+ All Categories
Home > Documents > Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the...

Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the...

Date post: 21-Aug-2020
Category:
Upload: others
View: 2 times
Download: 0 times
Share this document with a friend
52
Transcript
Page 1: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,
Page 2: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

1 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Corporate Overview

Company name: Ajinomoto Co., Inc.Head office: 15-1, Kyobashi 1-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-8315 JapanTel: +81-3-5250-8111Website: http://www.ajinomoto.com/Foundation: May 20, 1909Incorporation: December 17, 1925Paid in capital: ¥79,863 million (as of March 31, 2007)Number of employees: 3,531 at Ajinomoto Co., Inc., and 24,733 on a consolidated basis (as of March 31, 2007)Fiscal year-end: March 31

□ Food Products Business・Seasonings・Processed foods・Delicatessen and bakery

products・Frozen foods・Overseas food products・Partnerships (edible oils, coffee,

beverages, dairy products)

□ Amino Acids Business・Umami seasoning for

processed food manufacturers ・Feed-use amino acids・Amino acids for

pharmaceuticals and foods・Sweeteners・Nutritional foods・Pharmaceutical fine chemicals・Specialty chemicals

□ Pharmaceuticals Business・Pharmaceuticals and

medical foods

□ Others・Packaging・Logistics・Services and other

Business Areas (Main Product Categories)

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

FY02 FY03 FY04 FY06FY05

9871,039 1,073

1,1581,106

(¥ Billion)

54

65 6360

(¥ Billion)

Net sales Operating income

FY02 FY03 FY04 FY06FY05

70

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Financial results for fiscal 2006

Domestic foodproducts53.3%

Overseas food products11.0%

Amino acids 23.4%

Other 5.1%

Pharmaceuticals7.2%

Net sales by business Net sales by region

Japan 70.2%

Asia11.6%

The Americas8.0%

Europe10.1%

Page 3: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

2Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Europe AsiaJapan●▲▲▲▲▲

The Americas

●▲

●▲▲ ●

●▲▲

●▲▲▲▲ ●▲

●▲▲▲

●▲

● ●

● ●▲

●▲▲ ●▲

●▲

●▲▲▲

●▲ ●▲▲▲

●Subsidiaries, affiliates and offices of the parent company ▲Amino acids and specialty chemical plants ▲Pharmaceutical plants ▲Seasoning plants ▲Processed food plants ▲Other plants Production plants: Total of 102 plants in 16 countries and regions (Japan: 47, outside Japan: 55). Includes packaging plants.

●▲

The Ajinomoto Group is engaged in a range of businesses including food products,amino acids, and pharmaceuticals in 23 countries and regions around the globe (as ofMarch 31, 2007).

□ Main Subsidiaries in Japan

Seasonings and processed foodsKnorr Foods Co., Ltd.

Delica Ace Co., Ltd.

AJINOMOTO BAKERY CO., LTD.

GABAN Co., Ltd.

YAMAKI Co., Ltd.

Frozen foodsAjinomoto Frozen Foods Co., Inc.

Edible oilsJ-OIL MILLS, INC.

Beverages and chilled dairy productsAjinomoto General Foods, Inc.

Calpis Co., Ltd.

Amino acidsAJINOMOTO HEALTHY SUPPLY, INC.

Nippon Protein Co., Ltd.

Ajinomoto Fine-Techno Co., Ltd.

Kawaken Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd.

JINO Co., Ltd.

PharmaceuticalsAjinomoto Pharma Co., Ltd.

Ajinomoto Medica Co., Ltd.

OthersAJINOMOTO LOGISTICS CORPORATION

Ajinomoto Packaging Co., Inc.

Ajinomoto Engineering Corporation

Ajinomoto System Techno Corporation

Ajinomoto Communications, Inc.

Ajinomoto Trading, Inc.

Ajinomoto Treasury Management, Inc.

AJINOMOTO BUSINESS ASSOCIATES CO., INC.

Okinawa Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Hokkaido Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

□ Main Subsidiaries Outside Japan

Seasonings and processed foodsAjinomoto Co., (Thailand) Ltd.

Ajinomoto Sales (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

Wan Thai Foods Industry Co., Ltd.

AJINOMOTO PHILIPPINES CORPORATION

Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Berhad

Ajinomoto (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.

PT Ajinomoto Indonesia

PT Ajinex International

Ajinomoto Vietnam Co., Ltd.

AJINOMOTO INDIA PVT. LTD.

Ajinomoto (China) Co., Ltd.

Ajinomoto Co., (Hong Kong) Ltd.

Shanghai Ajinomoto Seasoning Co., Ltd.

SHANGHAI HOUSE AJINOMOTO FOODS CO., LTD.

SHANGHAI AJINOMOTO FOOD RESEARCH AND

DEVELOPMENT CENTER CO., LTD.

Amoy Food Ltd.

Ajinomoto Korea, Inc.

Ajinomoto U.S.A., Inc.

Ajinomoto Food Ingredients LLC

Ajinomoto Interamericana Indústria e Comércio Ltda.

Ajinomoto Biolatina Indústria e Comércio Ltda.

Nissin-Ajinomoto Alimentos Ltda.

Ajinomoto del Perú S.A.

AJINOMOTO FOODS EUROPE S.A.S.

AJINOMOTO FOODS DEUTSCHLAND GMBH

Ajinomoto Poland Sp. z o.o.

West African Seasoning Co., Ltd.

Amoy Foods Co., Ltd.

Shanghai Amoy Foods Co., Ltd.

Ajinomoto Taiwan Inc.

Frozen foodsAjinomoto Frozen Foods (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

Ajinomoto Betagro Frozen Foods (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

Ajinomoto Betagro Specialty Foods Co., Ltd.

Lianyungang Ajinomoto Ruyi Foods Co., Ltd.

Lianyungang Ajinomoto Frozen Foods Co., Ltd.

Xiamen Ajinomoto Life Ideal Foods Co., Ltd.

Ajinomoto Frozen Foods U.S.A., Inc.

Shenzhen Amoi Foods Limited

BeveragesAjinomoto Calpis Beverage (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

PT Ajinomoto Calpis Beverage Indonesia

Amino acidsAjinomoto Co., (Thailand) Ltd.

HENAN AJINOMOTO AMINO ACID CO., LTD.

Shanghai Ajinomoto Amino Acid Co., Ltd.

Sichuan Chuanhua Ajinomoto Co., Ltd.

Taiso Commerce Inc.

Ajinomoto U.S.A., Inc.

Ajinomoto AminoScience LLC

Ajinomoto Heartland LLC

Ajinomoto Interamericana Indústria e Comércio Ltda.

Ajinomoto Biolatina Indústria e Comércio Ltda.

AJINOMOTO EUROLYSINE S.A.S.

Ajinomoto Sweeteners Europe S.A.S.

S.A. Ajinomoto OmniChem N.V.

AJINOMOTO BIOITALIA S.p.A.

OOO “Ajinomoto”

PharmaceuticalsAjinomoto Pharmaceuticals Europe Ltd.

OthersFuji Ace Co., Ltd.

AJINOMOTO EUROPE S.A.S.

Forum Bioscience Holdings Ltd.

ZAO Ajinomoto-Genetika Research Institute

Ajinomoto U.S.A., Inc.

Ajinomoto Corporate Services LLC

Amoi North America, Inc.

Page 4: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

3 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Communication between the AjinomotoGroup and Stakeholders

Shareholdersand investors

Employees

Customers

Local communities

Business partners

GlobalenvironmentGlobalenvironment

J E

Environmentalreport

Intellectualproperty

informationdisclosure

Corporatebrochure

Websites

Intranet

FinancialreportFinancial

statements

Future generationsFuture generations

Ajinomoto GroupCSR Report

The Ajinomoto Group disseminates information in various formats as one means of communicationwith its external and internal stakeholders. The figure below shows the tools regularly used toreport on the group’s business activities.

Ajinomoto Group Stakeholders

CustomersThe customers of the Ajinomoto Group include everyonearound the world who uses its products and services.Ajinomoto is building relationships of trust with customers byproviding reliable, high-quality products, promptly respondingto the voice of the customer in its business activities, and pro-moting a more active dialogue with customers.

Business partnersAjinomoto aims to be a company that grows together with itsbusiness partners, through information sharing, fair and opentransactions, and strict compliance with all laws and regula-tions, based on its Basic Purchasing Policy.

Shareholders and investorsAjinomoto strives to increase its corporate value and to meetthe expectations of shareholders and investors. The companydiscloses information of interest to these parties and takes theconcerns of those pursuing socially responsible investment(SRI) into account in its management practices.

EmployeesAjinomoto strives to increase the value of its workforce byenhancing the work environment, and enabling all employees toreach their full potential and enjoy safe, comfortable workplaces.

Local communitiesAjinomoto is working to help realize a better quality of life forlocal communities through its broad range of corporate citi-zenship activities, while also striving to improve communica-tion with stakeholders.

Global environmentAjinomoto carries out its business activities from a global per-spective. Its goal is to help move the world closer and closer totrue sustainability, by working in harmony with the natural envi-ronment and pursuing environmentally friendly technologies.

Future generationsBy striving to achieve the Ajinomoto Group CSR Vision, thegroup is working to build a sustainable society. In all of theseefforts, it seeks to contribute to good Food and Health forfuture generations.

Page 5: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

Contents

1 Corporate Overview

3 Communication between the Ajinomoto Group andStakeholders

4 Editorial Policy

Contents

5 Message from the President

8 Ajinomoto Group Principles

9 Committed to Fulfilling Corporate Social Responsibilities

10 Communicating with the Public about CSR

Diverse Group Critiques CSR Activities at Ajinomoto

Ajinomoto Holds Stakeholder Dialogue on theImprovement of Customer Satisfaction

13 Labeling and Use of Food Additives and GMOs

15 Highlight 1: Presidents of the Three Internal CompaniesSpeak

CSR at Ajinomoto, from the Perspective of Each Business

Food Products BusinessAjinomoto Offers a Unique Approach to Shokuiku

Amino Acids Business

Pharmaceuticals Business

23 Highlight 2: Food Safety

A Backstage Visit to the Making of Hon-Dashi ®

27 Highlight 3: Listening to Employees

Building a Company That People Are Happy to Work For

Ajinomoto Group CSR Vision

29 Management

Management System

31 Improving Safety and Quality

33 Relationships with Customers

35 Relationships with Business Partners

37 Making Ajinomoto a Great Place to Work

41 Growing with Local Communities

42 Good Corporate Citizenship

Social Report

43 Helping to Build a Sustainable Global Environment

47 Goals and Results

49 Third-Party Opinions

50 Response to Third-Party Opinions

Environmental Report

4Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

The main purpose of this report is to clearly present the efforts of theAjinomoto Group to achieve the five commitments of the AjinomotoGroup Vision for CSR Achievements by 2020 and to realize theAjinomoto Group CSR Vision, the two declarations which the com-pany issued in September 2005. The Highlight section details thegroup’s view of CSR from the perspective of its three core busi-nesses: food products, amino acids, and pharmaceuticals.

The report incorporates opinions from outside experts andNPO/NGO representatives and from employees, and reports ontwo stakeholder dialogues (see pages 10 to 12).

It also includes the following features. ・Third-party opinions were requested from two experts, in order

to enhance objectivity (see page 49).・The “Environmental Report” section gives a basic overview; fur-

ther details are provided in the Ajinomoto Group EnvironmentalReport 2007 (published in September 2007).・The shareholder and investor section was omitted, as those

details can be viewed in the financial information available on thegroup’s website at: http://www.ajinomoto.com/ar/. ・Certain monetary figures in this report are presented in both the

original currency and, for the convenience of readers, in an equiva-lent amount of US dollars, converted at the average rate for theperiod covered by the report (April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007).This does not imply that such funds actually have been or couldbe exchanged for US dollars at this rate.

Organizational scope: This report covers the Ajinomoto Group,which, in principle, refers to Ajinomoto Co., Inc. (hereafter “thecompany”) and its 115 consolidated subsidiaries and affiliates sub-ject to reporting under the equity method (as of March 31, 2006).Where sufficient information for the entire Ajinomoto Group (here-after “Ajinomoto” or “the group”) was not available, the limitation inscope is explicitly defined. The scope of the “Environmental Report”section (see pages 43 to 48) includes companies subject toAjinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in thecompany’s Environmental Regulations.

* This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co., Inc., its consolidated subsidiaries, and affili-ates that play considerable roles in the company’s environmental management.

Period covered by this report: Fiscal 2006 (April 1, 2006 to March31, 2007)Some more recent activities are also included in the report.

Issue date: July 2007 (Next report scheduled for July 2008; previ-ous report issued in August 2006.)

Scope of the Report

Editorial Policy

For more details in English concerning the information containedin this publication, please visit the website of the AjinomotoGroup. It contains a variety of information which is not included here.

http://www.ajinomoto.com

Page 6: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

5 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

We believe that enjoying great-tasting, nutritious food is the key to health, and all ofour businesses aim to make this possible forpeople. This quest is in itself the corporatesocial responsibility of the Ajinomoto Group,and our highest form of social contribution.

It makes more sense to me to talk about corporate socialcontributions, not just social responsibilities. After all, theleast a company should do is fulfill its basic CSR. CSRshould be seen in a broader sense—as a duty to maketruly new contributions. Undertaking special initiatives is, ofcourse, a good thing, but the ideal we are pursuing atAjinomoto is for our business activities to be social contri-butions in and of themselves.

Every product has its origin in the technologyused to manufacture it. Ajinomoto leveragesthe power of technological innovation toaddress society’s concerns about the environment and agricultural practices.

At Ajinomoto, our core definition of CSR is contributing togreat taste and better health by offering the world out-standing products. We take, however, a broad view ofCSR. For instance, we examine the actual manufacturingprocesses used for our products in terms of social respon-sibility. It is only when social concern becomes completelyintegrated with regular business operations that one canreally claim to be earnest about CSR. In this sense, techno-logical innovation is the key to progress.

Message from the President

Looking forward to another century of contributingto society with confidence and pride

It has been nearly a century since the dis-covery that the essence of the umami tastewas glutamic acid. Today, we have scientificproof that glutamic acid has value beyondbeing the source of umami: we know that itplays a very important role in human nutri-tional physiology. Everyone at the AjinomotoGroup is looking forward to continuing tocontribute to a better life for people every-where—offering not only better food, butalso better health. As we succeed in thiseffort, we will further demonstrate the socialvalue of the Ajinomoto Group—a team ofhardworking people that started with thegreat taste of umami and built it into a globalbusiness enterprise.

Norio YamaguchiPresident and CEOAjinomoto Co., Inc.

Page 7: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

6Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

targets for core products, countries, and regions. As wedevelop technology to minimize environmental impact, weare also intent on rapidly providing superior technologies todeveloping countries, which tend to be behind in terms ofmeasures to protect the environment.

If the human race is to ensure sustainablefood resources, new social attitudes aboutfood are direly needed. Ajinomoto is uniquelypositioned to help by communicating the truesignificance of food.

Recently, plant-derived bioethanol has been in the spot-light. Competition for resources based on the increaseduse of agricultural materials to produce fuel, rather thanfood, may drive up the price of food products. The pres-sure being placed on food resources by growing demandfor fuel is a critical issue that all of humanity needs to grap-ple with seriously. But before we even get to larger sys-temic issues like this, there is a lot that everyday people indeveloped countries can do to conserve food resources. Inmodern-day Japan, for instance, statistics show that a thirdof food is simply thrown away. Clearly, as a society, weneed to change our attitude about the value of food. Inorder to ensure sustainable food resources, we must learnto use them with a spirit of conservation, which meanschanging our wasteful habits.

I also believe it is vital that we pass on Japan’s food cul-ture to the next generation, especially nowadays, when thetradition of home cooking is fading away. Of course, thereare limits to what we can do as a single company. But weare determined to do our part. Ajinomoto provides opportu-nities for people to deepen their understanding of homecooking—the Beginner’s Cooking School—and has startedmaking TV commercials that go beyond product advertis-ing to suggest healthy lifestyle choices and promote foodeducation and better dietary habits.

The Ajinomoto Group will continue to make the most ofevery opportunity to help the public understand the realsignificance of food.

Ajinomoto uses many types of innovative technology.We use special fermentation technology to manufactureamino acids such as glutamic acid from agricultural materi-als including sugar cane and cassava. It takes special skillto productively utilize raw materials that are not always uni-form in quality or composition. Yet another technical skill isusing efficient fermentative microbes to manufacture largervolumes of amino acids from the same amount of rawmaterial, thus increasing production efficiency.

Then, if we were to discard what remains after the man-ufacturing process, those by-products or effluents wouldjust become waste. Ajinomoto, however, uses technologyto extract the good nutrients from these “resources” andturns them into fertilizer. We have cutting-edge technolo-gies that enable us to realize zero emission of waste inmany cases, or to release wastewater in the cleanest state.

In fact, Ajinomoto employs a circular production process—using agricultural products and then returning the by-products to the soil as fertilizer—to create products thatbring real benefits to people around the world. This is trulya “virtuous cycle” for Ajinomoto: the more products wemake, the greater our contribution to agricultural develop-ment, local economies, and the natural environment.

Technology is also a critical part of the solution to environmental issues. Ajinomotohas set challenging goals for itself to spur further technological improvement.

Public concern for the earth’s environment is at an all timehigh, and rightly so. The Ajinomoto Group shares this con-cern, and is taking action under its own globally imple-mented environmental standard, the 2005-2010 AjinomotoGroup Zero Emissions Plan. The plan commits us toachieving specific targets for reducing environmentalimpact by 2010, and we are already making progress. CO2

emissions per unit of production are down, thanks to ourefforts to increase the efficiency of production processes.These efficiency gains, however, have not been enough tooffset increasing gross production volumes: as we meetthe world’s need for more products, gross CO2 emissionsalso go up. We are challenging ourselves to develop evenmore advanced technologies—at a level of innovation thatcan drastically reduce environmental impact. In addition toour shared global targets, we are developing strategic

Page 8: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

7 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Interactive communication with stakeholdersis a priority for Ajinomoto. Diverse opinionshelp the company to grow.

The Ajinomoto Group places a premium on ensuring thatstakeholders understand its business activities. If they havea solid understanding of what we do, their feedback isextremely useful: we can make corrections if there areproblems with our judgment or assessment criteria; or ifour criteria are sound, we can make choices in line withthose criteria. We are not only committed to this process ofimprovement, but also to applying the results to get betterin new ways every day.

Take our product safety initiatives, for example. Whenpeople visit our plants to see our production process forthemselves, their confidence in Ajinomoto becomes muchhigher than it would be if we only told them about the quali-ty control measures and tests we conduct. We are workingto welcome more and more visitors to our plants, empha-sizing this sort of “experiential” communication. When ourguests taste product samples at our plants or whenschool-age visitors conduct experiments to extract glutam-ic acid from konbu (kelp) broth, first-hand experiencespeaks louder than words.

Daily communication builds interpersonalrelationships you can count on, and strengthens organizations.

At the Ajinomoto Group, we have developed tailor-madesystems and custom training programs designed to fosteran optimal work environment that enables all of our diverseemployees to make the most of their individual abilities.Both the organization and the employees are engaged in areform of the corporate culture and individual attitudes,striving to increase utilization of various employee pro-grams, such as childcare leave and family care leave.Progress in this area actually depends on the day-in andday-out quality of personal relationships on the job.

