Responsibilities to Society
Striving to be a model corporate citizen, Casio makes the most of its unique know-how and management resources to fulfill its various social responsibilities.
Philosophy on Social Contribution
Aiming to help create a healthy, generous society, Casio is earnestly engaged in a variety of social contribution initiatives. Casio takes good corporate citizenship literally, so its process for determining the most useful things to do is guided by communication with various stakeholders. The five priority themes of Casio's social contribution initiatives are outlined in the figure below. Leveraging its unique know-how and management resources as well as the wide range of knowledge and experience possessed by its employees, Casio fulfills its social responsibilities in its own innovative way.
Going forward, Casio will continue to provide assistance to people suffering in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Casio also plans to make sure that its social contribution initiatives target global challenges.
Raising up the next generation
Factory tours, classes in the company, and school visits
"Factory Tours for 10,000 People"
In 2004, Kofu Casio started the "Factory Tours for 10,000 People" educational program with the aim of giving children awareness through factory tours that can help link "family connectedness," "the power of science," and "the realization of dreams" with "the power to live." By seeing their fathers and mothers working, children can become aware of family connectedness. They learn that the whole of society is interconnected and that the different parts support each other. By coming into contact with cutting-edge manufacturing, which is usually not seen, and experiencing the actual assembly of products, the children understand the structure and features of products and become conscious of the magnificence of science. Finally, through conversations with employees, they become aware that dreams can always be achieved if they never give up and work with all their
might. Casio is helping to develop the human resources of tomorrow by providing these kinds of
opportunities for gaining awareness.
Tour of Hachioji R&D Center
School visit
In 2007, Casio started an original educational program for elementary school students including school visits and classes offered at the Hachioji R&D Center.
The school visit program is roughly divided into three parts. The first part covers the importance of life through "connectedness, creativity, and emotional growth." In the second part the students take apart and then reassemble a calculator to learn about environmentally friendly product technology. In the final segment, the instructor explains the importance of protecting the global environment with specific examples. The aim is to assist the children to think about what is happening in the world, and to give them a real sense of what they can do to help. The program is designed to help the children think for themselves, to understand the importance of empathy, kindness, goodwill, and a smile, and to foster generosity of spirit by raising awareness.
The classes offered at the Hachioji R& Center are focused more on environmental initiatives. Touring the facilities at the Hachioji R&D Center, one of the most advanced environmentally friendly business sites in the Casio Group, brings children into contact with corporate energy-saving measures, waste separation, and other familiar environmental initiatives. This contact is intended to promote their awareness and understanding of the need to protect the global environment. The school visit program is offered for students from kindergarten through university and has been spreading around the country. In fiscal 2011, these learning opportunities were provided to a total of 1,932 students at 45 schools.
Eco-Products Exhibit
Lecture at 2nd National Meeting
of UNESCO Associated
Schools in Japan
In fiscal 2011, Casio started offering cooperative classes with several universities affiliated with NGOs/NPOs. These classes give college students a chance to interact directly with the public and are also used to give students hoping to become educators someday some experience with teaching.
After these activities, the students have held their own summits to discuss issues such as life, peace, human rights, poverty, and the environment, and multiple elementary schools have rolled out interesting social initiatives.
One of these school became the first elementary school to exhibit at the Eco-Products exhibition in fiscal 2010. In fiscal 2011, two elementary schools exhibited.
What is more, Nagatadai Elementary School in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, which became involved through Casio's school visit program, declared its desire to become a UNESCO Associated School in order to engage actively in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). In fiscal 2011, the school was the first elementary school in Kanagawa Prefecture to obtain certification from UNESCO.
Taking the ESD initiatives recommended by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology seriously, Casio will continue expanding these initiatives in collaboration with educational institutions in the future.
Message from a school principal
I was recently transferred to Nagatadai Elementary School. Thinking that I would really like the children here to experience the class offered by Mr. Hisashi Wakao of Casio Computer Co., Ltd., I asked him to conduct a school visit.
For a long time children in the individual support class at Nagatadai Elementary School have grown plants outside the building to create green curtains that keep the building cool in summer, recycled vegetable peels and rain water, and undertaken other sustainable practices. I really wanted to exhibit these efforts at the Eco-Products exhibition.
