In fiscal 2004, Sharp announced its medium-term corporate objective of being an environmentally advanced company, and established its environmental vision of having its energy-creating and energy-saving products more than balance out its greenhouse gas emissions by fiscal 2010.^*
Under the environmental vision, Sharp has been working to achieve this objective based on its Super Green Strategy, pushing a proactive approach, particularly by expanding the use of solar power but also by improving the environmental performance of its products and devices, raising the level of environmental performance at its production facilities, and developing unique, one-of-a-kind environmental technologies.

* By reducing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted as a result of Sharp’s worldwide business activities to the greatest extent possible, while at the same time significantly increasing the magnitude of reductions in greenhouse gas emissions through customer use of Sharp energy-creating solar cells and energy-saving products, the net reduction in greenhouse gases will more than balance out the level of emissions by fiscal 2010.

For fiscal 2008, according to an estimation by Sharp Corporation, greenhouse gas emission reductions through customer use of Sharp’s solar cells were approximately 1.02 million t-CO2 and through customer use of energy-saving products were approximately 0.95 million t-CO2, for a total emissions reduction of approximately 1.97 million t-CO2. At the same time, Sharp’s total greenhouse gas emissions from business activities for fiscal 2008 were 1.70 million t-CO2. Based on these results, it can be concluded that, in fiscal 2008, Sharp achieved its environmental vision for fiscal 2010.

Progress in achieving environmental vision and the calculation methods used

Beginning with fiscal 2009, Sharp will follow a new environmental vision of “Becoming an Eco-Positive Company: a company that supplies energy-creating and energy-saving products whose usage reduces significantly more greenhouse gas emissions than its worldwide business activities produce.”^*
The objective is to contribute to realizing a low-carbon society by making positive environmental impact through customer use of Sharp’s energy-creating and energy-saving products greater than its negative environmental impact. Sharp will expand solar cell production, make its products more energy efficient, and push forward with efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy-saving measures in its business activities.

* “Eco-Positive” does not mean that a company has no negative impact on the environment. Rather, “Eco-Positive Company” is a phrase Sharp uses to indicate the ideal state of a company in terms of environmentalism; it is the state Sharp aims to achieve.

Sharp will introduce the concept of Return On Emission (ROE^m) as a unique performance indicator, whose purpose is to simultaneously evaluate both Sharp’s efforts to increase greenhouse gas emission reductions through customer use of Sharp’s energy-creating and energy-saving products and Sharp’s efforts to reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions. Sharp is aiming for an ROE^m of 2 or greater by fiscal 2012, the 100th anniversary of its founding.

Along with establishing a new environmental vision, Sharp will promote a new environmental strategy—Eco-Positive Strategy—from fiscal 2009 to replace its Super Green Strategy.