Personally, I have enthusiastically participated, both inand outside Japan, in the Luncheon Meetings program thatI started immediately after becoming president. Theseopportunities to communicate directly with young employ-ees have been very valuable.

Ajinomoto encourages employees to improvethemselves. We are supporting work stylesthat suit people’s stage of life and developingglobally competitive human resources.

The Ajinomoto Group has articulated three HR Values thatencourage employees to improve themselves as profes-sionals, and as people.

As people’s values diversify, so do their work styles andcareer aspirations. These also change with an individual’sstage of l ife. The Ajinomoto Group is enhancing itsdevelopment of programs and systems that offer employ-ees choices that fit their individual wishes—and this is help-ing to make the group’s diverse employees more globallycompetitive. We believe that these steps will also helpemployees to work with more confidence and make greatercontributions as individuals in their neighborhoods, com-munities, and nations.

We invite you to help us achieve our goals.

I hope that this report is engaging and useful, and I appre-ciate your taking time to read it. I invite you to walk along-side us as we grow and change: watch what we do, giveus your feedback, and help us to realize our vision to builda better world through food and health.

■ Message from the President

President and CEO

HR Values: Ajinomoto Group Human Resources Principles (Established in 2003)

http://www.ajinomoto.com/csr/employee/

Page 9: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

8Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Description of the Ajinomoto Group PrinciplesThe Ajinomoto Group Principles, established in April 2000, include the Group Philosophy, Management Policies, and Standards of BusinessConduct. These principles are the group’s guidelines and the highest principles shared and practiced by all the organizations and people thatmake up the Ajinomoto Group. In line with the Ajinomoto Group Principles, the entire Ajinomoto Group is working to achieve its corporatevision of advancing from Japan to the global arena as a leader in foods and amino acids. Ajinomoto is currently preparing to revise theAjinomoto Group Principles to build an even stronger foundation for the next 100 years, including adopting global standards and a CSR-driven business mindset.

Ajinomoto Group Principles

Ajinomoto Group Philosophy

Our philosophy is to contribute significant advances in Food andHealth on a global basis and ultimately to create a better life for all.

Ajinomoto Group Management Policies

Business objectivesWe aim to be a global corporation, whichcontributes to the general well-being of all people inthe world, through our business domains of foodand food-related products, amino acid-based finechemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Business ethosBy always putting customers first, synergizing ourvast pool of creative resources and employing onlysuperior technologies, we offer innovative productsand services of the highest standards and quality.

Management principleWe continue to respect all interested parties, includingshareholders, customers, local communities, tradingpartners and employees, and manage operations onthe basis of quick and concise decision-making thatis fair and open, so realizing an appropriate return ofprofits to our shareholders and continuallyincreasing our business value.

Social responsibilityAs an outstanding and socially aware corporatecitizen, we endeavor to contribute to the harmonyand progress of society.

Corporate cultureWe strive to maintain a creative, open, spirited, andconfident atmosphere in which employees canstrive for self-fulfillment and career advancement.

Ajinomoto Group Standards of Business Conduct

1. Provision of safe, high-quality products and services1-1 Provision of safe, high-quality products and services

2. Fair and free transactions2-1 Fair and free competition2-2 Sound relationships with governments and

administrations2-3 Fair business with suppliers and other transaction entities2-4 Appropriate business courtesy

3. Communication with society3-1 Timely collection and disclosure of information

4. Information management4-1 Information management

5. Environmental protection and natural resource &energy conservation activities5-1 Environmental protection and natural resource & energy

conservation activities

6. Public service6-1 Public service

7. Workable office environment7-1 Respect for human rights7-2 Creating a safe and comfortable working environment 7-3 Demonstration of identity and creativity

8. Responsibility to shareholders and investors8-1 Proper disclosure of information8-2 Prohibition of insider trading8-3 Prohibition of providing benefits to particular

shareholders

9. Relationship between individual employees andthe company9-1 Relationship between individual employees

(family/relatives) and the company9-2 Outside activity

10. International commerce10-1 Handling of intellectual property rights10-2 Compliance with export and import control laws

Page 10: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

9 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Committed to Fulfilling Corporate Social ResponsibilitiesThe Ajinomoto Group is working to realize both the Ajinomoto Group CSR Vision and the Ajinomoto Group Vision forCSR Achievements by 2020, which were established in 2005. These pages give an account of the specific initiativesthe group is taking throughout its business operations.

As a truly global company, we are committed to social and environmental sustainability.We will contribute toward this goal through the fields of Food and Health like

no other company can, and will strive to earn the trust of the people of the world for generations to come.

Ajinomoto Group CSR Vision

With the global expansion of the Ajinomoto Group’s food business, we will have contributed to a reliable andhigh-quality dietary life for people around the world by promoting the development, proposal, and provisionof new products that suit the regional food cultures of the world while also making the most of the specialcharacteristics of Japanese food, as a global company with roots in Japan.

We will have created new value and contributed to the lives and health of people worldwide by furtherimproving and expanding our proprietary technologies as a leading company in the field of amino acids.

We will have contributed to a sustainable global environment by supporting agriculture, fisheries, and live-stock farming, and establishing a recycling-based business model that minimizes the use of exhaustibleresources and energy and the production of waste, with the goal of securing safe and sustainable food resources.

We will have contributed to the building of better societies by fostering the high-caliber human resourcesneeded around the world, by ensuring that our employees can make the most of their unique traits and abili-ties, without regard to characteristics such as nationality, ethnicity, sex, religion, and cultural background.

In line with the Ajinomoto Group Principles, we will have contributed to the building of sound and vibrantsocieties by proactively disclosing a variety of information about our business activities to all stakeholders,and by forging honest, fair and open partnerships with them through dialogue undertaken as a sincere cor-porate citizen.

Food

Achievement by 2020–1

Amino acids(health and pharmaceuticals)

Achievement by 2020–2

Food resources andthe environment

Achievement by 2020–3

Human resourcesdevelopment

Achievement by 2020–4

Partnerships

Achievement by 2020–5

Ajinomoto Group Vision for CSR Achievements by 2020Five Paths to Realizing the CSR Vision

Management

Quality assurance

Labor and human rights

Purchasing and supply chain

Environment

Local communities

Critical CSR tasks for the Ajinomoto GroupHow the Ajinomoto Group implements CSRCSR Management is a part of the basic strategy contained inthe Fiscal 2005-2010 Medium- to Long-Term ManagementPlan of the Ajinomoto Group . In April 2005,Ajinomoto Co., Inc., established a CSR Department to strength-en its capacity in this area. Following the organizational restruc-turing that took place in Apri l 2007 with the goal ofstrengthening the functions of the Corporate Division, communi-cation was given a more prominent place in the group’s imple-mentation of CSR. Under the new structure, the new CSR &Public Communications Department not only handles PR func-tions, but is also in charge of corporate citizenship and humanrights awareness, and cooperates closely with relevant depart-ments regarding business ethics, quality assurance, purchasing,and the environment, among other issues.

-dvance10Build a global compliance framework for the group

Thoroughly establish the Ajinomoto System ofQuality Assurance (ASQUA) at all group companies

Create a single global framework for addressinghuman rights issues and reflect its principles in theAjinomoto Group Standards of Business Conduct

Start implementing supplier surveys in accordancewith the Basic Purchasing Policy

Launch efforts to find new ways to reduce CO2 anddevelop technologies that contribute to the fightagainst global warming

Offer food and nutrition education programs that areunique to the Ajinomoto Group

Page 11: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

10Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Communicating with the Public about CSR

Diverse Group Critiques CSR Activities at Ajinomoto44 people examine CSR track record

The Ajinomoto Group is well aware ofthe importance of good communicationwith all of its stakeholders. Seeking outside opinion is one of the core components of the group’s program toimprove its CSR activities. Seizing theopportunity presented by the publicationof the Ajinomoto Group CSR Report2006 in August last year, Ajinomotobrought together 44 people inSeptember to critique its CSR activities.Participants included representatives ofNGOs and NPOs in the f ields of consumer advocacy, human rights, environmental conservation, and corpo-rate citizenship, as well as managementfrom the Ajinomoto Group with CSRresponsibilities and employees from theconsumer relations, corporate ethics,quality assurance, environmental conser-vation, and procurement organizations.Attendees were seated divided into sixgroups to ensure a dynamic exchangeof opinions.

Opinions on food resources,employee awareness of CSR

After hearing a report on CSR progressat the Ajinomoto Group and the issuesthat arose in the course of CSR activities(see table on page 9), the stakeholderrepresentatives offered opinions informedby their various fields of expertise. Theythen spent time evaluating the CSRreport and offered specific proposals forfuture programs. They suggested, forinstance, that Ajinomoto institute regularworkshops to heighten employees’awareness of CSR.

Some of the most significant input canbe summarized by area as follows:◆Food resources: Prepare a food-crisis

action plan, and cooperate moreclosely with raw material suppliers.◆Food education: Support the inter-

generational transmission of food

preparation techniques, cuisine, anddietary culture.◆Communication: Provide information

that better addresses consumers’needs.◆CSR education for employees:

Encourage employees to link immediateproblems and social issues to CSR inorder to foster CSR awareness in eachemployee (see box below).

Response to the critique of thegroup’s CSR activities

Since 2005, the Ajinomoto Group hasbeen holding stakeholder dialogues likethis one as a means of evaluating itsactivities and confirming whether or notthe group is headed in the right direc-tion. CSR encompasses an extremelybroad range of topics, and diversestakeholders provide valuable opinionsfrom a variety of unique perspectives.

This adds anentirely newdimension to thegroup’s under-standing of CSR,and directly exposes key people withinthe group to public opinion. Ajinomotoheld stakeholder dialogues to seekexpert opinion on its CSR activities in2005. This time, more employees partic-ipated in the conversation. There are anumber of methods for developingemployee CSR awareness, and directcontact with stakeholders is one of themost effective methods. It has immedi-ate impact and the stakeholder inputcan be reflected quickly in businessactivities. Going forward, Ajinomoto willstrive to give more and more employees opportunities to have direct encounterswith public opinion.

It is easier for employees to grasp the essence of CSR and see what can beaccomplished when training is tailored to their own business sectors. To developsuch approaches, mini-workshops were held by function in the businessadministration, research, plant operations, and marketing organizations.

At the workshops, a variety of views on CSR were expressed. It became apparentthat, when issues arise in the course of CSR activities, it is sometimes difficult toarrive at a complete consensus on the best way forward. Some participants called forCSR to be more clearly positioned vis-a-vis other future programs in areas such ascorporate ethics, environmental conservation and quality assurance. In response,Ajinomoto is now reviewing how its CSR framework can best incorporate all initiativesthat are already underway in each department.

Follow up: Input studied and mini-workshops held todevelop approaches for enhancing CSR awareness

Page 12: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

11 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Communicating with the Public about CSR

Ajinomoto Holds Stakeholder Dialogue on the Improvement of Customer Satisfaction

Closing the awareness gap withcustomers

In October 2006, the Ajinomoto Grouplooked into the possibility that theremight be a gap between customerawareness and the customer satisfac-tion policies that the group has beenpursuing for its household products. Thecompany held a stakeholder dialogue onimproving customer satisfaction, wherethe customer satisfaction policies of theAjinomoto Group were examined byexternal stakeholders.

Yumiko Matsudaira of NikkeiBusiness Publications, Inc., served asmoderator for the event, and opinions

were provided by five outside expertsincluding a consumer group representa-tive, a newspaper reporter, and an envi-ronmental business consultant. FiveAjinomoto Group representatives alsoparticipated in the discussion, includingthe director in charge of CSR, and repre-sentatives from the Customer ServiceCenter, marketing department, salesdepartment, and a production plant. Inaddition, 30 employees from depart-ments deeply involved with ensuringcustomer satisfaction were invited toobserve the conversation.

Main opinions voiced

■Raw materials and additivesHasegawa: Even if raw materials areprocured from outside Japan, if the rea-sons and corporate policies are solid,they can be explained to consumers.The real question is whether consumershave confidence in the actions of the company.

Shimoyachi: The information provided toconsumers should be easy to under-stand. Also, in order to improve the neg-ative image people have of additives,you need to convey the proper aware-ness to consumers. The AjinomotoGroup really must take a leadership rolein the food products industry.

Kojima: As consumers often receiveunsettling or frightening information fromthe media, perhaps you should holdpress seminars every year to educatethe media about your products, includ-ing umami seasoning.

Suzuki: Discussing the advantages anddisadvantages of additives, and gainingthe understanding of consumers, areboth part of bui lding a sustainablelifestyle infrastructure for consumers.

■Promoting awareness of customersatisfaction within the company

Furuya: You need to break away fromactivit ies focused on the CustomerService Center, if you want to invigorate

your efforts to promote customer satis-faction. There is a limit to the benefits ofjust gathering customer comments andsupplying them internally as feedback.The sales, marketing and other depart-ments need to create standards andrules that aim to improve customer satis-faction, and then apply them consis-tently. This is the best way to reform thecorporate system to achieve heightenedawareness of customer satisfactionthroughout the workforce.

Hasegawa: It seems that you make a lotof effort for “customers” per se, in orderto improve customer satisfaction, but itis not apparent what kind of approachesyou are making to general consumers

Scenes from the dialogue.

Kimihiko Hasegawa, General Manager,Customer Service Center, Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Tsutomu Miura, Member of the Board &Corporate Senior Vice President, Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Motoaki Nishii, General Manager, Food SalesAdministration Department, Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Takaaki Nishii, General Manager, Retail ProductsBusiness Group, Marketing Department,Ajinomoto Frozen Foods Co., Inc.

Atsushi Wada, General Manager, Kawasaki Plant,Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

■Ajinomoto Group representatives

Panelists

Page 13: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

12Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

who have not purchased your products.How about communicating a clear mes-sage as a global company?

Kojima: Companies can sometimes beoverly influenced as they try to pleasethe wide variety of different consumers,so as a food products manufacturer,why not try to educate them instead?

■PackagingFuruya: The printing on your packagingis very small, as it is on the products of

all manufacturers. To be honest, I can-not read the packages when I ampreparing food in my kitchen. Youshould also consider the colors you usein order to make packages more legible.

Shimoyachi: It would be a good idea toadopt the principles of universal designwhen determining print size and coloring.

■Aiming for a sustainable societySuzuki: I think you should make prod-ucts that give consumers peace of mind

by relieving their guilt over the environ-mental impact of their lifestyle. Customersshould be able to pick up any of yourproducts and realize that they have donesomething good for the environment.

Hasegawa: You have not specificallystated what the Ajinomoto Group will doin order to realize the Ajinomoto GroupVision for CSR Achievements by 2020.To establish a concrete plan to achievethese targets, you will need to have aclear vision of a sustainable society.

Masami KojimaSenior Staff Writer, Living & Domestic News Dept.The Mainichi Newspapers

Fujiko ShimoyachiAdministrative Director,Japan Association ofConsumer Affairs Specialists

Atsuko SuzukiPresident, Environmental BusinessAgency Co., Ltd.

Tomoe HasegawaDirector, Nippon Consumers Voicefor Better Standards (NPO)

Yukiko FuruyaPermanent Director, Nippon Association ofConsumer Specialists

Yumiko MatsudairaProducer, EcomomNikkei BusinessPublications, Inc.

■Outside experts ■Moderator

Panelists

In the background, employees from departments closely linked to customer service participate as observers.

In the recent dialogue on the topic ofcustomer satisfaction, we exchangedopinions with very knowledgeable out-side experts on issues related to con-sumers. The experience reminded me ofthe importance of always taking the con-sumer’s perspective when thinkingabout products or designing new initia-tives. At the same time, it was beneficialto learn that there were also differingopinions and approaches among the

experts, and various ways for compa-nies to achieve the important goals theyidentified. The Ajinomoto Group haswon the support of many consumersacross several generations, as demon-strated by the success of its businessover the years. Going forward, we willemphasize communication with all con-sumers, and continue to work to ensurethat the Ajinomoto Group is trusted forits integrity.

Engaging in dialogue:Acknowledging the importance of taking the customer’s perspective

KimihikoHasegawaGeneral Manager,Customer Service Center,Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Page 14: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

13 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Labeling and Use of Food Additives and GMOsPolicy and Initiatives of theAjinomoto Group

The Aj inomoto Group makes str ictchecks on the safety and usefulness offood additives and genetically modifiedorganisms (GMOs), and takes a firmstance against irresponsible labelingusing these terms.

In recent years, the number ofprocessed foods labeled as “AdditiveXX-free” or “No XX” on the market inJapan has increased (see box below). As a manufacturer of food products,Ajinomoto Co., Inc., strives to avoidlabel ing methods that may giveconsumers doubts about GMOs andfood additives recognized as safe basedon government standards and scien-tific research.

The company believes that invitingunnecessary confusion is not beneficial,especially for the consumer.

■ Food additivesIn addition to the enhancement of ourdietary lifestyles through better taste,aroma, nutritional content, and storagestability, food additives play an importantrole in the distribution and effective uti-lization of food resources. From the timewhen humans ate only raw and unsea-soned food, food additives have evolvedas a part of our food culture as wesearched for ways to prepare and pre-serve food for better taste, safety, andconvenience. Since food additives todayare consumed by millions of people, theyare subject to stringent testing to ensuretheir safety.

The Ajinomoto Group is guided bythe latest research on safety and otherissues in its choice of appropriate foodadditives for use in product developmentand manufacturing, and indicates theiruse on product packaging as requiredby law. Ajinomoto is committed to accu-rate labeling that is easy for consumersto understand.

■ Genetically modified organisms(GMOs)

GMOs represent an important technolo-gy that is expected to play a huge role inthe alleviation of environmental problemsand food shortages, including the reduc-tion of pesticide use in farming by givingcrops an inherent resistance to harmfulinsects. At the same time, it is alsoimportant to thoroughly check the safetyof GMO foods.

In order to ensure food safety, strin-gent evaluation and approval for GMOsis currently being carried out in variouscountries. In Japan, such safety inspec-tion is performed by the Food SafetyCommission of the Cabinet Office andthe Ministry of Health, Labour, andWelfare. Labeling standards have beenestablished in order to provide the nec-essary information to consumers, andAjinomoto Co., Inc., faithfully complieswith these standards.

The Ajinomoto Group also has its owndetection technology in order to prevent

The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) authorized faircompetition rules for dressings in March 2007, and for soy saucein Apri l the same year. When establ ishing the rules andregulations, the matter of labels that say “No Additives” or “No XXAdded” in particular brought out a number of different views.Consumer organizations and related business organizations wereof the opinion that the fundamental rule of labeling is to label whatis used in the product. They said that “No Additives” labels shouldnot be approved because they cause misunderstanding amongconsumers about safety and quality. A representative of agovernment ministry also said that “No Additives” labels are notnecessary and should not be approved because consumers areprovided with sufficient information through the laws andregulations on food labeling.

As a result, the JFTC expressed its position on “No Additives”and similar labeling when authorizing the rules. The JFTC notedthat a “No XX Added” label is not in itself a misleadingrepresentation when it is expressing a fact, but stated that thistype of label still needs to be regulated in line with appropriateusage standards because it might become misleading for theconsumer when it is coupled with other labels.

This led to two fair competition rules requiring the names offood additives to be clearly shown, and prohibiting the use of a“No XX Added” label when any carry-over materials or processing-aids from the additives are contained. Examples of misleadingrepresentation were also given, including: (1) labels that do notclearly state the names of the ingredients which are not used, e.g.,a label that uses a general claim like “No Additives”; (2) labels thatseem to indicate that additives are not used at all, when actuallyonly certain additives are not used; (3) and labels that claim anadvantage for the product due to the fact that certain ingredientsare not used by saying “XX Not Used,” but which provide norational basis for such a claim.

