ASSIGNMENT

ON

Social Responsibility of Sony Corporation

Course Title: Business Environment & Course code: BUS 201

SUBMITTED TO

Kazi Tashkin Huda Lecturer

World University of Bangladesh

Submitted by

Group: E (Recourse with 48E)

Name Roll Batch ID

Khondoker Amin Uzzaman 1757 Batch: 33(A) ID: WUB01/11/33/1757

Alida Islam 1731 Batch: 31(G) ID: WUB01/11/31/1731

Jenifa Mahmud 1743 Batch: 31(G) ID: WUB01/11/31/1743

Shovon Kumar Das 1668 Batch: 31(E) ID: WUB01/11/31/1668

Rokshana Parven 1969 Batch: 36 ID: WUB01/11/36/1969

Saila Haq Urmi 1563 Batch: 31(C) ID: WUB01/11/31/1563

Department of Business Administration Date of submission: 01 Dec 2014

Letter of Transmittal

01 Dec 2014

To

Kazi Tashkin Huda

Lecturer,

Department of Business Administration

World University of Bangladesh

Dhanmondi, Dhaka

Subject: Submission of assignment on “Social Responsibility of Sony Corporation”

Dear Madam,

Here is the assignment that we assigned on the topic as per your request. The assignment has

been completed by the knowledge that we have gathered from the course “Social Responsibility

of Sony Corporation”.

We are thankful to all those persons who provided us important information and gave us valuable

advices. We would be happy if you read the report carefully and we will be trying to answer all

the questions that you have about the assignment.

We have tried our label best to complete this assignment meaningfully and correctly, as much as

possible. We do believe that our tiresome effort will help you to get ahead with this sort of

venture. In this case it will be meaningful to us. However, if you need any assistance in

interpreting this assignment please contact us without any kind of hesitation.

Thanking you.

Sincerely Yours

Khondoker Amin Uzzaman Batch: 33(A) ID: WUB01/11/33/1757

Alida Islam Batch: 31(G) ID: WUB01/11/31/1731

Jenifa Mahmud Batch: 31(G) ID: WUB01/11/31/1743

Shovon Kumar Das Batch: 31(E) ID: WUB01/11/31/1668

Rokshana Parven Batch: 36 ID: WUB01/11/36/1969

Saila Haq Urmi Batch: 31(C) ID: WUB01/11/31/1563

Program: BBA

World University of Bangladesh

Table of Contents Chapter One: 1.0 All about Sony Corporation ............................................................................................. 1

1.1 CEO of Sony ......................................................................................................................................... 2

1.2 Business units ...................................................................................................................................... 2

Chapter Two: 2.0 Social Responsibility ..................................................................................................... 10

2.1 Corporate social responsibility (CSR) ................................................................................................ 10

Chapter Three : 3.0 Social Responsibility or CSR of Sony Corporation .................................................... 12

3.1 CSR at Sony ........................................................................................................................................ 12

3.2 Verifying Key CSR Agenda and Determining Materiality .................................................................. 13

3.3 CSR / Environment of Sony ............................................................................................................... 14

3.4 Youth were on assignment for documenting following Sony’s CSR projects ................................... 16

3.5 Sony Picture The Greener Word ...................................................................................................... 18

3.6 Sony and the Environment ................................................................................................................ 21

3.7 CSR Highlights ................................................................................................................................... 22

4.0 Social Responsibility of Sony Corporation in Banglades ..................................................................... 25

4.1 Model Study of Community Electrification in Bangladesh Using a Long-life Storage

Battery System ........................................................................................................................................ 25

4.2 Solving Social Issues in Urban Bangladesh by Utilizing IC Card Technology ..................................... 28

5.0 Key Findings .......................................................................................................................................... 29

6.0 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 29

7.0 Reference/Bibliography ...................................................................................................................... 30

1

1.0 All about Sony Corporation

Sony Corporation commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate

corporation headquartered in Kōnan Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified business is primarily

focused on the electronics (TV, Gaming Consoles, and Refrigerators), game, entertainment and

financial services sectors. The company is one of the leading manufacturers of electronic

products for the consumer and professional markets. Sony is ranked 87th on the 2012 list of

Fortune Global 500.

Sony Corporation is the electronics business unit

and the parent company of the Sony Group, which is

engaged in business through its four operating

segments – Electronics (including video games,

network services and medical business), Motion

pictures, Music and Financial Services. These make

Sony one of the most comprehensive entertainment

companies in the world. Sony's principal business

operations include Sony Corporation (Sony

Electronics in the U.S.), Sony Pictures Entertainment,

Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Music

Entertainment, Sony Mobile Communications

(formerly Sony Ericsson), and Sony Financial. Sony is

among the Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales

Leaders and third-largest television manufacturer in

the world, after Samsung Electronics and LG

Electronics.

The Sony Group is a Japan-based corporate group primarily focused on the Electronics (such

as AV/IT products and components), Game (such as PlayStation), Entertainment (such as motion

pictures and music), and Financial Services (such as insurance and banking) sectors. The group

consists of Sony Corporation (holding and electronics), Sony Computer Entertainment (games),

Sony Pictures Entertainment (motion pictures), Sony Music Entertainment (music), Sony/ATV

Music Publishing (music publishing), Sony Financial Holdings (financial services) and others.

Its founders Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka derived the name from sonus, the Latin word for

sound, and also from the English slang word "sonny", since they considered themselves to be

"sonny boys", a loan word into Japanese which in the early 1950s connoted smart and

presentable young men. The company's current slogan is BE MOVED. Their former slogans were

make.believe (2009–2014) and like.no.other (2005–2014).

Chapter - 1

Sony Headquarters at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo

2

1.1 CEO of Sony

Kazuo Hirai

Kazuo "Kaz" Hirai (born December 22, 1960) is the President

and CEO of Sony Corporation. He also serves as a member of

the board of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc., a wholly

owned subsidiary of Sony. He was noted by Entertainment

Weekly as one of the most powerful executives in the

entertainment industry. Hirai became the President and CEO

of Sony on April 1, 2012.

