indicate the page number in the PDF version.)

Environmental Education, Research and Topics
Research

PDF p.12

Other

PDF p.15

Research Aiming to Reduce Plastic in the Kobe Project

Signals of Marine Hazards Captured at the Fukae Campus

Kobe University Secondary School 9th class students
Naho Kitagawa Kyoka Umeda Ririko Wada
Teacher: Suguru Takagi

Mitsuru Hayashi, Associate Professor, Research Center for Inland Seas

At Kobe University Secondary School, we work on
the Kobe Port Intelligence Project (the Kobe Project)during Period for Inquiry-Based Cross-Disciplinary
Study. There, students between the 3rd and 6th gradeschoose one theme each and use various inquiry methods to write an essay over one year. During the cooperative seminar comprised of over ten students between
Photo 1: Advice from thethe 3rd and 6th grades, students deepen their research Center for Environmental
mainly through discussion with other students.
Management (Taken on
In Takagi’s seminar, three students carried out re- Tuesday, June 22, 2021)
search on the theme of reducing plastics after listening
to the 10th Center for Environmental Management
University-Wide Report Session Special Lecture “ThePresent and Future of Ocean Plastic Pollution Research” and further becoming inspired by face-to-faceadvice from the Environmental Planning Coordinatorin the Oﬃce of Safety and Health/Environmental Management at Kobe University and the Administrative Photo 2: Students inManager of the Center for Environmental Management. charge of research

Research

PDF p.13

We have introduced tsunami marine hazards in FY 2015 and marine and weather observation at Fukae Campus in FY 2018 inthese Environmental Reports. During a long periodof observation, signals from three major marine
hazards were captured. Marine hazards are phenomena that threaten to cause natural disasters orotherwise aﬀect oceanic activities or the natural environment, and we have captured signals relating to
the tsunami following the 2011 oﬀ the Paciﬁc coast
Figure 1: Signal from the tsunamiof Tohoku Earthquake that occurred on March 11 following the 2011 Tohoku earthquake(Figure 1), the storm surge caused by Typhoon
captured at Fukae Campus
Jebi (T1821) on September 4, 2018 (Figure 2), andthe change in atmospheric pressure following the
Hunga Tonga–Hunga
Ha'apai eruption on
J a n u a r y 15 , 2 0 2 2(Figure 3). We areresearching the impactof this kind of marine
Figure 3: Atmospheric pressure
hazard on the marine Figure 2: Storm surge from T1821
that occurred at Fukae Campus change from the volcanic eruption inenvironment.
Tonga captured at Fukae Campus

Other

PDF p.16

Major New Research from the Maritime Carbon Neutrality Research Society

Online Class About Vibrational Spectroscopy and Global Warming

Enna Hirata, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Maritime Sciences

Keisuke Tominaga, Professor, Molecular Photoscience Research Center

Shipping is the foundation of our nation’s economy. As one of the world's
leading maritime nations, 99.6% of Japan’s trade is conducted by sea, andapproximately 40% of domestic cargo transport (80% of basic industrial goods)
is dependent on marine transport. Therefore, reducing shipping sector emissions and developing an emissions trading environment will have a signiﬁcant
impact on achieving the net-zero goal. In this context, we established the
Maritime Carbon Neutrality Research Alliance (MCNRA) last year. The primary
aim of this research alliance is to propose a series of concrete measures thatthe shipping industry and governments
should take toward net-zero while
sustaining shipping industry under theeffect of climate change. The researchgroup is composed of researchers frommultiple disciplines, universities and research institutes in Japan. Members holdworkshops and present in conferences
regularly to promote the latest researchﬁndings. In addition, we are preparing a
multi-disciplinary course on marine de“Overview of Research andcarbonization in the Faculty of Oceanology, which is to be oﬀered from the school Collaborative Activities at the Maritime
Carbon Neutrality Research Society”
year of 2024.

