CSR efforts in sales and marketing activities in Japan

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 bases all over Japan fulfill their social responsibility‚ Sharp makes CSR an integral part of the company. It provides information via satellite‚ online self-auditing systems‚ regular meetings at each sales base‚ and so on. Our company also has a management cycle and programs for employees to participate in social contribution activities.

CSR Advancement System

CSR and Internal Auditing

Although the Domestic Sales and Marketing Group has for some time now had managers responsible for CSR and risk management‚ recent years have seen an increasing need for sales staff to contribute to society in practical and wide-ranging ways, including compliance. On April 1‚ 2004‚ the CSR Promotion Department was established to make CSR a cornerstone of sales and marketing, contributing to both company management and society in general. Sharp will strengthen this department to ensure that it advances the PDCA management cycle at domestic sales bases by educating and training employees‚ by monitoring activities‚ and by helping bases deal with all CSR-related issues.

Fostering Sales Staff CSR

Providing Sales Bases with Information via Satellite

Sharp has a training program that it broadcasts via satellite to domestic sales bases in order to raise CSR awareness among sales staff. In fiscal 2004‚ Sharp broadcast domestic sales CSR/BRM seminars about once a month‚ allowing sales staff to study CSR and compliance issues of direct and immediate importance to their daily work.

Auditing and Quarterly Self-Assessment System

The CSR Promotion Department regularly carries out CSR audits at each sales base‚ in which it quantitatively and qualitatively analyzes audit items so that Sharp is always ready to prevent the occurrence of risk and misconduct. In December 2004‚ Sharp introduced its Online Self-Auditing System‚ in which sales managers do self assessments on regulations and business risks related to sales and service‚ and on management tasks related to operational rules.

Meetings at Sales Bases

At regional sales bases where affiliated sales companies occupy the same building, weekly meetings allow various divisions to share information on how they can contribute to the local community as good corporate citizens.

Contributing to Local Communities

Sales staff of Sharp sales bases‚ who have strong ties to their communities‚ do their utmost to contribute to society and to make their bases an integral part of the lives of people around them by taking part in volunteer and other activities whenever possible. These efforts help foster a strong atmosphere of corporate social responsibility within the sales bases.

Since the first half of fiscal 2004‚ each sales office has been carrying out its own social contribution activities in which it chooses a theme and works regularly with the community to achieve the goals of this theme. In fiscal 2004‚ 88 bases in 46 prefectures in Japan carried out a total of 510 activities. A total of 11‚791 people (11‚260 employees‚ 121 family members‚ and 410 members of partner companies) took part in activities including cleaning up the neighborhoods around the Sharp bases. Such activities are gradually becoming regular events on the local scene.

Main activities in fiscal 2004

• Cleanup activities around Sharp office buildings
• Cleanup of public areas such as riversides and hiking trails
• Protection of ocean environments
• Visits to senior citizens’ homes
• Snow removal
• Crime prevention patrols

Examples of activities

• Love the Earth Cleanup 2004 in Momochihama Beach (Fukuoka Prefecture)
• Clean up the Ota River Campaign (Hiroshima Prefecture)
• Sapporo Adapt Program
• Sendai City Beautification Supporter

Examples

Sapporo Adapt Program

In July 2004‚ Sharp’s sales base in the Sapporo Building was approved for the Adapt Program‚ a local beautification initiative run by the Sapporo City Nishi Ward Regional Promotion Division. The base takes part in monthly cleanup activities in the area and around the Hassamu River.

In tandem with these activities‚ the Sharp sales base took part in the Nishi-ku Environment Festival‚ held September 25‚ 2004 and sponsored by Nishi Ward in Sapporo City. Visitors could learn about Sharp’s environmental activities through a series of educational panels.

Clean up the Ota River Campaign (Hiroshima Prefecture)

On July 25‚ 2004‚ about 200 Sharp Hiroshima base employees‚ their families‚ and business partners took part in the Clean up the Ota River Campaign‚ sponsored by the local Public Sanitation Promotion Council and the Executive Committee. Sharp worked side-by-side with local residents to clean up the river and its surroundings.

Promoting "Eco-Conscious Lifestyles" (see Special Feature 3)

Sharp conducts a company-wide campaign with the slogan "Let’s Go Ecology Class with Sharp." The campaign offers new "eco-conscious lifestyles" which maintain prosperity and comfort while giving consideration for the environment. It aims to raise the environmental awareness of all Sharp’s stakeholders‚ including customers and employees.

Sharp works in the following ways to foster an environmental state of mind among employees in their in-house activities:

• Encourage eco driving (environmentally conscious driving) company- wide: Drive at a constant speed‚ turn off engine when vehicle is stopped‚ do not overload vehicles with unnecessary items‚ etc.).
• Provide environmental information in in-house newsletters and on the Sharp intranet.
• Encourage environmental efforts in the workplace by cutting energy and paper use and by separating garbage for recycling.

We also work to present an environmentally friendly image to outsiders with the slogan "Let’s Go Ecology Class with Sharp‚" as exemplified by the following activities:

• Retail stores put up signs promoting the environmental performance of Sharp products. Sharp also provides environmental training.
• Our PR focuses on the environmental friendliness of products like the AQUOS and solar cells.
• User manuals explain how to use products in the most energy-efficient manner.

Future Activities

Each sales base has plans for more activities in the second half of fiscal 2004. Currently‚ most activities are cleanup campaigns of the areas around their buildings‚ but in the future‚ we will carry out even more CSR activities rooted in the local community‚ such as jointly planning and participating in environmental events with local municipalities. Through these efforts‚ Sharp aims to foster the CSR way of thinking at each sales base.