Sony Corporation On April 1, 2011, Hirai was promoted to

Representative Corporate Executive Officer and Executive

Deputy President of Sony Corporation. He oversaw the

Consumer Products & Services Group. Hirai was speculated

to become the successor to Howard Stringer, the current

sitting president and CEO of Sony Corporation, who was then

expected to step down in 2013.

On February 1, 2012, Sony announced that Hirai has been appointed as President and Chief

Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2012. He was appointed to the Board at the annual

shareholders meeting on June 27, 2012.

1.2 Business units

Sony offers a number of products in a variety of product lines around the world.Sony has

developed a music playing robot called Rolly, dog-shaped robots called AIBO and a humanoid

robot called QRIO.

As of 1 April 2012, Sony is organized into the following business segments: Imaging Products &

Solutions (IP&S), Game, Mobile Products & Communications (MP&C), Home Entertainment &

Sound (HE&S), Devices, Pictures, Music, Financial Services and All Other.The network and medical

businesses are included in the All Other.

CEO of Sony

3

Sony Corporation

Sony Corporation is the electronics business unit

and the parent company of the Sony Group. It

primarily conducts strategic business planning of

the group, research and development (R&D),

planning, designing and marketing for electronics

products. Its subsidiaries such as Sony

EMCS[clarification needed] Corporation (6 plants in

Japan), Sony Semiconductor Corporation (7 plants

in Japan) and its subsidiaries outside Japan (Brazil,

China, England, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South

Korea, Thailand, Ireland and United States) are

responsible for manufacturing as well as product

engineering (Sony EMCS[clarification needed] is

also responsible for customer service operations). In 2012, Sony rolled most of its consumer

content services (including video, music, and gaming) into the Sony Entertainment Network.

Audio

Sony produced the world's first portable music player, the Walkman in 1979. This line fostered a

fundamental change in music listening habits by allowing people to carry music with them and

listen to music through lightweight headphones. Walkman originally referred to portable audio

cassette players. The company now uses the Walkman brand to market its portable audio and

video players as well as a line of former Sony Ericsson mobile phones.

Sony utilized a related brand, Discman, to refer to its CD players. It dropped this name in the late

1990s.

Computing

Sony sells many of its computer products using the VAIO brand. Sony

produced computers (MSX home computers and NEWS workstations)

during the 1980s, exclusively for sale in the Japanese market. The

company withdrew from the computer business around 1990. Sony

entered again into the global computer market under the new VAIO brand, began in 1996. Short

for "Video Audio Integrated Operation", the line was the first computer brand to highlight visual-

audio features.

Sony faced considerable controversy when some of its laptop batteries exploded and caught fire

in 2006, resulting in the largest computer-related recall to that point in history.

Sony at Westfield Riccarton shopping centre in Christchurch, New Zealand

4

In a bid to join the tablet computer market, the company launched its Sony Tablet line of Android

tablets in 2011. Since 2012, Sony's Android products have been marketed under the Xperia brand

used for its smartphones.

On 4 February 2014, Sony announced that it will sell its VAIO PC business due to poor sales and

Japanese company Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) will purchase the VAIO brand, with the deal

finalized by the end of March 2014. However, in a news release on the Sony Global website,

published on 5 February, the corporation’s states: "Sony continues to address various options for

the PC business, but Sony has no further comments."

Photography

Sony offers a wide range of digital cameras. Point-and-shoot

models adopt the Cyber-shot name, while digital single-lens reflex

models are branded using Alpha.

The first Cyber-shot was introduced in 1996. At the time, digital

cameras were a relative novelty. Sony's market share of the digital

camera market fell from a high of 20% to 9% by 2005.

Sony entered the market for digital single-lens reflex cameras in

2006 when it acquired the camera business of Konica Minolta. Sony rebranded the company's

line of cameras as its Alpha line. Sony is the world's third largest manufacturer of the cameras,

behind Canon and Nikon respectively.

Video

In 1968 Sony introduced the Trinitron brand name for its lines of aperture grille cathode ray tube

televisions and (later) computer monitors. Sony stopped production of Trinitron for most

markets, but continued producing sets for markets such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and China. Sony

discontinued its series of Trinitron computer monitors in 2005. The company discontinued the

last Trinitron-based television set in the USA in early 2007. The end of Trinitron marked the end

of Sony's analog television sets and monitors.

Sony Alpha DSLR

5

Sony used the LCD WEGA

name for its LCD TVs until

summer 2005. The company

then introduced the BRAVIA

name. BRAVIA is an in house

brand owned by Sony which

produces high-definition LCD

televisions, projection TVs and

front projectors, home

cinemas and the BRAVIA home

theatre range. All Sony high-

definition flat-panel LCD

televisions in North America have carried the logo for BRAVIA since 2005. Sony is the third-largest

maker of televisions in the world. As of 2012, Sony's television business has been unprofitable

for eight years.

In December 2011, Sony agreed to sell all stake in an LCD joint venture with Samsung Electronics

for about $940 million. On 28 March 2012, Sony Corporation and Sharp Corporation announced

that they have agreed to further amend the joint venture agreement originally executed by the

parties in July 2009, as amended in April 2011, for the establishment and operation of Sharp

Display Products Corporation ("SDP"), a joint venture to produce and sell large-sized LCD panels

and modules.

Sony also sells a range of DVD players. It has shifted its focus in recent years to promoting the

Blu-ray format, including discs and players.

Semiconductor and component

Sony produces a wide range of semiconductors and electronic components including image

sensors, laser diodes, system LSIs, mixed-signal LSIs, OLED panels, etc. The company has a strong

presence in the image sensor market. Sony-manufactured CCD and CMOS image sensors are

widely used in digital cameras, smartphones and tablet computers.

