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Yorihiko Kojima
President and CEO
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Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) continues to enjoy strong performance from its global business.
Fiscal year ending March 2007 was the first year of the "step" period in the "INNOVATION 2007" management plan, and was indeed a wonderful year for the company as we posted consolidated net income of 415.9 billion yen, well above the initial forecast of 370 billion yen, thanks in part to the rise in resource prices.
At MC, we anticipate signifi cant changes in future business and social environments but recognize these changes as opportunities and look forward to moving into a new stage of development as we endeavor to engage in not only quality but also socially meaningful business. We are confi dent that this will enable us to fully serve in the capacity that we have outlined for ourselves in our vision as being a "New Industry Innovator."
In June of this year, the world leaders at the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, Germany discussed global warming and agreed on the necessity of a new international framework to deal with this global issue. MC recognizes that reducing carbon dioxide emissions, the primary cause of global warming, is of the highest priority in managing a global company. However, in addition to global warming, our world also faces other problems including poverty, disease and lack of education. In its Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations outlines a number of global initiatives and a framework for solving these planetary-scale problems. We have an obligation to work together earnestly to solve these problems and to bequeath to future generations better societies and a global environment that is as healthy, if not healthier, than it is today.
I am particularly mindful of the issues faced by developing countries in grappling with poverty, disease and lack of education, and of the need to address poverty issues in Africa in particular. I recently had the opportunity to travel to Africa and visit aluminum and ferrochrome smelting companies in which we have invested. Both companies were impressive in their own right, but what left the deepest impression on me was their involvement in activities that go far beyond their core business.
They work in cooperation with governments, NGOs and other local sector groups to develop community support programs that integrate local poverty-eradication efforts. These companies play a signifi cant role in attempting to achieve sustainable societies by providing improvements to public health, education, sporting and cultural facilities and social infrastructure. Another example of activities that help to solve local poverty issues comes from India, where we have donated solar-powered streetlights to villages that still lack electricity. According to data from the World Bank, approximately 1.6 billion of the 6.6 billion people on the Earth do not have access to electric lighting. This is just a small project, but it is the cumulative effect of efforts such as this that will contribute to true solutions to the environmental and poverty problems that beset us.
Since its inception, the core corporate philosophy of MC has been embodied in the "Three Corporate Principles." These principles advocate fairness at all times, a perspective of living in harmony with our societies and the environment while also contributing to the future of the world and humankind. They are the basis for all of our corporate social responsibility efforts. With more than 500 consolidated companies in more than 200 locations in approximately 80 countries MC truly serves customers throughout the globe. As members of the societies in which we operate, MC and each of our group companies are working to help solve the aforementioned global issues through our core business as well as through non-business related areas. I am confi dent that these activities are linked to the truest and most important sense of the term CSR. We are committed to the ideas and concepts articulated in the Three Corporate Principles and to corporate activities that are fair, equitable and benefi cial to society in all parts of the world.
Yorihiko Kojima
President and CEO |
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