In January 2022, we received a request from Professor Sandhya Babel at the
Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology
Lecture when visiting inin Thailand to assist with a class with the above 2019. Professor Sandhya
title, and we held the class online on March 23.
Babel is shown center
Thailand is a country that has undergone rapid
economic development, even compared to othercountries in Southeast Asia, but this kind of rapid
development is always accompanied by environmental issues, and they are highly consciousof environmental issues. I am doing research inmolecular science ﬁelds using spectroscopy, andsince the mechanism by which CO2 causes global warming at a molecular level is fairly related to
my research, I gave the lecture with the above
title. The class was intended for undergraduate
students, and students were viewing it from a
Figure 1: Absorption andlecture hall. There were also about 50 online paremission of infrared lightticipants such as graduate students.
by carbon dioxide

Research

PDF p.14

Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Companies’ Eﬀorts
Towards SDGs on Consumers’ Purchasing Behavior
Eri Nakamura, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Business Administration
In our research, it has become clear through data analysis of consumer surveys
taken in Japan, the United States, and Germany that not all eﬀorts towards SDGs
encourage consumers to purchase, and also that eﬀorts towards SDGs do not
intrinsically have an especially strong eﬀect on the decision-making of consumers when purchasing. The SDGs that have a particularly strong eﬀect on thepurchasing behavior of consumers are SDG12, relating to sustainable consumption and production, and SDG13, relating to climate change. On the other hand,
two of the SDGs that many companies are working towards, SDG8, relating toeconomic growth, and SDG9, relating to industry and technological infrastructure,
do not have a pronounced impact.
It is also known that there is a sig？
nificant difference in these effects？
between long-term goods such as＋
refrigerators that are used for over＋ten years, mid-term goods such as
sneakers that are used for a few
years, and short-term goods such as
The Relationship Between
sandwiches that are consumed on a
Companies’ Eﬀorts Towards SDGs
daily basis.
and Consumers’ Purchasing Behavior
Company

SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production)
SDG13 (Climate Action)
etc.

This Environmental Report summarizes the results of environment-related activities at this university between April 2021 and March 2022, and is publishedas the Kobe University Environmental Report 2022.
The Environmental Report is predominately aimed at our students and faculty,
with the objective of promoting communication about the environment both inand outside Kobe University. We introduce education, research, and projects
carried out at the university, in addition to highlighting eff orts to promote
environmental management etc., as a way of measuring our environmental
performance.

Guidelines used as references

Consumers

SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth)
SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure)

Preparing this Report

Better
企業イメージ
Impressionof theアップ
Company

Purchasing
Behavior“Environmental Report Guidelines, 2018 Edition”(Published in June 2018 by the Ministry of the Environment)“Manual for Writing Environmental Reports: For the Environmental Report
Guidelines, 2018 Edition”(Published in March 2019 by the Ministry of the Environment)*For more information, see the full Japanese language Environmental Report 2022 on the Kobe University website. (Page numbers at the top indicate the page number in the PDF version.)Kobe University Environmental Performance
Environmental Management

Basic Policy to Encourage Environmental
Management During the Third Mid-Term Goal Period
Conservation of the global environment and the creation of sustainable societies are the most important issues of our time. In working toward the "Kobe University Vision", we will do our utmost, as an institute for education andresearch which meets the highest international standards, to tackle theseissues through all our activities at the university. Based on the Kobe University
Environmental Charter and the Kobe University Basic Policy on Environmental
and Facility Management, which summarize the basics of this university's environmental and facility management, we established the following environmental management policy during the Third Mid-Term Goal Period.

■ Environmental Management Policy
Conservation of the global environment and the creation of sustainable societies are the most important issues of our time. In working toward the "Kobe University Vision", we will do our utmost, as
an institute for education and research which meets the highest international standards, to tackle
these issues through all our activities at the university. In March 2016, we established the Basic
Policy to Encourage Environmental Management During the Third Mid-Term Goal Period (FY2016
to FY2022), which was based on the Kobe University Environmental Charter and the Kobe University Basic Policy on Environmental and Facility Management. Our environmental conservation
activities are based on this policy.

