Third-Party Opinion

Areas that are commendable but
need improvement

Sachiko Kishimoto
Executive Director
Center for Public ResourcesDevelopment
A specified nonprofit
organization
After gaining invaluable experience working for a private-sector
company, a research institute and studying abroad, participated in theestablishment of the Center for Public Resources Development (URL
http://www.public.or.jp), a nonprofit organization in 2000. While its focus
is promoting donation and NPO management support, the Center also
provides consulting services for companies seeking to improve theirsocial responsiveness.
A part-time instructor at the Graduate School of Social Design
Studies of Rikkyo University, the International Graduate School of Social
Sciences of Yokohama National University and the Faculty of Law at Meiji
Gakuin University.

Drawing on a review of the Group’s CSR Report and aninterview with Tetsuya Sato, Chief Social Responsibility Officer(CSRO), I would like to comment as follows.

Strong Points• Furukawa Electric established the Smart Grid Business
Development Department in 2010, and by combining thetechnologies it has developed up to now, like superconducting
power cables and power storage systems, the company iscontributing to the advancement of smart grids. CSRO Satoinformed me in our interview that Furukawa Nikko Power
Generation is planning trials of hydroelectric power transmission
to a smart grid. In the aftermath of the Great East Japan
Earthquake and nuclear power accident, we are again required
to build a power-conserving society. I am hopeful that Furukawa
Electric will offer new power systems geared toward the special
characteristics of regions in Japan and around the world.
• Furukawa Electric’s progress in social contribution can be seen.
First, the company newly established a Volunteer Leave System in
response to the earthquake. Second, FISA, Furukawa’s Brazilian
subsidiary, is contributing to raising the standards for education inlocal communities through the development of a child-raising andcareer-building support effort called “Preparing Children for theFuture” Project, which starts off by providing support for publicschools. Third, the company expressed concern about the naturalenvironment by changing one of its core social contribution aims
to “Living in harmony with the natural environment and localcommunities.” It is my hope that Furukawa Electric will continue
with such efforts, and will take up the challenge of engaging
with NPOs and local communities in strategic social contribution
business in areas where it is strong (such as smart grids, smartcities, etc.)

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Furukawa Electric Group CSR Report 2011

• I give high marks to the company for the timeliness of efforts tostrengthen CSR throughout the Group, including overseas bases,
such as revising the CSR Code of Conduct and issuing a CSR
Compliance Handbook for employees. Employees are provided
easy-to-understand explanations of the need for compliance withlaws and regulations, as well as international codes of conduct,in doing business internationally. The strengthening of regulations
in Europe and the US is also covered with regard to the need fordue diligence from a CSR perspective. Henceforth I would like to
see the company take measures such as designating regions forfocused efforts so as to make progress in compliance practice,and for the CSR Division to support the compilation and sharingof practical examples within the company.
• We also see progress at the company in the area of supply chain
management, such as the establishment of CSR Promotion
Guidelines and requests for cooperation through PartnerMeetings. Going forward I would like to see a clear policy for
responding to issues that can be found through questionnaires
and other means. Also, the company has released a progress
report concerning “dirty metals*,” covering items such as
requests to metal refiners, which are direct trading partners with
Furukawa Electric, for screening. I hope that such efforts will
be continuous.
• Measures such as “Heart-to-heart communication between
the president and employees” and “Compliance Discussions”
conducted by the CSR Division have been started in response
to compliance issues that have arisen in recent years, suchas infractions of the Anti-Monopoly Law. I hope that suchpreventative measures will continue.
* Metals produced by mines that disregard human rights and the environment.

Future Expectations• Furukawa Electric had not up to now established settings for
dialogue with stakeholders. Providing employees opportunities tohear the Environmental NGO Secretariat’s talks on biodiversity, inthe form of environmental management seminars and discussion
with the Furukawa Electric CSRO, has yielded results. It is very
important for the opinions of external stakeholders not only to
be heard by people in charge of CSR, but also by the heads ofrelated divisions. I would hope to see further such attempts inrelation to other important CSR themes, and for serious efforts tocreate opportunities for dialogue.

At the conclusion of the interview with Sachiko Kishimoto.
(Right) Tetsuya Sato, Chief Social Responsibility Officer