Press Release
                        Contact:-
                        Aston Bridgman
                        NEC Corporation
                        TEL    :81-3-3798-6511
                        FAX    :81-3-3457-7249
                        E-mail : Aston_Bridgman@HO-PRD.ccgw.nec.co.jp

*****For immediate use February 25, 1998

NEC PCs First To Meet Environmental Life Cycle Assessment Requirements

The assessment showed the PCs are anticipated to reduce their impact on global warmingⁱⁱⁱ by 20% during their lifetimes compared to previous models.

The LCA assessment reviewed data from the computers' design, through all phases of development and manufacturing to disposal, to estimate the products impact at each stage on the environment and such problems as global warming and acid rain.

The PCs are the space-saving MateNX MA23D/C and MA16C/C for the business market, and the ValueStarNX VS26D/CX aimed at the private and small office/home office (SOHO) markets, launched on January 27, 1998.

Assessment of these new PCs was carried out shortly after their launch, using LCA software designed and developed by NEC and released as a product, "LCA Support" in December 1997. This software allows efficient assessment of every component of a product, through from the wide variety of components and materials to the product's physical structure and the manufacturing processes used to build it. From these individual assessments, NEC constructed several hundred LCA databases for future reference.

This critical review was conducted jointly with an external agency to ensure compliance with the ISO 14040 regulations in both the execution of the tests and preparation of the resulting data.

Background

Following the environmental summit held in Kyoto, Japan in December 1997 increasingly strong calls have been made for industry to offer more environmentally-conscious products and services. Determining the impact of products on the environment is the fist step in meeting these goals, and using this understanding, NEC developed its LCA software, capable of determining the impact of a product throughout its life on the environment, such as its affect on global warming, depletion of the ozone layer, and other effects.

NEC put priority on development of an LCA product resulting in success in October 1994. This software was launched in March 1995 for sale to corporate customers when it was given the name JEM-LCA by the Japan Environment Management Association.

Efforts continued from this first success to develop personal computer and electronic components LCA methods, resulting in the LCA Support software launched last December. It was this vital development that enabled NEC's successful development of the PCs announced today, that are the first in the world to pass the strict LCA standards of the ISO14040-series environmental management certification.

NEC is continuing its efforts to take the LCA software from the R&D stage through to widespread use, as the ISO works towards the standardization of LCA methodology. The ISO 14040 standard was established on June 15, 1997 and further standards are also being developed. It was adopted in Japan as the JISQ14040 on November 20, 1997.

NEC will continue efforts to develop products based on its capabilities with LCA methodologies, to promote more environmentally-friendly products.

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1. The PC 97 Hardware Design Guide, v. 1.0, August 30, 1996. (C)1996 Microsoft, and the PC 98 System Design Guide, Version 1.0, September 5, 1997. (C)1997 Microsoft Corporation and Intel Corporation, form the basis of the next-generation standard for personal computers.
2. International Standards Organization
3. The emission of such gases as carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4)are believed to affect global warming.

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