I. Promote the 3 Rs
By promoting the 3 Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle) among all university
members, we will take assertive action to reduce waste while simultaneously reducing resource consumption.

II. Efforts to Streamline Energy Use
By promoting effective energy usage practices, we will work to reduce theaverage yearly energy consumption rate* by more than 1%, and reduce
CO2 emissions throughout the university.
(*) Consumption rate measured according to the total floor area of buildings.

■ Paper Waste Reduction Initiative

III. Execute and Maintain Environmental Management Cycles
To encourage environmental management, we will continue to develop
an ongoing action plan and implement our PDCA cycle.

The results of an investigation into trash can garbage and garbage collection sites by a group of environment surveyors found that the amount of recyclable paper mixed in with trash had decreased, andgarbage was being sorted appropriately for the most part.
We are continuing our activities to encourage environmental management. Posters on trash separation and recycling are put up in eachdepartment in order to spread awareness on proper separation and disposal of recyclables (cans, glass, PET bottles), combustible trash,non-combustible trash, recyclable paper, conﬁdential documents, etc. In addition, we designed standardized stickers for trash cans. These
stickers are attached to separated bins in areas such as hallways to promote the 3Rs with regards to paper usage and waste.

Please Cooperate in
Recycling Leftover Paper
Recyclable Paper

Magazines, pamphlets,
catalogs, posters

Garbage investigation (indoors)

Calendars, sketchbooks, paper files(remove metal fittings)

Paper boxes, wrapping
paper (candy, food packaging, medicine, etc.), tissue
boxes (not including
cellophane and othernon-paper parts)

Envelopes (not including
cellophane from transparent
bordered envelopes), money
envelopes, gift envelopes,
postcards, business cards,
letters, DM (not including
vinyl)

Paper bags (notincluding non-paper handles)

Used books (paperbacks,
pocket books), dictionaries(not including vinyl
coverings or other non-paper items), catalogs,
posters

Shredded paper(if recyclable)

Cardboard tubes (don’t cut
open toilet paper andwrapping paper tubes,
leave them as they are),paper egg cartons

Garbage investigation (outdoors)

Copy paper, memo paper(not including thermal paper)

Textbooks, notebooks,
school printouts,
origami, Japanesewriting paper, drawing
paper (including paperwith ink or paint)

Card stock for mounting shirts or stockings,
paper clothing tags

*Cellophane, vinyl, and plastic are burnable trash.

Collection Methods

Containers for recyclable paper

Distribute trash bins andbags in rooms and otherlocations to collectrecyclable paper in thecourse of everyday use.

Place inside anunneeded paperbag, envelope,etc.

Wrap up any
unneeded
paper with acord, etc.

Stack magazines, etc. andtie with a cord.

*Illustrations are taken from Kobe City pamphlet entitled “Do You Know? Leftover Paper Can Be Recycled.”！
Separate trash cansor specially processed paper ●Photos
The items to the ●Water-proofed(vinyl-coated paper, paper cups, waxed●Paper with adhesives (stickers, photoright cannot be
paper used for detergent boxes, etc.) (mostly albums, etc.)●Synthetic paper (Braille books, etc.)
dissolved in water, paper items that cannot be torn by hand)●Thermal paper (fax paper, etc.)●Iron-on transfer paper
so they cannot be ●Carbon paper (shipping slips, receipts,●Paper soiled with foodetc.)●CDs and DVDs included with magazines
recycled!

Center for Environmental Management

Stickers indicating waste separation

Created November, 2016

Material BalanceMaterial balance is the amount of energy and resources used for conducting business activities (“input”), and the environmental load generated by those activities (“output”).
As our basic policy for environmental management, Kobe University promotes activities related to the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) activities,
the streamlining energy usage, and the continued implementation of the environmental management cycle. We are actively working to conserve the environment based on this policy.
INPUT
Total energy

FY 2021
GJ

University Overview

FY 2021OUTPUTFY 2021861,317

Student body (undergraduate) People

11,493CO2 output volume

t-CO2

42,08970,230Student body (graduate)

People4,493

Wastewater

1,000m3

317.6

3,920

Study body (aﬃliated institutions) People

1,293

Heavy oil consumption kL

0.638

Foreign student body

People1,179

Waste material (OA paper, newspaper,t
cardboard, conﬁdential documents, etc.)

