CSR Activities in Domestic Sales | Environmental & Social Report 2007

The Domestic Sales and Marketing Group‚ which is in charge of all sales and marketing activities in Japan‚ emphasizes CSR through the basic principles of "customer first" and “compliance.”
To ensure that Sharp employees at sales and service bases all over Japan fulfill their social responsibility in local communities and to create bases even more firmly anchored in local communities‚ Sharp is working to strengthen its efforts to make contributions to local communities by further raising the level of awareness of CSR among all employees and through sales and service activities.
In addition, Sharp is working to deepen the understanding of its CSR efforts among its business partners, and to build partnerships to promote CSR activities together.

In April 2004‚ the CSR Promotion Department was established within the Domestic Sales and Marketing Group to work on the planning and promotion of a broad range of policies and activities on a more pragmatic level, particularly in terms of compliance at sales and service sites.
Looking to further boost CSR awareness and strengthen action programs put in place at sales and service bases, Sharp is working to build a PDCA management cycle (“plan‚ do‚ check‚ and act”) for CSR by continually providing training and education, supporting problem solving activities, and monitoring the results.

1) Using a Video Content Distribution System to Present CSR Seminars to All Bases

Sharp has been using a video content distribution system to broadcast Domestic Sales CSR Seminars simultaneously to all bases in Japan. In fiscal 2007, the timely theme of CSR and compliance issues related to sales and service was selected for these seminars, which were broadcast a total of five times.

2) Holding Morning Meetings to Coordinate CSR Activities

At business locations shared by affiliated sales and service companies, morning meetings are held in which managers from all companies gather at the beginning of each week to exchange sales and service information and conduct joint planning and review of CSR efforts that each base is expected to implement as a member of the local community. Since fiscal 2006, the Head Office has provided training materials on CSR and compliance issues, and launched mini training sessions in which leaders of the morning meetings play the role of lecturer/teacher. The aim is to improve every sales and service employee's knowledge of and insight into compliance and CSR.

3) Introduction of an Online Self-Auditing System

In December 2004, Sharp instituted an online self-auditing system. Each quarter, sales and service managers assess how well they are complying with laws and in-house rules related to operational activities, as well as the status of management activities with respect to business risks.
These results are analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively, and are reflected in new policies and mechanisms to mitigate risks and prevent crises.

4) Personal Environmental Challenge Declaration

All employees of sales and service departments create a personal environmental challenge declaration with reference to the Team Minus 6% program advocated by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment. The aim is to put in place a nationwide campaign to prevent global warming by reducing one kilogram of CO2 emissions per person not only in sales and service activities, but also in daily life.
Through this effort, each individual becomes aware of his or her own contribution to building a sustainable society through the widespread use and promotion of environmentally conscious products, as well as through environmental social contribution activities.

5) Promoting Community-Based Social Contribution Activities

A major CSR activity undertaken by Sharp sales and service bases is to jointly plan and participate in social contribution activities. These constructive action programs are intended to anchor Sharp sales and service bases more firmly in the community.
Also, under the theme of expanding the circle of CSR, Sharp asks not only Sharp employees, but also sales personnel at dealers to participate in activities. In fiscal 2007, community-based social contribution activities were held 572 times at sales bases throughout Japan, with a total of 12,836 participants. In the future, Sharp intends to strengthen coordination with local communities, particularly with local residents, municipal governments, and nearby companies, through active and continuous participation in these local social contribution activities.

Main Social Contribution Activities in Fiscal 2007

Beautification campaigns for public areas such as roadways around Sharp office buildings, parks, rivers, mountain trails, and shoreline areas.
Red Cross blood drives
Participation in campaigns to encourage “good manners” (courteous behavior toward others)
Participation in neighborhood crime deterrence patrols
Participation in traffic safety campaigns

Participation in Local Government Activities such as Area Adoption Program: Domestic sales bases in Sapporo, Sendai, Akita, Tokyo Chuo, Shizuoka, Tabata-Shinmachi, Himeji, Matsuyama, and Fukuoka have registered and received approval under each city's adopt program (a municipal system of regional beautification projects). Working together with local and regional government entities, they are involved in ongoing activities to beautify the areas for which they are responsible, including riverfront parks and roads. At the Fukuoka Building, a new addition to the adoption program in Fukuoka city, about 80 employees and their families take part in activities to clean up the area around the building every month.
Working with Local Residents (Crime Deterrence Patrols and Red Cross Blood Drives): The Koto Building has taken the initiative to contribute more to the local community, and since April 2004, has been able to deepen communication with members of the residents’ association during periodic traffic safety campaigns and crime deterrence patrols sponsored by the local Ishihara Neighborhood Association. In November 2007, a large number of local residents joined to donate blood in a Red Cross blood drive organized by the Koto Building.
For the Region (Cleaning Up a Mountain Hiking Trail): Employees in the Nagano Building considered what they could do to contribute to the local community as a corporate citizen and decided to conduct an annual cleanup of a mountain trail while hiking to the summit. This effort has become a good opportunity to get in touch with nature and focus greater attention on environmental issues.
On June 3, 2007, 15 employees and their families participated in a cleanup climb up Mt. Iizuna.
Working with Local Governments (Family Environmental Classroom): The Naha, Haebaru Environmental Facilities Union run by Naha city and Haebaru Town and Okinawa Sharp Denki Co., Ltd. cooperated to hold an environmental class for local residents at the Kankyo-no-Mori Fureai, an environmentally oriented healing center and sports/recreation facility in Haebaru Town.
About 50 residents participated in the class, which focused on parents learning together with their children. During the day, participants were able to learn about environmental problems through experiments on new energy sources (solar power generation).
Participation in Local Government Event (Hamamatsu Well Kame Cleanup Operation 2007): Each year in late spring on the first Sunday after the Golden Week holiday period, Hamamatsu City sponsors the Well Kame Cleanup Operation, an event dedicated to marine environmental conservation. Participants clean up the nearby shoreline in anticipation of the annual migration of loggerhead sea turtles in early summer to lay their eggs in the beach dunes. Loggerhead turtles are endangered and have been designated as a protected species by the city. The Hamamatsu Building has been participating in this event since 2005, and in May 2007, 22 employees and family members participated.