I hoped that the exhibition would boost the children's self-confidence by letting people know about their initiatives. When we confine our thinking to just within the school, our efforts tend to get stuck in a dead end, and so I asked Mr. Wakao for broad-ranging advice.
Mr. Wakao's continued involvement has helped to broaden and deepen the children's learning. Seeing how he interacts in earnest with the children and keeps talking to them, the teaching staff too has obtained new insights and strengthened its dedication to education. This has also led to forward-thinking efforts within Kanagawa Prefecture, such as our membership in the UNESCO Associated Schools. I am very grateful.
Masaharu Sumita, Principal Nagatadai Elementary School
Message from an NPO
"3.11"-I think that this great disaster has become a major turning point not just for individuals, but also for corporations and NGOs/NPOs. It has changed their values and altered the course of disaster support.
Through the cooperation of Mr. Wakao of Casio Computer Co., Ltd., my NGO, People for the Advancement of Cambodian Education, has had opportunities to give lectures at elementary schools and at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). "Children have the power to change the world of adults." Being able to communicate these words from Mr. Wakao together with the things that we have gained from our actions on the ground in Cambodia to as many children in Japan as possible has been a very valuable experience for us.
Corporations and NPOs-although their standpoints are different, I think that having been able to work on a public awareness campaign together became a trigger for the further expansion of our initiatives. I believe that this overlaps exactly the spectacle of the Japanese people, of NGOs/NPOs, and of corporations groping for what that each could do and then taking action in response to the disaster.
I am determined to give my best in all our endeavors from here on, not just public awareness campaigns. I will always carry the feeling of appreciation for those who have cooperated with us and will continue searching for new possibilities.
Noriko Takahashi, People for the Advancement of Cambodian Education
Employee message
Children have unlimited possibilities and high aspirations. They have a great deal of power to change the world of adults.
Children will eventually become the leaders of society. We should help them to build a more sustainable world by giving them early sentiments on "life," which is the starting point of living. That is why we place value on the "Class on Life."
Children who have had contact with sentiments on life and fostered awareness and aspirations engage on their own with peace, human rights, poverty or environmental initiatives. Efforts to foster children who can change society for the better by thinking and acting for themselves are important as a corporate social responsibility. From here on, we will work even harder on this, as a core part of our CSR initiatives.
Hisashi Wakao, CSR Promotion Office
Support for the Casio Science Promotion Foundation
Casio is contributing to the development of science and technology by supporting the Casio Science Promotion Foundation.
About the Foundation
The 28th grant presentation ceremony (fiscal 2011)
The Casio Science Promotion Foundation was established in 1982 by the four Kashio brothers and the former chairman, Shigeru Kashio.
The Foundation provides research grants with the principle objective of fostering pioneering and creative research in the early stages by young researchers who are persevering with challenging research on limited funding. This is based on the philosophy that advanced R&D should be promoted in various fields, in order to fulfill the Foundation's mission of helping Japan contribute to the world as a nation of advanced technology.
The Foundation provides grants in a wide range of scientific fields−from electronic and mechanical engineering, to natural sciences related to health, to energy saving−as well as in the cultural sciences including human resources development and human behavior.
Over the last 28 years, the Foundation has provided a total of about ¥1,332 billion in 1,053 grants.
Grants in fiscal 2011
In addition to its 21 basic categories in 5 fields, in fiscal 2011 the Foundation established 3 special topics considered to be important based on recent social trends: miniaturization and energy-saving technology; electronic devices for the maintenance and improvement of health; and human intellectual progress in an IT society.
After asking 151 universities to submit research topic proposals, the Foundation received the highest number of applications to date: 251 proposals from 86 universities. The large number of proposals on health and environment-related topics was an indicator of the current scientific and technological needs.
After a rigorous selection process, ¥44 million (34 grants) was awarded in the natural sciences, and ¥6.75 million (5 grants) was awarded in the cultural sciences. Most of the grant recipients are in their thirties or fourthies, and many young researchers representing the promise of the next generation attended the grant presentation ceremony held in December 2010.