Medical-related business

Sony has targeted medical, healthcare and biotechnology business as a growth sector in the

future. The company acquired iCyt Mission Technology, Inc. (renamed Sony Biotechnology Inc. in

2012), a manufacture of flow cytometers, in 2010 and Micronics, Inc., a developer of

microfluidics-based diagnostic tools, in 2011.

In 2012, Sony announced that it will acquire all shares of So-net Entertainment Corporation,

which is the majority shareholder of M3, Inc., an operator of portal sites (m3.com, MR-kun,

MDLinx and MEDI:GATE) for healthcare professionals.

6

On 28 September 2012, Olympus and Sony announced that the two companies will establish a

joint venture to develop new surgical endoscopes with 4K resolution (or higher) and 3D

capability. Sony Olympus Medical Solutions Inc. (Sony 51%, Olympus 49%) was established on 16

April 2013.

On 28 February 2014, Sony, M3 and Illumina established a joint venture called P5, Inc. to provide

a genome analysis service for research institutions and enterprises in Japan.[38]

Sony Mobile Communications

Sony Mobile Communications AB

(formerly Sony Ericsson Mobile

Communications AB) is a multinational

mobile phone manufacturing company

headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and a

wholly owned subsidiary of Sony

Corporation.

In 2001, Sony entered into a joint

venture with Swedish

telecommunications company

Ericsson, forming Sony Ericsson. Initial sales were rocky, and the company posted losses in 2001

and 2002. However, SMC reached a profit in 2003. Sony Ericsson distinguished itself with

multimedia-capable mobile phones, which included features such as cameras. These were

unusual for the time. Despite their innovations, SMC faced intense competition from Apple's

iPhone, released in 2007. From 2008 to 2010, amid a global recession, SMC slashed its workforce

by several thousand. Sony acquired Ericsson's share of the venture in 2012 for over US$1 billion.

In 2009, SMC was the fourth-largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world (after Nokia,

Samsung and LG). By 2010, its market share had fallen to sixth place. Sony Mobile

Communications now focuses exclusively on the smartphone market under the Xperia name.

Sony Xperia Z2

7

Sony Computer Entertainment

Sony Computer Entertainment is best known for

producing the popular line of PlayStation consoles.

The line grew out of a failed partnership with

Nintendo. Originally, Nintendo requested for Sony to

develop an add-on for its console that would play

Compact Discs. In 1991 Sony announced the add-on,

as well as a dedicated console known as the "Play

Station". However, a disagreement over software

licensing for the console caused the partnership to

fall through. Sony then continued the project

independently.

Launched in 1994, the first PlayStation gained 61% of global console sales and broke Nintendo's

long-standing lead in the market. Sony followed up with the PlayStation 2 in 2000, which was

even more successful. The console has become the most successful of all time, selling over 150

million units as of 2011. Sony released the PlayStation 3, a high-definition console, in 2006. It was

the first console to use the Blu-ray format, although its expensive Cell processor made it

considerably more expensive than competitors Xbox 360 and Wii. Early on, poor sales

performance resulted in significant losses for the company, pushing it to sell the console at a loss.

The PlayStation 3 sold generally more poorly than its competitors in the early years of its release

but managed to overtake the Xbox 360 in global sales later on. It later introduced the PlayStation

Move, an accessory that allows players to control video games using motion gestures.

Sony extended the brand to the portable games market in 2005 with the PlayStation Portable

(PSP). The console has sold reasonably, but has taken a second place to a rival handheld, the

Nintendo DS. Sony developed the Universal Media Disc (UMD) optical disc medium for use on

the PlayStation Portable. Early on, the format was used for movies, but it has since lost major

studio support. Sony released a disc-less version of its PlayStation Portable, the PSP Go. The

company went on to release its second portable video game system, PlayStation Vita, in 2011

and 2012. Sony launched its fourth console, the PlayStation 4, on 15 November 2013.

On 18 March 2014, at GDC, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios

Shuhei Yoshida announced their new virtual reality technology dubbed Project Morpheus for

PlayStation 4. The headset, still in prototype form, will bring VR gaming and non-gaming software

to the company's new console.

The PlayStation 4 is the best-selling video game console of all time.

8

Sony Pictures Entertainment

Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. (SPE) is the

television and film production/distribution unit of

Sony. With 12.5% box office market share in 2011,

the company was ranked third among movie

studios. Its group sales in 2010 were US$7.2 billion.

The company has produced many notable movie

franchises, including Spider-Man, The Karate Kid,

and Men in Black. It has also produced the popular

television game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of

Fortune.

Sony entered the television and film production

market when it acquired Columbia Pictures

Entertainment in 1989 for $3.4 billion. Columbia

lives on in the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of SPE which in turn owns

Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures. SPE's television division is known as Sony Pictures

Television.

For the first several years of its existence, Sony Pictures Entertainment

performed poorly, leading many to suspect the company would sell off the

division. Sony Pictures Entertainment encountered controversy in the early

2000s. In July 2000, a marketing executive working for Sony Corporation

created a fictitious film critic, David Manning, who gave consistently good

reviews for releases from Sony subsidiary Columbia Pictures that generally

received poor reviews amongst real critics. Sony later pulled the ads,

suspended Manning's creator and his supervisor and paid fines to the state of

Connecticut and to fans who saw the reviewed films in the US. In 2006 Sony

started using ARccOS Protection on some of their film DVDs, but later issued a recall.

Sony Music Entertainment

Sony Music Entertainment (also known as SME or Sony Music) is the second-largest global

recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony

Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony. The company owns full or

partial rights to the catalogues of Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Usher, Eminem, Akon, and

others.

In one of its largest-ever acquisitions, Sony purchased CBS Record Group in 1987 for US$2 billion.

