| . |
. |
Each time a new President takes up his duties
at Sony Shiroishi Semiconductor, he is
always told that “The two most important
things that you must keep in mind at all times
are protecting the safety of the MOCVD furnaces
and protecting the safety of the swans.
In any case, those two must be protected.”
Since we are extremely careful, for example
we always monitor the pH of rainwater flowing
out of the site into the Shiroishi River,
we quickly become aware and respond if
something related to our activities is abnormal.
However, the number of swans could
fall or the swans could stop coming for some
reason unrelated to Sony Shiroishi Semiconductor.
Every year we find ourselves wondering “how many swans will come this year”
and hoping that many swans will come.
From the standpoint of increasing employee
awareness of environmental issues, I think
that our policy of having all employees feed
the swans on a rotational basis has a significant
effect. This contributes to the energy the
employees put into the twice yearly (spring
and fall, before the swans arrive and after they
leave) “Clean Campaign”, in which we clean
up the banks of the Shiroishi River and their
environs.
These efforts, however, are still not adequate.
We must take up more of the requirements
and desires the local region has for Sony Shiroishi Semiconductor, and deploy efforts
at responding throughout the company. Our
efforts cannot be said to be the real thing unless
we assure that all Sony Shiroishi Semiconductor
employees share this level of
awareness. While everyone understands the
environment goals set out by ISO, we must
go beyond that. For example, since a strong
earthquake is expected off the Miyagi Prefecture
coast, it would be an effective use of
our resources in contributing to the local communities
if Sony Shiroishi Semiconductor
were able to provide disaster relief headquarters
functionality in the event of such an earthquake.
While it does not rise to that level, we
have organized both an Environmental Rescue
Unit and a Disaster Prevention Unit and
carry out training exercises once every other
month. While these activities are still at the
amateur level, there are very few companies
that have such organizations.
We have also called to other nearby corporations
and formed the “Shiroishi Zao Ecology
Forum” and we participate in environmentrelated
events sponsored by the prefecture or
the city. In an effort to expand these efforts
to other localities within Miyagi Prefecture,
our “Environmental Collaboration with the
Government”, in which prefectural environmental
officers tour and inspect sites, is starting
up. If the company grows, efforts in which
we make approaches to the region and its
communities will come to encompass an ever
wider range. This is because contributions to
the region are an important element of management
quality. Even though I am in charge
of environmental management, I still hope
that the laser diode market will grow even
more. |
|
We must Take up Regional
Needs and Desires
Vol.41