Grants from the Casio Science Promotion Foundation
Message from a grant recipient
Thank you very much for the research grant from the Casio Science Promotion Foundation. I am grateful to the selection committee and everyone involved. My research is concerned with energy-related materials. Since the energy field is a pressing issue, there is a tendency merely to improve on existing research and to neglect basic research. In this context, Casio was bold enough to understand the value of my extremely challenging proposal, which could be seen as a privilege of academics. I will work at developing an innovative energy device so that it can help in the restoration of Japan. I ask for your continued guidance and encouragement in the future.
Jun Matsui, Assistant Professor
Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University
Relief for the Great East Japan Earthquake
The Casio Science Promotion Foundation donated 10 million yen to three universities in the Tohoku region that were severely damaged in the earthquake disaster in order to support the earliest possible recovery of university research.
Recipients: Tohoku University: 5 million yen
Tohoku Gakuin University: 2 million yen
Fukushima University: 3 million yen
Supporting the Dolphin & Whale Eco-Research Network
G-SHOCK and Baby-G watches help support the International Dolphin & Whale Eco-Research Network project
Since the Fourth International Dolphin and Whale Conference held in Japan in 1994, Casio has been offering special G-SHOCK and Baby-G models to support the protection of these wondrous animals. Part of the proceeds from the sales of these watches is donated to the International Cetacean Education Research Center (ICERC) of Japan*1. In this way, Casio has been supporting worldwide education and research activities relating to dolphins and whales.
In fiscal 2011, Casio launched a lineup of four G-SHOCK and Baby-G models based on the theme of "Love the Sea and the Earth." Part of the proceeds from these models will be donated to ICERC of Japan, which Casio has long supported with dolphin and whale watch models, and another part to the Earthwatch Institute,*2 which promotes environmental protection and research.
*1 International Cetacean Education Research Center (ICERC) of Japan
Founded in 1991, this non-profit organization undertakes activities to convey the wonder of dolphins, whales, and nature. Participants follow the three steps of learning, encountering, and caring, in order to help protect dolphins, whales and the natural environment.
*2 Earthwatch Institute
This international NGO was established in 1971 in Boston, Massachusetts, and is the oldest and most trusted
organization of its kind in the world. It provides both funding and human resources for ongoing environmental research activities in the field.
Earthwatch sends out volunteers to conduct field research around the world relating to climate change, wild animals, and ecosystems.
Tree planting events
2011 Green Universiade* Memorial Tree Planting Event
Casio Electronics (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., has been participating in tree planting events since six years ago with the aim of mutual harmony and benefit between the global environment and the local community.
In April 2011, 32 employees participated in the 2011 Green Universiade※Memorial Tree Planting Event, planting 25 jacaranda trees in the Longcheng Park in Shenzhen's Longgang District. The event helped the company build good relationships with community residents and heighten solidarity among employees.
※An environmentally friendly Universiade hosted in Shenzhen, China in August 2011.
Local community initiatives
Establishment of a Casio Technology Course in a manufacturing technical school and acceptance of trainees
Casio Technology Course opening celebration
In 2009, Casio Electronic Technology (Zhongshan) Co., Ltd., established a Casio Technology Course in a manufacturing technical school in Hunan province through an agreement with the school. The purpose of the course is to contribute to the community by training engineers and technicians in a developing region of China's interior, and to give students who wish to work at Casio an opportunity to join the company. The course currently has 309 students in six classrooms. In addition to manufacturing technical education, the students are provided with skills training in the assembly of Casio products using assembly practice equipment provided by the company and code of conduct education using Casio's work rules.
Additionally, Casio provides in-house practical training for students during summer and winter vacations. A total of 1,660 students have completed the practical training as of March 2011.
During the training period, trainees with an outstanding work attitude are commended and a recreational event is held. In these and other ways, the company helps students acquire skills in an actual production site while increasing their desire to work.
The first graduates of the Casio Technology Course are anticipated to join the company in June 2011, and Casio has expectations that they will become candidates for production line leaders in the future.
Message from a trainee
For the past two years we have been studying at school and undergoing practical training at Casio during summer and winter vacations. We will graduate this year and become employees at Casio. I think that the things that we studied for two years in school and the knowledge we gained during practical trainings will help us contribute to the company as employees of Casio in the future. Our goal from the time we entered the school has been to gain employment at Casio after graduation. During the training period, we experienced the company's good workplace atmosphere and various benefit programs and were able to get through the training. I would like to offer my appreciation on behalf of all my fellow graduates.
