Olympus 2005 Annual Report Download - page 14

Through donations o f
digital cameras,
grants, training, and
other outreach pro-
grams to the education-
al community, O lympus
is helping yo unger
generations engage in
“visual learning.”
Every day, we seriously
take our responsibility
for developing and
manufacturing high
quality in-vitro diag-
nostic products for our
customers in the health
care system.
I am proud of our on-
go ing activities to sup-
port the arts and pro-
vide international aid
by creating A Day in
the Life o f Africa, an
exhibition of pictures
taken by 100 famo us
photographers, fro m
which proceeds go to
the AIDS Education
Program run by the
United Nations.
O n the ”World of
W o rk” day arranged
by a local school, I
provided guidance on
interview techniques to
groups of children who
found these sessions
very useful. I myself
found it very reward-
ing.
The Paperless O ffice
Project and O n-line O r-
dering System help our
customers and us to re-
duce paper consump-
tion, ultimately protect-
ing the forests.
12 O LYMPUS 2 00 5
Establishment of the Division for
Promoting CSR Activities
> In April 2004, O lympus inaugurated the CSR and Brand Strategy
Department as an o rganization fo r advancing CSR initiatives
across the Company. In April 2005, O lympus established the
Corporate Social Responsibility Division to directly control the CSR
Department, the Environmental Development Department, and the
Corporate Q uality Assurance Department. Through the Corporate
Social Responsibility Division, O lympus aims to bolster its activities
in the follo wing areas further.
Main CSR Activities
Q uality Assurance and Customer Support
> O lympus has defined its philosophy on quality as the realization of
world-leading total quality and the provision of products and ser-
vices of the finest quality. W hile building quality assurance systems
in each business, O lympus strives to ensure quality through the
establishment of a cross-divisional corporate quality assurance
department to coordinate efforts throughout the Gro up. O lympus
has set up an optimal quality assurance system for each field of
business in each region of the world, beginning with Japan, the
Americas, and Europe.
Human Rights and Labour Policy and the Global Compact
> Since its founding, O lympus has been actively engaged in creating
a wo rking environment where every emplo yee can perform his or
her best through respecting human rights, having a varied sense of
values, and fostering individual personalities in order to fully devel-
op human resources and an organizatio n with vitality. O lympus
participates in the United Nations Global Compact, which supports
universal principles related to human and labor rights. The
O lympus Human Rights and Labour Policy was created in March
2005 to send a strong message of respect for human rights to all
employees in the G ro up.
Environmentally Friendly Products
> O lympus aims to increase the number of environmentally friendly
products around the world by purchasing goods that are easy on
the environment while manufacturing and selling its own environ-
mentally conscious products. Specifically, O lympus has set its own
standards for reducing the environmental burden of its pro ducts as
much as possible. Products conforming to these standards are cer-
tified as O lympus Eco -Products.
Prevention of Global W arming
> O lympus fo cuses its efforts on the reduction of greenhouse gases to
help prevent global warming. W e have identified greenhouse
gases applicable to the Group, set reduction targets, and are pro-
ceeding to reduce emissions.