Accordingly, labels that only state things like “No SyntheticPreservatives Added,” “No Synthetic Colors Added,” and “NoChemical Seasonings Added” may be considered misleading,since they do not clearly state the specific names of the ingredi-ents that are not added. In addition, labels that say such items arenot used may also fit the definition of misleading representationwhenever they do not also state a rational basis for the advantageto consumers of the product not containing those items.

Japanese trends in fair competition rules and food labels that use phrases such as “No Additives”

Page 15: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

14Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

inadvertent contamination by ingredientscontaining unapproved GMOs.

■ Technologies for detecting GMO contamination

Ajinomoto manages GMO materials byseparating them from non-GMO materi-als at the production, distribution, andprocessing stages, as well as attachingdocumentation of GMO material checksdone under identity preserved handling.

Ajinomoto Co., Inc., ensures that identi-ty preserved handling is performed cor-rectly and has established in-houseanalysis techniques to check for contami-nation with unapproved GMO materials.

DNA is extracted from food productsand analyzed to check for geneticallymodif ied sections and determinewhether the product has been contami-nated with unapproved GMO materials.

Inspection for unapproved GMO materials

*PCR: Polymerase chain reaction. A molecular biology method for greatly amplifying fragments of DNA sequences.

4. PCR amplification* and electrophoresis (analyze whether modified DNA is present)

5. Determination (based on the results of analysis, determine whether there is contamination from unapproved GMO materials)

3. DNA extraction (extract sections of DNA)

2. Pre-processing (make the DNA easy to extract from the food product)

1. Material preparation (prepare the food product to be inspected)

The Ajinomoto Group constantly strives to find further possibilities for

amino acids. Based on scientific data, the group is trying to promote

a correct understanding of amino acids through several activities.

In March 2007, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., held the Science Camp for

the third time at its laboratories. This is a hands-on science program

for high school students sponsored by the Japan Science and

Technology Agency, with the Japan Science Foundation as its

organizer. On the first day, a lecture on amino acids was given,

followed by hands-on experiments—extracting, separating and

crystallizing glutamic acid from konbu (kelp). On the second day,

students analyzed the crystals and confirmed that they were glutamic

acid by comparing them to a standard sample.

Ajinomoto Co., Inc., hopes the young generations will become

interested in science and gain a better understanding of the

Ajinomoto Group as well through these hands-on science programs

and interactions with the company’s researchers.

Science Camp for high school students

Experiment to extract glutamic acid.

Page 16: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

15 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

CSR at Ajinomoto,from the Perspective of Each Business

Highlight 1: Presidents of the Three Internal Companies Speak

The Ajinomoto Group established its CSR Vision in September 2005. To gain more insight into itsprogress, we invited the heads of the three internal companies—the Food Products Company, AminoAcids Company, and Pharmaceutical Company—to describe how the group’s CSR Vision is applied ineach of their businesses.1

Food Products Business Pursuing Customer Satisfaction through Accurate Communication and the ContinuingQuest for Great Taste

Building relationships of trustthrough interactivecommunication designed fromthe customer’s point of view

As a manufacturer of food products, theAjinomoto Group must disseminateclear, accurate information that dispelsany concerns customers may haveabout its food products in order to buildrelationships of trust with them. AtAjinomoto, there is no product informa-tion that we cannot share with cus-tomers. We recognize that we mustremain committed to communicatingappropriate information in a timely man-ner when interacting with customers.

Food safety and consumer peace ofmind are so important that there isalways some way to make furtherprogress. For instance, people do notfeel completely at ease just becauseinformation provided rationally demon-strates that a product is reliable. That iswhy Ajinomoto designs and implementsnumerous ways of communicating withcustomers to help relieve their anxiety.These include making package labelingclear, posting detailed information on thethe group’s website, and conductingplant tours.

Ajinomoto manufactures its products atits own plants, where it can closely mon-itor the whole process. In addition to thepurchase of various raw materials, thegroup has started to manufacture keyraw materials at its own plants, and hasalso taken initiatives for greater in-houseproduction by supporting the quality

management of producers and the pri-mary processors of raw materials.Ajinomoto is aiming to establish a valuechain of improved quality by building anintegrated system that extends its watchnot only to what goes on in productmanufacturing plants, but also to all thesites where raw materials are produced.

Establishing a value chain that extends the group’s careful watchto raw material origins

Employees enjoying lunch at S.A. Ajinomoto OmniChem N.V. (Belgium).

Sharing product information—Essential to foodsafety and consumer peace of mind

Page 17: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

‘‘’’

16Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Communicating the importanceof enjoying great taste

It is important for the company to obtainclear information on how its products areused in the daily lives of customers afterthey purchase them. Products fromAjinomoto are not an end in themselves;they are always turned into prepareddishes and eaten. The company needsto communicate plentiful information,including how to use its products so asto get the most nutritional benefit. Thereis a reason people feel hungry; it is a mes-sage that says the body needs nutrients.The key understanding to have is that thefood people eat becomes the nutrientsthat nourish their bodies. Ajinomotoneeds to do more to disseminate thistype of information—that is, what eatingmeans for the body and why it is soimportant to experience food as flavorfuland delicious.

Employees enjoying lunch at S.A. Ajinomoto OmniChem N.V. (Belgium).

Example of package labeling: Ajinomoto KK Consomme (21-cube box)

Back

Front

The world is currently facing a variety ofchallenges, including an increasingpopulation, climate change, rising seatemperatures, and energy shortages.Securing a steady, sustainable supplyof raw materials is an important issuefor the Food Products Company.

Ajinomoto helps commercial farms toincrease their crop yields and alsodevises ways to use raw materials with-out waste. When making dried bonito,the raw material for Hon-Dashi ®, for

instance, the company uses the bonesas a raw material for nutritional productsfeaturing calcium and the internalorgans as livestock feed and fertilizer.Making thorough use of raw materialswhen commercializing products is oneof the important roles Ajinomoto shouldplay (see pages 23 to 26).

Securing a steady, sustainable supply of raw materials, and utilizing them without waste

I want people all over the world to understand the true significance of eating—that enjoying greattasting food is good for the body and mind.

(April 9, 2007 interview)

Masatoshi ItoPresident, Food Products Company

Member of the Board & Corporate Senior Vice President, Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

The package labeling of Ajinomoto KK Consomme (21-cube box) provides accurate information, regarding productname, raw materials, volume, best before date, preservation method and name of producer or retailer; nutritionalcontent; recycling method; and materials in containers and packaging; and information on which, if any, of 25 standardpotentially allergenic ingredients are contained.

Page 18: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

17 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Gaining peace of mindby seeing how foodproducts are made

The Kids Tasting Adventure (plant tours)

The most reliable way to know whether food products are safe and dependable is to check for yoursel f. The aim of plant tours at the A j inomoto Group is to enab le peop le to observe, exper ience, and understand the production process for products—from the growing of raw materials through production to quality control.

Food and nutrition educationprograms expanding

Cooking classes and food contests held by group companies outside Japan, and other activities

The objectives of food education:Contributing to society through food-related initiatives

Since Japan’s Basic Law on FoodEducation came into effect in July 2005,the general public’s interest in shokuiku—which literally means “food education”—has been steadily increasing.

Nutritional education is an ideal wayto realize what is prescribed by theAjinomoto Group Philosophy; it is asocial role that the Ajinomoto Group isdetermined to fulfill.

Food is the core business area of theAjinomoto Group. Ajinomoto is confidentthat it possesses an abundance ofknowledge that is useful for educatingthe public about nutrition and food. The Ajinomoto Group is committed tohelping to solve social challenges byapplying its knowledge as effectively aspossible. In addition, through its partici-pation in educational initiatives, the

group is giving its employees a sense ofself-confidence and pride.

Food and Nutrition Education ProjectPolicy established

In the spring of 2006, the AjinomotoGroup launched a taskforce to focus ondefining the best food education initia-tives for Ajinomoto to take. In March2007, Ajinomoto put together an educa-tional policy consisting of the followingfour points:

(1) Continuous engagement in food andnutrition education initiatives, empha-sizing employee participation;

(2) Integrated group-wide efforts witheffective use of managementresources of the Ajinomoto Group;

(3) Emphasis on scientific basis, knowl-edge, and rationality; and

(4) Cooperation with society, includingoutside experts and organizations.

Food and Nutrition Education at the Ajinomoto GroupGreat taste is the key to the future

Under the slogan, “Great taste is the key to the future,” the Ajinomoto Group has decided on the following basic vision of food education.

Great taste is the key to the future.At the Ajinomoto Group, we will continue to promote initiatives

that emphasize the value of delicious taste.

Great taste brings smiles to people’s faces and raises their spirits.Food that is prepared with nutrition, balance, and those who will enjoy it in mind serves as a rich foundation for the future and gives happiness to those who eat it.

The phrase “great taste” means pleasure for the body and the soul.

We want to communicate the basics of great taste. We want people to experience wonderful tastes.

We always want to appreciate nature as the source of all the pleasures of taste,and to value all the food cultures of the world.

And, we want to think together with others about the future of great taste, to create it together, and to pass it on for future generations to enjoy.

It has been about 100 years since the discovery of the essence of umami. Since then, we have continued to make products

that reflect the fact that enjoyment of delicious food builds health.We will continue to expand our food education initiatives,

with a constant focus on the value of great taste,while remaining true to the unique nature of the Ajinomoto Group.

Highlight 1 CSR at Ajinomoto, from the Perspective of Each Business

Ajinomoto Offers a Unique Approach to Shokuiku(Food and Nutrition Education and Promotion)

Page 19: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

18Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Promoting a deeperappreciation of eating

How Ajinomoto approachesfood and nutrition education

The Food Garden

Encouraging familyfun in the kitchen

Beginner’s Cooking School

Taste Seminars

Sharing the enjoymentof a healthy diet

Nutrition education activities at sales locations

The Food Garden is an educational program for elementary school children. This hands-on food education program gives children the chance to learn about the importance of healthy food and to appreciate people and nature more. They learn all this by direct experience with growing their own vegetables, harvesting them, and finally preparing and eating the food themselves. In fiscal 2006, 8,066 people (including teachers) at 87 schools throughout Japan participated in the program. The participating schools are developing their own food education classes that expand on this program.

Ajinomoto started the Beginner’s Cooking School with the aim of encouraging family fun in the kitchen and the importance of home cooking. The Beginner’s Cooking School travels around Japan with Cooking Boxes—portable cooking stands equipped with a sink and gas burner—for each student. Veteran instructors from Aj inomoto with var ious backgrounds teach students cooking, starting from the basics, such as how to properly use knives and cut vegetables.

Ajinomoto hopes to increase children’s interest in food and encourage them to think that “food is fun” by teaching the secrets of taste that go into making delicious meals. It was this desire that led Ajinomoto to hold Taste Seminars, where children can enjoy themselves learning about taste and what makes flavors delicious. The Seminars also include catering classes with expert instructors and offers plant tours. As part of this effort, Ajinomoto has also prepared pamphlets for lower, middle, and upper elementary school students about dashi (bonito stock) and umami, which are used as texts at the Taste Seminars.

A j inomoto wants customers to enjoy foods made with healthy, in-season, ingredients. With that d e s i r e i n m i n d , t h e c o m pa ny provides menu suggestions based on balanced diet guides at sales locations. It also conducts cooking classes with par tner cl ients and offers plant tours.

Ajinomoto provides useful information on its website. The company is also preparing a Food Education Library with information on the food cultures of Japan and other countries around the world.

Supporting great taste

Cookbook for making basic homemade dishes

Learning the secrets ofgreat taste

Food and nutritioneducation that cherishesthe value of “great taste”

Page 20: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

19 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Highlight 1 CSR at Ajinomoto, from the Perspective of Each Business

Amino Acids BusinessExploring the Usefulness of Amino Acids

An Internal Company President Speaks

Determined to communicatethe virtues of amino acids, and to benefit as many peopleas possible

Amino acids, the source of umami, areused not only in foods, but also in thehealth, pharmaceutical, and beautyfields, among others. As the basic build-ing blocks of l ife, they are certainlyamong nature’s most wonderful gifts,and there is no doubt that many benefi-cial applications remain to be discov-ered. From the scientific perspectivetoday, the potential of amino acidsseems nearly infinite.

It can be stated with certainty, how-ever, that amino acids are essential tohumanity. In recent years, the number ofamino acid experts has grown alongwith the continued emphasis Ajinomotohas given this field, indicating that thegroup has won understanding for itsemphasis on amino acids. This hashelped to build a solid foundation forbroadening the scope of applications foramino acids in the future.

Currently, Japan, Europe and theUnited States are the main recipients ofthe benefits of amino acids for pharma-ceuticals. It is the task of the AminoAcids Company to communicate thevirtues of amino acids to people theworld over, and to make it possible foreveryone to benefit from them, not justthose in the developed world.

In recent years, bioethanol, which isderived from plants such as sugarcane and corn, has been in the spot-light as crude oil prices skyrocket andconcern for the natural environmentincreases. The raw materials used toproduce bioethanol are the same rawmaterials used to manufacture aminoacids. In coming years, the issues ofsecuring these precious raw materialsand effectively using them will growin importance.

The Amino Acid Company recog-nizes that it has a responsibil ity toensure a stable supply of products tocustomers by developing technology toimprove productivity, conducting

research on new raw materials, andother efforts.

Measures that take the upstreamaspects of raw material supply intoaccount are also important. Theseinclude working with the farmers whocultivate the crops that serve as the fer-mentation raw materials for makingamino acids to provide them with know-how for increasing crop yields, includingutilizing fertilizers and livestock feedmade from amino acid by-products.Such activities also help reduce theimpact on ecosystems and contributeto a stable livelihood for commercialfarmers (see pages 43 to 48).

Concern over competition for amino acid raw materials as fuel—Securing a stable supply through productivity technologies and thedevelopment of new raw materials

FD Green (Thai land) Co., Ltd., a special izedsubsidiary whose main business is the effectiveutilization of by-products in the agricultural sector, isnow working with farmers to help them increase thecrop yield of raw materials for fermentation.

In the cassava fields.

Page 21: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

‘‘’’

20Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

In the HR Values of the AjinomotoGroup, it says, “the future of Ajinomotois you.” This is a reality at all of thegroup’s organizations. People whowork at Ajinomoto have grown accus-tomed to a culture of mutual respect,and the group boasts an extremely highretention rate everywhere it operates.

Ajinomoto recently celebrated the50th anniversary of its companies in the

United States and Brazil. These 50years were possible thanks to the con-sistent support of the local communitieswhere we operate and each of ouremployees (see page 41).

Ajinomoto is determined to share theusefulness of amino acids with as manypeople as possible, while winning thecooperation of our community partnersand employees from around the world.

Building a culture that values people and is supported by community partners and employees

CSR basics: Protecting the environment and ensuring occupational safety

The production of amino acids uses largeamounts of water. The Ajinomoto Grouphas established its own wastewater stan-dards and makes thorough efforts to ensureit cleans the water it uses before returningit to the environment. The group also hasits own standards regarding CO2. Thesestandards are uniform worldwide through-out the group, and they have strength-ened the group’s environmental measuresto minimize all types of environmentalimpact produced in every business field.

The Amino Acids Company has alsobeen focusing on occupational safety asa top priority in recent years. We realizethat actions speak louder than wordswhen it comes to corporate responsibili-ty, and safety must come first. Goingforward, the company will continue tostrengthen its systems for ensuringemployee safety by conducting a varietyof safety training programs.

Ajinomoto is striving to enhance theusefulness of amino acids and share theirbenefits with people around the world.

Amino acids are essential to humanity, and theirpotential is infinite. It is my sincere wish that peoplearound the world would understand their usefulnessand enjoy all of their many benefits. (April 5, 2007 interview)

Yasufumi YanagiharaPresident, Amino Acids Company

Member of the Board & Corporate Senior Vice President, Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Left: Project participants. Middle: Presentation in a village in the suburbs of Accra, the site of the pilot project.Bottom: Fufu, a typical food in Ghana.

Lysine ProjectIn cooperation with the United Nations University andother organizations, the Ajinomoto Group had con-firmed that the nutritional and health status of childrenin developing countries where protein intake is insuffi-cient could be improved, and their growth promoted,by fortifying their diet with lysine, an amino acid.

Starting in the current fiscal year, a lysine fortifica-tion pilot project in Ghana in West Africa has beenkicked off with the collaboration of University ofGhana and the Noguchi Memorial Institute forMedical Research. The Europe & Africa Division isserving as the point of contact for the project. Soupsand steamed yam, cassava, grains, and the like (seephoto at left) are the staple foods in Ghana. There arehigh hopes that the lysine supplementation will resultin nutritional improvement.

Page 22: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

21 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Pharmaceuticals BusinessHelping to Make Total Nutrition Care a Reality

Specializing in business areaswhere Ajinomoto can make themost of its strengths

Glutamic acid can be utilized in the phar-maceutical field because we are nowable to extract extremely pure glutamicacid. Ajinomoto is working to developevidence-based drugs focusing onamino acids, and moving forward withresearch in its fields of expertise, includ-ing research related to the liver, kidneys,and digestive organs.

The Pharmaceutical Company iscontributing to society, not as a majordrug company, but as a specializedpharmaceutical firm that leverages thefields where the Ajinomoto Group hasunique expertise.

It is now known that glutamic acid, thesource of the umami taste, not onlyenhances flavor but also promotesdigestion. Scientists have discoveredthat digestive organs such as the stom-ach, small intestine, and large intestinehave taste receptors just like the tongue.

It has been empirically demonstratedthat including glutamic acid in a semi-solid food in the nutritional intake of

patients who cannot take nourishmentby mouth improves their digestion. Thiscan lead to a dramatically improvedquality of life for people who sufferfrom disease.

Glutamic acid not only offers theexperience of great tasting food toeveryone; it also supports the nutritionalsustenance of people in need of med-ical care.

Glutamic acid is improving health and medical care

Contributing to better health as a specialized pharmaceutical firm

Employee meets with a medical professional.

Highlight 1 CSR at Ajinomoto, from the Perspective of Each Business

An Internal Company President Speaks

Page 23: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

22Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Helping to make total nutritioncare a reality

Everyone wants to be healthy. Just as itis important to heal people who havefallen ill, it is also vital to help people tomaintain good health and enjoy their lives.

After discovering pharmaceuticalappl ications for amino acids, theAjinomoto Group is now conductingresearch targeting the development ofpharmaceuticals based on amino acids,which are naturally present in the bodiesof all creatures including human beings.The group has a broad focus—totalnutritional care (TNC), which extendsnutrition management to both the pre-vention of and recovery from disease,and does not focus solely on pharma-ceuticals for medical treatment.

Ajinomoto aspires to grow into acompany that contributes not only togreat taste, but also to better health. Ourgoal is to ensure that all the productsmade by the Ajinomoto Group con-tribute to health.

Traditional Japanese meal comes with rice, soup, and three side dishes.Photo: Umami Manufacturers Association of Japan

Japan has one of the world’s highestlongevity rates. The Japanese diet hasbeen widely recognized as one of theworld’s healthiest. At Ajinomoto, webelieve that we can scientifically eluci-date the reasons that Japan’s traditionalfood culture has these benefits andthen disseminate them worldwide.

