Environmental education at the Mitsubishi Electric Group takes place along two axes: general environmental education for specific career stages and specialized training for specific jobs.

General environmental education is for all employees and is conducted for four different career stages: new hires, section managers, management and overseas appointments. For example, the program for newly hired employees features a presentation of the environmental policies and initiatives of the Mitsubishi Electric Group, while the program for employees sent overseas focuses on introducing trends in foreign environmental laws and regulations and the activities of Mitsubishi Electric sites in other countries. Organizing the programs in accordance with the knowledge, career stages and attributes of different classes of employees helps ensure that curriculums are appropriate and effective. In fiscal 2008, e-learning classes conducted as a part of the general environmental education program were made available to employees at domestic affiliates, in addition to head office staff.

Job-specific training is broken up into environmental management, materials, product design, manufacturing and sales divisions, and various innovative approaches are incorporated into each course. For example, key environmental personnel training for environmental management divisions includes groups discussion and role playing; environmental auditor training has been designed so that employees can participate in classes remotely using the Internet; and training for the product design division includes classes in which participants gain experience dismantling products.

We will continue to enhance both general environmental education and job-specific training and gradually expand the programs to include overseas employees.

Training for environmental auditors utilizes the Internet

In specialized training for the design sector, the lecture curriculum includes product dismantling experiments to instill a better appreciation for how to encourage product recycling through design.

Mitsubishi Electric has conducted specialized training for the head office's environmental managers and committee members since fiscal 2007 in order to clarify environmental managers for each business group. The goal of the training program is to raise the skill level of employees expected to fulfill the role of environmental specialists and thereby provide support for factory-level environmental protection activities. In fiscal 2008, we invited instructors from outside the company and held five classes on topics ranging from the fundamentals of environmental management to practical application. We also distributed a DVD recording of the classes to help employees retain the information presented with the hope that the classes will be put to use in environmental policy-making at group production sites.

Nearly every Japanese company in recent years has had to deal with the retirement of large numbers of veteran employees who have made major contributions to environmental management (specifically, employees certified in pollution management and in possession of other vital knowledge). In order to continue to maintain current levels of environmental management, it is essential that personnel be trained in the techniques and practices of this expert class, which has been involved in environmental facilities management for so long.

To deal with this situation, the Mitsubishi Electric Group began a program in fiscal 2005 that designates employees responsible for environmental facilities management as "key environmental personnel." Over twenty key environmental personnel are trained every year through a specialized training course.

Key environmental personnel are trained together in a group setting. Trainees are generally younger employees selected for the program from sites nationwide. Experienced Mitsubishi Electric employees who have been responsible for the practical task of managing pollution and waste serve as course instructors. Five group training sessions are held every year, at which participants learn the basics of environmental regulations and gain practical knowledge in analysis techniques, risk detection, risk management, environmental auditing and other areas. The group training format facilitates the formation of networks among key environmental personnel throughout the country, which in turn helps to disseminate information on waste, environmental facilities updating and facilities usage within the Group.

In fiscal 2008, 30 employees passed the final exam of the training program (94 employees have passed over the past four years), and they are currently active as environmental specialists at our manufacturing works, factories and affiliates. During fiscal 2009, we intend to train another 100 key environmental personnel to ensure we have the capacities needed to maintain and administer our environmental management system.

In fiscal 2008 we also conducted key environmental personnel training in China, the first time the program has been administered overseas. The goal was to improve the skill levels of environmental managers so that they are capable of responding to the recent rapid development of environmental laws and regulations in China.

Key environmental personnel training in Japan

Key environmental personnel training in China

It is not enough for environmental auditors to simply have qualifications and experience related to plant management and pollution control. Today, environmental audits cover a wide range of areas, including environmentally conscious product design and green procurement, so auditors must have specialized knowledge and practical experience in these areas as well. Auditing is a form of communication, so verbal abilities are a must, along with an objective, impartial orientation. Audits of progress on the Mitsubishi Electric Group's Environmental Plan, compliance with new regulations in Europe, and other matters are therefore handled by specialist auditors.

Auditing requires multilingual communication ability and an objective, impartial orientation. In order to train exceptional auditors, the Mitsubishi Electric Group conducts several types of environmental auditor training depending on the capacities of the trainees.

Site-specific auditor training is conducted for internal auditors at our various sites. We are also working to improve auditing quality on a group level by having sites audit one another and by conducting head office-led audit training as needed. In addition, we provide Internet-based seminars to train auditors in offsite locations and hold training sessions to further improve the skills of upper-level auditors. Auditing standards, guidelines and collections of practical examples have also been created, and information is disseminated throughout the Group via the company's intranet.

In fiscal 2008 participants in environmental auditor training over the Internet numbered 168 in the lower level and 146 in the middle level. Of these trainees, 163 passed the lower-level final exam and 144 passed for middle-level final. We intend to further enhance the curriculum through the addition of concrete presentations of examples of improvements made within the company.

A class on the environment being conducted at the head office of Mitsubishi Electric Lighting Corp

A presentation on waste handling in the area around the head office

The Mitsubishi Electric Group works to foster environmental awareness so that each and every employee will be motivated to protect the environment.

For example, every issue of Eco News, which is published every other month (twice a year for the English and Chinese editions), highlights the Group's environmental policies and initiatives, innovative environmental activities taking place at various business sites, and the results of these activities. The publication helps to raise environmental awareness and promote communication throughout the Group.

One program in which employees are directly involved is the Mitsubishi Electric Outdoor Classroom, which we've held since fiscal 2008. Employees play the role of nature preservation leaders in conducting the classes, which are intended to give local children, employees and their families the chance to experience and learn about the environment through the observation of nature. Our goal is to train 1,000 employees as nature preservation leaders by 2021, Mitsubishi Electric's 100th anniversary. In fiscal 2008, 31 employees completed the training course and are now active at various business sites. The school was held a total of seven times and drew the participation of some 200 children, employees and family members. The program started as something of an experiment, but the response has exceeded all expectations, which has provided a renewed sense of the value of such activities. We intend to further extend the geographic reach of the program, make the classes more frequent and improve the curriculum.

Employees also actively participate in local woodland conservation, a program started in fiscal 2008. Efforts are made to protect woodlands near Mitsubishi Electric business sites, with "woodlands" defined broadly as natural environments near areas inhabited by people, including shorelines, rivers, fields and wooded areas. Through these activities we hope to foster greater environmental awareness.