Toshiba Group Extends its Forth Voluntary Environmental Plan

Toshiba Corporation today announced that it would extend the time frame and scope of its Fourth Voluntary Environment Plan, and define new targets to support Toshiba Group in reducing environmental impacts across its business activities.

The current plan was initially scheduled to run from FY2005 to FY2010, but the company will now extend it to FY2012, to coincide with the end of the First Commitment Period of the Kyoto Protocol. In extending the plan, Toshiba will define new targets for enhancing the effect of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reduction through the introduction of eco-products, and revise up its targets for other measures to mitigate global warming and environmental impacts.

The revised plan also introduces two new completely new measures: targets for cutting water consumption; and enhance creating products which apply standards for certifying standout environmentally conscious products as “Excellent ECP.”

An “Excellent ECP” mark will be introduced, and any product carrying it will represent the highest level in product value and reduced environmental impact, as calculated by Toshiba’s Factor* T. This fiscal year, two products were certified to this mark for the first time, a notebook PC and a LED downlight, and Toshiba targets creation of 15 “Excellent ECP” by FY2010, and 25 by FY2012.

The “Excellent ECP” program aims to stimulate the creation of high value products offering exceptional environmental friendliness, and Toshiba expects it to contribute to one of the core targets of the extended environmental plan: major reductions in CO2 emissions from products, equivalent of totalling 6.3 million tons in FY2010 and 7.3 million tons in FY2012.

In its business processes, Toshiba has revised up its FY2010 targets, as it is already far ahead of its interim targets for FY2007, and set up new added goals for FY2012. The company has also added a new category, reduction of water consumptions, as a further means to decrease environmental impacts. The target figure by basic manufacturing unit is a 9% reduction by FY2010 and a 10% reduction by FY2012.

Toshiba Group defines the ideal world of 2050 as one of a “fruitful lifestyle in harmony with the Earth,” and believes that there are three challenges to be met in achieving this goal: responding to global population growth; decreasing environment impacts from economic growth; and creation of rich value. Toshiba announced the “Toshiba Group Environmental Vision 2050” in November, 2007, which embraces the goal of 10 times improvement (Factor 10) in total eco-efficiency against the benchmark year of FY2000, in the belief that, as a global citizen of planet Earth, it has a responsibility to take leadership in meeting these challenges. The fourth voluntary plan represents a major milestone on Toshiba Group’s long-term roadmap to achieving Vision 2050.

Toshiba Group’s continuing efforts to enhance environmental activities are now being showcased at the company’s 17 th Environmental Exhibition, which runs March 6 and 7 at Toshiba’s Tokyo headquarters. The exhibition features creation of environmentally friendly products using Factor T, reduction of CO2 emissions in such business processes as semiconductor manufacturing (introducing LNG and highly efficient lighting, building super energy-saving clean room), and reductions of waste.

*Toshiba Group's 4th Voluntary Environmental Plan defines specific numeric targets for products and business processes those will raise the overall company’s products eco-efficiency.

* The eco-efficiency factor is a means of assessing and improving eco-efficiency by comparing the eco-efficiency of a product produced in a year subject to assessment against the eco-efficiency of the equivalent product in a benchmark year.

Unless otherwise specified, the targets are based on comparison with FY2000 and cover manufacturing and non-manufacturing sites worldwide.

*15 substance groups subject to restriction: bis (tributyl tin) oxide (TBTO), tributyl tins (TBTs), tryphenyl tins (TPTs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs with more than 3 or more chlorines), short-chain chlorinated paraffins, asbestos, azo colorants, ozone-depleting substances, radioactive substances, cadmium and its compunds, hexavalent chromium compounds, lead and its compounds, mercury and its compounds, polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs).

About Toshiba

Toshiba Corporation is a leader in information and communications systems, electronic components, consumer products and power systems. The company’s integration of these wide-ranging capabilities assures its position as an innovator in advanced components, products and systems. Toshiba has more than 172,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of over US$54 billion (FY2005).

Toshiba Electronics Europe (TEE) is the European Headquarters for the electronic components business of Toshiba Corporation, which is the world's fourth largest semiconductor vendor according to estimates by Dataquest.

Providing design, manufacturing, marketing and sales, TEE was formed in 1973 in Neuss , Germany . The company now has headquarters in Düsseldorf , Germany and subsidiaries in France , Italy , Spain , Sweden and the United Kingdom . Company president is Mr Shikama and the total number of personnel in Europe is around 400.

Toshiba Electronics Europe offers one of the industry's broadest IC and discrete product lines including high-end memory, microcontrollers, ASICs, ASSPs and display products for automotive, multimedia, consumer, telecoms and networking applications. The company also has a wide range of power semiconductor solutions.

For more company information visit Toshiba's web site at www.toshiba-components.com