Food and medicine both nourish lifeand preserve health. Ajinomoto is com-mitted to working for the health of peo-ple throughout the world, because werecognize that good food is good medi-cine, and vice versa. We will continue topursue better flavor and health with ourextensive capabilities as a manufacturerof food products.

Equally committed to both great taste and to health—because good food is good medicine

Research and development is an extremely creativeactivity, like an art. Along the way, there are manyfailures and few successes. Research at the AjinomotoGroup is driven by a pioneering spirit and a desire tocreate new businesses. (April 5, 2007 interview)

Tomoyasu ToyodaPresident, Pharmaceutical Company

Member of the Board & Corporate Vice President, Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Significance of health maintenance and disease prevention in total nutritional care

Healthy Somewhathealthy Ill After

illness

Maintenanceand

improvementof health

FunctionalrecoveryTreatmentPreventionReduction

of risk of illness

Total nutritional care

Diagnosis (support) technology

Pharmaceuticals /Advanced medical care

Nursing care,etc.

(Tailor-made medical care)

Functional food

Food products

(Tailor-made food products)

Prevention /Drugs

Medicalcare Nursing food

‘‘’’

Page 24: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

23 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

A Backstage Visit to the Makingof Hon-Dashi®

Highlight 2: Food Safety

The Ajinomoto Group does everything it can to ensure the safety of Hon-Dashi®, a seasoning used tomake Japanese-style stock, and the company’s leading product in Japan. What follows is a completereport on how Hon-Dashi® is made, highlighting the considerations that go into the process, from theprocurement of raw materials to the delivery of products to customers. 2

Working to Ensure That the World Always Has Fish to EatIn response to the exhaustion of marine resources and reckless fishing in some places,efforts have begun the world over to protect the ocean environment and to utilize marineresources sustainably. The Ajinomoto Group is looking into initiatives that start all the wayupstream at the protection of bonito resources, to ensure the sustainable utilization ofdried bonito, a major ingredient in Hon-Dashi®.

The making of Hon-Dashi ®

Repeat

Sele

ct fi

sh

Deep

free

ze

Thaw

Clea

n an

d cu

t

Arra

nge

inm

etal

bas

kets

Boil

Stan

d to

coo

l, tr

im

Insp

ect f

orfo

reig

n m

atte

r

Smok

e

Dry

inst

eam

ing

bask

etsProduction

(dried bonito)

Ajinomoto is particular about the bonito it usesas a raw material. It only procures the choicestbonito landed at Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefectureand Makurazaki, Kagoshima Prefecture,carefully selecting good quality fish with littlefat that is perfect for making into dried bonito.

Bonito are carefully selected forquality, and pieces with flaws areexcluded in order to ensure good-quality dried bonito is made. Thesorted fish is then stored at -30°C topreserve freshness.

Ajinomoto uses thinned oak andsawtooth oak as firewood. Itmakes delicious Hon-Dashi ®

while effectively utilizing limitedresources.

Ensuring product safety andquality through carefulprocessing of raw materials

Ensuring the safety of raw materials isone of the most fundamental and impor-tant efforts being undertaken byAjinomoto. Great care is taken to removeforeign matter that the bonito may haveswallowed while swimming in the ocean.From the production of reliable driedbonito materials to the time the finishedHon-Dashi® is placed on retail shelves,Ajinomoto makes a consistent effort toensure quality and safety.

Procuring safe, high-qualitydried bonito

The Ajinomoto Group works hard toensure that suppliers of the dried bonitoit uses to make Hon-Dashi® understandthe group’s thorough approach to qualitymanagement. During this process,Ajinomoto builds relationships of mutualtrust, making it possible to continuallyprocure safe, high-quality bonito.

Using the whole fish

A number of by-products are producedin the making of dried bonito. Ajinomotoeffectively utilizes these precious marineresources. The bones, for example, areused as a raw material in nutritional prod-ucts featuring calcium, and the head andinternal organs are used in livestock feedand fertilizer. Ajinomoto believes thatcomplete use of raw materials, wastingnothing, is also one of its responsibilities.

Page 25: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

24Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Production

Mix

Crus

h

Knea

d

Gran

uliz

e

Dry

Sift

Quality assurance and quality control

Information on the raw materials used,production process records, productsamples, and product analysis results arekept at plants and used to ensure stableproduction and quality. These recordsare also maintained to ensure traceabil-ity—that is, so that products and rawmaterials used can be identified whencustomers provide feedback or haverequests (see page 31).

The production of Hon-Dashi® startsby finely crushing the carefully madedried bonito. The production line is con-trolled as a clean environment to makeHon-Dashi® at the most suitable tem-perature and humidity and ensure thatextraneous material does not get mixedin. Multiple sieves, magnets, and metaldetectors are used to watch for extra-neous material and ensure that onlysafe product is manufactured. Clean

clothes are required for entry; air showersand thorough hand-washing are usedto keep the plant clean. Raw materialsalso pass through an air shower whenbrought in to prevent the entry of extra-neous material.

Making safe,high-quality Hon-Dashi®

Raw materials and their intended use

•Seasoning (amino acids, etc.): The full flavor of the driedbonito is brought out with seasonings, mainlymonosodium glutamate, the umami amino acid.

•Bonito extract: Bonito is well boiled during the process ofmaking dried bonito. The fish stock from this process isconcentrated and used for its rich bonito flavor.

•Yeast extract: A yeast extract made from bread yeast isused to give a rich flavor.

•Lactose: Lactose is used to granulize the Hon-Dashi®.Lactose is refined from milk.

Side

Page 26: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

25 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Highlight 2 Food Safety—A Backstage Visit to the Making of Hon-Dashi®

Strict inspection of finished product

The finished product is put through rigor-ous inspections to check for safety andhigh-quality standards. These include asafety inspection for microorganisms, aconstituent inspection for flavor balance,and human inspection in which carefullytrained taste testers check aroma, flavor,and taste. Only product that has passedall these inspections is packaged anddelivered to customers.

Plant tours

Ajinomoto invites visitors to come seehow it manufactures safe, high-qualityHon-Dashi® at its plants. At the newKawasaki Plant of Ajinomoto Co., Inc., thecompany has created a plant tour pro-gram (scheduled to begin in September),which includes product tasting, based onthe concepts of “the real thing,” “Japanesestyle,” and “hospitality.” The company willcontinue to come up with new ways tohelp customers enjoy themselves whilelearning how it makes great products(see page 41).

Diligent storage to prevent lossof quality

It is also the job of Ajinomoto to ensureno loss of quality between the time aproduct is made and the time it is placedon the retail shelf. The Kawasaki distrib-ution center on the site of the KawasakiPlant, which boasts state-of-the-artfacilities, thoroughly controls productlogistics based on the company’s ownlogistics standards. Special care is takenwhen shipping products to ensureAjinomoto always supplies customerswith the freshest products.

Reducing CO2 emissionsduring transport

Ajinomoto is pursuing the reduction ofCO2 emissions during product transportby proactively selecting environmentallyfriendly transportation means (which iscalled “modal shift”). Specifically, thegroup is focusing on rail container trans-port, which generates only one eighth theCO2 emissions of transportation by truck,and is working to expand the areaswhere it is implementing the modal shift(see the Ajinomoto Group EnvironmentalReport 2007 ).

It is our job to continuously guarantee a

high level of quality. We approach all of

our work from the consumer’s point of

view, and do our utmost to deliver safe,

high-quality products.

Opinion ofquality controlpersonnel

Atsuko NagakuraMicrooganism InspectionGroup Leader,Quality Control Group No. 2,Kawasaki Plant, Food ProductsCompany, Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Production

Chec

k qu

alit

y

Stor

e

Tran

spor

t

Pack

age

Fini

sh

Eco Rail Mark(Approved forthree companies in May 2005)

New plant tour facilityexpected to open in September.

31-ft.container, ready for delivery to trainyard.

Product storage and retrieval.

Page 27: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

26Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Communicating with customersvia package labeling

Ajinomoto is careful to label its productsclearly to communicate all the informa-tion needed to relieve customers of anyuncertainty when purchasing and usingits products (figure at right). Exaggeratedadvertising has been in the news latelyfor its impact on society. Ajinomoto Co.,Inc., goes beyond making sure that allexpressions comply with laws and regu-lations; it makes an extra effort to ensurecompletely clear labeling. For example, itlists all 20 standard potential allergenswhose labeling is recommended, not justthe five allergens whose labeling ismandatory. The company also listens tothe opinions of customers who actuallyuse its products, making the most oftheir feedback to improve flavor, contain-ers, and packaging.

CustomersUs

e

Purc

hase

Dis

pose

Ajinomoto undertakes environmental ini-tiatives at every step of the processfrom the selection of packaging materi-als for use in containers through theireventual disposal. These efforts includethe standardization of packaging mate-rials as well as designs that make it eas-ier for customers to crush packages fordisposal or recycling (see the AjinomotoGroup Environmental Report 2007 ). Inaddition to selling some products inrefillable containers, Ajinomoto Co., Inc.,

has also improved its bottled items,making them easier to open. The compa-ny also includes Braille (on Hon-Dashi®

bottled items) to assist customers withvisual disabilities.

Creating containers and packages that are environmentally friendlyand easy for people to use

SideAs people’s awareness of healthincreases, customers have com-mented that they would like tohave less salt in products. Inresponse, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., tooka new look at its flavoring.

Ajinomoto responded to theopinions received from customers.

New Hon-Dashi® (for September release)

• Customer ServiceCenter

• This package canbe folded easilyby opening thepackage hereafter use.

• List of 25 allergenicingredients

• 60g bottle,suitable for refill.

• Explanation ofthe dried bonitoused as aningredient

Back

• Sample recipe

Recycling information.

Page 28: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

27 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Building a CompanyThat People Are Happy to Work For

Highlight 3: Listening to Employees

The Ajinomoto Group treats its employees as major stakeholders. Ajinomoto is committed to helpingall employees to realize their full potential as individuals, and is also striving to build workenvironments that enable its diverse employees to experience the fulfillment of working together as aneffective, united team.3

With the recent enactment of Japan’sLaw on the Promotion of Measures toSupport the Fostering of the NextGeneration, the Ajinomoto Group rec-ognizes the need to establish new poli-cies that help Ajinomoto to contribute tothe kind of healthy society it envisions.The group is determined to make all ofits workplaces more supportive ofemployees’ life goals, so that every per-son can work with enthusiasm.

Aj inomoto sees employees asimportant assets, and is now earnestly

considering how to further improve itsworking environments. Rather thanthrowing together a set of hasty mea-sures, Ajinomoto has decided to sitdown with employees and listen to theirhopes and dreams. The first step in thiseffort was a recently held round tablediscussion for employees at AjinomotoCo., Inc., which asked for their feed-back on the experience of working atthe company.

Responding to Japan’s New Legislation on Childcare and OtherAspects of Fostering the Next Generation

Japan’s new legislation on fosteringthe next generation

In July 2003, Japan’s Law on the Promo-tion of Measures to Support the Fosteringof the Next Generation was enacted.Today’s rapidly declining birthrate in Japanraises concerns of a severe negativeimpact on the Japanese economy andsociety. This new law clarifies the responsi-bilities of the national and regional govern-ments, employers, and citizens in order tocreate an environment that is conducive toraising a new generation of healthy chil-dren. Accordingly, the law also establishesrelevant targets along with intensive andsystematic policies to achieve these targetswithin ten years.

The Ajinomoto Group is taking a varietyof steps to help society to achieve thegoals of the new law.

Holding employee round table discussion

Ajinomoto Co., Inc., held an employeediscussion meeting in March 2007 aspart of its efforts to achieve the goals ofJapan’s new legislation on fostering thenext generation. The meeting wasdesigned to ascertain the actual situationof both workplace and home environ-ments, as well as to confirm the ade-quacy of each company programintended to support employees in findinga work/family balance. It also askedemployees to provide advice on the kindof vision needed to create a companythat people are happy to work for. Therewere nine participants at the meetingincluding men and women, regularemployees and managers, as well aspersons using the support programsand those planning to use them.Participants exchanged views on thetopic of creating a company where everyemployee can excel while balancingboth work and family responsibilities.

Main Opinions

Nine participants from Ajinomoto Co., Inc. Moderator: Ayako Sonoda, Cre-en Inc.

Support programs atAjinomoto Co., Inc.

Programs are sufficientIndividual efforts are sufficient

Using the programsSuperiors are understandingUsing a program is stressful (superior lacks appreciation for theprogram, and there is a sense of letting coworkers down)

Balancing work andfamily life

Want to do my best at both career and raising childrenUltimately one or the other must be chosen

Desired future model forthe Ajinomoto Group

A corporate culture that allows everyone to balance work and familyA vigorous company that can operate around the world

Page 29: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

28Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Ajinomoto Group Policy onFostering the Next Generation

In recent years, the Japanese govern-ment has introduced various policies forpromoting better workplaces and improv-ing the labor environment. Addressingthese changes, the Ajinomoto Group isnot only complying with the new regula-tions but is working to clearly articulatethe initiatives it should take as a com-pany. Ajinomoto will also establish basicpolices, identify specific initiatives, andset up a schedule in order to accomplishthe purposes of the concerned laws,making this entire effort a core part of itscorporate strategy.

Specific initiatives

•Building an employment environmentthat supports both work and familyresponsibilities

In order to eliminate the gaps in under-standing and application of the currentsystem, the issues of childcare and familycare are being incorporated into variouseducation programs, such as training forpromotion candidates and employees ateach level of the company. The aim is tofoster a corporate culture characterizedby a greater awareness of parenting,childcare and family care. The companyis asking labor and management to lookinto expanding the current system, inorder to improve the convenience ofprograms that support a healthy balanceof work and family life, and to buildmechanisms for problem resolutionbased on input from employees.•Considering working condition and

system reforms for all workplacesThe company is having labor and man-agement look into specific policies forthe reduction of total actual workinghours, starting with reduction of overtimework, and improvement of the rate atwhich employees take paid leave. Laborand management are also looking intointroducing new work styles into thehuman resources system.

Specifically, the target group for par-enting, childcare and family care pro-grams will be expanded from femaleemployees to include all employees. Thecompany will strive to create an environ-ment where any employee can continueto work while utilizing these programswithout hesitation, in order to enjoy ahealthy balance of work and family life.The company also aims to create mech-anisms for staff development that func-t ion even whi le employees are onchildcare or family care leave.

Group-wide management

With the rapid progress of globalization,the Ajinomoto Group—an enterprise witha worldwide presence—is charting astrategic course toward global-scalehuman resources development anddeployment. The group is taking the fol-lowing three steps to reach this goal.• Implementing a new policy on fostering

the next generation, group-wide•Promoting more frequent personnel

exchanges•Establishing a unified vision throughout

the Ajinomoto Group for parenting,childcare and family care programs

Ajinomoto Group Policy on Fostering the Next Generation

Basic approach

Ajinomoto Co., Inc., backs employeeswith the desire to grow and the intentionto remain employed while also takingneeded time off for maternity, parenting,or family care reasons. The companysupports them by providing a workplaceenvironment that allows them to fulfillboth work and family responsibilities.

Implementation policy

Ajinomoto promotes efforts to help allemployees ach ieve the goa ls ofJapan’s new legislation on fosteringthe next generat ion, based on theprinciples of supporting a balancedwork and fami ly l i fe, diversi ty, andequality in the workplace.

Vision Building a Company That People Are Happy to Work For

• Employment equality legislation• Parenting and family care

legislation• Legislation on fostering the

next generation

• Promoting affirmative action• Improving leave and part-time

programs• Facilitating a healthy balance

of work and family life, etc.

•Ensuring legal compliance

••Corporate strategyCorporate strategy•Corporate strategy

Ajinomoto Co., Inc., is not only draw-ing up an action plan based onJapan’s new legislation on fosteringthe next generation, but also usinglabor-management consultations andresearch into working conditions tohelp make the company an even bet-ter place to work than it already is.

TamotsuIwamotoGeneral Manager,Human Resources Department,Corporate Executive Officer,Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Page 30: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

29 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Man

agem

ent

Cus

tom

ers

Bus

ines

sPa

rtne

rsLo

cal

Com

mun

itie

sE

nvir

onm

enta

lR

epor

tE

mp

loye

es

Management SystemAjinomoto Co., Inc., emphasizes the strengthening of corporate governance as a key means ofimproving the overall corporate value of the Ajinomoto Group. The company makes every effort tocomply with all laws and ordinances by following the Ajinomoto Group Standards of Business Conductand other group principles.

Management

Corporate Governance

For Ajinomoto Co., Inc., strong corporate governance is atop priority, both for improving competitiveness and forestablishing a positive presence in society. The company iscreating an effective system of business execution andsupervision that incorporates global best practices andretains the positive aspects of Japanese style manage-ment. The company aims to increase its corporate valuethrough an emphasis on group-wide management andefforts to strengthen business competitiveness.

Board of Directors and Management CommitteeThe Board of Directors, presided over by the chairman of theboard, is the highest decision-making body within the man-agement structure. The board makes decisions on mattersrelating to laws and ordinances and the company’s by-lawsas well as other important matters, and supervises the workof the directors and corporate executive officers. TheManagement Committee is composed of senior executiveofficers who are also directors, and is presided over by thechief executive officer. The committee deliberates on basicpolicies regarding management of the company and makesdecisions on important matters regarding business execution.

Auditing systemCorporate audits are conducted by five corporate auditors,three of whom are outside auditors. The Internal AuditingDepartment follows internal auditing rules and an auditingplan to conduct operational audits of the company as wellas the management and operations of affiliates.

Nominations and compensationAjinomoto Co., Inc., has established a Nominating AdvisoryCommittee and a Compensation Advisory Committee,which are composed of several directors including outsidedirectors, as advisory bodies to the Board of Directors, inorder to increase transparency and objectivity of appoint-ments of and compensation for executives.

Risk managementThe Ajinomoto Group established the Risk ManagementCommittee in 2002, and is performing thorough risk manage-ment according to the JIS-Q (Japanese Industrial Standardmanagement system). The objective is to uncover risks inadvance, not just deal with them after a crisis has occurred.

As part of this effort, a business continuity plan (BCP)

Corporate organization

* Also Member of the board*1 Ajinomoto Frozen Foods Co., Inc., AJINOMOTO BAKERY CO., LTD.*2 Ajinomoto General Foods Inc., Calpis Co., Ltd., J-OIL MILLS, INC.

Internal controls& risk management

Management & SupervisionBoard Meetings

Top decision-making body

Supervises business execution

Corporate Executive

Officer

Business execution

BusinessExecution

Management Committee

Decides fundamental management

policies

Decides key issues

Subsidiariesand affiliates

Businesstie-ups*2

Subsidiariesand affiliates

Spin-offcompanies*1

Subsidiariesand affiliates

Internal CompaniesCorporate Executive

Officers

Subsidiariesand affiliates

Corporate DivisionCorporate Executive

Officers

Management Committee

CorporateVice President*

Corporate SeniorVice President*

Corporate ExecutiveDeputy President*

Chief Executive Officer (President)

InternalAuditing

Department

BusinessConduct

Committee

Investment,Loan and

ExaminationCommittee

RiskManagementCommittee

Board ofDirectorsChairman

of the Board

OutsideDirectors

InternalDirectors

Corporate Auditors

Internal AuditorsOutside Auditors

CorporateAuditors’

Office

NominatingAdvisory

Committee

CompensationAdvisory

Committee

General Shareholders’ Meeting

Page 31: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

30Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Man

agem

ent

Cus

tom

ers

Bus

ines

sPa

rtne

rsLo

cal

Com

mun

itie

sE

nvir

onm

enta

lR

epor

tE

mp

loye

es

has been established in order to minimize the impact onbusiness and society in the event of an earthquake. Themeasures that would be needed to respond to such anemergency are being systematical ly put in place.Preparations include examining high-priority productswhich have a greater effect on society in terms of socialresponsibility, such as pharmaceutical products, as well asthe securing of relevant information and logistics systems.