In the process, Sony gained the rights to the catalogue of Michael Jackson, considered by the

Sony Pictures Plaza, next to the main studio lot of Sony Pictures Entertainment in Culver City

9

Guinness Book of World Records to be the most successful entertainer of all time. The acquisition

of CBS Records provided the foundation for the formation of Sony Music Entertainment, which

Sony established in 1991.

In 2004, Sony entered into a joint venture with Bertelsmann AG, merging Sony Music

Entertainment with Bertelsmann Music Group to create Sony BMG. In 2005, Sony BMG faced a

copy protection scandal, because its music CDs had installed a controversial feature on users'

computers that was posing a security risk to affected users.[citation needed] In 2007, the

company acquired Famous Music for US$370 million, gaining the rights to the catalogues of

Eminem and Akon, among others.

Sony bought out Bertelsmann's share in the company and formed a new Sony Music

Entertainment in 2008. Since then, the company has undergone management changes.

Environmental record

In November 2011, Sony was ranked 9th (jointly with Panasonic) in Greenpeace's Guide to

Greener Electronics. This chart grades major electronics companies on their environmental work.

The company scored 3.6/10, incurring a penalty point for comments it has made in opposition to

energy efficiency standards in California. It also risks a further penalty point in future editions for

being a member of trade associations that have commented against energy efficiency standards.

Together with Philips, Sony receives the highest score for energy policy advocacy after calling on

the EU to adopt an unconditional 30% reduction target for greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

Meanwhile, it receives full marks for the efficiency of its products. In 2007, Sony ranked 14th on

the Greenpeace guide. Sony fell from its earlier 11th place ranking due to Greenpeace's claims

that Sony had double standards in their waste policies.

Since 1976, Sony has had an Environmental Conference. Sony's policies address their effects on

global warming, the environment, and resources. They are taking steps to reduce the amount of

greenhouse gases that they put out as well as regulating the products they get from their

suppliers in a process that they call "green procurement". Sony has said that they have signed on

to have about 75 percent of their Sony Building running on geothermal power. The "Sony Take

Back Recycling Program" allow consumers to recycle the electronics products that they buy from

Sony by taking them to eCycle (Recycling) drop-off points around the U.S. The company has also

developed a biobattery that runs on sugars and carbohydrates that works similarly to the way

living creatures work. This is the most powerful small biobattery to date.

In 2000, Sony faced criticism for a document entitled "NGO Strategy" that was leaked to the

press. The document involved the company's surveillance of environmental activists in an

attempt to plan how to counter their movements. It specifically mentioned environmental

groups that were trying to pass laws that held electronics-producing companies responsible for

the cleanup of the toxic chemicals contained in their merchandise.

10

2.0 Social Responsibility

Social responsibility is an ethical framework which suggests that an entity, be it an organization

or individual, has an obligation to act for the benefit of society at large. Social responsibility is a

duty every individual has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the

ecosystems. A trade-off may exist between economic development, in the material sense, and

the welfare of the society and environment. Social responsibility means sustaining the

equilibrium between the two. It pertains not only to business organizations but also to everyone

who’s any action impacts the environment. This responsibility can be passive, by avoiding

engaging in socially harmful acts, or active, by performing activities that directly advance social

goals.

Businesses can use ethical decision making to secure their businesses by making decisions that

allow for government agencies to minimize their involvement with the corporation. For instance

if a company follows the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines for

emissions on dangerous pollutants and even goes an extra step to get involved in the community

and address those concerns that the public might have; they would be less likely to have the EPA

investigate them for environmental concerns. “A significant element of current thinking about

privacy, however, stresses "self-regulation" rather than market or government mechanisms for

protecting personal information”. According to some experts, most rules and regulations are

formed due to public outcry, which threatens profit maximization and therefore the well-being

of the shareholder, and that if there is not outcry there often will be limited regulation.

Critics argue that Corporate social responsibility (CSR) distracts from the fundamental economic

role of businesses; others argue that it is nothing more than superficial window-dressing; others

argue that it is an attempt to pre-empt the role of governments as a watchdog over powerful

corporations though there is no systematic evidence to support these criticisms. A significant

number of studies have shown no negative influence on shareholder results from CSR but rather

a slightly negative correlation with improved shareholder returns.

2.1 Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR has been defined by Lord Holme and Richard Watts in The

World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s publication ‘Making Good Business Sense’

as “…the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic

development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as the

local community and society at large". CSR is one of the newest management strategies where

companies try to create a positive impact on society while doing business. Evidence suggests that

CSR taken on voluntarily by companies will be much more effective than CSR mandated by

Chapter - 2

11

governments. There is no clear-cut definition of what CSR comprises. Every company has

different CSR objectives though the main motive is the same. All companies have a two point

agenda- to improve qualitatively (the management of people and processes) and quantitatively

(the impact on society). The second is as important as the first and stake holders of every

company are increasingly taking an interest in “the outer circle”-the activities of the company

and how these are impacting the environment and society.

CSR Approaches

12

3.0 Social Responsibility or CSR of Sony Corporation

Our companies are known for creating products that enrich people's lives. Through Sony

Corporation of America and its operating companies, we’re equally dedicated to improving

people's lives. Our commitment extends to helping local communities, fostering better

educational systems, supporting the arts and culture, helping disadvantaged youth, protecting

and improving the environment and encouraging employee volunteerism.

Our strategic philanthropy and corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts are aligned to our key

businesses and focus on three distinct areas: arts and culture, technology and the environment,

with a particular emphasis on education in each of those areas. We are also quick to provide

assistance when large-scale disasters strike. We've helped victims of major hurricanes,

earthquakes, tsunamis and wildfires and other natural disasters.

The notion of corporate citizenship is deeply embedded in the culture of Sony in America. We're

proud of the programs and partnerships that have touched thousands of lives throughout the

U.S. and of the thousands of Sony employees who have given generously of themselves in

support of our goals.