City and other water usage 1,000m3

301.9

Students on academic scholarships People

11,614

Miscellaneous water usage 1,000m3

48.3

Teaching faculty

People6,822

Foreign exchange programs
Institutions
with overseas universities

374

Electricity consumption MWh
Gas consumption

Paper usage

1,000m3t

128.74

Proportion of energy
used by each campus
or complex

Myodani 11,678 1%
Akashi, Okubo,
Sumiyoshi 1
8,504
1%

Tsurukabuto 2
12,917 2%
Tsurukabuto 1
20,013 2%
Fukae 20,980 3%
Port Island 3
24,647 3%Port Island 2
28,153 3%

Rokkodai 1 37,017 4%

Rokkodai 2
207,31024%

Kusunoki
485,068
56%

Other
5,030
1%

Proportion of CO2
emitted by each
campus or complex

Waste material (raw garbage) t

4.2

Waste material (combustible waste) t

520.6

Waste material (large items) t

131.1

Waste material (non-combustible waste) t

0.6

Myodani 566 1%

Akashi, Okubo,
Sumiyoshi 1
414 1%

Tsurukabuto 2
622 2%
Tsurukabuto 1
975 2%

Fukae 1,014 2%
Port Island 3
1,197 3%

280.7

Rokkodai 2
10,12324%

Kusunoki
23,787
57%

Other
222
1%

Port Island 2
1,365 3%
Units: GJ

Rokkodai 1 1,805 4%

Units: t-CO2

Kobe University Environmental Performance
Energy Conservation and Climate Change Prevention■Energy Consumption■Electricity Consumption

In FY 2021, energy consumption from electricity, gas, and heavy
oil totaled approximately 861,000 gigajoules (*1). Energy consumption increased by 3.1% compared to FY 2020, and the energy
consumption per unit area (calculated by dividing the energy consumption by the total ﬂoor area of all buildings) also increased by
4.6% compared to FY 2020.
We believe that the reason for the increase was that in FY 2021,
we mainly held face-to-face classes, taking into account the current status of the COVID-19 pandemic when balancing infection
prevention measures and students’ learning opportunities. We willcontinue to work to conserve energy.
*1: Converted calorific values for electricity, heavy oil, gas, etc.
based on Article 4 of Regulations on Rationalization of Energy
Use, etc.

In FY 2021, electricity usage increased by 5.3% compared to theprevious ﬁscal year.

Total (GJ)2（ GJ/ｍ ）Consumption rate (GJ/1,000m2)（ GJ ）
920,000

900,000

1,750

911,5701,708

885,431880,000

1,650
1,635

861,317860,000

1,600

1,590
835,740

840,000

1,550

1,500

0
800,000
FY 2017

FY 2018

FY 2019

FY 2020

FY 20211,450
071,673136.0

70,230
132.7

129.6

65,000123.1

60,000■CO2 Emissions
CO2 emissions (42,089 t-CO2) per unit floor area (541,718 m2)
in FY 2021 increased by 19.9% compared to the previous ﬁscal
year. Electricity accounts for approximately 80% of the university’senergy consumption. Therefore, we suppose that there were two
reasons for the increase in emissions- firstly the CO2 emission
factor (the value shows how much CO2 is emitted for each kWhof electricity provided) of the university’s main electricity provider
increased by approximately 22% (0.000389→0.000474tCO2/kWh).
Secondly, we mainly held face-to-face classes, taking into accountthe current status of the COVID-19 pandemic when balancing infection prevention measures and students’ learning opportunities.

