Continuing Global Philanthropic Activities
Three Key Areas of Philanthropy
Mitsubishi Electric promotes philanthropic activities with an emphasis on the three categories of social welfare, global environmental preservation and scientific technological advancement.
For more information, please refer to the pages on philanthropic activities.
Employee Participation Program "Woodland Preservation Project"
Mitsubishi Electric launched the "Satoyama" Woodland Preservation Project in October 2007. Under the slogan, "down-to-earth and sustainable," we will continue to pursue phased nature conservation activities that take into consideration the state of the natural environment. By encouraging our employees to play a direct part in the development of safe regional communities, we are seeking to deepen communication with local residents.
Head Office Area
In cooperation with Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd., we are helping to restore the natural woodlands of Mount Fuji. Our chairman, president and other corporate officers are also actively involved in this project.
Nagoya · Chubu Branch Office Regions
In October 2007, Mitsubishi Electric's Nagoya Works became the first company to sign a "corporate forest development" agreement with Aichi Prefecture. Based on this agreement, we are promoting environmental preservation activities in the Togokusan prefectural forest located in the Moriyama District in Nagoya City, under the guidance of academic experts and the cooperation of local residents and concerned organizations. These activities have expanded in fiscal 2011 with the added participation of the Chubu Branch Office, and we look forward to future activities in which even more participants can experience the beauty and importance of nature.
Kobe Region
The common forest located in the Aburai District of Sasayama City, Hyogo Prefecture, is the center of our Satoyama Woodland Preservation activities in the Kobe region. Since March 2008, members of Kobe Works' social contribution club have engaged in forest thinning work and nature trail construction work in a natural forest that has been left abandoned for 40 years, to create a natural environment where children can play. An average of about 20 members get together seven times a year (January, February, March, May, June, November, December).
We have also established the "Association to Preserve the Aburai Chinju Woodlands" jointly with the local community and local government. The exposure to fresh air and "forest bathing" not possible in the city, and direct contact with the trees are proving to be precious sources of energy to all members.
Nakatsugawa Region
In the Nakatsugawa region, the Mitsubishi Electric Nakatsugawa Works Volunteer Club, otherwise known as the MV Club, hosts an outdoor classroom called "Mori no megumi juku" (classroom for satoyama preservation activities and environmental activities for children) at the prefectural Nenoue-kogen Azalea Park.
In June 2008, the MV Club signed an agreement with Nakatsugawa City and the Nenoue-kogen Tourism Promotion Association for the development of a natural park in Nenoue-kogen. With the cooperation of the local government and community, groups of about 50 participants each take part in carrying out a vegetation survey and cutting grass in the park. In conjunction with this event, the MV Club also hosts parent-child "outdoor classrooms" and programs that teach children to play with items found in nature, to promote an awareness of the precious value of the natural environment.
Shizuoka Region
In the Shizuoka region, Mitsubishi Electric's Shizuoka Works has played an active part in the Abe River volunteer cleanup activities since September 2003 as a member of the "Adopt-a-River Program" organized by the Shizuoka City Environment Bureau. These activities not only help beautify the local environment around Shizuoka Works, but are also instrumental in improving environmental awareness and actions among our employees. We intend to implement them on a continuous basis, so that even larger numbers of employees and their families may participate.
Kita-Itami Region
In the Kita-Itami region, Mitsubishi Electric's Kita-Itami Works helps care for 600 cherry blossom trees planted in and around the Zugaike area, under a greenery maintenance management agreement with Itami City. Employees and former employees of Kita-Itami Works and local residents (heads of six local autonomies, etc.) organized the "Society for Nurturing Cherry Blossom Trees in Zugaike Park," and have continuously applied themselves to pruning branches, applying fertilizer, and implementing cleanup activities since 1986. On April 13, 2009, the society received a merit award from the Japan Cherry Blossom Association in recognition of its long years of efforts in preserving and nurturing cherry blossom trees.
