Hikari Miso Co., Ltd.　-　Environmental & Community Activities

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Environmental Management Systems

In 1998, we laid out an environmental policy and established our environmental management system here at Hikari Miso. Under this company-wide system, we are addressing environmental sustainability and working to improve our business processes.

Environmental Policy

Philosophy

In appreciation of nature’s bounty, and out of our belief that the customer is our number one priority, we have made it our corporate mission to offer a product that contributes to a dependable, delicious, and healthy diet.
Accordingly, we have set progressive environmental conservation initiatives as one of the foremost concerns of our business administration. Through the efficient use of raw materials and resources and the

Environmental
Policy

1.	Every member of our staff shall always be conscious of the importance of environmental conservation, and shall participate in environmental initiatives, fully aware of his or her individual responsibilities.
2.	We shall observe all environmental legal restrictions, as well as any other regulatory requirements.
3.	Having established appropriate goals and targets with reference to our company’s environmental impact, we shall carry out reviews in response to any changes to environmental impact.
4.	Every member of our staff shall be engaged in the continuous improvement of our environmental management system and the prevention of environmental pollution.
5.	With reference to our company’s environmental impact, we establish the following points as key management goals: (1) Reduction of carbon dioxide emissions (2) Reduction of waste water emissions (3) Reduction of the generation of waste matter, and promotion of recycling and reuse
6.	As well as keeping all members of our staff informed about this environmental policy, we shall actively disclose environmental information to the public.
	February 1, 2006

Material Flow

Environmental Initiatives

In fiscal 2005, the miso preparation facility at our main plant, the Iijima Green Factory, underwent large-scale expansion. As a result, miso preparation was temporarily suspended prior to the new facilities beginning operation. As might be expected, energy consumption greatly increased after the expansion of the facility.
Among our environmental initiatives, we are particularly concerned with efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Unfortunately, though we continued directing excess heat from the generators towards the heating of the maturation tanks as in the previous year, we were unable to reach our goal of reducing emissions relative to the previous one-year period. Of our carbon dioxide emissions, a large proportion is related to the consumption of fuel oil, and the amount of oil consumed is largely affected by the amount of miso produced. So, though we were able to reduce the amount of oil consumed per unit of miso, the interruption during the period of fermentation and maturation required for the final completion of the miso apparently contributed to a delay in the achievement of this goal.
This year, we are once again engaged in improving environmental performance by continuing our various improvements in efficiency, while simultaneously endeavoring to raise environmental awareness among our employees through communication within our company.

Achievements in Fiscal 2005

Environmental Goals	Environmental Objectives for Fiscal 2005	Achievements in Fiscal 2005
Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions	Reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2% over the previous year*	4% increase	×
Proper Management of Waste Water Disposal Facility and Reduction of Waste Water	Restrict increase in the amount of waste water to less than 25% over the previous year*	17% increase	○
	Restrict increase in the amount of dewatered sludge waste to less than 70% over the previous year*	60% increase	○
Reduction of Waste Material	Reduce material loss due from waste generated during the manufacturing process by 2% over the previous year*	12% reduction	○
	Maintain the previous year’s level of packaging material loss*	79% increase	×
	Reduce partially-finished product loss by 50% over the previous year*	77% reduction	○
Promotion of Recycling	Recycling ratio above 90%	94% recycling ratio	○
Development of Environmentally-Conscious Products	Use of more lightweight materials for products under development	Conversion of packing materials, adoption of a common structure, size changes, etc.	○
Promotion of “Green” Purchasing	60% of office supply purchases should be environmentally-conscious products	61% environmentally-conscious products purchased	○
Improve Efficiency of the Order > Production > Shipment Cycle	Improve production efficiency by 1% compared to all previous years	2% improvement	○
	Maintain the previous year’s physical distribution cost ratio	0.02 point increase	×
A Commitment towards Environmental Communication	Develop opportunities for environmental communication	No change from the previous year	×

* Per actual unit value of proceeds from the previous year

Community Involvement

Community Involvement Philosophy

We fully realize that offering our customers the outstanding and unmatched value of Hikari Miso, through the provision of excellent goods and services, is our primary social responsibility. However, when we consider the company as a social entity, it is not enough to think of those social duties that lie within conventional reach of our hands or the scope of our vision. We must also be conscious of the importance of filling a more progressive role with regards to society. Whether from a long-term, global or even local perspective, we are voluntarily putting our management resources to use, engaging extensively in various socially constructive activities backed by the profound support and willing commitment of our employees. We hope that we can make Hikari Miso’s legacy of social contributions a standard for community service.

Focus Areas

At Hikari Miso, we consider “Contribution to Community Welfare”, “Contribution to International Society”, and “Contribution to Environmental Preservation” to be focus areas for our community involvement.

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Contribution to Community Welfare
In October, 2004, as our contribution to the welfare of our local community, we began providing regular food assistance through an incorporated nonprofit organization.
In Europe and America, food assistance programs for the poor and needy, called “food banks”, are well-known. At the incorporated nonprofit organization we support, about forty volunteers regularly distribute food to orphanages and seniors’ homes. Just one way of preventing food waste, food banks are drawing a lot of attention.

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Contribution to International Society

Our contributions to international society are made through support for the Japan Committee for UNICEF and the Japan Association for the United Nations World Food Programme. As subsidiary arms of the United Nations humanitarian support organizations, UNICEF and WFP, these two organizations promote social development through food assistance programs and the situation of children in developing countries as part of their mission to eradicate global famine and poverty. As a collective member of these groups, our company sponsors their various activities.

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Cleaning Up Lake Suwa

Contribution to Environmental Preservation
Our activities as a supporting member of The C. W. Nicol Afan Woodland Trust define our contributions to environmental preservation. “Intrinsically, human beings are a part of nature. Being exposed to nature, venerating it and appreciating its blessings is where we must begin.” Mr. Nicol’s words express the ideals of a man who has dedicated his life to the regeneration of forests.
Also, in 2002, we began the “Adopt Lake Suwa” cleanup program, in which members of the local community took on the role of “foster parents of the shore of Lake Suwa”. We are continuously working to protect Shinshu’s rich natural environment.