1200
FY 2017

FY 2018

FY 2019(t-CO2/1,000m2)

42,08943,000■City Gas Consumption
In FY 2021, city gas usage increased by 1.8% compared to theprevious ﬁscal year.
Total (1,000 m3)

35,39535,00034,574（ m３/ｍ2 ）Consumption rate (m3/m2)

4,500

10.0

4,463

4,300

9.0

4,246
4,146
7.82

8.0

7.65
7.24

7.11
3,900
3,909

3,920

FY 2020

FY 2021

FY 2017

FY 2018

FY 2019

67.6

ガス使用量

FY 2020
7.11 m3/m2

FY 2021
7.24 m3/m2

1.8% increase■Heavy Oil Consumption
In FY 2021, heavy oil usage increased by 68.6% compared to theprevious ﬁscal year.
Total (kL)Consumption rate (L/m2)（ Ｌ/ｍ2 ）0.024

0.02267

0.021

14.0

0.018
12.10035,040
72.0

68.0

66.3
63.8

10.0

0.015

8.0

0.012

6.0

0.009
0.006

23,000064.8

FY 2018

FY 2019

FY 2020

Figure 2: CO2 emissions

2.0

0.00150
FY 201764.0

FY 20170.00204

0.0

27,000FY 2021

6.00

Figure 4: Gas consumption

4.0

31,000

7.0

0
3,700

12.0

76.0
36,080FY 2021129.6 kWh/m2

5.3% increase

80.0

77.7
39,000FY 2021

電気使用量

FY 2020123.1 kWh/m2

16.0

Consumption rate (t-CO2/1,000m2)（ ｔ - CO2 ）FY 2020

Figure 3: Electricity consumption（ kL ）

Total (t-CO2)

130

125

55,00004,100

FY 2021
1,590 GJ/1,000m2

135

67,716

132.3

8.36

Figure 1: Energy consumption
4.6% increase

72,06470,000

Energy consumption

FY 2020
1,520 GJ/1,000m2

140
72,595(1,000 m3)

1,520

820,000（ kWh/ｍ2 ）Consumption rate (kWh/m2)

75,0001,700

893,697

1,646

Total (1,000 kWh)
(1,000 kWh)

60.00

1.110

0.810

FY 2018

FY 20190.000700.00118

0.385

0.638

FY 2020

0.003
0.000

FY 2021

Figure 5: Heavy
oil consumption
重油使用量

FY 20200.00070 L/m2

68.6% increase

FY 20210.00118 L/m2

Kobe University Environmental Performance
improve users’ understanding, we have enhanced this course by adding narration using a speech synthesis program so that users can hear the content inaddition to reading the text on the screen.
We will continue to update the materials in response to law and ordinance revisions, and ﬁnd more ways to further improve understanding.

Resource Conservation and Recycling■Water Usage(1,000 m3)
500

Water usage for FY 2021 increased by 16,000 m 3 (4.8%)
compared to the previous fiscal
year.
At Rokkodai, we are conserving
resources by using river waterfrom Mt. Rokko for toilets and experiments.
We will continue working on ways
to use water resources eﬃciently.

■WasteWaste volume from FY 20172021 is shown in Figure 7. Waste
volume for FY 2021 was 937.2 t, a
0.16% decrease from FY 2020.
The recycling rate in FY 2021 was
28.5%, 1.2% lower than in FY
2020.
The FY 2021 recycling rate by
waste type is shown in Figure 8.
According to this ﬁgure, it is clearthat the recycling rate for OA paper, newspapers, magazines, andcardboard has not improved. If therecycling rate for paper reaches
90%, the total recycling rate for all
waste will increase from approximately 28.5% to 39.9% (calculated
according to FY 2021 waste volume). Kobe University will follow its
basic policy to encourage environmental management, and work tofurther improve the recycling rate.

