With fiscal 2009 the final year of the 5th Environmental Plan, the Mitsubishi Electric Group made a special effort to ensure all objectives would be achieved and that the expected results would be obtained. We also formulated the 6th Environmental Plan, which is the first in a series of plans aimed at meeting long-term objectives expressed in Environmental Vision 2021. These long-term objectives will shape our activities moving forward.

Implementation of the 5th Environmental Plan involved the continuous strengthening of domestic and overseas management to expand global environmental management, encompassing even non-manufacturing sites in Japan and overseas.

In Japan, we expanded the scope of facilities subject to environmental audits by the head office to include not only sites and manufacturing affiliates in Japan, but also companies not engaged in manufacturing activities. We perform environmental audits on over 100 sites every year and audited 107 in fiscal 2009. Overseas, we held our Regional Environmental Conferences, one each for Europe, the Americas, China, and other parts of Asia. In conjunction with those conferences, we also conducted on-site environmental inspections focused on solving problems at manufacturing companies in particular.

We are also paying special attention to developing personnel who will play leading roles in maintaining environmental management standards. Over the past five years, we have trained a total of 118 key environmental personnel (24 in fiscal 2009) in an ongoing program aimed at developing human resources for managing environmental facilities. In fiscal 2008, we made China the first stop in developing this program overseas, as well.

Mitsubishi Electric worked to reduce the environmental impact of procurement, production, products, logistics, disposal, and recycling in all stages of our products' lifecycles.

In an effort to help counter global warming, we set the voluntary action target of cutting CO₂ emissions per unit of real sales 60% compared to the level for fiscal 1991. We set that target with the intent of achieving it by fiscal 2011, managed to do so by fiscal 2006, and have maintained that level of control ever since, with fiscal 2009 emissions coming in 60.1% below the fiscal 1991 level. Our success has been supported by productivity enhancement activities and other forms of active energy efficiency investment. Through these initiatives, we managed to cut our CO₂ emissions by 14,000 tons in fiscal 2009. In fiscal 2008, energy efficiency investment and reduced production cut our CO₂ emissions by 30,000 tons, to 514,000 tons (including 70,000 tons in CO₂ emissions related to a semiconductor factory acquired in fiscal 2009).

In the area of waste reduction, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation achieved a final disposal rate of 0.15% in fiscal 2009, marking the fifth consecutive year of success in meeting the final disposal rate objective of 0.5% or less. Affiliates in Japan achieved a rate of 0.99%, meeting their objective of 1% or less. Based on these results, we decided to incorporate stricter objectives in the 6th Environmental Plan. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation will now strive to keep its final disposal rate at 0.10% or less, while affiliates in Japan strive for a level of 0.50% or less. Ultimately, we aim to bring the final disposal rate down to 0.10% or less for all Group sites by fiscal 2021.

On the product front, we are steadily advancing the adoption of Design for the Environment (DfE) and have increased our Eco-Product ratio to 99% (by production volume) of mass-produced products (vs. a target of 100%) and 81% of other products (vs. a target of 80%). At those levels, reflecting an overall Eco-Product ratio of 95%, we have basically achieved our goals. Under the 6th Environmental Plan, therefore, we have decided to target certain products for the achievement of particularly ambitious product usage CO₂ emission and resource input reduction objectives set forth as part of our Environmental Vision. To expand recycling of plastics recovered from used appliances, we are concentrating on commercializing and developing high-volume processing capability for the Group's proprietary technology for producing recycled material from shredded mixed plastic. Our aim in this respect is to have a large-scale, high-purity recycling operation up and running sometime during fiscal 2010. In the area of green procurement, we have pursued our Green Accreditation system for proper long-term management of chemical substances used in products, and accredited 100% of the suppliers covered by the system.

In logistics, we are striving to eliminate waste, bring about more economical operations, and implement Logistics JIT Improvement Activities for reducing environmental impact. In fiscal 2009, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation cut its CO₂ emissions related to product (sales) logistics 32% compared to the fiscal 2003 level, achieving the 5th Environmental Plan objective. It also reduced its use of disposable packaging materials by 18% (packaging volume per unit of shipping weight) compared to the fiscal 2005 level, meeting the objective in that area.

Our business for providing energy-saving solutions to companies recorded sales of 99.5 billion yen, an 18% increase versus the prior year. As a new objective in this area of our operations, we are now aiming to expand sales for our businesses to counter global warming, which are led by photovoltaic power generation systems, heat pumps, and power devices, to over 1.3 trillion yen in fiscal 2016. Along the way, we will also work to expand sales of high-efficiency and clean power generation facilities.

In October 2007, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation completed the formulation of Environmental Vision 2021, the core objectives of the Mitsubishi Electric Group's environmental management activities leading up to the 100th anniversary of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, in 2021. In fiscal 2009, the Company developed its 6th Environmental Plan (covering fiscal years 2010-2012) to: 1) Set environmental performance objectives and establish an action plan to realize Environmental Vision; 2) Address societal changes and imperatives regarding environmental issues; and 3) Contribute to the creation of a sustainable society through the expansion of environment-related businesses. In realizing our Environmental Vision, we will strive to not only achieve our highest-ever environmental performance objectives but also increase the number of ISO14001-conforming companies in a bid to facilitate the adoption of global environmental management, and work to develop businesses to counter global warming.