insulated, products that conserve water,  and power generators. In addition, our  continual technological innovation and  business integration activities enable us  to respond to a variety of housing needs,  such as making homes barrier-free so  as to lessen the burden of nursing care,  making homes earthquake-resistant,  and installing crime- and disaster-  prevention technologies. In contrast, the JS Group is the only  provider in Japan with a business struc- ture that spans a diverse range of fields.  In April 2010, we launched a compre- hensive sales organization called Lixil  Corporation that aims to offer all of the  JS Group’s products and services in a  one-stop format in the future. With this  new company, we should be able to  transport a variety of materials all at  once to the job site, thereby reducing  transport costs and CO$_{2}$ emissions.  Also, installation and other work can be  performed efficiently with only the  required number of workers. In general, construction work often  involves multiple tasks being performed  on the same day. A company that  makes only one type of material can  only handle one task, which makes it  difficult to carry out the overall con- struction and logistics process in an  efficient manner. We also launched “Ken Depot” ( Ken is a Chinese character meaning con- struction materials). These comprehen- sive stores specialize in providing  construction materials to professionals,  thereby boosting the Group’s home  The environment has become one of  the most important issues for people  around the world, and this is spawning  many business opportunities. For its  part, the JS Group is actively involved in  developing and selling eco-friendly   products. For example, last year we  expanded sales of  Inplus , an inner  window system for home renovations.  This product provides insulation and  eliminates draughts, thereby saving lots  Yoichiro Ushioda Chairman and Chief Executive Officer JS Group Corporation Annual Report 2010 11 The JS Group is actively developing  and selling eco-friendly products. Linking Change to Business  Opportunities center operations. In the past, the  emphasis of construction material distri- bution was placed disproportionately on  new construction, and did not ade- quately meet the needs for home reno- vation work, which are usually small  projects done quickly. Based on the  concept “carrying everything in-store,” I  think Ken Depot will function as “conve- nience stores” for construction workers.