Information security—preventing leakage of confidential informationThe Ajinomoto Group addresses information security issuesusing both technology and education. In line with theAjinomoto Group’s information security policy, the groupuses its Ajinomoto Group Information ManagementGuidelines (2005 revised version) to educate employeesand increase awareness of the group’s information securitypolicy. Ajinomoto will continue to work to ensure that allstakeholders have complete peace of mind when it comesto the security of their information.

Reinforcing quality assurance infrastructureIn line with the Ajinomoto Group Quality Policies, Ajinomotooperates its own quality assurance system, ASQUA (seepage 31), which covers all the products and services of thegroup. The objective is to provide safe products and ser-vices of the highest quality. Ajinomoto is striving to build aworld-class quality assurance system with the aim ofensuring even greater safety and reliability.

Compliance Framework

In 2000, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., established the AjinomotoGroup Standards of Business Conduct, as part of theAjinomoto Group Principles. The group works to ensurethorough compliance with these standards and all laws andordinances by providing high-quality education and train-ing, distributing manuals, communicating with employeesvia in-house intranet (below), and offering e-learning pro-grams. It also conducts regular monitoring to check thestatus of compliance and identify any emerging issues,using questionnaires and review meetings at each work-

place. Issues with group-wide significance are addressedby the Business Conduct Committee. Specific issues aredealt with by the organization responsible for each specificarea, such as the General Affairs & Risk ManagementDepartment and the Legal Department.

Business Conduct CommitteeIn May 1997, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., established a BusinessConduct Committee as an organization for ensuring all per-sonnel are kept informed of the standards of business con-duct and for checking whether business activities are beingrun in accordance with those standards. Now, similar busi-ness conduct committees have also been established ateach of the main group companies, and Ajinomoto Co.,Inc., is working on group-wide initiatives befitting a goodcorporate citizen to encourage legal compliance and ethics.

In addition, the group has revised certain in-house regu-lations to comply with Japan’s new Law to Protect ThoseWho Disclose Information in the Public Interest, which cameinto force in April 2006. The company is working to ensurethat all employees are well aware of its whistleblower hotlineby including notices on it in various internal communications.

R&D complianceIn order to reinforce compliance with legal regulations,Ajinomoto Co., Inc., is creating new internal standards andregulations for R&D as well as company educational pro-grams. The company’s researchers check and selectequipment, research materials and methods from the legalpoint of view, and also have them examined as needed bythe biosafety committee or other committees.

Ajinomoto GroupPrinciples (AGP).

An illustrated conversation related to the AGP,which appears when starting up computers atAjinomoto Co., Inc. (changes weekly).

Overview of committees

Ajinomoto Management Committee

Business ConductCommittee

Ajinomoto Group companies(Contact: Business Conduct

Committee secretariat)

Business sites of Ajinomoto Co., Inc.(Contact: Section in charge of

general affairs or human resources)

EstablishedMay 1997

* Also secretariat for Risk Management Committee

Secretariat:General Affairs & Risk

Management Department

1. Keep all employees informed of corporate ethics and the Standards of Business Conduct

2. Address topics related to Standards3. Provide training and education4. Manage Standards and associated

tools

Missions

Chairman: Executive vice presidentMembers: 17 (including 1 union

representative); 1 corporate auditor and 1 director; observers

Frequency: Once every 3 months

Members

Reports /instructs

Hotline*

* Hotline: A tool for all group members to use for consultation and to report misconduct. User privacy is protected and users are not subject to any form of adverse treatment as a result of their use.

Page 32: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

31 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Man

agem

ent

Cus

tom

ers

Bus

ines

sPa

rtne

rsLo

cal

Com

mun

itie

sE

nvir

onm

enta

lR

epor

tE

mp

loye

es

Quality Management System

The Ajinomoto Group Management Policies (see page 8)clearly indicate that the group strives to provide “innovativeproducts and services of the highest standards and quality.”

Based on this approach, the group established the AjinomotoGroup Quality Policies, and is carrying out strict quality assur-ance from raw material procurement to sales using theAjinomoto System of Quality Assurance (ASQUA). ASQUA isa quality assurance system that covers all the products andservices of the Ajinomoto Group. It encourages proactivequality assurance activities while providing a framework forimproving products, services and business activities byquickly responding to customer opinions and requests.

Reform of quality assurance systems:Improvement of ASQUA activities by internal companiesIn order to assess the status of progress of quality assur-ance activities based on ASQUA, the Ajinomoto Groupimplemented a quality audit for all organizations group-wide, covering the last five years. The audit confirmed thatquality assurance systems had been firmly established atinternal companies and affiliates. Then, the audit processes

Improving Safety and Quality

Ensuring the safety and quality of products is a matter of course at the Ajinomoto Group. For the goalof offering customers peace of mind, no effort is too great in the quest for greater safety and quality.

Social Report

CustomerQuality managementsystem

Requests, complaints

Ajinomoto Group

Quality Assurance& External ScientificAffairs Department

at Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Quality audit

Quality Assurance Committeeat Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Quality Assurance Standards,policies and targets

of the Ajinomoto Group

Internal companies / affiliates

OthersSalesbranches

Productcontrol

divisionsLabsPlants

Rules in each internal company

Chairman: Board member responsible for Quality AssuranceMembers: ●Board member responsible for production

technology management●Board member responsible for Corporate Planning

Department●Board member responsible for CSR & Public

Communications Department●Board member responsible for Affiliates Business

Management Department●Presidents of internal companies●Heads of designated organizations●Other corporate executive officers nominated by

the chairmanOther participants: Persons approved by the chairmanSecretariat: Quality Assurance & External Scientific

Affairs DepartmentFrequency: In principle, twice per fiscal year. Extraordinary

meetings are held as necessary.

Philosophy

We contribute to a better life for all throughout the world byproviding safe and high-quality products and services.

Policies

1. We pay full attention to the request of our customers, andprovide products and services meeting with their satisfaction.

2. We actively provide appropriate information to ourcustomers and continue to improve our trustworthiness.

3. We make no compromises with regard to safety, conductingsurveys and research as thoroughly as possible, faithfullycomplying with applicable laws and regulations, and alwaysdelivering products and services of uniform quality.

4. We assure quality through the Ajinomoto System of QualityAssurance (ASQUA), based on the concepts outlined in theinternational ISO standard.

5. Under the leadership of our management, each one of ourcompany’s employees makes the greatest effort to providesafe and high-quality products and services through work atall levels, from research and development to production,distribution, sales and services.

Ajinomoto Group Quality Policies

Page 33: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

32Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Man

agem

ent

Cus

tom

ers

Bus

ines

sPa

rtne

rsLo

cal

Com

mun

itie

sE

nvir

onm

enta

lR

epor

tE

mp

loye

es

and raw material purchasing mangers, from 14 group com-panies in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,Singapore, Vietnam, and Japan attended the school. Theparticipants improved their skills as quality auditors andinteracted with their colleagues from other countries.

System for product recallsThe Ajinomoto Group has a system in place for conductingproduct recalls if such an action were to become necessaryto ensure safety. In the event of a product quality reportrequiring urgent action, a Quality Control EmergencyResponse Meeting would be convened and the informationevaluated in light of the group’s standards for deciding on aquality control emergency response.

■ Voluntary recall of Ajinomoto KK AjiamenIn January 2007, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour andWelfare publ ished a notice entit led, “Instances ofContamination by Chinese Transgenic Rice Whose SafetyHas Yet to Be Confirmed.” The notice applied to some ofthe rice noodles imported from China by the manufacturerthat supplies rice noodles for the Ajinomoto KK Ajiamen lineof Asian noodles. It indicated that some of these importswere contaminated with transgenic rice which is notapproved under Japan’s Food Sanitation Law. Althoughthe rice noodles in question had not yet been delivered toAjinomoto Co., Inc., the company conducted a voluntaryrecall of related Ajiamen products, prioritizing food safetyabove all else. The company thought this step bestbecause the cause of the transgenic rice contaminationwas unknown and the import inspections related to thisincident only began after September 2006. Due to thesefactors, the company could not say with complete assur-ance that transgenic rice had not contaminated any of theAjiamen rice noodles already sold in Japan. The recallaffected 8,522 meals recovered from consumers and532,071 meals recovered from goods in transit and in stock.

Taking this incident as a lesson learned, Ajinomoto Co.,Inc., will reanalyze and evaluate risks associated with theraw materials it uses, and put a system in place to con-stantly procure appropriate and reliable raw materials inorder to further improve its quality control.

of the Quality Assurance & External Scientific AffairsDepartment were gradually transferred to the internal com-panies and affiliates in fiscal 2006. The audit systems ateach internal company and affiliate can now respond morequickly and accurately to the requests of customers. Goingforward, further quality improvements are being pursuedthrough enhanced education on quality for managementteams in the Ajinomoto Group and the establishment ofsystems to quantitatively ascertain the status of qualityassurance activities at each internal company and affiliate.

Food Products Company inspects raw material suppliers and subcontractorsSecuring the safety and traceability of raw materials involvesmore than just screening suppliers and selecting suitablebusiness partners. The Ajinomoto Group emphasizes work-ing together with suppliers to increase the level of qualityassurance through the whole process of manufacturing.

The Food Products Company has sent theRequirements for Raw Material Suppliers established underASQUA to all of its suppliers. It also inspects the qualitymanagement operations of the raw material suppliers, andprovides guidance to those in need of improvement. Inorder to raise awareness of the requirements of theAjinomoto Group and to promote mutual communication,supplier meetings are held and attended by several dozenraw material companies. Starting in fiscal 2006, the focushas been on new suppliers, and suppliers where raw mate-rial quality problems have occurred. The same approachhas been applied to subcontractors, which have beenrequested to meet the Requirements for Subcontractedand Procured Products Manufacturers, and are now sub-ject to more careful inspection and guidance.

Employee education regarding quality assurance ■ ASQUA School in BangkokThe ASQUA School, a practical education course to traininternal quality auditors, was held in Bangkok, Thailand on March 26-28, 2007 for Quality ManagementRepresentatives (QMRs) at corporations of the AjinomotoGroup in Southeast Asia to sustain the Ajinomoto System ofQuality Assurance (ASQUA). After lectures on ASQUA andquality auditing techniques based on ISO 9001, participantswere separated into small teams and actually audited sixcompanies located around Bangkok that supply raw materi-als to the Ajinomoto Group. Twenty people, including QMRs

At the ASQUA School.

Page 34: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

How the voice of the customer influences operations

Customers

Customer Service Center

Operational departments

Inquiries and complaints

Reviewing customer feedback

Urgentmatters

Person in charge

R&D Center/plants

Planning

Manufacturing

DevelopmentSales

Monthly meeting to reviewcustomer feedback

Consultationas needed

Quarterly meeting to utilizecustomer feedback

Boos

t cus

tom

er s

atis

fact

ion

thro

ugh

prod

uct i

mpr

ovem

ent a

nd d

evel

opm

ent

33 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Man

agem

ent

Cus

tom

ers

Bus

ines

sPa

rtne

rsLo

cal

Com

mun

itie

sE

nvir

onm

enta

lR

epor

tE

mp

loye

es

Building a Customer-satisfaction Mindset

The Ajinomoto Group always strives to put the customerfirst, which is a key commitment of the Ajinomoto GroupManagement Policies (see page 8). The aim is to become acompany where each and every employee is keenly awareof the importance of customer satisfaction.

Activities of the Customer Service Center

The Customer Service Center at Ajinomoto Co., Inc., gathers and analyzes information from customers, relaysfeedback to management and the operational depart-ments, and releases information for consumers and thebroader society. These activities enable each departmentto reflect new consumer needs accurately in their productsand services. In June 2006, the company declared confor-mity with the ISO 10002: 2004 Quality Management—Customer Satisfaction—Guidelines for complaint handlingin organizations, and established a Customer SatisfactionPromotion Policy and Customer Satisfaction Code ofConduct based on that standard. Ajinomoto Co., Inc., willcontinue to strive to increase the functions of its customerservice departments and improve customer satisfactionthrough the implementation of ISO 10002.

Customer Satisfaction Promotion PolicyTo ensure that we continue to provide products and services thatsatisfy our customers, we will listen to customers, see problemsfrom their point of view, and focus all of our resources on creatingthe solutions customers need. Above all, our aim is to be an honestcompany that customers can trust.

Customer Satisfaction Code of Conduct1. We provide safe and reliable products and services to our

customers.2. We respond to complaints, requests and inquiries from our cus-

tomers precisely, promptly and politely.3. We respect the voice of the customer, and strive to use all input

to add value to our products and services.4. We actively disclose appropriate information to our customers.5. We comply with regulations and voluntary in-house standards

related to protecting the rights of our customers.

■ Mechanisms for utilizing customer opinionThe Customer Service Center at Ajinomoto Co., Inc.,strives to respond to customer inquiries, complaints, andrequests precisely, promptly, and politely. It has also putmechanisms in place to ensure that customer opinion isreflected in the development and improvement of the com-pany’s products and services.

Relationships with CustomersThe Ajinomoto Group contributes to a better quality of life by collaborating with its customersworldwide to create products and services that better meet their needs. Toward this end, the groupwill continue to strengthen its relationship with customers.

Social Report

Page 35: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

34Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Man

agem

ent

Cus

tom

ers

Bus

ines

sPa

rtne

rsLo

cal

Com

mun

itie

sE

nvir

onm

enta

lR

epor

tE

mp

loye

es

as part of the Human Resources Department’s trainingprograms. In fiscal 2006, 127 employees participated in theprogram. The training provided employees with a chance toexperience direct contact with customers at the CustomerService Center, which helped to promote their awarenessof the importance of building customer confidence. In fiscal2007, employees primarily from the sales and productiondepartments are scheduled to participate in the program.

■ Personal information management systemIn response to an incident in which the personal informationof a campaign prizewinner was leaked after Japan’sPersonal Information Protection Law came into effect, theAjinomoto Group is working to ensure safety and trustwor-thiness by revising its internal structures and systems forhandling personal information, and by putting extra effortinto inspecting contracts and management systems whenusing outside service vendors.

In particular, Ajinomoto System Techno Corporation,which operates and maintains the group’s information sys-tems, has obtained information security management system (ISMS) certification and rearranged its managementarchitecture. Moreover, it has also strengthened the infor-mation security workforce, for instance, by requiring twostaff members to be involved with each approval, thus creating a check and balance mechanism for the workrelating to personal information.

The Ajinomoto Group will continue working to ensurethat it provides trustworthy service by making sure it staysup-to-date with technological progress and strengthensboth technical and human resources to meet the demandsof new situations, and by working together with outsideservice providers.

In October 2006, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., held a stakeholderdialogue with the participation of employees from groupcompanies in Japan. During the dialogue, entitled, “How toBoost Customer Satisfaction,” (see pages 11 to 12), out-side experts raised issues relating to communication withcustomers. The Ajinomoto Group will continue to hold dia-logues like this regularly, and will use the results to improveits CSR initiatives.

In fiscal 2006, the Customer Service Center receivedabout 40,000 inquiries. Looking ahead, the company willconsider cooperating with customer service departments atgroup companies outside Japan to enhance its group andglobal focus.

■ Giving regular employees a chance to take calls fora day at the Customer Service Center

A one-day training program for employees from AjinomotoCo., Inc., was carried out at the Customer Service Center

An employee going through the program.

Inquiries:80%

Best before date: 19%

Requests:12%

Retailers:11%

Other:30%

Usage method: 10%

Overview of customer contacts

OverallComplaints: 6%

Varieties / price: 10%

Raw material / manufacturing method: 8%Safety: 5%

Nutrition facts: 4%

Sales promotion: 3%

Proposals: 1%

Fan mail: 1%

Breakdown ofinquiries

About40,000inquires

Page 36: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

35 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Man

agem

ent

Cus

tom

ers

Bus

ines

sPa

rtne

rsLo

cal

Com

mun

itie

sE

nvir

onm

enta

lR

epor

tE

mp

loye

es

Building a System of Cooperation with Business Partners

In addition to raw materials and packaging materials, pur-chases made by the Ajinomoto Group in all its businessactivities cover a wide range of goods and services, includ-ing the ordering of construction work, and various types ofwork that is outsourced. All business partners are treatedequally when it comes to fair purchases. Among its busi-ness partners, however, Ajinomoto recognizes that specialmutual partnerships exist with the raw materials suppliersthat make up the group’s supply chain. Accordingly,Ajinomoto cooperates especially closely with these busi-ness partners, in particular on quality assurance.

Ajinomoto makes a pledge to dealers, users, and otherbusiness partners in sales transactions that it will conductfair transactions in compliance with Japan’s AntimonopolyLaw and other laws. The group recognizes that its businesspartners play a vital role as links in the supply chain thatconnects the Ajinomoto Group with consumers.

Impact of the Ajinomoto Group Basic Purchasing PolicyThe objectives of the Ajinomoto Group Basic PurchasingPolicy, established in May 2006, are to ensure that compli-ance, business ethics and other purchase-related issuesare always given due attention, and to properly manage theprocess of making purchases. Ajinomoto seeks the under-standing and cooperation of its business partners by pre-senting them with this purchasing policy.

Starting in June 2006, the Purchasing Department ofAjinomoto Co., Inc., conducted a questionnaire survey oneach department within the company and on each groupcompany to gain an understanding of the current purchas-ing situation and to identify challenges to putting the BasicPurchasing Policy into practice. The survey did not indicateany issues in need of urgent attention, but it did highlightthe need to better understand the circumstances of suppli-ers. The company is considering conducting a question-naire survey of suppliers as the next step.

In order to firmly establish the practice of following theAjinomoto Group Basic Purchasing Policy when making

purchases, affiliates that apply this purchasing policy withAjinomoto Co., Inc., will develop and put into practice thenecessary rules and related standards.

Relationships with Business PartnersIn May 2006, the Ajinomoto Group established the Ajinomoto Group Basic Purchasing Policy. In everypurchase transaction, the group makes an effort to build relationships of trust with business partners.Ajinomoto and its partners work together to fulfill their corporate social responsibilities.

Social Report

Ajinomoto Group Basic Purchasing PolicyIn order to ensure fair, open, transparent and simple purchasingand to secure the trust of customers and stakeholders, theAjinomoto Group shall perform its purchasing operations rationally,in compliance with laws and regulations, and fulfill its agreementsin cooperation with suppliers and other business partners.1. Compliance, Purchasing Ethics・ The Ajinomoto Group shall act with good judgment, complying with the

purchasing-related laws and regulations of all countries concerned, as wellas the Ajinomoto Group Standards of Business Conduct and other related standards.・ The Ajinomoto Group shall fulfill its agreements with suppliers and other

business partners in good faith when purchasing.・ The Ajinomoto Group understands the significance of information it

obtains through trade and keeps such information confidential.・ The Ajinomoto Group shall perform purchasing using fair, open, transpar-

ent and simple procedures.

