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.
December 20 , 2007
Striving to curb 100 million tons of CO2 emissions from Hitachi Group products in fiscal 2025
Tokyo, December 20, 2007 --- Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT / TSE:6501) today announced in a drive to promote environmental preservation and realize a sustainable society, the Hitachi Group has drafted a long-term plan called Environmental Vision 2025. Through this plan, the Group is determined to curb CO2 emissions associated with its products by 100 million tons in fiscal 2025. Two factors spurred the formulation of this plan. One was recognition of the importance of developing decisive measures for meeting the target of halving greenhouse gas emissions worldwide by 2050. This target emerged from discussions among heads of state and government at the Heiligendamm Summit of the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrialized nations that took place in Heiligendamm, Germany, in June 2007. The second factor behind this decision was a desire by the Hitachi Group to devise a concrete plan of action running through to the midpoint of this target period, fiscal 2025, and to strengthen environmental initiatives on a Group-wide level. Meanwhile, in order to step up promotion of Environmental Vision 2015, a medium-term plan drafted in fiscal 2006, and to successfully meet Environmental Vision 2025 targets, the Hitachi Group established the post of Hitachi Group CEnO (Chief Environmental Strategy Officer) on December 1, 2007. As the name suggests, the CEnO is responsible for coordinating and managing environmental management strategies for the Hitachi Group. Accompanying this move, the Group will establish the Environmental Strategy Office on January 1, 2008, as part of actions for achieving the goals of its environmental plan.
The Hitachi Group has been implementing activities under the aforementioned Environmental Vision2015. These activities aim to realize global warming prevention, ecosystem conservation, and the sustainable use of resources. Under Environmental Vision 2015, the Group has been working to meet its fiscal 2015 goal of achieving "emission neutral" status, whereby direct environmental impact and societal environmental impact are reduced by the same amount. Direct environmental impact refers to 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. Societal environmental impact, meanwhile, refers to electricity consumed by products, as well as energy used for recycling end-of-life products. As a new target for successfully completing Environmental Vision 2015, the Group has declared its commitment to increasing sales of its Eco-Products* to ¥6.6 trillion by fiscal 2010, or roughly double that recorded in fiscal 2006.
The Hitachi Group formulated the Environmental Vision 2025 long-term plan to provide fundamental solutions for realizing a truly sustainable society. The key concepts of the plan are outlined below.
The Hitachi Group will remain committed to fulfilling its social responsibilities as a good corporate citizen by striving to realize a truly sustainable society that is in harmony with the environment through the services and products it offers.
Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 384,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2006 (ended March 31, 2007) consolidated revenues totaled 10,247 billion yen ($86.8 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.