3.1 CSR at Sony

"It is the core corporate responsibility of Sony Group to the society to pursue its corporate

value enhancement through innovation and sound business practice."

(Sony Group Code of Conduct, adopted in May 2003)

Chapter - 3

13

Sony's corporate social

responsibility (CSR) activities

reflect its philosophy of

implementing sound business

practices; innovating to

realize products, services and

content that inspire and

excite; assisting the communities

in which we operate; and

helping to shape a better, more

sustainable society. Sony

believes that these activities

both benefit society and

enhance corporate value.

3.2 Verifying Key CSR Agenda and Determining Materiality

Objective of Conducting Materiality Assessment

Sony currently promotes CSR initiatives in line with its CSR agenda, which sets seven key areas of

focus - corporate governance, compliance, human resources, responsible sourcing, quality and

services, environment and community - with the aim of strengthening its operating foundation

and continuously enhancing its corporate value. Stakeholder input on CSR-related issues and

suggestions is fed back to management and to pertinent Sony departments (e.g., legal,

compliance, environment, product quality, procurement and human resources), to be

incorporated into key actions, including the formulation of Sony Group policies. Sony's CSR

section is tasked with monitoring the progress of initiatives and disclosing information about

Sony's efforts by preparing CSR reports and promoting dialogue with stakeholders.

CSR Organizational Structure

To align and respond effectively to evolving social imperatives and changes in the business

environment, Sony recently conducted a CSR materiality assessment with BSR (Business for Social

Responsibility), an independent organization with expertise in global CSR trends and

international standards, with the aim of validating its CSR agenda by incorporating the

perspectives of stakeholders and to identify emerging CSR topics relevant to new business areas.

Key Csr Agenda

14

CSR Materiality Assessment Process

The Sony Group is a global organization with a broad business portfolio. Sony is engaged in the

development, design, manufacture, and sale of various kinds of electronic equipment and devices

for consumer and professional markets as well as game consoles and software. Sony is also

engaged in the production and distribution of motion pictures, television programs, music, and

digital networks. Further, Sony is also engaged in various financial services businesses through its

Japanese insurance subsidiaries and banking operations through a Japanese Internet-based

banking subsidiary. Given the diversity of the Group's operations, the expectations of its

stakeholders regarding its CSR initiatives also vary. Sony views CSR materiality assessment as a

process for understanding issues of importance to multi-stakeholders as well as business and

validating its CSR agenda which will help us prioritize our CSR initiatives.

In conducting the CSR materiality analysis, we first identified global CSR issues of particular

relevance to Sony. The Company then looked at issues that are most significant today as well as

emerging issues to its external stakeholders, which include nongovernmental organizations

(NGOs), customers, and socially responsible investors, as well as at stakeholders' views regarding

the changes in roles and responsibilities of corporations. Sony then assessed those issues likely

to have the most importance to business and identified topics that are material from both a

stakeholder and a business perspective.

3.3 CSR / Environment of Sony

Youth on Assignment (YoA)

Working in conjunction with the World Photography Organization (WPO), as well as

collaborations between various NPOs, the Youth on Assignment programme harnesses the

power of imaging to generate awareness of some of the challenges currently confronting various

sectors of the global community.

Sony encourages talented students, including participants of the Sony World Photography

Awards Student Focus programme living in communities nearby Sony's CSR projects to take part.

Cameras and equipment donated by Sony will be used at their school to sustain further

educational opportunities.

15

Programme Outline

By documenting the work being undertaken by various NPOs worldwide, the Youth on

Assignment programme provides aspiring photographers and videographers with a training

ground in which to take their first steps towards realizing career ambitions and dreams. The

programme also provides them with an opportunity to see and learn about global issues and to

use their skills as photographers and videographers to instigate social change.

Programme Outline

16

3.4 Youth were on assignment for documenting following Sony’s CSR projects

EYE SEE UNICEF Child Photography Workshop

The EYE SEE Photography Workshop encourages visual literacy among children, and increases

involvement in understanding and promoting positive social change. Sony has been supporting

EYE SEE since 2006, and been showcasing children's photography and messages around the

world.

Using digital photography, these workshops provide a

mechanism for children to present, through imagery,

their views on the world, and to communicate

challenges that may otherwise be difficult to share with

the wider community. It also provides an opportunity to

learn a new creative medium of expression, and an

opportunity for social participation.

In April 2013, through collaboration with WPO, one

student of the Royal Melbourne Engineering University

in Australia participated in the EYE SEE Workshop in Darwin. Under the guidance of Professor

Mark Geller, he documented children participated EYE SEE workshop, and families and

community surrounding these children.

South Africa Mobile Library Project

SAPESI, a NPO based in South Africa, leads this project

driven by its goal of increasing literacy. SAPESI donates

mobile library bus to the South African Department of

Basic Education to carry books to lend to teachers and

pupils in primary education around the country, and

provide operational support. At Sony, employees of

Sony Group companies in English-speaking countries

collect and donate children’s books in English, and we

also donate purchase funds for children’s books written

in indigenous languages.

Details of the South Africa Mobile Library Project

Youth on Assignment partnered with three schools in South Africa who all took part in a project

to document the activities of mobile library buses which travelled around various remote areas

©YoA/Nicholas Walton-Healey

©Nina Grindlay

17

and schools with initiative of local NPO SAPESI. Using photographic equipment donated by Sony,

each school recorded activities in its community throughout the year.

Malawi Folktales Project

Malawi, a landlocked country in the southern part of the

African continent, is full of folktales and children’s

stories that have been passed down orally through the

generations. However, as they are oral stories, almost

none of them have ever been recorded in print or audio.

As the storytellers age and it becomes harder and harder

to pass their stories on, Sony is working to help record

these valuable intangible cultural assets as videos and

audio by providing equipment to UNESCO and the

Global Future Charitable Trust which are spearheading

this venture, as well as having our engineers provide technical guidance on how to operate this

equipment.

