At the Unitika Group, we are committed to a wide range of initiatives targeting enhanced enterprise value and long-term corporate growth. The basis of these initiatives is formed by development and enhancement of our business as well as by establishing a robust cooperate structure that provides us with the ability to respond to significant changes in the business environment. However, we are also acutely aware of how our business initiatives are intertwined with our corporate social responsibility (CSR), and we understand that it is absolutely essential for a better enterprise value to establish a relationship of trust with our stakeholders. For the Unitika Group, this approach has always demonstrated our commitment to our corporate social responsibility and social contributions through a variety of initiatives. In particular, we view those initiatives related to addressing environmental issues, ensuring legal compliance, implementing internal audits and controls, and managing safety and risk as areas of fundamental importance. Our CSR Office, which was established in July, 2008, is actively promoting these initiatives under a promotion system headed by the Director in charge and managed by full-time senior management staff.

Among the most important of Unitika's CSR initiatives are those that address environmental challenges. The planet's environmental woes, together with the problem of dwindling energy resources, constitute a common problem for humankind that needs to be approached in an integrated manner. Concrete, national-level responses to address these issues are underway. Spurred by the need to respond to the currently stagnating economy, particular focus is being given to initiatives to reduce greenhouse gases in response to global warming and to develop alternative energy sources and create a society committed to recycling resources in response to increased demand for resources, mainly from emerging nations. With these trends in international society, the CSR of individual companies is becoming increasingly more important, and in keeping with our Group ideal of "contributing to society by linking lifestyles and technologies," we are pursuing a range of initiatives in harmony with our Group business activities.

Specific environment initiatives that we are currently pursuing include the development of plastics and deployment of water treatment technologies aimed at reducing environmental load and facilitating recycling, the development of plant-derived biomass plastic Terramac®, and the implementation of surveys, analytical studies, and environmental assessments of air, water, and soil to ensure environmental preservation. We are also promoting Group-wide registration for the ISO 14001 environmental management standards at our major facilities and Group companies. Moreover, our main plants have converted from oil to natural gas for their energy requirements. Clearly, in terms of both our business and operations, we have been focusing on the most pressing environmental issues.

Legal compliance is a natural obligation for any company, and at Unitika we strive to ensure that all Group Directors and employees always demonstrate an awareness of legal compliance in the conduct of their duties. Specifically, we instituted the Unitika Action Charter in 2008, and later set out the Unitika Action Standards, based on the charter. We take a variety of opportunities to ensure that everyone in the Unitika Group is familiar with these documents, and work via the internal compliance committee to understand how they are being implemented and to provide organizational education. The Unitika Group will continue to these kinds of initiatives in the future, and will act in a manner so as to uphold the longstanding trust that we have built with our external stakeholders since we began operations in 1889.

We promote a variety of comprehensive and systematic CSR initiatives including the maintenance and operation of an internal control system-a legal and standard requirement for companies; efforts targeting the improvement of safety management standards in a variety of situations both inside and outside the company, for example product quality control and factory operation; and the implementation of a risk management system to prevent the loss of trust in the company due to unforeseen events and circumstances.

Under our new three-year medium-term management plan, "Reform 2011", which began in April, 2009, we have been cultivating eco-friendly business models as reflected by our recycling business, our environmental materials business, and our reputation as a manufacturer of Terramac®. This testifies to our management vision as a good corporate citizen contributing to a healthier environment and a more comfortable way of life. Through such undertakings, we will continue our efforts to remain a trusted corporate presence in society and to achieve our operational goals. We will pursue these objectives based on the spirit of CSR demanded of us as a good corporate citizen, from legal compliance and similar matters that require detailed attention as part of everyday corporate activities to efforts aimed at tackling larger problems such as how to address environmental issues.

I trust this report clarifies our commitment to the CSR initiatives the Unitika Group is pursuing as a responsible corporate citizen, and I welcome your support as we pursue these initiatives.