2. Purchasing Principles・ Transaction prices shall be fair and economically reasonable.・ Suppliers and other business partners shall be selected based on the

comprehensive evaluation of price, quality, delivery timing, technology,safety and past results. In the case one is not selected, upon request, theAjinomoto Group shall explain the reason it was not selected.・ Purchasing shall in principle be decided based on the results of comparing

multiple estimates such as tenders.・ The Ajinomoto Group shall in principle be open to new partner candidates.

Candidates that meet selection standards shall be given the opportunity togo through a proper evaluation.・ The Ajinomoto Group shall promote cost reduction in cooperation with

suppliers and other business partners in accordance with previously-defined assessment rules.

3. The Practice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Purchasing・ Purchasing of raw materials and other products shall be in conformity with

laws and regulations related to the quality and safety assurance of prod-ucts, the Ajinomoto Group Quality Assurance Standard, and all the otherrelated standards.・ For the purpose of environmental conservation, the Ajinomoto Group shall

promote green procurement in accordance with the Ajinomoto GroupGreen Procurement Guidelines.・ The Ajinomoto Group confirms that the products it purchases directly are

free of any connection to the violation of human rights, including childlabor and illegal employment, during either production or distribution.

4. Requests to Suppliers and Other Business Partners・ The Ajinomoto Group requests suppliers and other business partners to

understand the Ajinomoto Group Basic Purchasing Policy and cooperateas members of the supply chain.・ The Ajinomoto Group requests suppliers and other business partners to

comply with laws and regulations, and issues especially strict cautionswith regard to such acts as inhibiting free competition by fixing prices, etc.・ The Ajinomoto Group requests suppliers and other business partners to

make efforts to suggest economically reasonable rationalization and otherideas.・ The Ajinomoto Group requests suppliers and other business partners to

understand CSR-based management and to cooperate in the quality andsafety assurance of raw materials, green procurement and protection ofhuman rights.

Page 37: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

36Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Man

agem

ent

Cus

tom

ers

Bus

ines

sPa

rtne

rsLo

cal

Com

mun

itie

sE

nvir

onm

enta

lR

epor

tE

mp

loye

es

■ Meetings and interviews with suppliersThe Food Product Raw Material Procurement Departmentof Ajinomoto Co., Inc., conducted an interview-based studyrelating to quality management of food products at thecompany’s main suppliers in fiscal 2005 and 2006. Oneobjective was to exchange opinions on the effects of, andresponses required by, the introduction of the JapanesePositive List System for Agricultural Chemical Residues inFood, which became effective on May 29, 2006. Anotherwas to prepare with suppliers for the switchover to the newsystem. The company was able to respond accurately tothe inquires of consumers, dealers, and users based on theknowledge acquired through these efforts.

Relationships with business partners■ Communicating with business partnersIn April 2007, the Purchasing Department of Ajinomoto Co.,Inc., launched a website for raw material suppliers. Thewebsite contains the Ajinomoto Group Basic PurchasingPolicy, the procedures in purchasing transactions, deliver-able document forms, and other materials, as well as fillable supplier survey forms to replace the former reportformat. This has improved the efficiency of work for all par-ties. Looking ahead, the company will consider other appli-cations for this website.

■ Promoting understanding of amino acid-basedcosmetic ingredients

Since 1972, when Ajinomoto launched the mild surfactant,Amisoft ®, the Ajinomoto Group has been providing aminoacid-based cosmetic ingredients, which are both mild andgentle to skin and hair, and environmentally friendly thanksto their excellent biodegradability. Ajinomoto regularly holdsbriefings for business partners in Japan to facilitate scien-tific understanding of the characteristics and usefulness ofthese ingredients. In 2007, Ajinomoto held two 2-dayevents focusing on the application of these ingredients inthe fields of skin care and hair care applications. Theevents, one in Osaka in February and the other in Tokyo inMarch, were attended by a total of 375 people. The eventin Osaka was the seventh and the one in Tokyo was thefourth. Ajinomoto will con-tinue taking initiatives likethis to help people under-stand the environmentalfriendliness and usefulnessof amino acid-based ingre-dients for personal care.

Fair transactionsThe basic policy of the Ajinomoto Group is to comply withJapan’s Antimonopoly Law and similar laws and ordi-nances in other countries as well as all related regulations,with a view to supporting a free economic system basedon fair and free competition.

In accordance with the Ajinomoto Group AntimonopolyLaw Compliance Guidelines, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., is work-ing to ensure thorough group-wide compliance. The guide-lines provide a concrete code of conduct for situationsenvisioned to arise in sales transactions in and outsideJapan, and specify that the company must take disciplinaryaction against violations.

In line with the Ajinomoto Group Basic PurchasingPolicy, the group is pressing its business partners forunderstanding and cooperation in complying with theAntimonopoly Law.

Quality assurance through collaboration with business partners■ Quality auditsThe Purchasing Department and Food Product RawMaterial Procurement Department of Ajinomoto Co., Inc.—the organizations responsible for the purchase of rawmaterials—verify quality specifications, conduct qualityaudits of business partners, respond to quality complaints,and perform other quality assurance activities, following theAjinomoto System of Quality Assurance (see page 31).Quality audits in particular are an important opportunity tohelp business partners understand the approach of theAjinomoto Group to quality assurance. The performance ofquality audits of raw material transactions in fiscal 2006 isshown in the table below. The Food Product Raw MaterialProcurement Department, which belongs to the FoodProducts Company, performed an audit according to theRaw Material Supplier Control and Audit Guidelines, whichbecame applicable in fiscal 2007.

Briefing about amino acids and aminoacid-based cosmetic ingredients.

Department conducting audit Audit item Number of audits

Purchasing Department Raw material related 41

Packaging material 44

Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs & Pharmaceutical raw material 2

Quality Assurance Department Pharmaceutical packaging 3

Food Product Raw Material Procurement Department Food product raw material 18

Fiscal 2006 record of quality audits of raw material suppliers

Page 38: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

37 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Man

agem

ent

Cus

tom

ers

Bus

ines

sPa

rtne

rsLo

cal

Com

mun

itie

sE

nvir

onm

enta

lR

epor

tE

mp

loye

es

Human Resources Principles

The Ajinomoto Group has established Human ResourcesPrinciples, which consist of the HR Values and the HRManagement Policy. The Principles provide a solid founda-tion for the group’s human resources management, func-tioning as a code of conduct for employees to follow, serving as a shared standard of values, and guiding thegroup’s HR strategy. Based on the HR Value which states,“the future of Ajinomoto is you,” Ajinomoto has clearlydescribed the type ofemployee it is looking for,and has implementedappropriate employeeeducation and HR mea-sures designed to fosterworld-class humanresources.

Fair Employment for All

As stipulated in the Ajinomoto Group Standards ofBusiness Conduct, the group’s employment practices arekept in compliance with the laws and regulations of eachcountry and region where the group does business. Thegroup is committed to understanding and respecting thecultures and customs of the places where it operates, andexpressly prohibits discrimination based on race, ethnicity,nationality, religion, belief, origin, sex, age, physical disabili-ty, or any other classifier.

Ajinomoto respects the values and abilities of all individ-uals. Accordingly, the group actively seeks out andemploys human resources from around the world whoshare its HR Values—that is, people who explore individualcreativity, understand the global impact of local values, andbenefit from team collaboration.

Reemployment System for Retiring Human ResourcesIn April 2006, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., adopted a reemploy-ment system for retiring human resources. This program isopen to all staff and management, including secondedemployees, who desire to be reemployed after reaching themandatory retirement age of 60. The only condition foremployment is that the employee be healthy in both mindand body and fit for duty.

This system aims to make the best use of the strengths,skills, and expertise accumulated by human resources whohave reached retirement age, in accordance with thedesires of the individual and the needs of the workplace. Abasic precept for the system is that reemployed personnelare assigned according to considerations of the

Making Ajinomoto a Great Place to WorkThe Ajinomoto Group is a global company with a presence in 23 countries and regions around the world. As such, the group is working hard to foster world-class human resources by building excellent workenvironments and enhancing its human resources and educational systems.

Social Report

Total

Total

(as of March 31, 2007)Total: 24,733

Japan 40%

Asia 41%

Percent of non-Japanese executives at consolidated subsidiaries and affiliates outside Japan: 28%

Europe8% Americas

11%

Personnel deployment in the Ajinomoto Group, by region

Ajinomoto Group

Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

24,733

3,531

15,737

2,575

8,996

956

Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Ajinomoto Group companies in Japan

Number of employees

Number of managers

Personnel with disabilities

Retirees (reemployed)

97

62

Retired Resigned for personal reasons

Male

Male

Reemployed

Female

Female

76

171

75

41

Ajinomoto Co., Inc. 76 (percent of workforce: 1.8%)

Japan

Asia

Europe

Americas

Total

1,879

775

270

242

1,818

590

218

208

61

185

52

34

3,166 2,834 332

Ajinomoto Group Human Resources Principles booklet (in Japanese and English).

As of March 31, 2007.

Page 39: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

38Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Man

agem

ent

Cus

tom

ers

Bus

ines

sPa

rtne

rsLo

cal

Com

mun

itie

sE

nvir

onm

enta

lR

epor

tE

mp

loye

es

health. Industrial physicians also visit facilities in other coun-tries to ensure that employees dispatched overseas arewell taken care of.

In the future, the company will continue to developother health maintenance activities with a view to fosteringindependent employees who are healthy in both mindand body.

Compensation for inventorsAjinomoto Co., Inc., is working to protect and effectively utilize intellectual property rights, including original tech-nologies, content, and brands, in order to strengthen itstechnological expertise. The company pays compensationfor patent applications when employee inventions aretransferred to the company, compensation for patent regis-trations when inventions are registered, and compensationfor implementation when the company implements aninvention. It also pays inventor performance-based com-pensation when it recognizes significant profit from anemployee invention.

competitiveness of the company, without regard to theindividual’s particular role at the time of retirement at age60. All reemployed persons are compensated fairly for theposition they fill. In fiscal 2006, 75 out of 97 eligibleemployees were reemployed through this system. Groupcompanies in Japan have also started to use this system.

Building Supportive Workplaces

Starting with a major reform of its parenting support systemin April 2004, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., has been creating pro-grams that help employees make the most of both theirwork and family life. These programs enable staff to contin-ue contributing to the workplace, while also taking time offfor maternity, parenting, or family care reasons.

The company has done its best to reflect the opinions ofemployees, obtained through interviews and question-naires, in establishing its Parenting Leave Program, Part-time Parenting and Working Program, and Childcare LeaveProgram, making them easy for employees to actually use.The company has also prepared a Parenting Handbookthat explains its leave policies in chronological order frompregnancy through the child-rearing years. The handbookis intended not only for employees who wish to use theseleave programs; it is also used to educate supervisors and colleagues.

In April 2007, the company introduced a new Part-timeFamily Care and Working Program. With the growing needto care for family members, this program provides the max-imum assistance by allowing employees to work part-timefor as long as a member of their family needs care. Twoemployees had already applied as of May 29, 2007.

The company is not only improving its programs, butis also holding briefings for managers and including thetheme of “the next generation” into all kinds of training.This is how the company works to deepen understandingamong employees, and to promote the widespread useof these programs.

Commitment to mental health careIn keeping with the concept of self-care, Ajinomoto Co.,Inc., operates a full-time consultative service staffed byeight industrial physicians and nine nurses in order to helpemployees identify any mental health issues early on.

All employees in Japan are given an interview once ayear and encouraged to develop a fuller understanding ofhow to manage and improve their own mental and physical

Program Details Employees who used program

ParentingLeaveProgram

Part-timeParenting andWorkingProgram

ChildcareLeaveProgram

Family CareLeaveProgram

AccumulatedPaid LeaveProgram

Leave can be taken from the day afterfinishing leave after childbirth until, atthe longest, the last day of the Aprilfollowing the child’s first birthday (canlegally be extended for six months).

Part-time work is allowed for fouryears until the child enters the 4thgrade of elementary school. Leavecan be taken up to 2 hours and 20minutes per day.

Employees who have children whohave not yet entered junior highschool can take up to ten days ofchildcare leave per fiscal year perchild. Leave can be taken in half-dayunits.

Absences or suspension of work canbe taken to care for a spouse,parents, or family within the seconddegree of kinship whom the employeesupports. Leave can be taken up toone year.

Accumulated paid leave can betaken; when necessary, due to non-occupational illness or injury, for anemployee to care for a spouse,parents, children or family within thesecond degree of kinship who livewith the employee and who he or shesupports; or when necessary for anemployee to regularly go to a hospitalto care for those family members dueto non-occupational illness or injury.The leave can be taken in half-dayunits.

75(1 male)

77

19(31 half days,90 full days)

1

30 (25 half days,92 full days)

System at Ajinomoto Co., Inc., for supporting a healthybalance of work and family life

Data are for the period from April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007.

Page 40: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

39 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Man

agem

ent

Cus

tom

ers

Bus

ines

sPa

rtne

rsLo

cal

Com

mun

itie

sE

nvir

onm

enta

lR

epor

tE

mp

loye

es

Building Safe Workplaces

Management takes the lead in implementing the DisasterPrevention and Basic Safety Philosophy and Policies of theAjinomoto Group, which are also shared with all employ-ees. Demonstrating this management commitment to con-tinually improving safety, Ajinomoto has put in place aDisaster Prevention and Safety Council composed of theCEOs of Ajinomoto Co., Inc., its internal companies and thespin-off companies. Among other duties, the council estab-lishes targets for the following year.

Disaster prevention, safety and health targetsUnfortunately, the Ajinomoto Group did not achieve its fis-cal 2006 disaster prevention and safety goal of cutting thenumber of serious occupational accidents to half that of theprevious fiscal year. In Japan, occupational accidentsshowed an increasing trend, while a traffic accident duringwork resulted in two fatalities outside Japan. For fiscal2007, the group will keep the same target, and it hasestablished five priority measures to achieve it and stop theincrease in occupational accidents. The group will continueworking persistently to reduce the number of accidents.

Five important measures to achieve target:1. A close communication between management and employ-

ees, and among all parties. 2. Perfect compliance with regulations and rules, and initiative to

work on each other.3. Practical confirmation of the state and the materials on the site.4. Obligation and utilization of “hazard and risk prediction train-

ing and activities” during un-routine works, like as construc-tion, maintenance, test operation.

5. Prevention of traffic accident and education for safety drive.

After considering these five points in light of the views ofpeople on-site and their requests, Ajinomoto made the fivepoints easy to disseminate to part-time employees andtemporary staff as well as regular employees. They are nowpart of the basic knowledge common to each organization. Disaster Prevention and Safety Philosophy

of the Ajinomoto Group

Safety management execution and promotion system

Execution systemManagementCommittee

Corporate Division

Food Products Company

Amino Acids Company

Pharmaceutical Company

China Business Strategy & Planning Department

Ajinomoto Frozen Foods Co., Inc.

AJINOMOTO LOGISTICS CORPORATION

AJINOMOTO BAKERY CO., LTD.

Disaster Preventionand Safety Council

SafetyManagementHeadquarters

SubcommitteesMeeting for safety managers from each division

Secretariat: Environment & Safety Department, Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Secretariat: Environment & Safety Department, Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Promotion system

Frequency of accidents resulting in time off work

Severity rate of accidents resulting in time off work

Severity rate = Number of lost work days ÷ total actual working time × 1,000

Frequency = Number of deaths and injuries ÷ total actual working time × 1,000,000

0.00

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.10

0.12

FY06FY05FY04FY03

Ajinomoto Group in Japan

Sev

erity

rat

e

Manufacturing industry in Japan

0.1100.110 0.1100.110 0.0900.090 0.1100.110

0.0210.021

0.0550.0550.0570.057

0.0260.026

0

0.9

1.0

1.1

1.2

1.3

FY06FY05FY04FY03

Freq

uenc

y

0.980.98 0.990.99

1.011.01

1.021.02

1.071.07

1.011.01

1.211.21

1.021.02

Ajinomoto Group in Japan

Manufacturing industry in Japan

On September 11, 2006, an accident occurred inside theKyushu Plant, in which one person lost his life and anothersustained serious injuries. The two victims, who were employ-ees of a partner company engaged in piping work, werecrushed while they were working in a tank.

Ajinomoto Co., Inc., is taking firm steps to prevent this typeof accident from happening again, including the extension ofthe following measures to production sites throughout theAjinomoto Group. Specifically, the company complied with allinstructions from the Labor Standards Inspection Office, andensured that the company-wide Disaster Prevention & SafetyPromotion Secretariat and the plant cooperated to investigatethe cause of the accident and conducted a thorough review ofits construction safety management system.

Fatal accident at the Kyushu Plant of Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Ajinomoto Co., Inc., and its Group companies respect each per-son and act based on our recognition that disaster prevention,safety and health are one of the most important components ofcorporate activities.

Ajinomoto Co., Inc., and its Group companies:

1. Persistently identify and evaluate potential risks, and act todiminish and/or eliminate risks in order to prevent disastersand accidents.

2. Take initiatives continually to improve occupational health andsafety activities by thoroughly complying with public regula-tions and in-house rules encouraging mutual efforts to do so.

3. Strengthen the corporate system and facilitate quick response tominimize damage in the event of an emergency and/or disaster.

4. Proactively provide support for each so that they can work in goodhealth, and pay careful attention for the safety of work environment.

Disaster Prevention and Basic Safety Policies of the Ajinomoto Group

Page 41: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

40Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Man

agem

ent

Cus

tom

ers

Bus

ines

sPa

rtne

rsLo

cal

Com

mun

itie

sE

nvir

onm

enta

lR

epor

tE

mp

loye

es

share information about and confirm corporate policies, aswell as labor-management council meetings to resolvechallenges that affect people across multiple workplaces.

In fiscal 2006, Ajinomoto held a labor-managementcouncil meeting to discuss the personnel system for regularemployees, revisions to the bonus calculation formula, andthe importance of childcare leave and other measures tofoster the next generation. In response, Ajinomoto, Co.,Inc., soon introduced new personnel structures and sys-tems, including the Part-time Family Care and WorkingProgram, which was developed on the basis of requestsmade by the labor union and employees, and went intoeffect on April 1, 2007. This step brought Ajinomoto closerto offering an environment which makes it easy for peopleto stay on the job while caring for family members whoneed special help.

Working on human rights from a global perspective With a view to developing international human resources,Aj inomoto Co., Inc., recently held a global humanresources managers meeting to share strategies and iden-tify next steps toward shaping a global human resourcespolicy, including issues such as diversity and other employ-ment characteristics at affiliates outside Japan. Humanresources managers from 15 offices worldwide attendedthe meeting, which examined data from a fiscal 2006 in-house survey on the condition of work environments,focusing on raising awareness of human rights from a CSRperspective. Conference participants also engaged in adeep discussion on human rights in the ISO 26000, whichis expected to come into effect as an international guidelinefor CSR, and the SA 8000.*2 The company will also extendits employment status survey to affiliates in Japan, workingto gather basic information about labor and employmentthroughout the Ajinomoto Group. This information is beingused to build workplaces that give even greater considera-tion to human rights.

Among the human rights initiatives that Ajinomoto regu-larly implements are: offering human rights awareness train-ing programs at each level of the company, which focus onthe significance of addressing human rights and humanrights concerns in the workplace (usually attended by about500 people); giving questionnaires on harassment to allemployees; and soliciting human rights awareness slogansin conjunction with Human Rights Week.