Zhang Qian, graduated from Class 162 of Huaihua Railway School
Support for Cherry Marathon in Higashine City
Yamagata Casio booth
Yamagata Casio has been supporting the Cherry Marathon in Higashine City since 2004. The company's intention is to become an enterprise that is appreciated by the local residents not only for its corporate activities, but also for its contribution to the local community and Higashine City.
At the ninth annual marathon held in 2010, Yamagata Casio provided prizes as a corporate sponsor and set up a sales booth. About 60 Yamagata Casio employees also participated in the event as runners, cheering squad members, and route volunteers.
In order to forge even deeper relationships of cooperation and trust with local residents, the company will continue to actively promote this kind of community contribution activity.
Culture and the arts
By sponsoring symphony orchestras and cultural facilities, Casio provides people with opportunities to feel delight and deep emotion and promotes the development of culture and the arts.
・Sponsorship of the NHK Symphony Orchestra
・Sponsorship of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
・Sponsorship of the Maison de la culture du Japon á Paris (Institute of Japanese Culture in Paris), and more
Other
Product disassembly and separation work contracted to a welfare workspace
Disassembly work
Aiming to be a company that is good for people and environmentally friendly, Casio Business Service Co., Ltd., contracts disassembly and separation work of Casio products to a welfare workspace operated by a social welfare corporation as part of its recycling initiatives in product disposal.
At the welfare workspace, which enrolls persons with intellectual challenges and physical disabilities, most of the work is light work such as making bags and presentation boxes and folding leaflets. The workers have rated the work contracted by Casio, which handles a great variety of products, as giving them a high sense of fulfillment.
As part of its CSR initiatives, Casio Business Service will continue contracting out this work to help support the independence of workers.
Message from a person involved
The product disassembly and separation work contracted to us by Casio Business Service requires concentration, which helps our workers increase their persistence and ability to complete tasks well.
Plus, even if they cannot do a good job at first, once they get used to the work, they can discover the disassembly sequence on their own, which gives them a big self-confidence boost.
The ability to concentrate and the self-confidence gained here spreads to their everyday lives and helps shape them as citizens. I hope Casio will keep providing this work for our people.
Takashi Koyama, Director Yuai Gakuen Welfare Workspace
Support for Jewelers for Children
Jewelers for Children (JFC) is an NPO established in 1999 by the US jewelry industry. It manages a fund used to help children fighting intractable diseases and children who have faced abuse and similar hardships.
Since its inception, JFC has donated more than $35 million to support the sound development of children through a fund that collects donations from the jewelry industry, publishers, manufacturers, and others.
Volunteering
Participating in the Ecocap Movement
Since fiscal 2009, Casio Techno Co., Ltd., and Casio Information Systems Co., Ltd., have led the Casio Group in its participation in the Ecocap Movement, which helps provide polio vaccinations to children in developing countries through the collection and donation of PET bottle caps.
This movement is operated by the Ecocap Movement NPO. Every 800 caps collected is turned into 20 yen, which covers the cost of one polio vaccination.
Collection boxes are placed at principal locations and all employees are encouraged to participate.
Casio is determined to continue producing solid results through the full efforts of its employees.
Conducting volunteer community cleanups
The Casio Group conducts regular community cleanups around company facilities through the volunteer efforts of employees at business sites and plants worldwide. The group will continue these cleanups in order to contribute to the local community.
Casio Zhongshan
Casio Computer Co., Ltd. Hamura R&D Center
Kofu Casio
Relief efforts for disaster victims
When a major natural disaster strikes, Casio provides relief to disaster victims, as well as support for rapid post-disaster reconstruction.
●Relief after the 2010 Yushu earthquake in China
Casio made the following donations for the relief of people suffering in the aftermath of the major earthquake that struck Yushu prefecture, Qinghai province, China in April 2010:
Amount: 1.5 million yen from Casio Computer Co., Ltd., and 1.0 million yen from Casio's local sales subsidiaries in China
Donated through the Japanese Red Cross Society and the local Red Cross Society
* See the following for information about Casio's relief efforts for the Great East Japan Earthquake.
