The most striking feature of this report is the sense it gives of the AGC Group's strong commitment to delivering technology solutions for climate change, which the Group upholds as one of its management policies. Specifically, the Group is developing materials for solar cells and fuel cells, and strengthening measures to reduce CO2 emissions from its manufacturing processes. The Group is thus consistently promoting carbon management. Asahi Glass's strong commitment to the environment is also seen by its increasing investment in the environment. I would like the Group to set and announce either a quantitative or a qualitative target for technological development to combat climate change and work to achieve it on an ongoing basis as part of its environmental management.

The AGC Group has been improving its PDCA cycle for CSR activities. In this report, the Group describes its newly introduced self-evaluation system for CSR activities with grades of A, B and C, to improve the cycle even further. CSR activities are not always conducted in line with predefined targets. However, by self-evaluating their results, the Group can conduct its activities in a more practical manner. Self-evaluation is useful in reviewing past activities and should also be used to set the targets for the next fiscal year onward. I expect that the Group will make further progress in its PDCA cycle by making self-evaluation an essential element.

Asahi Glass is setting its environmental targets based on the unique AGC Environmental Indicator, focusing on its environmental impact in Japan. The Group is systematically using this indicator, which I regard very highly. Nevertheless, the relationships between the overall and individual targets are sometimes difficult to understand in the report. Clarification of these relationships would increase the usefulness of the indicator. In addition, the transparency of the Group's environmental activities would be further improved if the environmental impact of each section within the Group was disclosed.

The AGC Group has been improving its CSR activities and I recommend the Group to incorporate the concept of “materiality” in its CSR activities for further improvement. For companies to conduct CSR activities, it is important to strengthen the PDCA cycle and evaluate the appropriateness of planning activities based on their materiality. To fulfill CSR, companies need to view this from both internal and external viewpoints in a well-balanced manner, for which the viewpoint of materiality is important. Being conscious of materiality can help the Group to formulate its CSR-related policies by the additional means of analyzing both internal and external matters. With severe economic conditions prevailing in fiscal 2009, the Group will face greater societal pressures including problems related to employment. Under such circumstances, measures based on the concept of materiality will increase in importance.

It is highly evident that the AGC Group is committed to pursuing the Group vision “Look Beyond” directly in its management policies and medium-term management plan, and that the Group's management is strongly determined to implement this vision. In particular, it is impressive that the Group is fulfilling its CSR in its core business by setting the goal of delivering technology solutions for climate change, which the world greatly needs, as one of its management priorities.

In the feature sections, the specific activities conducted to attain this goal are described, including not only current activities but also future activities and challenges. I found the articles in this section to be particularly interesting. The Group is reviewing its glass manufacturing methods in addition to promoting energy conservation in its manufacturing processes with a view to ultimately reducing the environmental impact of these processes. This is a clear demonstration of the Group's firm commitment to environmental protection.

The Group clearly describes its CSR activities for “Integrity,” “Environment and Safety,” “Diversity,” and “Harmony with Society,” which are based on the “Look Beyond” vision, as described in the AGC Group Charter of Corporate Behavior. In addition, the fiscal year targets, results and self-evaluation results, as well as the targets for the next fiscal year, are shown for each of the activity themes, making it clear how the Group is steadily implementing its PDCA cycle as part of its CSR activities. For example, in terms of “Diversity,” the Group conducted an ES survey in 18 languages targeting about 40,000 employees in order to understand the actual situation, verify the effectiveness of the ES improvement activities, and develop future activities. This fact further confirms that the Group is steadily implementing its PDCA cycle.

With regard to the activities targets, more specificity is advisable, including indications of numerical targets. If the targets and results were clearly shown in the “Approach” columns as well, it would be easier for readers to understand that the Group is indeed implementing a PDCA cycle with regard to the activities.

In this report, the Group describes its overseas CSR activities and provides data for the entire AGC Group worldwide, which is a commendable effort. In light of the importance of measures taken by the entire Group, however, it would be better if the CSR report included more global performance data and information about the problems faced and measures implemented by the Group overseas. This is certainly necessary for the AGC Group-a global enterprise that obtains more than half of its sales from overseas markets and has three-quarters of its employees working in foreign countries.

The socioeconomic environment in which companies operate has been drastically changing since the outbreak of the financial crisis last year. Under these circumstances, only companies that conduct “socially optimal” business activities will be able to achieve sustainable growth. I hope that the AGC Group will continue to take on a range of challenges to implement its “Look Beyond” vision and make the world a brighter place.