TOWARD SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND A RECYCLING-BASED SOCIETY TOSHIBA CORPORATION 22 TOWARD SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND A RECYCLING-BASED SOCIETY Toshiba Group is fully conscious of the holistic nature of the product life cycle, from development and manufacturing, through purchase, use, disposal and recycling. As a major manufacturer of a wide range of products, Toshiba positions reduction of environmental impacts as central to production processes. The Company makes every effort to help protect the environment in all its business activities through ongoing activities to lighten environmental loads by reducing energy consumption and reducing the use of water and chemicals. A determination to make a significant contribution to the realization of sustainable development and the achievement of a recycling-based society inspires Toshiba’s activities in five basic areas: efficient use of resources, prevention of global warming, strengthened management of chemicals, development of environmentally friendly products, and recycling end-of-life products. All Toshiba Group companies coordinate efforts in line with the objectives of the Third Voluntary Environmental Plan, launched in fiscal 2001 to guide the Group toward stringent targets for fiscal 2005. The plan identifies eight areas in the achievement of the overall goal of zero emission of waste. Working for a better global environment as a responsible corporate citizen, Toshiba considers the needs of regional communities while promoting activities that support the ultimate goal of contributing to the advancement of society. Maximizing Efficiency in Resource and Energy Utilization Toshiba believes that environmental conserva- tion in the 21st century revolves around the concept of sustainable development. The Company makes concerted efforts to develop products that use energy efficiently, and at the same time works to prevent global warming by reducing CO2 emissions through efforts to slash energy consumption at all of its facili- ties. Toshiba aims to lower “CO2 releases to net sales” by 25% by fiscal 2010, with fiscal 1990 as its benchmark, and the Company has shown results bettering the 1% annual im- provement target set by the Energy Conservation Law in Japan. In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2003, Toshiba cut CO2 re- leases by 22% compared with fiscal 1990 levels and 13% compared with the previous fiscal year by increasing the energy efficiency of its clean rooms. By segment, CO2 releases in Electronic De- vices & Components, which includes semiconductors and LCDs, increased 12% compared with fiscal 1990, but CO2 releases to net sales improved 13% against the bench- mark. The Company achieved a 26-54% reduction in Information & Communications Systems, Power Systems and Home Appliances. The ultimate goal of Toshiba Group is to de- velop environmentally conscious products (ECPs) as a contribution to a recycling-based society. To achieve this objective, Toshiba has established a set of guidelines and put in place a system emphasizing the creation of environ- mentally conscious products: that is, products whose environmental impacts are minimized at every stage of their entire life cycles—from In the production phase of product life cycles, Toshiba aims to minimize environmental im- pacts and the use of resources and energy. Efforts here include working to achieve zero emissions by recycling all waste generated In the fiscal year under review, Toshiba Group released a total of 106 thousand tons of waste, achieving a reduction of 5,300 tons against the previous fiscal year. Of this amount, 88.1% was recycled, and 890 tons were dis- posed of in landfill, a year-on-year decrease of 770 tons. Accordingly, Toshiba has achieved the objective of zero emission of waste (less than 1% of total waste emitted is disposed of in landfill) in the Third Voluntary Environ- mental Plan one year ahead of schedule. Three of the most important points in re- ducing waste comprise thoroughly separating and sorting waste, disposal in a way that is sensitive to regional characteristics and through tie-ups with other industries, and us- ing appropriate third-party disposal adhering to strict standards. We aim to reduce our waste release through classification and appli- cations development at the emission stage. by our facilities, which means that waste un- dergoing final disposal in landfills must be less than 1% of the total waste emitted. We are making Group-wide efforts to achieve these targets. Creation and Promotion of Environmentally Conscious Products Achievement of Zero Emission of Waste