Education System

Employee education programsThe Ajinomoto Group is dedicated to developing its humanresources, recognizing that its people are the foundation forthe next 100 years of success. It is the employees who willdrive the future business development of Ajinomoto as a cor-poration with a global network in 23 countries and regions.

Based on the Ajinomoto Group Human ResourcesPrinciples, the group has clearly described the type ofemployee it is looking for, and is working actively to edu-cate human resources both in and outside Japan, using theAjinomoto Group Takanawa Training Center as a base.

Fostering human resources with a strong sense of respon-sibility and the will to identify and overcome challengesThe Ajinomoto Group is striving worldwide to foster humanresources who share its HR Values—“explore individual cre-ativity,” “understand the global impact of local values,” and“benefit from team collaboration”—and can confront andovercome challenges in any environment. Accordingly, thegroup actively provides opportunities for self development byconducting a wide selection of training sessions, includingtraining in logical thinking, listening skills, global communica-tion, and financial affairs. The group also holds theAjinomoto International Management Seminar for managersfrom in and outside Japan and conducts coaching sessionsto encourage managers to demonstrate greater leadershipand further the growth of their subordinates.

With cooperation among the human resources departmentsin each country, the Ajinomoto Group is building a structurethat fosters and promotes human resources of all nationalitiesfrom across the group, creating leaders who will drive theexpansion of the Ajinomoto Group in the 21st century.

Labor-Management Relations

Maintaining sound labor-management relationsThe Ajinomoto Group works with its labor unions on variousefforts to improve the work environment, all with the goal of“building a company that people are happy to work for.” Thegroup regularly holds labor-management conferences to

Ajinomoto Group Takanawa Training Center in Japan.

* 2The Laranjal Paulista Plant, operated by Ajinomoto Biolatina Indústria eComércio Ltda., obtained SA 8000 certification in March 2006. TheLimeira Plant, operated by Ajinomoto Interamericana Indústria e ComércioLtda., obtained SA 8000 certification in September 2006.

Page 42: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

41 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Man

agem

ent

Cus

tom

ers

Bus

ines

sPa

rtne

rsLo

cal

Com

mun

itie

sE

nvir

onm

enta

lR

epor

tE

mp

loye

es

Communicating with Local Communities

Appealing activities attract 30,000 visitors to three plantsThe total number of visitors to three plants belonging toAjinomoto Co., Inc., (Kawasaki, Tokai, and Kyushu) has sur-passed the 30,000 mark. At the Kawasaki Plant, the tour dayswere expanded for the local community, while at the KyushuPlant, there was a major increase in visitors from nearby ele-mentary and junior high schools, as the plant was featured ina supplementary reader for community social studies.

At the Kawasaki Plant the visitors were offered a planttour followed by a Chinese or Japanese style buffet meal (atan extra charge),to allow them toexperience a“better diet for ahealthy body”with the compa-ny’s products.

Open factory commemorating 20 years for the Fukushima Plant At the Fukushima Plant of Ajinomoto Medica Co., Ltd., anopen factory event was held in October 2006, to expressgratitude to plant employees and their families, nearby resi-dents, and other interested persons. The occasion alsocommemorated five years as part of the Ajinomoto Group,and 20 years since the plant began operations in 1986.

The event was enjoyed by children and adults alike, andincluded not only plant tours and a video showing operations,but also a “rock,paper, scissors” tour-nament with the mas-cot AjiPanda ®, aswell as refreshments.

50 years of business growth in America and Brazil■ Lively interaction with communities near plantsAt three production facilities in the U.S., the Ajinomoto

Group is striving to get involved and work together withlocal communities.

At the North Carolina Plant in Raleigh, North Carolina,Ajinomoto employees have taken the initiative in gatheringused toys for donation to children without any family. Theyare also participating in volunteer food provision services inorder to promote the health of senior citizens.

At the Eddyville Plant in Iowa, a lively discussion was car-ried out with university and high school instructors inSeptember 2006 concerning personnel needed in abiotechnology plant and systems for human resource devel-opment. At the Iowa Plant in the same region, a luncheonwas held to reward employees during the plant’s regularmaintenance period in July 2006. Held in cooperation withan Eddyville historic preserva-tion society, the luncheon alsogenerated additional proceeds,which were donated to thesociety. Support for the localcommunity will be strength-ened in the future.

■ Support focused on health, education, food, nutrition,and culture

The Ajinomoto Group has recognized the importance of par-ticipation in the local community since it first began businessoperations in Brazil. All of its plants in Brazil have been per-forming social activities that meet the needs of local commu-nities. In 1999 the Instituto Assistencial Ajinomoto wasestablished to support activities relating to health, education,food, nutrition, and culture, and these ongoing efforts arelinked to the 50th anniversary of Ajinomoto in Brazil.

This institute continues to help support the developmentof future specialists in health and food, through regular cook-ing and swimming classes forchildren that live in the disad-vantaged neighborhoods of SaoPaulo, and educational supportfor local people in cooperationwith the city government.

Growing with Local CommunitiesThe Ajinomoto Group is committed to fulfilling its responsibilities as a member of every communitywhere it operates. The company works hard to promote the growth of local communities, whichnaturally includes proper disclosure of information about its business sites.

Social Report

Chinese cuisine buffet. Employees with toys to be donated.

Cooking class held in Sao Paulo.

Rock-paper-scissors tournament with AjiPanda®.

Page 43: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

42Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Man

agem

ent

Cus

tom

ers

Bus

ines

sPa

rtne

rsLo

cal

Com

mun

itie

sE

nvir

onm

enta

lR

epor

tE

mp

loye

es

Good Corporate Citizenship

The Ajinomoto Group and its employees bring a proactive attitude and a global mindset to the effort tobuild a healthy, vibrant world through food.

Social Report

Supporting the independence of communitiesAjinomoto initiated the Cassava High-Yield CultivationProject in the Indonesian province of Lampung in 2005,aiming to secure sustainable food resources and improvethe livelihoods of farmers in this production region. In thefirst picking season in 2006, the project achieved a 70%higher yield than fields that did not participate (see page 44).

Employees make heart-warming meals for children■ Visit to Beijing Sun Village Employees from the Beijing Office of Ajinomoto China Co.,Inc., used the compa-ny’s curry products tocook dinner for thechi ldren who l ive atBei j ing Sun Vi l lage,separated from theirrelat ives for variousreasons. In addition,proceeds worth 5,000RMB (US$633) raised at charity events were donated tothe Beijing Sun Village Fund.

Ajinomoto Group foundations The Ajinomoto Group is supporting six foundations in fivecountries in order to fulfill the group’s mission of contribut-ing to society. Ajinomoto will continue to strengthen thesebonds of cooperation while also respecting the activities ofeach foundation.

Thank you for supporting the Ashita-no-moto 1 Click Donation programOn April 30, 2007, the Ajinomoto Group’s Ashita-no-moto1 Click Donation program, through which Ajinomoto donat-ed one yen per click on the program website, came to anend. The program supported 39 NPOs and NGOs withtotal donations of ¥17,484,774 (US$149,670) over aboutfour years. Ajinomoto wishes to express its heartfelt appre-ciation to all those who supported the program.

Working to Realize a Healthy, Vibrant World

The Ajinomoto Group strives to contribute to a better world intwo major ways: international cooperation support programsand food education activities.

Ajinomoto International Cooperation Network for “Nutrition and Health” Support ProgramThe Ajinomoto Group works with outside experts andNGOs both in and outside Japan to support internationalcooperation activities in the areas of food, nutrition, andhealth, with the aim of improving quality of life for people indeveloping countries, as set out in the UN MillenniumDevelopment Goals.

■ Supporting education and nutritional improvementfor children in rural Thailand

The Nutrition for Brain and Body project (Terra People ActKanagawa: a Japanese NPO), which was launched in ruralareas in northeast Thailand in fiscal 2007, provides amobile classroom to about 400 children per year. With the helpof village adults, the project alsoprovides nutritious lunches tothe children, aiming to improveboth education and health.

Mission of Our Corporate Citizenship ActivitiesThe Ajinomoto Group recognizes its roles and responsibilities in society andstrives to contribute to a healthy, vibrant society by promoting corporate citizen-ship activities focused on Food and Health on a global basis.

Basic Policies1. Priority emphasis on designated activities (selection and concentration)2. Effective use of management resources of the Ajinomoto Group3. Realization of accountability through appropriate evaluation of activities and

dissemination of information4. Encouragement of employee participation and initiative as the Ajinomoto Group5. Cooperation with external organizations to improve the quality of our activities

For details, visit us online at:

http://www.ajinomoto.com/social/

Employees from the Beijing Office making curry.

Children studying reading, writingand arithmetic using local foods aseducational materials.

Page 44: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

Solving social challenges through business activities(Food, health, environment, natural resources, energy)

Energy & globalwarming

countermeasures

Stable securingof food resources

Conservation ofecosystems/biodiversity

Bus

ines

s m

od

elin

nova

tion

(Ori

gin

al t

echn

olo

gie

s)

So

cial

sys

tem

tran

sfo

rmat

ion

(Coo

pera

tion

with

soc

iety

)

43 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Man

agem

ent

Cus

tom

ers

Bus

ines

sPa

rtne

rsLo

cal

Com

mun

itie

sE

nvir

onm

enta

lR

epor

tE

mp

loye

es

How the Ajinomoto Group Sees the GlobalEnvironment and the “Global Village”

As is already widely recognized around the world, thehuman activity of the modern period, which requires heavyenergy and resource consumption, is causing acceleratedglobal warming and destruction of biodiversity and ecosys-tems, thus endangering the sustainability of the global envi-ronment and human society. Today’s environmentalchallenges pose major risks for the business activities ofthe Ajinomoto Group, which are supported by “ecosystemservices”—the multitude of resources and processes thatnatural ecosystems provide. Despite these challenging cir-cumstances, the group is positioned to make significantcontributions to the conservation of the environment thanksto the unique characteristics of its businesses. Ajinomoto isdetermined to ensure that its business activities actuallyserve to increase the sustainability of the global environ-ment and human societies everywhere.

Ajinomoto Group Environmental Philosophy and Basic Policies

Helping to Build a Sustainable Global Environment The businesses of the Ajinomoto Group are supported by the bounty of global and local ecosystems,and the primary industries that these ecosystems support. The group strives to offer solutions toissues of energy, natural resources, and the environment through its business activities by developingtechnologies and acting cooperatively as a responsible member of the “Global Village.”

Environmental Report

Ajinomoto Group Environmental Philosophy (abridged)

The Ajinomoto Group is committed to contributing to environmen-tal and social sustainability which assures a rich natural environ-ment and affluent lives for all the people of the world, includingfuture generations. We appreciate nature’s blessings—our Foodand Health business depends on them—so we strive to reduceadverse impacts on the global environment and local ecosystemsas well as to use recycling-oriented production methods to makethe most of natural resources. Furthermore, as a responsible global corporation, we endeavor to continuously improve our business operations to keep them in harmony with the global environment.

Basic Policies (abridged)1. AttitudeWe fully comply with relevant laws and regulations. We also closelymonitor global trends in sustainability, the environment and bio-diversity, and strive to be a positive force in society by respondingto emerging trends quickly and appropriately.

2. Management systemWe address sustainability issues sincerely through our environmen-tal management system.

3. PerformanceWe endeavor to reduce adverse environmental impacts on ecosys-tems. Understanding the importance of finite natural resources, wemake a genuine effort to conserve resources and energy and pro-mote recycling.

4. Technology developmentWe strive to develop new technologies and systems that enhancesustainability.

5. CommunicationWe provide education and training on sustainability for our employ-ees. We hold dialogues on the group’s initiatives for sustainabilitywith our stakeholders. We pursue partnerships and collaborationwith our stakeholders with the goal of enhancing environmentaland social sustainability both globally and locally.

* The texts of the Ajinomoto Group Environmental Philosophy and Basic

Policies presented in this report are abridged versions of the original

documents. The full texts are available on the company’s website at:

http://www.ajinomoto.com/environment/

Page 45: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

44Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Man

agem

ent

Cus

tom

ers

Bus

ines

sPa

rtne

rsLo

cal

Com

mun

itie

sE

nvir

onm

enta

lR

epor

tE

mp

loye

es

utilization of food resources. The Ajinomoto Group has beendeveloping the “Bio-cycle” (see diagram on page 46) pro-duction process around the world for about 30 years, and in2005, it initiated the Cassava High-Yield Cultivation Projectin Indonesia (see photos below). Moreover, the group isworking to find a way to conserve bonito, the group’s con-sumption of which is roughly estimated to account for a fewpercent of the world’s total catch.

■ Food and energy Nowadays, carbon neutral alternative fuels are receiving alot of attention, as the problem of global warming due tofossil fuel-derived CO2 becomes apparent. Bioethanol, oneof the representative alternative fuels, is produced fromcorn and sugar cane. Future competition for resources forfood or fuel use, and the deforestation and weakening ofecosystems that will result from the ensuing expansion ofland under cultivation, are serious concerns. Under thesecircumstances, the Ajinomoto Group believes that it is crucial to work to break this negative cycle through locallydriven raw material procurement that takes the securing offood resources into consideration, and also by making useof the group’s accumulated biotechnologies.

Amino acids manufactured by the Ajinomoto Group arealso produced from corn, sugar cane, and cassava throughfermentation processes. The group believes that the mostbasic, effective plan for alleviating the dependence on thesecrops will involve dramatically streamlining the productionprocess, undertaking R&D, and adopting new technolo-gies, such as methods that enable use of a wider variety ofraw materials in production processes.

Future challenges for the Ajinomoto Group■ Commitment to conserving biodiversityThe conservation of biodiversity is the most basic andimportant mission of the Ajinomoto Group. Biodiversitysupports the global environment and life, and is the basicfoundation that makes their continued existence in thefuture possible; it is a shared asset of all life. It is also thesource that provides human beings with food, clothing, andshelter as well as energy, medicine, and all other blessings.

The Ajinomoto Group conducts environmental assess-ments when considering the construction of plants and theprocurement of agricultural, livestock, and fishery raw mate-rials for use in product development. These assessmentslook upstream to take the conservation of biodiversity andecosystems into consideration. Going forward, the groupwill work to ensure that the harvesting of important raw

materials from the landand sea does not nega-tively affect biodiversityand ecosystems, andwill concentrate more onhow to sustainably utilizethese resources.

■ Securing food resources and the sustainability ofagriculture and fisheries

Faced with population growth on a global scale and rapidclimate change, humanity is faced with serious concernsover the stable and fair securing of food resources. TheAjinomoto Group has provided delicious, high-quality foodfor nearly 100 years. The group is committed to supportingthe local communities and ecosystems that make agricultureand fisheries sustainable, in order to continue delivering thevaluable food that is the source of life to people worldwide.

Agriculture and fisheries are important to ecosystems andto the Ajinomoto Group, which manufactures food products.For example, inappropriate use of chemical fertilizers, the uti-lization of a community’s water resources without regard forthe status of those resources, disorderly development, andoverexploitation harm the future prospects of the agricultureand fishing industries themselves and endanger the future

Please see the Ajinomoto Group Environmental Report 2007 (issued in September 2007) or visit

the environmental conservation website of the Ajinomoto Group for more detailed information at:

http://www.ajinomoto.com/environment/

View of the Ajinomoto Tokai Bird Sanctuaryat the Tokai Plant of Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

The Ajinomoto Group works in cooperation with a local agricultural experimentfacility in the Cassava High-Yield Cultivation Project in Indonesia. The group notonly supplies cultivation techniques and farming equipment, but also provides theliving expenses for the team in charge of advising the local farmers.

Page 46: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

45 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Man

agem

ent

Cus

tom

ers

Bus

ines

sPa

rtne

rsLo

cal

Com

mun

itie

sE

nvir

onm

enta

lR

epor

tE

mp

loye

es

Priority Initiatives to Reduce Environmental Impact

Efforts to reduce impact on the global environment andecosystems are critical in every aspect of business activi-ties. The Ajinomoto Group is prioritizing efforts to reducethe environmental impact of its manufacturing divisions. Inparticular, it is striving to reduce CO2 emissions, waste-water, and waste, the major environmental impacts gener-ated by the production of amino acids and food products.Accordingly, the group has set challenging numerical tar-gets in each of these areas in the 2005-2010 AjinomotoGroup Zero Emissions Plan—the group’s own globallyshared standards—and is working hard to reduce theiremissions and impact.

Specific goals for achievement by fiscal 2010, by key issue

●Preventing global warmingImproving environmental efficiency throughbioscience technologies The business activities of the Ajinomoto Group generate about2.3 million tons of CO2 every year. About 80% of that CO2 isderived from fermentation-related production such as aminoacid processing. The production of amino acids requires agreat deal of energy in the form of electricity and steam. Thegroup therefore focuses its efforts on increasing the productiv-ity of the amino acid production process, and dramaticallyimproving environmental efficiency by using world-class bio-science technologies. It also employs cogeneration technolo-gy, which uses all the energy in fuels without waste, and isaggressively pushing the utilization of biomass fuels that suitthe agricultural environment of each country and region.

Going forward, the group will switch over to highly en-ergy efficient practices in all of its businesses and will makedetermined efforts to help create low-carbon social sys-tems and lifestyles.

Global warming prevention awareness building campaignFirst step: A call to view the movie An Inconvenient Truth

It is important for every person to work to counteract globalwarming in his or her daily life. Accordingly, the AjinomotoGroup is conducting a global warming prevention awarenessbuilding campaign for all group employees. As the first step,the group called on all group employees and their families inJapan, some 30,000 people, to read the publications offormer U.S. vice president Al Gore and watch his movie, AnInconvenient Truth. The company gave 500 people tickets tothe movie. Employees who participated in the campaignprovided the company with feedback that indicated that theyfelt a sense of crisis and felt compelled to act. What more canAjinomoto do to fight global warming by facilitating betterunderstanding of the current situation? The company’s nextstep will be to extendcampaigns like thisone, which encourageemployees to reflecton their lifestyles, toall group companies,including those out-side Japan.

Movie tickets were given to employees.

Excerpt of the 2005-2010 Ajinomoto Group Zero Emissions Plan

Redu

ce e

mis

sion

s of

gree

nhou

se g

ases

Scope Specific targets (2010)

Unit CO2 emissions: Reduceby 20% (compared to FY02)

Gross CO2 emissions: Reduceby 6% (compared to FY90)

Gross CO2 emissions: Do notallow increase from FY02performance

Unit volume of wastewaterdischarged: Reduce by 20%or greater (compared to FY02)

Concentration of pollutants inwastewater: BOD ≤ 10 ppm,total nitrogen ≤ 5 ppm

Resource recovery ratio: 99%or greater

Production sites (in and outside Japan)

Production sites(Japan)

Non-production sitesand product logisticdivisions (Japan)

Production sites (in and outside Japan)

All sites (in and outside Japan)

Redu

ce p

ollu

tant

load

of

was

tew

ater

Redu

cew

aste

Page 47: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

Contributes to reduction in CO2 emissions associated with production of chemical fertilizer

Accounts for approximately 70% of nitrogen fertilizer re-quired for 500,000 hectares of sugar cane fields

Organic fertilizer1.6 million tons

By-product recoveredas useful resources

Product

RAJI-NO-MOTO seasoning plant

AJI-NO-MOTO R

500,000 tons

Cane molasses(Syrup derived from sugar cane)

Sugar(crude)

Sugar canecrop

Harvest

1.5 million tons

4.2 million tonsSugar production

plant

38 million tons

Sugar cane fields

Chemical fertilizer

500,000 hectares

Sun

Absorption of atmospheric CO2

28 million tons

Recycling-orientedproduction process

The chart assumes worldwide annual production of approximately 500,000 tons of AJI-NO-MOTO® seasoning produced by the Ajinomoto Group using only sugar cane. The values for sugar cane grown and sugar production represent average global use, while the values for resources used for producing AJI-NO-MOTO® and values for by-products are based on actual Ajinomoto statistics.