Fukuyama Region
The common forest in Mt. Goryozan, located in Kannabe Town, Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, is the stage of our satoyama woodland preservation activities in the Fukuyama region. Members of Mitsubishi Electric's Fukuyama Works launched the activities in July 2010 after taking a cue from the "Kannabe seasonal forest planting event" organized under the leadership of the local Shimo-Goryo Productive Forestry Association in December 2009. Employees of Fukuyama Works and their families participated in the event and helped plant "super pine" trees, which are said to better withstand pine withering. This area used to boast one of the most verdant pine forests in Hiroshima Prefecture, but has deteriorated in recent years as a result of trees dying and forest functions being lost. To restore the natural environment, various organizations are promoting activities to plant "super pine" tree saplings and regenerate a verdant forest that can withstand disasters.
Sanda Region
Employees of Mitsubishi Electric's Sanda Works formed a group of volunteers to begin preparations toward launching full-scale satoyama preservation activities in Arima-Fuji Prefectural Park in Hyogo, Sanda City from fiscal 2011. To begin with, they cleared the underbrush and bamboo grass that were hindering the growth of trees and removed bamboo stalks that had been left abandoned after bamboo trees were cut down. With many fallen trees in the park, the volunteers will have a lot of rewarding work to do in the future.
SOCIO-ROOTS Fund
The Mitsubishi Electric SOCIO-ROOTS Fund was established in 1992 as a gift program in which the Company matches any donation made by an employee, thus doubling the goodwill of the gift. More than 1,000 employees participate in the Fund each year. As of March 2011, the Fund had provided a total of approximately ¥585 million to some 1,400 various social welfare facilities and programs.
In recent years, we have extended the scope of our donations to include social welfare activities related to environmental preservation and disaster relief. In fiscal 2008, we made contributions to the Children's Forest Program in Malaysia organized by OISCA (an international NGO engaged in agricultural development and environmental protection activities, mainly in Asia and the Pacific region) and participated in local tree-planting activities under a framework that brings together the Fund and our corporate achievement award system.
In fiscal 2010, we contributed part of the cost of introducing a photovoltaic power generation system to a children's home through the gift program. We matched the amount donated by a recipient of a Mitsubishi Electric Corporate Award and contributed the combined amount to the children's home, with hopes of nurturing children's awareness of environmental preservation, energy conservation, and ecological issues.
Looking ahead, Mitsubishi Electric will continue to value the goodwill of our employees and make steady efforts to develop activities rooted in local communities.
Presentation held for OISCA
Afforestation activities in Malaysia
Presentation to the Seikou Gakuen children's home
Photovoltaic panels installed on roof
Foundations
The Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation (MEAF) and the Mitsubishi Electric Thai Foundation (METF), both of which were founded in 1991, play a central role in implementing social welfare and science and technology promotion activities outside Japan.
MEAF works in the United States to promote the full inclusion of youth with disabilities in society. METF grants scholarships to university students and sponsors elementary school lunch support programs in Thailand.
Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation
The Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation works to empower youth with disabilities to lead productive lives, providing grants for innovative projects that help build their leadership and employability skills. An example is the American Association of People with Disabilities Summer Internships Program, which places students with disabilities in Congressional and Federal Offices in Washington, D.C.
MEAF also works with Mitsubishi Electric employee volunteers in local communities in the Untied States to make Changes for the Better in the lives of youth with disabilities, and other charitable causes.
Photo: President (then Senator) Barack Obama with a 2008 MEAF Congressional intern.
Since 1991, MEAF has invested more than $10 million in U.S. communities, and Mitsubishi Electric employee volunteers have provided 36,000 hours of volunteer time. MEAF has been recognized with awards from the American Foundation for the Blind.
Employee volunteers work with students on Disability Mentoring Day.
Mitsubishi Electric Thai Foundation
The Mitsubishi Electric Thai Foundation launched a scholarship program in 1993 to promote science and technology development in Thailand. Every year, 45 students in three engineering universities in Thailand are selected to receive the scholarship. Recipients are students who excel in academics but are not able to receive sufficient financial resources from their family to devote themselves to their studies.
The Mitsubishi Electric Thai Foundation also engages in a program that purchases fertilizer and feedstock and works with elementary school students to grow vegetables and raise livestock, with the cooperation of employees of local Mitsubishi Electric offices. The fruits of their labor are included in lunches for elementary school students who do not have the means to buy school lunches. At the same time, the program teaches children about the importance and joys of growing and raising food.
