Social Responsibility
About
Message from the President
CSR Management in the Era of Globalization
Yoshikatsu Ota
President and CEO
Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc.
The Konica Minolta Group's management philosophy is the Creation of New Value. Our management vision is to be an innovative corporate group that offers inspiring products and services in the field of imaging and also a global presence that leads the market with advanced technologies and unparalleled reliability.
Konica Minolta's fundamental strategies, articulated in our "Forward 08" medium-term plan covering three years from fiscal 2006, include the promotion of growth by leveraging collective Group resources. It was under this strategy that Konica Minolta selected and concentrated on opportunities in growth areas. Having withdrawn from the camera and photography business, we focused our management resources on the Business Technologies domain, which makes up the core of our businesses, and on the field of Optics, which offers strategic impetus to our Group. This strategy of selection and concentration has led to the Group achieving sales and profits exceeding our Forward 08 targets.
Another fundamental strategy is the promotion of world-class CSR management, including economic, social, and environmental initiatives. We regard CSR issues as a positive challenge that can always drive us to new horizons and motivate us to continue to grow and earn society's trust.
Becoming an Environmentally Innovative Corporate Group
In embracing challenges, we make care for the environment a top priority. International society now calls for even greater effort in addressing environmental issues, and I believe that meeting this global challenge must be an integral part of our business development. At Konica Minolta, a global corporate group serving customers around the world, we have committed ourselves to such efforts ahead of the industry. Our engineers believe it to be their foremost mission to develop environmentally friendly products that save energy and conserve re-sources. Taking energy saving measures in manufacturing processes is a paramount issue at our production sites. We are also working with our parts manufacturers to ensure sustainable, green procurement, and to eliminate hazardous substances from the parts used in our products.
To take one example of our results, we have successfully achieved a significant reduction in power consumption for multi-functional peripherals (MFPs), one of our main product lines. Exemplifying this, the bizhub C650 and C550 won the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy Director-General's Award, which is one of the 2007 Energy Conservation Grand Prizes.
As I mentioned above, Konica Minolta's management philosophy is the Creation of New Value. This does not just mean creating new products with innovative features never seen before. The "new value" that is part of our mission also means new ways of caring for the environment.
In addition to further pursuing innovations in our low energy consuming MFPs, Konica Minolta will promote product development using organic electroluminescence lighting and other environmentally friendly technologies. Using the reduction of CO2 emissions as one way to measure progress, by 2015 we are aiming to be established as an environmentally innovative corporate group making significant contributions to society.
Dialogue with Stakeholders
Konica Minolta's business activities are underpinned by a wide range of stakeholders. The company actively discloses all of its activities and results to these stakeholders - customers, suppliers, shareholders, investors, employees, and local communities - as part of our responsibility to society. By welcoming feedback from stakeholders and reflecting opinions and requests in our business and CSR activities, we are striving for highly transparent management as well as sustainable growth.
Compliance is the Basis of Corporate Activities
Konica Minolta is striving for improved corporate governance on a daily basis in order to increase management transparency and cement trust in our Group. Compliance means that organizations must conform to society's demands, and a high level of transparency is required. To attain this level, we are strengthening adherence to internal rules and corporate ethics that go beyond the letter of the law. In placing the highest priority on compliance throughout the company's activities, top management at all Group companies is fully aware of their own responsibility and is ensuring thorough training and raising awareness for employees across the entire Konica Minolta Group.
By practicing CSR management, we are pursuing and realizing the creation of new value. We at Konica Minolta will do our very best to meet all our stake-holders' expectations as we promote world-class CSR management.
June 2008
Yoshikatsu Ota
President and CEO
Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc.
