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| March 13, 2006 |
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| Hitachi Unveils Environmental Vision 2015 Medium-Term Plan for Environmental Management |
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TOKYO, Japan, March 13, 2006 --- Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT/TSE:6501) today announced Environmental Vision 2015, a medium-term plan under which the Hitachi Group will implement innovative measures on a global basis to realize a corporate community and recycling-oriented society that are in harmony with the natural environment. Hitachi also announced The Second Term Environmental Strategy, a five-year action plan for translating this vision into reality. Activities under this strategy will begin in April 2006.
The new vision's central theme is to achieve "emission neutral" status across the Hitachi Group by fiscal 2015. Emission neutral is a concept whereby Hitachi's goal is to cancel out the "direct loads," or CO2 generated by production facilities, by reducing "social loads," the CO2 emissions of products during their lifecycles, by the same amount. Direct loads are defined as energy used in production activities, such as the acquisition of basic materials and processing and refining of parts; greenhouse gases emitted from factories; and energy used for recycling waste and for transportation. Social load refers to the electricity consumed by products and energy used for recycling end-of-life products, among other items. In specific terms, Hitachi aims to reduce the CO2-equivalent direct loads of factories by approximately 0.9 million tons of CO2/year (*) to about 7 million tons of CO2/year (*) by fiscal 2015. Hitachi plans to achieve this target by increasing the number of Super Eco-factories, environmentally friendly facilities that further promote energy conservation, reduce chemical substance emissions and implement advanced resource recycling measures, as well as by taking other actions. Concurrently, Hitachi aims to reduce the social loads of products by the equivalent of approximately 7 million tons of CO2/year (*) by fiscal 2015. As part of efforts to achieve this target, Hitachi will reduce the energy used by products as well as develop Super Eco-Products, which have enhanced properties in terms of considerations such as environmental protection, global warming and recycling. In this way, Hitachi expects to achieve "emission neutral" status, meaning social load reductions equal direct loads.
(*) Computed based on fiscal 2004 data.
As a policy statement setting direction for the group, Environmental Vision 2015 adopts a sustainability compass modeled on the four key directions E, N, S and W. A sustainability compass was also used with Environmental Vision 2010.
E stands for Eco-mind & Global Environmental Management
N stands for Next-generation Products & Services
S stands for Super Eco-factories & Offices
W stands for Worldwide Environmental Partnerships
The Second Term Environmental Strategy, a five-year action plan, was structured around these four goals. For example, in terms of E, the aim is to improve global environmental management system level for the Hitachi Group as a whole by fiscal 2010. This will require combining the integrated environmental management systems (EMS) of each business group / company and the group environmental promotion unit EMS. Heretofore, each business group and company has acquired ISO 14001 EMS certification on an individual site basis As a goal for N, Hitachi aims to increase the number of Super Eco-Products to account for at least 30% of all products by fiscal 2010. In terms of S, Hitachi is establishing the Super Eco-factory in 2006 and aims to have 30 of these environmentally conscious factories in fiscal 2010. For W, various initiatives will be advanced, such as promoting the concept of eco lifestyles to employees and their families and expanding environmental activities that make a meaningful contribution to society.
Environmental Vision 2010, covering the period from fiscal 2001 to fiscal 2010, was formulated to promote environmental management in the Hitachi Group. It was accompanied by an action plan for the first five years called the First Environmental Strategy. Environmental Vision 2015 was devised as a medium-term plan with loftier goals than its predecessor. It was formulated based on the fact that Hitachi achieved the goals of Environmental Vision 2010 much earlier than planned. The First Environmental Strategy produced steady results, enabling Hitachi to meet its goals for reducing the environmental impact of products, increasing the number of Eco- Products, reducing energy consumption in production activities and reducing the volume of waste materials, including cutting chemical substance and CO2 emissions. Environmental Vision 2015 was also formulated out of the perceived need to manage the company in a way that placed even greater emphasis on the environment from the standpoint of fulfilling Hitachi's corporate social responsibilities.
The Hitachi Group is committed to fulfilling those responsibilities going forward by providing products and services in a manner that helps create a sustainable society that is in harmony with the natural environment.
| About Hitachi, Ltd. |
| Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT/ TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 347,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2004 (ended March 31, 2005) consolidated sales totaled 9,027.0 billion yen ($84.4 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com |
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| Information contained in this news release is current as of the date of the press announcement, but may be subject to change without prior notice. |
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