Details of the Malawi Folktales Project

Two students from the University of Malawi - The Polytechnic took part in a project operated by

Sony, UNESCO and Global Future Charitable Trust to document the tradition and culture of

folktales in Malawi over four days in July, 2012. Professional photographers taught the use of

photographic equipment, and helped during shooting and the students recorded each step.

WPO(The World Photography Organisation)

Creators of the *Sony World Photography Awards, the World Photography

Organisation supports professional, amateurs and student photographers

worldwide. It delivers various initiatives including the Student Focus

programme and involves photographers in commercial, cultural and

educational activities.

©Emanuel Michel Mawanyongo

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Sony World Photography Award

The Sony World Photography Awards is one of the world’s largest photography competitions.

They provide an opportunity for international exchange among professional, amateur and

student photographers. Sony has sponsored these awards since 2007.

3.5 Sony Picture The Greener Word

Partnering for Our Future

Sony Pictures has teamed up with numerous non-profits and other organizations

dedicated to advancing environmental causes that promote and inspire more green

practices in the communities where we live and work.

This small sampling of relationships demonstrates the broad range of activities and

partners Sony Pictures engages with each year in our efforts to maximize sustainable

practices both in our business and in our communities. Some of the groups the company

supports include:

TreePeople - For more than a decade, Sony Pictures has provided support for TreePeople

through the Sony Pictures Urban Green Fund. The fund provides resources for the

company's employees to become trained Citizen Foresters and to develop tree planting

projects in their communities. Sony Pictures is also a sponsor of TreePeople's Parks

Program, a partnership that will continue through 2013 and help expand its work in

neighborhoods through the planting and caring for trees in parks. The company was a

proud Tree Honoree at the organization's 2010 An Evening Under the Harvest Moon,

where it was recognized for "longstanding commitment to environmental sustainability

and picturing a greener world."

Habitat for Humanity - Two projects were completed with Habitat for Humanity of

Greater Los Angeles, including a 10-unit development consisting of five duplexes which

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were slated to be the first LEED certified housing development in the city of Lynwood.

Sony Pictures has donated to Habitat for Humanity over a thousand tons of set material

and props, which are used in the construction of new homes or sold in HoH’s Home

Improvement Store located in Gardena.

Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) - The movie Bad Teacher was shot on location at

three schools in Los Angeles, California. ACE, The Environmental Media Association and

Sony Pictures came together to bring educational lectures to these schools and start a

gardening program at two of them. The company also funded school trainings and

lectures across Los Angeles.

California State Parks - Sony Pictures' employees volunteered with the California State

Parks, Los Angeles Audubon Society and interns from the Dorsey High School Baldwin Hills

Greenhouse Program on a park restoration project at the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook

located in Culver City. Over 150 employees and Dorsey High School students removed

invasive plants from the hillside and helped to restore the Overlook to its natural habitat.

Volunteers removed over 2000 cubic feet of non-native plant material from the park.

Global Corporate Social Responsibility

Sony Pictures Entertainment's Global Corporate Social Responsibility handles the studio's

strategic philanthropic efforts, cultural participation and community outreach activities with

particular emphasis on the company's involvement close to home here in Culver City. Sony

Pictures is dedicated to arts education initiatives, workforce development, the environment and

celebrating diversity.

Sony Pictures Entertainment is firmly committed to the principles of good corporate citizenship.

While our business is to create outstanding entertainment for audiences worldwide, we feel

equally responsible for making a positive impact on the quality of life in and around our

community.

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Greening the Footprint of our Productions

Sony Pictures

requires its

productions to follow

certain green

practices during

filming, helping to

create a much smaller overall environmental footprint. Each Columbia and Screen Gems feature

and all U.S.-based television series have five deliverables to track during the course of the shoot,

and turn in when they wrap:

Turn in a Carbon Footprint Calculator (to assess greenhouse gas emissions);

Complete a Best Practices Green Production Checklist for each department;

Enforce a no-idling rule for transportation vehicles;

Report lumber purchases; and

Submit an eco-vendor list.

We also recommend all shows contract with a green caterer and eliminate all disposable water

bottles from set. The information is incorporated as part of the Sony Pictures greenhouse gas

inventory towards the company's 2016 and 2020 carbon goals. Additionally, this information is

used to target our reductions activities and to find and share best practices with future

productions. Because no two productions are alike, many Sony Pictures shows have come up

with creative ways to be more sustainable, from re-using shoeboxes to fill out shopping bags that

characters carry (Rules of Engagement) to offering on-set battery recycling for the crew

(Community) to break dancing across a reclaimed-wood dance floor (Battle of The Year)!

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3.6 Sony and the Environment

Be moved by an amazing viewing experience supported by energy efficiency technology

Ensuring LED backlight brightness

Much of the energy consumed by a LCD TV is from the

backlight, which illuminates the screen. Compared to HD

TVs, 4K sets require more LEDs in the backlight,

because the light must pass through more pixels. One

way to improve energy efficiency is to reduce the number

of LEDs while making each one brighter.

However, because brighter backlighting may

undermine picture quality–by causing faded

colors, for example–steps must be taken to ensure

picture quality when increasing LED brightness. For the

X85B series, we introduced much brighter LED backlighting while

maintaining the vibrancy and wide gamut that Sony TVs are known for. Here,

careful engineering has yielded a set with about half as many backlight LEDs.

New LCD cells to suit the updated backlight

LCD cells cover the front of the LCD display, functioning as the element that

turns light from the LED backlight into the images we see.

Colors are formed as light from the backlight passes

through color filters of each pixel in the LCD cell. To

some extent, improving energy efficiency of LCD

TVs depends on improving the transmittance of LCD

cells. The X85B series introduces new LCD cells

tailored to specific characteristics of the new

backlight, with approximately 1.4 times higher

transmittance than one used in the previous models.(*2)

Increased backlighting efficiency translates into a high

energy-efficient TV.