443

Miscellaneous water

Well water

City water
457

Total
433

74

400

76

300

117

75

350

334
103

Green Purchasing and Procurement and Environmentally Friendly Contracts

39

48

110

101

185

201

FY 2020

FY 2021120■Green Purchasing and Procurement

200
279

250

100

238

0
FY 2017

FY 2018

FY 2019

Figure 6: Water usage
Waste volume(t)Waste volume(t)

Recycling volume(t)Recycling rate(%)

Recycling rate(%)

1,800

30

1,600

29

1,400
28
1,200
1,000

27

800

26

600
25
400
24

200

23

0
FY 2017

FY 2019

FY 2018

FY 2020

FY 2021

Figure 7: Amount of waste generated％
100

100.0 100.0 100.0

95.8

90
80
70
60
50

41.8

40

41.2 39.9
33.1

30
20
10

0.0

0.0

0.0

Large items

Non-combustible
waste

Other

PET bottles

Combustible
waste

Bottles

0.0
Cans

0.0
Raw garbage

Confidential
documents

Cardboard

Magazines

Newspaper

OA paper

0.0
Other paper

0

Figure 8: FY 2021 recycling rate by waste type

■University-Wide Office Paper Consumption
Changes in consumption of oﬃce
paper from FY 2017 to FY 2021
are shown in Figure 9.
Consumption increased 1.0% (1.28t) from the previous ﬁscal year.
We will continue to work to reduce
our paper usage by making conferences and lectures paperless,introducing double-sided printing,printing multiple pages per sheet,and reusing the reverse side of paper that has already been printed
on once.

（ｔ）
250

211.45195.16200

188.39150

127.46

128.74

FY 2020

FY 2021100

50
０
FY 2017

FY 2018

FY 2019

Figure 9: University-wide paper usage■Expanding E-Learning About Specified

Facilities

The Speciﬁed Facilities to which the Water Pollution Control Law applies arewash basins and draft chambers used mainly for experiments and research.
There are approximately 2000 Speciﬁed Facilities on campus (washing facilities,etc.), and it is a legal requirement that the government be notiﬁed prior to andafter any new installation, change, or decommission.
However, there are numerous laws concerning Speciﬁed Facilities including theWater Pollution Control Law, the Sewerage Act, and the Soil Contamination
Countermeasures Act, and these laws are complex
and hard to understand. Both legal knowledge andProcedures for the Establishment
knowledge of chemical substance management areof Specified Facilities, etc.
necessary to ﬁll in the large amount of required information for the notiﬁcation materials to be submitted
Center for Environmental Management
to the government. To address this, we have createde-learning materials about Speciﬁed Facilities-related
laws and document preparation, etc., which we enE-Learning related tocourage staﬀ members to utilize.
Speciﬁed Facilities
The e-learning course is around 30 minutes long. To
October 8, 2021

The Act on Promotion of ProcureTable 12: Achievements in green purchasing
ment of Eco-Friendly Goods andand procurement in FY 2021
Services by the State and Other
Total procurement Procurement rate
Category
Item
Entities (Green Purchasing Law)
volumefor speciﬁc items
Copy paper
128,127 kg
100%
was implemented in April 2004.
Toilet paper
43,174 kg
100%
This law stipulates the necessary Paper
Other
1,668 kg
100%
procedures for the promotion of
Ballpoint pens
6,324
100%
Envelopes
environmentally friendly goods Stationery
231,289100%(paper)procurement, etc. by the national
Other64,051100%
government, providing information Oﬃce furniture, etc. Chairs, desks, etc.
3,477
100%
machines,
on increasing the demand for OA equipment Copy
6,405
100%
printers, etc.
such goods, and aims to realize
FluorescentLighting
8,970
100%
tubes
a society capable of sustainable
Interior
Curtains
234
100%
development with less impact on Work gloves
4,352
100%
the environment. It was estab- Other textile
Blue
49
100%
tarpaulins
lished with the aim of contributing products
Services
Printing
482
100%
to people’s health and cultural life Average100%
both now and in the future, withthe government and other organizations taking the initiative in stimulating thepurchase of environmentally friendly goods.
Based on this Act, Kobe University creates a policy for procuring eco-friendly
materials every year. It procures materials based on this policy, publicizes theresults, and provides reports to the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
The university conducted a study on procurement results for 282 items across
22 ﬁelds. A selection of these results for 9 major ﬁelds are shown in Table 12. In
FY 2021, we achieved a 100% procurement rate for the designated items.
We will continue to create procurement policies based on the Green Purchasing
Law, and proactively work to procure eco-friendly materials.