Unitization ofby-products

1.6 million tons

46Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Man

agem

ent

Cus

tom

ers

Bus

ines

sPa

rtne

rsLo

cal

Com

mun

itie

sE

nvir

onm

enta

lR

epor

tE

mp

loye

es

●Reducing waste and effectively utilizingby-products

Amino acids and food products are manufactured usingnatural bounty, such as agricultural products, as raw mate-rials. Accordingly, by-products and waste that do not gointo main products are also valuable resources. For thatreason, the group is working to improve its manufacturingprocess and develop new processes so that the raw mate-rials used are turned into products without squander. Thegroup then makes sure that it effectively utilizes the by-products and waste that are generated nevertheless. Inparticular, almost all of the approximately 2 million tons offermentation concentrate that is generated as a by-productof amino acid production is processed into organic fertilizerand used in the agricultural industry.

The “Bio-cycle” (see diagram below), a resource recy-cling amino acid production process that the AjinomotoGroup has developed over 30 years in close cooperationwith local communities, brings environmental, economic,and social benefits to communities where the AjinomotoGroup does business around the globe.

●Reducing water usage and wastewater impact

Developing and implementing advanced wastewatertreatment technologiesThe fermentation production process for amino acids useslarge amounts of water. About 70% of the nearly 200 milliontons of water the Ajinomoto Group uses every year is used forcooling and other indirect purposes. Since the group useswater mainly from local rivers, it constantly strives to save waterby making process improvements. The remaining 30% or so isused for washing during the production process, andbecomes process effluent after use. The group develops andimplements advanced wastewater treatment technologiessuch as biological denitrification, in order to clean its processeffluent, which contains high concentrations of nitrogen andBOD components. The wastewater standards for total nitro-gen established as targets in the 2005-2010 Ajinomoto GroupZero Emissions Plan is a high goal even by global standards.

Please see the Ajinomoto Group Environmental Report 2007 (issued in September 2007) or visit the environmental

conservation website of the Ajinomoto Group for more detailed information at: http://www.ajinomoto.com/environment/

Bio-cycle

Page 48: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

47 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Man

agem

ent

Cus

tom

ers

Bus

ines

sPa

rtne

rsLo

cal

Com

mun

itie

sE

nvir

onm

enta

lR

epor

tE

mp

loye

es

Report on the environmental management systemAs of the end of fiscal 2006, all 23 business sites ofAjinomoto Co., Inc., and 82 subsidiaries in and outsideJapan (47 in Japan and 35 outside Japan)—a total of 105sites, or 90% of all applicable sites—had acquired ISO14001, which is the cornerstone of environmental manage-ment at the Ajinomoto Group. Ajinomoto has trained a totalof more than 1,500 internal environmental auditors, true tothe emphasis it places on training within its environmentaleducation programs.

The Ajinomoto Group has not had any serious violationsof environmental laws and regulations, prosecutions, oraccidents that had a serious impact on the environmentsince it first tallied and disclosed its group-wide record infiscal 2002.

Report on efforts to reduce environmental impact In fiscal 2006, Ajinomoto made some headway in reducingCO2 by improving the productivity of manufacturingprocesses and by taking new steps to conserve energy.However, due to the expansion of production in productlines that have large energy requirements and other factors,the group did not achieve notable reductions in unit CO2

emissions. Gross CO2 emissions increased about 1% overthe previous fiscal year to 2.33 million tons. Ajinomoto hasreorganized its energy conservation projects group-wideand is strengthening its efforts to reduce CO2 emissions.

Report on communication with local communitiesIn fiscal 2006, Ajinomoto strengthened its communicationwith local communities in a number of ways. For instance,the company held two environmental dialogues about foodproducts with invited NPOs and other experts. The livelyexchange of opinions on topics ranging from the sustain-able procurement of raw materials, environmental consider-ations in the manufacturing stage, and containers andpackaging, as well as environmental communication withconsumers, resulted in many discoveries, which weretranslated into new initiatives.

Goals and Results

The Ajinomoto Group has been moving forward with environmental initiatives based on a new six-year plan since fiscal 2005.

Environmental Report

Fiscal 2005-2010 Ajinomoto Group Six-yearEnvironmental Conservation Plan

■Management: From establishment to steady implementation ofEnvironmental Management System

■ Performance: Establishment and steady implementation of the2005-2010 Ajinomoto Group Zero Emissions Plan

■Communication: Improving assessment of corporate value froma CSR perspective

Main environmental impacts over time

* Forecasted figures are used for fiscal 2006 data in all three graphs.

CO2 emissions and unit CO2 emissions

Fermentation-related discharged water and unit volume

Waste and by-products generated, and resource recovery ratio

Total emissionsEmissions from production sites in Japan Unit emissions Recovered resourcesWaste disposal Resource recovery ratioDischarged water volume Unit volume

* Unit CO2 emissions: Index using unit CO2 emissions per production unit in fiscal 2002 as 100

0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

40

60

80

100

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

80

90

100

0

50

100

150

200

70

80

90

100

Em

issi

ons

(mill

ion

tons

)

0.48 0.49 0.52 0.51 0.51

1.99 2.06 2.22 2.30 2.33

100

89 8881 81

100

89 8881 81

FY02FY02 FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06

141

FY03

148

FY04

154

FY05

161

FY06

136

Generated volume1,763

Generated volume1,964

Generated volume2,087

Generated volume2,198

Generated volume2,167

FY02

93

FY04

48

FY03

72

FY05

47

FY06

30

1,670 2,0391,892 2,152 2,137

Uni

t em

issi

ons

(%)

Dis

char

ged

wat

er v

olum

e(m

illio

n to

ns)

Uni

t vo

lum

e

Gen

erat

ed v

olum

e (th

ousa

nd t

ons)

Res

ourc

e re

cove

ry r

atio

(%)100100 9595

85858383

7171

94.796.3

97.7 97.9 98.6

94.796.3

97.7 97.9 98.6

0.48 0.49 0.52 0.51 0.51

Page 49: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

Gre

enin

g o

fo

rgan

izat

iona

lo

per

atio

nsG

reen

ing

of

bus

ines

s ac

tivi

ties

Co

mm

unic

atio

n w

ith

soci

ety

2005

-201

0 A

jino

mo

to G

roup

Zer

o E

mis

sio

ns A

ctio

n P

lan

48Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Man

agem

ent

Cus

tom

ers

Bus

ines

sPa

rtne

rsLo

cal

Com

mun

itie

sE

nvir

onm

enta

lR

epor

tE

mp

loye

es

Please see the Ajinomoto Group Environmental Report 2007 (issued in September 2007) or visit the environmental

conservation website of the Ajinomoto Group for more detailed information at: http://www.ajinomoto.com/environment/

Detailed Performance Report

Main goals through FY10 Review of FY06 performance Assessment

Acquisition of ISO14001 certification ●Acquire certification at 117 business sites ●Acquired certification at a total of 105 sites (90%

progress)

Environmentaleducation andawareness

●Train internal environmental auditors: a total of1,800 in fiscal 2007 (1 in 7 group employees)

●Promote environmental awareness activities thatinclude the families of group employees

●Over 1,500 trained ●Launched the global warming prevention

awareness building campaign across theAjinomoto Group

Green procurement

●Promote procurement in line with the AjinomotoGroup Green Procurement Guidelines

●Increase rate of purchase of environmentally friendly products usingan indirect materials purchasing system (Ajinomoto Co., Inc.)

●Currently promoting penetration. Aiming to expand indirectmaterials purchasing system throughout the group

●Achieved a rate of 59.2% (down by 5 points fromthe previous fiscal year)

×

○△

Violation of environmental laws and regulations

Technology developmentand manufacture

●Achieve the 2005-2010 Ajinomoto Group ZeroEmissions Plan

●Promoted energy conservation projects and tookother initiatives

Environmental considerationof containers and packaging

●Promote the Containers and Packaging 3RPromotion Plan (2010, Ajinomoto Co., Inc.)

●Continued developing the plant-derived plastic,PBS. Won a prize in the Japan Packaging Contestin the food packaging category.

Marketing andsales

●Reduce waste products: Achieve 0.5% return ratefor household dry goods in Japan (Ajinomoto Co.,Inc.)

●Waste products increased 9% by weight over theprevious fiscal year to 1,457 tons

●Value of returned goods declined 12% from theprevious fiscal year to ¥590 million

●Return ratio declined 0.05 point from the previousfiscal year to 0.45%

Logistics●Maintain or improve rate of modal shift●Promote initiatives for environmental consideration

as a cargo owner

●Logistics company group within the AjinomotoGroup obtained block ISO 14001 certification

●Improved small lot shipments

Environmental reportingand communication ofenvironmentalinformation

●Strengthen CSR (environmental) reporting: Proactivelydisclose information, publish reports early and enhancetheir content, encourage publishing of site reports,dialogues with stakeholders

●Prepared a separate environmental report in addition tothe environmental report within the CSR report.Received award of excellence in environmental reportingat the Environmental Communication Awards.

Relationship withlocal communities

●Always present activities at business sites honestlyfrom the viewpoint of local residents

●Continued to promote plant tours: Received 30,000visitors at three plants of Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Cooperation withNPOs and diversestakeholders

●Contribute to consensus-building in order tofacilitate the move to a recycling-oriented societythrough cooperation with stakeholders

No serious violations of environmental laws and regulations, prosecutions, or accidents that had a serious impacton the environment since Ajinomoto first tallied and disclosed its group-wide record in fiscal 2002

●Held environmental dialogues on the subjects ofcontainers and packaging and environmentalconsiderations in food products

Self assessment 〇: Target mostly achieved; △: Performance achieved, but challenges remain; ×: Target unachieved

Goals through FY10 Review of FY06 performance

Item Scope Specific goals Overview of initiatives (Forecasted figures are used for some items)Assessment

Unit CO2

emissions

Gross CO2

emissions

Concentrationsof pollutant loadin wastewater

Unit volumeof wastewaterdischarged

Resourcerecovery ratio

Reduce waste

Reducepollutant loadof wastewater

Reduceemissions ofgreenhousegases

Emissions per amount of production (by weight)declined by 19% compared to FY02 (Slightdecrease from the previous fiscal year)

Gross emissions slightly increased overthe previous fiscal year to 510,000 tons.Exceeded the FY10 goal by 26,000 tons.

Gross emissions: 44,000 tons (Surpassedthe FY10 target. Decreased by 6% fromthe previous fiscal year)

Goals achieved at 9 of 44 targeted sites(Three business sites fewer than theprevious fiscal year)

Reduced by 28% compared to FY02(Decreased by 2% over the previousfiscal year)

Achieved resource recovery rate of 98.6%. 32of 93 targeted business sites surpassed thecriterion (Improved 0.6 point over the previousfiscal year; three fewer business sites).

Discharge point fromwastewater treatment facilitiesat all production sites

All production sites

All production sitesand non-productionsites

All production sites

All production sites inJapan

All non-productionsites in JapanAll product logisticsdivisions in Japan

Maintain gross emissions of 484,000tons or less (corresponding to 6%reduction compared to FY90 level)

Do not allow increase from FY02performance

BOD ≤ 10 ppm, TN ≤ 5 ppm

Reduce by 20% or greateragainst production weight(compared to FY02)

Achieve ratio of 99% or greater

Reduce emissions per monetaryunit of sales by 20% (comparedto FY02)

×

×

Page 50: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

Third-Party Opinions

49 Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

Corporate executives at some companies often say they do notknow what actions should be taken for human rights in business,as they feel the issue quite abstract and conceptual. In actualpractice, however, human rights issues are extremely specific, andglobal companies must listen to the voices of those whose humanrights are being infringed upon in all areas of the world. It is everycompany’s social responsibility.

As the Ajinomoto Group is a truly global enterprise, I thinkpresenting the top management view on specific courses ofaction and initiatives, which was followed by corresponding dis-cussion in the report, was an outstanding approach. It is com-mendable that Ajinomoto has raised the global issue of securingsustainable food resources. Taking one step further by settingup specific targets to address issues is needed to seek efficacy.

It was good to provide a diagram at the beginning of thereport showing the group’s stakeholders and the communica-tion methods it uses to reach these groups. This diagram has,however, also highlighted some problem areas for the AjinomotoGroup. In the diagram, it is apparent that most of the focus is onshareholders and investors, while there is a relative lack of atten-tion paid to local communities. Unless Ajinomoto communicatesproperly with all the communities in which it operates worldwide,it has not sufficiently fulfilled its responsibilities as a global enter-prise. The group’s highest priority should be CSR training foremployees that deal with local communities and suppliers locat-ed at the very start of the supply chain. Moreover, in regionswhere practices such as child labor and forced labor are preva-lent, it should take proactive, preventative measures.

The question of how to balance CSR with provision of cus-tomer satisfaction is a hard one, but by focusing on the issue ofreforming awareness, Ajinomoto demonstrates a good under-standing of problems related to CSR.

Declaring the intention to establish a value chain that thor-oughly manages raw material procurement right down to theactual sites is certainly an important step. A lot of additionaleffort is definitely needed in this area. A good attempt was madein highlighting the Ajinomoto System of Quality Assurance(ASQUA) and the Hon-Dashi ® manufacturing process. However,a more detailed explanation is needed on the tracing mechanismand the monitoring functions, extending as far as supply chain management.

Regarding nutrition, lifestyle-related diseases and obesity area problem for developed economies, while in developing coun-tries inadequate nutrition is the concern. The awareness of theproblem also differs from region to region, depending on reli-gious background and traditional culture. As a global enterprise,the Ajinomoto Group needs to address these various facets ofthe issue.

Concerning the main theme of communication with stakehold-ers, the path taken to realize the CSR vision by holding dia-logues with them was very easy to comprehend, and the samewas true for the basic approach to CSR that the AjinomotoGroup is taking. The “Message from the President” was alsolinked with these themes. The idea that Ajinomoto desires toincrease its value to the world by starting with umami as its toppriority was clearly conveyed.

In the section entitled “Five Paths to Realizing the AjinomotoGroup Vision for CSR Achievements by 2020,” the report clari-fies the course the company has set for its future initiatives andshares this information with stakeholders. I expect that the multi-plier effect of this type of communication will in fact helpAjinomoto achieve its vision. It is important to note that theachievement of this vision is not meant only to sustain theAjinomoto Group, but also to help support the sustainability ofthe planet. All in all, this report should be commended for help-ing readers understand the full meaning of CSR.

In the section on the global environment, the report outlinesthe major issues, and explains how Ajinomoto is working toreduce its environmental impact. In the segment entitled, “FutureChallenges for the Ajinomoto Group,” it explains how thecompany is addressing problems related to biodiversity, foodresources, water resources, as well as energy and food, whichare all major unresolved issues for sustainability. I was fascinatedto read this section and find out how the Ajinomoto Group iscarefully focusing on and actually attempting to resolve theseissues as part of its business activities. By issuing a separateenvironmental report as well, Ajinomoto is conveying a strongenvironmental message.

The sections on food and nutrition education and Hon-Dashi ® are of interest to just about everyone, and Ajinomotohas really conveyed its desire for customers to read about thesetopics. The part about genetically modified organisms (GMOs)interested me in particular. As consumers do not yet fullyunderstand the importance of GMO technology, this is a topic thatthe Ajinomoto Group must further explain to consumers. Since the“Message from the President” indicated that the group isemphasizing communication with stakeholders, I felt that the GMOsection should have had more to say regarding communicationwith stakeholders. Instead, it simply states that GMOs are listed inthe product nutritional content information according to labelingstandards. As this is a very critical topic, the Ajinomoto Group mustcontinue to promote better dialogue with consumers in this area.

Makoto TeranakaSecretary GeneralAmnesty International Japan

Kikuko TatsumiBoard MemberNippon Association of Consumer Specialists

Page 51: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

50Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007

This marks the third year since Ajinomoto Co., Inc., establisheda department specifically focused on CSR. Despite our hardwork over this time, it is unlikely that all employees have attaineda full understanding of CSR. The question is how to integrate ourunique approach to CSR into all of our daily operations, in orderto realize the CSR Vision most profoundly, and most efficiently.Even when we have answered this question, however, we willstill be asking ourselves what else can be done. I also believethat we have not been doing enough to communicate withstakeholders about the specific initiatives we are carrying out. Toaddress this shortcoming, this report features one of our mostfamiliar products in Japan, Hon-Dashi ®, and describes the CSRmeasures related to it in every stage—from raw material pro-curement to delivery to the customer. This represents oneattempt to present the CSR initiatives of the Ajinomoto Group tostakeholders in an accessible way.

Regarding the diagram entitled “Communication between theAjinomoto Group and Stakeholders” (page 3), and the types ofmedia used to reach each group of stakeholders, Mr. Teranakaindicated that most of our efforts seem to be geared towardshareholders and investors, with a relative lack of communica-tion with local communities. It is true that the diagram shows fewwritten communication methods used to report corporate activi-ties to local communities. I would like to point out, however, thatwe also use a variety of other communication methods. Westrive to choose the optimal method for communication,depending on the specific content and the recipients. Forinstance, the Ajinomoto Group communicates with local com-munities around the world by offering tours of plants in Japan

■ Response to Third-Party Opinionsand other countries, and visiting schools to provide food andnutrition education. Going forward, as requested by Ms.Tatsumi, we are determined to deepen our communication withstakeholders on a broad range of topics related to our activities,including the very rigorous approach we take to genetically mod-ified organisms (GMOs).

I am grateful for the comments our reviewers provided onfour different themes—human rights, securing sustainable foodresources, establishing a value chain, and nutrition—and theirsuggestions about how the Ajinomoto Group can improve itsCSR initiatives as a global enterprise in these areas. In order toimplement these goals in specific individual operations, and putour CSR policies into practice, we must engage in even morediscussion throughout the group, and take a global perspective.Our approach to CSR positions the business activities of theAjinomoto Group themselves as our primary contribution to soci-ety. We intend to call all of the group’s employees to think fromthe perspective of CSR in order to change the way they work,thus helping to find new solutions for the issues facing commu-nities everywhere.

Namio TerashiMember of the Board &

Corporate Vice PresidentAjinomoto Co., Inc.

How Third-Party Opinions Were RequestedTwo experts were invited to provide third-party opinions onimportant themes in this year’s report, in order to increase itsobjectivity. Mr. Teranaka was requested to provide his professionalopinion on the human rights initiatives taken by Ajinomoto, seenfrom a global perspective. Ms. Tatsumi was asked to provide herexpert feedback on the environmental and consumer initiatives takenby Ajinomoto. Before requesting them to submit their third-party

opinions, the editors met with them and explained the editorialconcept of the report, as well as the group’s CSR initiatives and theprogress made. They were then asked to write reviews focusing ontheir areas of expertise. The Ajinomoto Group intends to use thisfeedback as a reference for improving its corporate activities.

Editors

Page 52: Ajinomoto Group CSR Report 2007€¦ · Ajinomoto Group Environmental Management* as defined in the company’s Environmental Regulations. * This designation refers to Ajinomoto Co.,

Cert no. SA-COC-1210


Recommended