According to reports from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and the discussions at the G8 Heiligendamm Summit, a broad international consensus is emerging that dealing with global warming is a critical issue facing the world. Against this backdrop, the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol finally began this year.

This pressing situation demands a drastic transformation in social structure—from a mass-consumption society that since the Industrial Revolution has depended on fossil resources, to a sustainable low-carbon society focused on the use of renewable energies.

In 2012, the final year of the first commitment period, Sharp will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding. As the company prepares to mark this milestone at this critical turning point, Sharp has explored anew the role that it should play in the coming era and created two new corporate visions for the future.

One is “Realize a truly ubiquitous society^*1 with the world’s No. 1 LCDs.” And, the other is “Contribute to the world through environment- and health-conscious business, focusing on energy-saving and energy-creating products.”

*1 A "ubiquitous society" is a concept of how, through the rapid development of IT infrastructure, networks will always be accessible to users; thus, the whole society will be connected.

Guided by these two visions, Sharp is committed to meeting the needs of this era through unique, proprietary technologies of LCD and solar power generation, two areas in which Sharp has stood as an R&D leader for many years.

Energy-creating solar cells and energy-saving LCDs are extremely effective technologies for coping with the pressing problem of curbing global warming. As the frontrunner in both these fields, Sharp will work to the best of its ability to bring about a major evolution in these technologies, assembled over many long years of involvement, to achieve dramatic cost reductions for solar cells and even greater energy efficiencies in LCDs, and through these efforts to contribute to the achievement of a low-carbon society.

In developing these technologies, in addition to Sharp’s own efforts, the intention is to advance R&D on a broad front through cooperation with industry, government, and academia, and to consolidate these results in the new manufacturing complex whose construction is now underway in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan.

This manufacturing complex will be home to two world-class production facilities—the world’s first LCD panel plant to use 10th-generation glass substrates, and one of the world’s largest thin-film solar cell plants, with an annual production capacity of 1 GW. Construction is proceeding on both facilities, with operations slated to begin by March 2010. Sharp is also inviting the participation of a number of industry-leading companies across the spectrum of industrial fields, with the aim of pooling collective wisdom and knowledge to create a revolutionary new manufacturing system.

The intent is to make the Sakai site a model manufacturing complex befitting the sustainable low-carbon society of the 21st century, where products featuring a high level of environmental performance will be mass-produced by a production system having extremely low impact on the environment.

Since fiscal 2004, strengthening its commitment to the environment has been a basic management policy of the Sharp Group.

Sharp has declared a medium-term corporate objective of becoming an environmentally advanced company and defined its corporate vision as: Sharp’s energy-creating and energy-saving products will more than balance out Sharp’s greenhouse gas emissions. To reach these goals, Sharp has deployed a Super Green Strategy that aims to achieve the highest level of environmental consciousness in all corporate activities.

Successes resulting from this strategy include creating Super Green Technologies such as plant-based resin paint, achieving development goals for Super Green Products and Devices for the last three years in a row, converting 10 of Sharp Corporation’s factories to Super Green Factories and making all factories in Japan and abroad Green Factories, and developing a nationwide elementary school environmental education program for Japan. These accomplishments have garnered high praise from outside the company.

In the future, Sharp will be working to strengthen its strategy and raise the level of its efforts aimed at becoming an environmentally advanced company. Particularly in factories, as the production of solar cells and LCD TVs expands, Sharp will take up the challenge of slashing absolute emissions of greenhouse gases and waste at existing factories, as well as cutting current emissions per production unit, with the aim of making its corporate visions a reality as soon as possible.

Sharp has consistently promoted CSR activities related not only to the environment, but also in all business processes, in order to contribute to creating a sustainable society and gain an even higher level of trust from the community.

Sharp has for some time taken a proactive stance in its CSR activities, based on the concept of “Compliance First.” In April 2008, a reorganization was instituted that merged the CSR Promotion Department with the Legal Affairs Division and placed this new CSR Promotion Group under the control of the Executive Managing Officer in charge of legal affairs and intellectual property. Through these actions, Sharp will work to further strengthen adherence to business ethics and compliance with all regulations and laws. In addition, Sharp will also push to systematically expand and improve the structure and system for enhancing customer satisfaction, particularly in ensuring product safety, nurturing a diverse range of human resources, and taking active steps to deploy CSR in the supply chain.

On the occasion of celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding in 2012, Sharp will rededicate itself to its business philosophy and its business creed of “Sincerity and Creativity,” the roots of its founding, and work company-wide to implement management practices that remain faithful to these concepts. Going forward, Sharp’s desire is to contribute to society through its manufacturing and technological competency, and to fulfill the social responsibility expected of it.

We look forward to hearing your frank comments and opinions.