Green Purchasing and Procurement and Environmentally Friendly Contracts■Current Status of Environmentally Friendly
Contracts
In accordance with the Act on Promotion of Contracts of the State and Other
Entities, Which Show Consideration for Reduction of Emissions of Greenhouse
Gases, etc. (hereafter referred to as the “Environmentally Friendly ContractLaw”), we must strive to promote contracts that take into account the reductionof greenhouse gases and other pollutants. This covers contracts relating to thefollowing 7 areas: electricity supply, purchase or rental of vehicles, procurementof ships, energy-saving renovations (ESCO projects), building design,industrial
waste processing, and building maintenance management.
From FY 2020 to FY 2021, ships produced at Kobe University to travel in coastal
waters were outﬁtted with main engines, generators, and motors that comply
with environmental regulations prescribed by laws and ordinances to reduce theemission of greenhouse gases, etc.
The eight environmentally friendly contracts for high-voltage and special
high-voltage electricity supply in the Rokkodai, Kusunoki, and Fukae areas, etc.
are two-year contracts that cover FY 2020 and FY 2021, and they were implemented as shown in Table 13.

Table 13: Electricity supply in each area
Amount of Power Contracted
Rokkodai Area
7,030kW
Tsurukabuto 2nd Campus (Graduate
School of Human Development and 672kW
Environment)
Fukae Area (Graduate School of 873kW
Maritime Sciences)
Myodani Area (Graduate School of 331kW
Health Sciences)
Integrated Research Center 267
kW
Port Island Area
Integrated Research Center
Annex 409 kW
Incubation Center 149 kW
Secondary School attached to
Kobe University 208 kW
Elementary School attached to
Kobe University 173 kW
Other 4 Areas
School for Special Needs Education
attached to Kobe University 102 kW
Food Resources and Education
Research Center 93 kW
Kusunoki Area
7,040kWInternational Clinical Cancer
477kW
Research Center

Planned Amount of Successful Bidder
Power to be Used
24,434,000kWh/year Kyuden Mirai Energy Corp.
1,602,000kWh/year Hope Inc.
2,196,000kWh/year Hope Inc.
1,075,000kWh/year Hope Inc.

3,568,000kWh/year Hope Inc.

847,000kWh/year Hope Inc.

36,720,000kWh/year Kyuden Mirai Energy Corp.
1,942,700kWh/year Hope Inc.

Outside Opinion
I have been involved in the creation of Kyoto University’s Environmental Reports ever since national university corporations and similar
institutions started being required to prepare and publish such reports
by Environmental Consideration Law in 2006. Since I was one of thepeople responsible for environmental management at Kyoto University(belonging to the Center for Environmental Science at Kyoto University, the equivalent of the Center for Environmental Management at
Kobe University), I truly put my whole soul into preparing every part of
the reports from constructing the framework, composition and design
to the writing process, especially during the ﬁrst few years. In a sense,
this eﬀort was one of the starting points for me. These various eﬀorts
were favorably evaluated and I received a variety of commendations.
However, in the past few years, I began to feel like my commitment to
the Environmental Reports had become a mere formality. Just as I was
thinking like that, I received this request for an outside opinion.
Before I received your university’s Environmental Report, I was agonizing a bit over what kind of mood to read it in, but I found that myworries had been unnecessary as soon as I turned the ﬁrst page. President Fujisawa’s ﬁrm greeting was followed by Director Mori’s frankmessage, very informative cutting-edge research, introductions toactivities, substantial information provided in relation to communication
with future generations, and the presentation of relevant environmental
performance information. It didn’t take me long to read through it. I
think that it is designed in such a way that anyone can easily pick it up
and read it easily.
I would like to make a few remarks about the contents as well, focusing
on the following three points.
1. Student participation: The sentiment that “We would like as many
students as possible to know about the Environmental Report” wasapparent in every part of the document, such as the cover designcompetition and the articles introducing current eﬀorts, and I wasleft with a very favorable impression. After publication, I look forward
to seeing the report also being disseminated through student initiatives, such as sharing on social media platforms.
2. Towards carbon neutrality: The report shows the head-on approachof both the university itself and its research and educational activities. A tendency for environmental burdens to increase due to measures related to post COVID-19 life can be seen in the environmental performance data, and this indicates that things will not be easy.
However, I look forward the publication of mid- to long-term analyses
and information on more speciﬁc eﬀorts to be made in future (wewould also like to learn from such information).
3. Constructing a recycling-oriented society: It is essential that wepivot towards resource recycling and a circular economy in order torealize a carbon-neutral society. There were many introductions tocollaborative projects here, especially with Kobe City. It goes without
saying that the creation of academic value is important, but I believethat social implementation in the community is also meaningful. I
look forward to these activities having an even greater impact bothwithin the university and beyond.
Reading this report, I was brought back to my beginnings. Thinkingof the editor, each author, and the people introduced here Reading between the lines, I imagined various things, letting my mind
wander. Allow me to express my deepest admiration for everyone
involved and my gratitude for receiving this opportunity.

