Social and Environmental Activities - Toshiba's Commitment

Management Commitment

Since I assumed the presidency of Toshiba a year ago, I have positioned the principles of CSR at the heart of management, alongside sustained growth with profit and maximization of the multiplier effect of innovations Note1. CSR-oriented management is a core theme of Toshiba's business plan for fiscal 2006 to 2008 which was announced in May 2006.

Based on the fundamental principles of according the highest priority to human life and safety and legal compliance in all business activities, Toshiba Group is addressing human rights, environmental management, enhancement of customer satisfaction and corporate citizenship. We strive to make CSR an integral part of daily business operations for each and every business division and employee, and in doing so we hope to earn the trust of all our stakeholders and the business community.

Note1) Maximization of the multiplier effect of innovations means unleashing a multiplier effect in business process through innovations in three key areas: development, production, and sales and marketing.

Although I have been urging all Toshiba Group companies to ensure total legal compliance as a prerequisite for doing business, there have regrettably been two incidents of compliance failure. The first concerned bid rigging for installation of electrical equipment for Narita International Airport Corporation while the second involved the falsification of flow rate test data for nuclear reactor and thermal power generator flow meters. As president and CEO, I view these problems with the utmost concern. I have taken the initiative in formulating and implementing fundamental measures to prevent their recurrence. We are doing our utmost to cultivate a corporate culture that accords the highest priority to human life, to safety and to legal compliance throughout Toshiba Group.

Since taking the helm, I have made it my mission to ensure that Toshiba Group is richly deserving of global society's trust. For the CSR perspective, there are two essential aspects to being a global enterprise. One involves taking a leading role in the environment by contributing to the sustainable development of society. To this end, Toshiba established its Environmental Vision, with the aim of doubling Toshiba Group's overall eco-efficiency by fiscal 2010 and implementing the company's voluntary environmental action plan. Prevention of global warming is a particularly pressing issue. In addition to offering environmentally-conscious products and promoting energy-saving at factories, we recognize our responsibilities as a leading supplier of energy equipment. We intend to prevent global warming through the enhancement of thermal power generation efficiency, the expansion of nuclear power and the development of renewable energy sources.

The other aspect of being a global enterprise involves respecting the cultures and customs of the communities where we do business. Toshiba Group companies actively do this. For example, in 2005 Toshiba established a new initiative of presidential awards, the Toshiba "ASHITA" Awards, which are presented each year to individuals or groups whose corporate citizenship activities achieve outstanding results. This is just one of the ways in which Toshiba Group companies proactively seek to gain knowledge and cultural awareness and to encourage and champion exemplary corporate citizenship.

As stated in the management vision, we have been a source of products and services attuned to people's aspirations and beneficial to society since 1875. I have added "Meeting Challenges with Innovation" to the management vision that we revised in April 2006. Toshiba is making a concerted Group-wide effort to maximize the multiplier effect of innovations at each phase of development, production and sales and marketing. Toshiba will continue to lead the market and is committed to being at the forefront of technology convergence.

Everyone at Toshiba Group is encouraged to be passionate about their work, to adopt a broad perspective and to cultivate strong determination. These individual capabilities fuse into an organizational ability that emboldens us to achieve growth, fuel innovation and unleash our dynamism.

The links between a company and its stakeholders are many and various. We value the relationships we have with our customers, investors, employees, local communities and suppliers, and respect each of these stakeholders' interests and needs. Mindful of this, we emphasize communication and engagement with our stakeholders.

As CSR activities come to the fore, their quality is becoming an issue. We pledge to attain a level of excellence in our CSR activities that is worthy of a dynamic Toshiba.