Buildings on past energy-saving features

Besides incorporating a new LED backlight and LCD cells, the X85B series builds on energy-

efficient features developed by Sony to date. A good example is Eco Drive, which adjusts LED

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backlight brightness frame by frame to avoid wasting energy. Similarly, backlighting is reduced

for dark scenes – such as evening scenes – which also produces deeper blacks.

Another advantage: Made with Sony recycled plastic SORPLAS™

The X85B series (55/65inch) saves new resources as well as energy. Some internal parts are

made with SORPLAS™ – recycled plastic developed by Sony.

3.7 CSR Highlights

Corporate Governance

Sony has long been committed to strong corporate governance, as one of its most important

management initiatives. As a part of this effort, in 2003, Sony adopted the "Company with

Committees" corporate governance system under the Companies Act of Japan. In addition to

complying with the requirements of applicable corporate governance laws and regulations, Sony

has introduced its own requirements to help improve and maintain the soundness and

transparency of its governance by strengthening the separation of the Directors' function from

that of management and advancing the proper functioning of the statutory committees. Under

Sony's system, the Board of Directors defines the respective areas for which each of the

Corporate Executive Officers is responsible and delegates to them decision-making authority to

manage the business, thereby promoting the prompt and efficient management of the Sony

Group.

Plastic SORPLAS

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Compliance

Ethical business conduct and compliance with applicable laws and regulations are fundamental

aspects of Sony's corporate culture. To this end, Sony has established a Global Compliance

Network comprised of the Compliance Division at the corporate headquarters, a global

compliance leadership team and regional compliance officers around the world. Additionally, it

has adopted and implemented the Sony Group Code of Conduct, and set up Compliance Hotline

systems through its Global Compliance Network. Sony has taken these actions in order to

reinforce the Company's worldwide commitment to integrity and help assure resources are

available for employees to raise concerns or seek guidance about legal and ethical matters.

Human Resources

Sony endeavors to create a rewarding corporate climate that supports the efforts of a diverse

range of employees.

Since its establishment in 1946*, Sony has sought to remain at the forefront of technological

development, building continuously on its achievements to create new lifestyles for people

everywhere. Sony has also fostered groundbreaking new businesses, adopting an innovative

approach to this challenge that exceeds national and regional boundaries. In these efforts, Sony

recognizes its employees to be one of the most crucial aspects of its corporate foundation.

To fulfill its commitment to providing uniquely Sony products, services and user experiences that

inspire dreams, excite curiosity and enrich lives, Sony acknowledges the importance of securing

and fostering talented employees with a wide range of values and personalities, irrespective of

nationality, culture, race, gender, age, or the presence or absence of physical limitations. Guided

by the concepts of diversity and inclusion, Sony recruits individuals from various backgrounds.

Sony also strives to create positive working environments and opportunities that enable

individuals with diverse backgrounds to fulfill their potential by learning from one another,

believing these to be essential to a rewarding corporate climate.

Sony Group Code of Conduct

In May 2003, Sony adopted the Sony Group Code of Conduct, which sets the basic internal

standards to be observed by all directors, officers and employees of the Sony Group, in order to

emphasize and further strengthen corporate governance, business ethics and compliance

systems throughout the Sony Group. In addition to legal and compliance standards, the Code of

Conduct sets out the Sony Group's basic policies concerning ethical business practices and

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activities on such topics as respect for human rights, safety of products and services,

environmental conservation and information disclosure.

The Code of Conduct has been adopted and implemented by each Sony Group company globally

and is the subject of frequent "tone from the top" messaging and other training. To date, the

document has been translated into 26 languages.

The Sony Group Code of Conduct reflects principles set out in the Organization for Economic Co-

operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the United Nations

Global Compact and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Sony also

participated in the formulation of and observes the standards outlined in the Charter of

Corporate Behavior of the Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), an alliance of Japan's leading

corporations.

Responsible Sourcing

In recent years, stakeholders have grown increasingly aware of the importance of companies

fulfilling their overall responsibilities to society as corporate citizens, including managing their

supply chains in a responsible manner. In response to stakeholder concerns, Sony is working with

its suppliers to address issues related to human rights, labor conditions, health and safety, and

environmental protection at the production sites of outsourcing partners and parts suppliers, as

well as in its procurement of minerals and other raw materials.

Quality and Services

Sony has various businesses

globally to provide products

and services that meet

customer requirements in

terms of satisfaction, reliability

and trust.

At Sony, we strongly believe in the importance of informing stakeholders, including customers,

about our environmental philosophy and initiatives. Furthermore, employees of each Sony Group

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company receive environmental training and have access to other self-development programs to

help raise environmental awareness.

4.0 Social Responsibility of Sony Corporation in Bangladesh

Contributing to the International Community through Business Activities. Working to Address

Social Development through the Utilization of Technology

4.1 Model Study of Community Electrification in Bangladesh Using a Long-life Storage

Battery System

From August 2013 through February 2014, Sony undertook a study* in an unelectrified area of

Bangladesh (Gaibandha district, Saghata sub-district) aimed at encouraging the effective use of

renewable energy generation and improving living conditions and hygiene for local people using

a long-life storage battery system** and photovoltaic (PV) panels. Based on the results of this

study, Sony has begun considering the feasibility of building a new business model.

Project name:

Electrification of an unelectrified area using solar power generation and a long-life storage

battery system

Objectives:

To effectively utilizes renewable energy generation and to promote the use of electricity

To contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions

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To improve living conditions and hygiene through the electrification of an unelectrified area

Research Overview:

I. Store renewable energy generated by a solar PV system in Sony's long-life storage battery

system.

II. Transfer the stored energy to portable batteries and delivere to 100 households in an

unelectrified area to supply power.

