This Environmental Sustainability Report is newly prepared to provide more detailed information on our environmental activities, which we have introduced in the Hitachi Group Corporate Social Responsibility Report. We believe that this will encourage deeper discussions with our stakeholders and, in turn, strengthen our environmental management. We look forward to further dialogue with you through this report.
Since our long-term plan, Environmental Vision 2025, was released in December 2007, I have been explaining the philosophy behind that vision and Hitachi Group actions to a range of stakeholders around the world. In addition, we held a number of environmental forums in Tokyo, Paris, Beijing, Washington, D.C., Singapore and elsewhere in fiscal 2008 to discuss environmental conservation and technology development with stakeholders. For me, what emerged from these forums was a great sense of urgency from all concerned—governments, companies and consumers—and that concrete action must be taken as soon as possible.
For global warming in particular, humankind’s expertise and commitment are being challenged by the need to halt the increase in greenhouse gases for the world as a whole and change the trend of emissions into a downward trajectory within the next five to ten years. Water issues too are reaching a crisis point in many places around the globe. Therefore, we must face global environmental challenges with global-scale solutions. At the same time, an emerging social trend is to see environmental action as a source of economic growth and employment, making this a growing market. Given these circumstances, I believe that Hitachi must work to realize a sustainable society based on the Corporate Credo of contributing to society through the development of superior, original technology and products. I see promoting environmental management to attain this goal as the responsibility of the entire Hitachi Group.
Based on our medium-term plan, Environmental Vision 2015, we are pursuing a two-pronged environmental management strategy: reducing the environmental burden through monozukuri and supplying environmentally conscious products and services. In addition, our long-term plan, Environmental Vision 2025, sets the 2025 goal to help reduce annual CO2 emissions by 100 million tonnes through Hitachi products and services with high environmental performance. For me, our dialogues with stakeholders have underscored the strong expectations they hold for the development of new technologies and products that will contribute to achieving this goal. The stakeholders have made me strongly aware of the major responsibility that Hitachi bears in resolving global environmental issues.
Looking ahead, in the short-term, the Hitachi Group will focus on developing and distributing products that achieve substantial energy savings. For this reason, we are making all our products Hitachi Eco-Products. Our longterm program concentrates on innovative technologies; we will accelerate the development of environmentally conscious and energy-saving products and services. We will place special emphasis on a few core projects: nuclear power generation, which emits very little CO2; renewable energies and smart grids, for sustainable energy; and environmentally conscious data centers.
To remind employees that environmental protection is everyone’s responsibility, we distributed Eco Badges in fiscal 2008 to all Hitachi Group employees around the world. Wearing these badges is a sign of each person’s resolve to build environmental conservation into our daily work and doing what we can to realize Hitachi’s environmental vision. Based on this personal awareness of every member, we at the Hitachi Group will intensify our efforts to realize a sustainable society through cooperation and dialogue with stakeholders.
July 2009
Takashi Hatchoji
Executive Vice President, Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi Group Chief Environmental Strategy Officer