Name: Misuzu Asari
Current position: Associate
Professor at the Graduate Schoolof Global Environmental Studies,
Kyoto University
Proﬁle2002: Graduated from the Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University
2004: Completed a PhD in Engineering at the Graduate School of Engineering,
Kyoto University
2004: Academic Assistant, Environment Preservation Center, Kyoto University
2005: Instructor (Research Institution Researcher), Environment Preservation
Center, Kyoto University
2006: Assistant, Environment Preservation Center, Kyoto University
2007: Assistant Professor, Center for Environmental Science, Kyoto University
2016: Associate Professor, Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies,
Kyoto University■ Awards Received: FY 2010: Best Paper Award, Japan Society for Environmental Chemistry
2011: Merit Award, Japan Society of Material Cycles andWaste Management
FY 2017: Club Award, The Soroptimist Japan Foundation- Wakaba
2021: Chairman’s Award, Japan Society of Material Cycles and Waste Management■ Research Field: Environmental Education Theory■ Aﬃliations: Japan Society of Material Cycles and Waste Management, The
Japanese Society for Environmental Education, University Environment and Safety Council, The Association of Environmental &Sanitary Engineering Research, 3R International Scientiﬁc Conference on Material Cycles and Waste Management

About the CoverIn order to further publicize this Environmental Report to our students (who comprise the majority of the university population), we created the coverby requesting photos and illustrations from undergraduate and graduate students at the university, as well as from students at our aﬃliated schools.
The cover photo was selected by the Environmental Planning and Assessment Committee, with the photo below receiving the grand prize.
From the many works submitted, we also selected two photos for Excellence Awards as shown below. We would like to take this opportunity to
express our thanks to all those who submitted photos and illustrations.

Grand Prize (Cover photo/illustration)

Excellence Awards (Cover photo/illustration)

Photo by Yuki Nissato,
2nd year PhD program student,
Graduate School of Intercultural
Studies, Kobe University
Shooting location: Rokkodai 1stCampusPhotographer’s comment: Although the campus is also beautiful with fresh greenery in spring,
I took this photo because I thought the campus
looked lovely colored by autumn.

Photo by Yuta Asai,
Sophomore,
Department of Civil Engineering,
Faculty of Engineering, Kobe
University
Shooting location: In front of the
Graduate School of Engineering
D Wing / LR Wing

Photo by Hodaka Shiraki,
Senior,
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Kobe University
Shooting location: In
front of the Graduate
School of Science A
Wing■Date of issue: September 2022
■Created by the Center for Environmental Management■Inquiries:Kobe University Facilities Department, Equipment Division, Environmental Management Group
1-1 Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo 657-8501
Tel: 078-803-6654
E-mail: shis-kankyo@oﬃce.kobe-u.ac.jp
URL: https://www.kobe-u.ac.jp/en/about_us/charter/environment.html