December 2000

Ajinomoto Group Issues Environmental Report

Since 1990, in addition to the environmental protection measures already in place, Ajinomoto Co., Inc. has been promoting voluntary initiatives aimed at addressing global environmental issues. Concern for the environment is a corporate social responsibility, and in 1997 Ajinomoto formulated its Basic Environmental Policy and Environmental Regulations to realize its consideration of the environment on a higher level. With a view to the future, Ajinomoto considers the global environment as an issue for the entire Ajinomoto Group, including not only manufacturing plants but also research laboratories, sales branches and subsidiaries and affiliates both in Japan and around the world, and the company has implemented ongoing environmental measures.

Now, Ajinomoto has issued its first environmental report, the Ajinomoto Group Environmental Report 2000, which compiles the results of the company's environmental activities to date. A summary of the report is presented below.

1. Purpose of Publication By disclosing how Ajinomoto and the group companies view and respond to environmental issues, the report increases business transparency and the credibility of the company. At the same time, it helps to raise environmental awareness within the group through concrete, objective evaluation of our own environmental management system and its operational status and results, and provides an opportunity to revise the system. 2. Targets of the Report In principle, the target reader is the general public (consumers, educators, environmental groups, stockholders, financial institutions, investors, business partners, employees, etc.), but it is particularly aimed at consumers from the standpoint of food manufacturing. 3. Style, etc. Date of issue: November 30, 2000/ Specifications: A4 size paper, 36 pages, using bagasse paper (made from sugarcane fiber)/ Number of copies: 5,000/ Frequency: Once a year/ Web site: The same content is made available by the end of December. 4. Special Content Features   • With special consideration for consumers, a large number of photographs, charts and tables are used. Efforts were made to express concrete facts with numbers, as well as to use easily understood expressions and avoid technical jargon.   • In "Relationship between Business Activities and the Environment," emphasis was placed on the differences between Ajinomoto and other food manufacturers. This section incorporated topics such as "Characteristics of the Production Process," "Flow Diagram of Resource Utilization," "Measures to Utilize By-Products," and "Measures to Reduce Ocean Dumping of Concentrated Waste Liquor from Fermentation."   • Considering the company's global business development and the global scale of environmental issues, the scope of the report shall cover the entire Ajinomoto Group. For the first issue, however, the subject was limited to Ajinomoto Co., Inc. on a non-consolidated basis, including its domestic plants, research laboratories, sales branches and head office. (Subsidiaries and affiliates and overseas offices were discussed as separate topics.) 5. Future Measures   • Contents will be enhanced by issuing the report for the Ajinomoto Group, incorporating information on domestic and overseas affiliated companies, and the report will be compiled following specific guidelines.   • An English-language version will be issued concurrently starting with the 2001 edition.

For a company that uses natural materials as ingredients in manufacturing its food products, ensuring symbiosis between its operations and nature is a key issue, and Ajinomoto will proceed with further efforts to protect the environment. In doing so, we request your continued support and understanding.

 

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