Message from Management

Concentrating our overall strength toward bringing
about Japan’s recovery and the realization ofa sustainable society.
We offer our most sincere prayers for the peaceful

immediate aftermath of the disaster, as well as working

repose of those who perished in the March 11 Greatto meet requests from customers for emergency

East Japan Earthquake, as well as our deepest

supplies of electric wires, cables and other equipment.

sympathies to all of the victims and their families. We
pray for their safety and soonest possible recovery.
In addition to collecting donations from ourBusiness Continuity Plan (BCP)
Rapid restoration of infrastructure and facilities is criticaldomestic and overseas affiliates, our emergency support

to recovery after a major disaster. The Furukawa Electric

efforts included sending our company’s foam sheets toGroup has been a supplier of transmission infrastructure

be used as flooring insulation in the evacuation centers

equipment, such as power cables andfor victims of the stricken areas. We also responded

telecommunications cables, for many years, so we havedirectly to restoration work on the telecommunications

for some time maintained a business continuity planlines in the vicinity of the Fukushima No. 1 Reactor in the(BCP) so as to meet our social responsibilities. We
established a BCP Formation Project Team in April 2008
that focused on planning our response in the aftermathof a major earthquake, and have also been conducting
earthquake resistance analyses of our important
domestic facilities and buildings. While some of thebuildings and facilities at our Chiba Works, Nikko Worksand Copper Foil Division sustained damage in the Great
East Japan Earthquake, we were able to restore suppliesof our products to our customers even faster than weoriginally expected. We will draw upon our experiencesfrom this disaster in making revisions to our BCP, so that
we can continue to meet our responsibilities to ourcustomers in the global supply chain.

Social Contribution Throughthe Group’s Strengths
Concerns about power shortages as well as the safety of
nuclear power have increased since the accident at theTEPCO Fukushima No. 1 Reactor in the aftermath of theGreat East Japan Earthquake. While the introduction ofpower generation based on renewable sources has beenproceeding in Japan, power levels from sources such as
wind and solar can fluctuate due to changes in theweather, requiring the fine-tuning of smart grids. TheFurukawa Electric Group’s superconductive cable,
which provides the world’s highest voltage at 275 kVwith minimal power loss, as well as our Ultra Batteries forstoring surplus power, are just two examples of thetechnologies and products we provide to make smart
grids work. The new organizations that we established

5 Furukawa Electric Group CSR Report 2011

last year, such as the Smart Grid Business Development

one example of which is the product life-cycle

Department, the Next Generation Battery Materials R&D

assessments initiated in fiscal 2010. Life-cycle

Center, and the Next Generation Vehicle Project Team,assessments quantify environmental impact across theare taking the lead in concentrating our Group’s

entire lifespan of our products, and constitute one of ourstrengths in new eco-businesses, so that we canCO2 emissions reduction measures. We plan to establish

contribute to society through our business.

concrete standards for calculating the carbon footprint ofour products in fiscal 2012, creating a foundation for

Focused on Safety, Quality andComplianceassessing and revising our measures accordingly. WeIn March 2011, we revised our CSR Code of Conduct

also revised our Basic Environmental Policy in fiscal

with the goal of promoting compliance and CSR globally

2011, announcing our efforts to preserve biodiversity.

at a higher level. The new CSR Code of Conduct wasThese consist in three points of emphasis: Assessment

amended with reference to ISO26000, which was issuedof eco-system impact, sustainable use of resources, andin October of last year, as well as other international

increasing the awareness of each employee. In fiscalstandards, so as to show our desire to contribute to the2012, we plan to analyze the relationship of oursustainability of our planet through biodiversity

businesses to biodiversity and the risks they may pose,preservation efforts and consideration of factors such asand apply the results in our biodiversity activities.

human rights and the elimination of conflict metals in theaccurately measuring the effects of CO2 reduction andpublishing the Furukawa Electric Group CSR Compliance

Social Contribution to Local
Communities

Handbook (4th Edition), which contains an easy toWhile we of course seek to contribute to society throughunderstand explanation of the Code of Conduct. This

our businesses, we have also created an award system

has already been distributed to all employees atwithin the Group to commend efforts by our worksites toFurukawa Electric and our affiliates. We are also

conduct social contribution activities that are closely

conducting educational programs at each worksite.

linked to their local communities. In the aftermath of theglobal supply chain. Our fiscal 2012 activities include

Our New Frontier 2012 mid-term management plan,

Great East Japan Earthquake we also implemented awhich we launched in fiscal 2011, declares theVolunteer Leave System to make it easier for ourPresident’s policy of focusing on thorough safety, quality

employees to participate in volunteer relief efforts. We willand compliance. We have also planned and executed

proceed to create structures for providing information“heart-to-heart communication between the President andabout volunteer activities both within and outside theemployees” since last year as a means to directlyGroup, such as through the use of our Intranet.

communicate this policy to employees so as to gain
thorough adherence to it. We will continue to take theThe Furukawa Electric Group values communications

initiative in making safety, quality and compliance the threewith all of our stakeholders, such as our customers,

main focuses of concern for everyone at the Furukawa

shareholders and investors, supply chain partners, andElectric Group, and build our corporate culture around them.

everyone in our local communities. We look forward toPerformance Indicators for CO2Reduction, and Biodiversity
Preservation Efforts
The Furukawa Electric Group has been making progressin our continuing efforts for environmental conservation,

hearing your opinions and suggestions, along with yourhonest feedback on all of our initiatives.

Masao Yoshida
President

Furukawa Electric Group CSR Report 20116