 In
September 2005, Kobe Steel celebrated its 100th anniversary. Since
our founding, we have contributed to society through our commitment
to manufacturing, and this remains an unchanging theme in the Kobe
Steel Group to be succeeded by future generations.
The Kobe Steel Group is a diverse enterprise active in the fields
of iron and steel, welding, aluminum and copper, industrial and construction
machinery, engineering services, the environmental business, wholesale
power supply, real estate and electronic materials. By focusing on
"Only One" upper-end products and strengthening our manufacturing
capabilities, we contribute to society through our superlative technologies,
products and services.
In recent years, corporations are increasingly being judged on the
basis of consolidated group performance as a whole. In addition, the
issue of how companies fulfill their corporate social responsibility
(CSR) is becoming increasingly important.
In April 2006, we launched our Fiscal 2006-2008 Medium-Term Business
Plan. This plan outlines a vision to stably maintain profitability
and technical capabilities, while aiming for further growth. At the
same time, one of the facets of the plan is the promotion of CSR as
an important policy of the entire Kobe Steel Group. We are firmly
committed to all aspects of CSR, from taking further action to protect
the global environment to ensuring thorough corporate compliance;
promoting sincere dealings with our customers, business partners,
and shareholders; contributing to the well-being of local communities
where we have a presence; and creating a corporate environment that
employees find easy to work in.
Despite this commitment, however, we have unfortunately seen a number
of serious problems arise with regard to compliance and environmental
conservation over the past two years.
In 2005, we bid on a project ordered by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure
and Transport and the former Japan Highway Public Corporation to built
the upper structure of a steel bridge. In September of that year we
were ordered by the Fair Trade Commission to retract our bid because
it was judged to violate anti-trust laws. Then, in May of 2006, an
in-house investigation revealed that our Kobe Works and Kakogawa Works
had both exceeded permissible emission standards, and that the related
data had been handled improperly. As a result, we received a stern
reprimand from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and local
governments. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize deeply
to all of our stakeholders for the concern we have caused them.
Although we have given top priority to corporate compliance and environmental
conservation in our business policies, we were unable to prevent these
lapses. We in top management take these regrettable incidents seriously
to heart.
To rectify the problem, we must first rigorously and sincerely take
all measures necessary to prevent a recurrence and thoroughly reconstitute
our approach toward compliance and environmental conservation. As
a corporate group with a social mission that must be fulfilled, we
will redouble our efforts to earn the deeper trust of all of our stakeholders.
This fiscal 2006 edition of the Kobe Steel Group Sustainability Report
introduces the CSR stance we have adopted, including our policies
regarding compliance and environmental conservation. I hope it will
serve as a reference point on our commitment to sustainability.
October
2006
Yasuo Inubushi
President, CEO & Representative Director
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