The Baoshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd.(Baosteel), a leading Chinese steel maker, has said its pollution to the environment has fallen sharply during the past five years.

A company statement said the company's sulfur dioxide emissions in 2010 had fallen by 63 percent from 2005, while the COD (chemical oxygen demand) emissions had decreased by 85 percent.

With the installation of more desulfurization facilities in the iron mills, the company's sulfur dioxide emission was reduced to 181.88 million tonnes last year, a sharp decline from the 492.31 million tonnes of emissions in 2005, according to the statement posted on the company's website Friday.

The statement said the company had invested 1.668 billion yuan (about 256.62 million U.S. dollars) on environmental protection projects during the past five years.

The company has also widened waste-water reuse and water conservation projects, which helped some units of the company save water by as much as 88 percent during the period.