III. This energy enables to replace kerosene lamps with LED light bulbs which consume lower

energy. (A portable battery powers a 2-watt LED light bulb for approximately 15 hours.)

IV. Residents can work and study indoors even after sunset. Indoor air contamination is also

reduced, thereby enhancing living environments.

Project Overview

27

Benefits:

Be able to charge the long-life storage battery system with solar power generation during

daylight hours. The stored energy will be divided into portable batteries and are delivered

to the village to supply power for use at night.

Residents can work and study indoors even after sunset, which leads to an improvement

in residents' quality of life.

Inside the houses, air contamination by kerosene lamps is reduced.

The power is also used to charge widely used mobile phones and enhances convenience.

Secondary benefits:

The project employed InfoLady consultants to deliver portable batteries to each household and

undertake programs to promote the uptake of the system. The InfoLady program is managed by

a local NGO, and can be described as "a consultation-based assistance program carried out for

women and by women." By utilizing the InfoLady program, the project promoted increased

employment of local women and contributed to their empowerment.

Based on knowledge gained in the study conducted by Sony Energy Devices Corporation, Sony

Corporation and cooperating organizations as outlined above, Sony has begun from May 2014

considering the feasibility of developing a new business in partnership with local companies.

This is an action program managed by local NGO D.Net. The

program seeks to organize entrepreneurially minded

women in rural areas. At present the program covers 12

areas from 13 offices, with approximately 80 women acting

as InfoLady consultants. The participants use netbooks,

digital still cameras and mobile phones while making

rounds in their assigned coverage areas on bicycles. They

provide information and knowledge necessary for life in

rural areas (related to health and hygiene, legal matters

affecting women and agricultural matters). This program is

attracting significant worldwide attention as a successful case of ICT use in a developing country

for poverty reduction and empowerment of women.

Action program

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4.2 Solving Social Issues in Urban Bangladesh by Utilizing IC Card Technology

Sony is involved in activities that aim to solve social issues in urban Bangladesh by using Sony's

FeliCa™ contactless IC card technology.

In the capital city of Dacca, majority of people use buses for their transportation, which causes

traffic jams and were their social problem. Moreover, people have to purchase paper tickets by

the roadside for every boarding, which made it inconvenient and easy to do fare dodging.

To help solve such problems, an IC card-based system using FeliCa technology was introduced in

2011 to replace paper tickets. In addition to improving convenience for passengers, it realized

speedy boarding and alighting time, utilizing incoming and outgoing records to optimize bus

operation management, and the system has also contributed to the alleviation of traffic jams and

made fare collection more transparent.

Commuter in Dacca, Bangladesh, pays his bus fare using a SPASS IC card

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5.0 Key Findings

Sony's materiality assessment reaffirmed the importance of the seven key areas of its CSR agenda

in which continues to be in the areas that Sony shall promote its initiatives. The assessment also

showed a cluster of topics related to Sony's electronics business, including managing its

operation's social and environmental impact and improving transparency across the supply

chain, as being of particular concern to stakeholders. In addition, the assessment identified

emerging topics such as those concerning the management of content and information with the

growth of Sony's network and entertainment businesses. The assessment also identified topics

that Sony has limited influence or have already been addressed through ongoing programs. At

the same time, the assessment showed that stakeholder expectations are high toward innovation

in developing sustainable products and services and creating value to society.

Going forward, Sony pledges to continue working to better understand the expectations of its

stakeholders and to address the challenges and opportunities identified through the materiality

assessment.

6.0 Conclusion

Sony recognizes that ensuring its customers' satisfaction, reliability and trust is one of its most

important management tasks and strives to prevent quality-related problems through the

systems and efforts described above.

Sony responds swiftly in the event of a quality-related issue, with local operations, the business

unit in charge and Sony's headquarters in Japan working together to investigate facts and take

appropriate action on a global scale. When such an issue arises, Sony also seeks to address the

concerns of customers, following a process common to all Sony products: conducting various

inspections, determining the content and timing of public announcements, and responding to

market concerns. This process starts with the gathering of information from Customer Service

Centers worldwide and collaboration with concerned local parties to ensure an accurate grasp of

the issue. Based on information collected, Sony then works to determine the correct response by

identifying the cause of the issue, implementing countermeasures and promptly verifying the

effectiveness thereof, and reviewing the issue from the customer's perspective. Sony also

cooperates with individuals in charge of CS at sites in each country to ensure the same level of

service is provided to customers the world over.

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7.0 Reference/bibliography

1. "Sony Global – Corporate Information". Retrieved 27 March 2014.

2. Sony Corporate History (Japanese). Sony.co.jp. Retrieved 7 July 2011.

3. Sony Corporate CSR Report 2012

4. Sony Corporate CSR Report 2013

5. The PlayStation Quest." Macleans 6 November 2000: 81-. ABI/INFORM Global; ProQuest

Research Library. Web. 27 May 2012.

6. Pioneering firm upsets Japan hiring: Pattern broken. By Nobuo Abiko Staff correspondent

of The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor (1908-Current file); 26

March 1966; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Christian Science Monitor (1908-1998)

pg. 14

7. "Sony History on development of Magneto Optical Discs". 2007. Archived from the

original on 24 December 2006. Retrieved 6 February2007.

8. http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/csr_report/

9. http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/csr_report/contribution/index7.html

10. http://www.sonypictures.com/green/collaborate/corporate-social-responsibility/

11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony

12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_social_responsibility#References

13. http://www.sony.com/SCA/social-responsibility/overview.shtml

14. http://www.indiacsr.in/en/sony-corporation-2011-csr-report/

15. http://www.sonypictures.com/green/collaborate/corporate-social-responsibility/

16. http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/csr/ForTheNextGeneration/YoA/index.html?j-short=yoa

17. http://archive.thedailystar.net/newDesign/print_news.php?nid=176093