Green Reporting Award 2001
The results of the examination for the contest
TOYO KEIZAI INC. all rights reserved.
Introduction
One hundred and ninety-two corporations sent in entries for the 4th Green Reporting Awards, twice the number entering last year. A wider range of business categories was represented this year as well, suggesting a trend towards corporate publication of environmental reports.
In the screening process, the Working Group, composed of sponsor representatives, nominated 34 candidates for first, second, and third prizes, from among the reports entered. The Examination Committee then selected twelve reports to receive Third Prize, two for Second Prize, and one for First Prize. Special prizes are a new category, and for these, there were two winners of the Site Report Prize one of the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Prize.
It must be pointed out that several companies have continually submitted excellent environmental reports every year since the first contest. In recognition, we have decided to commend these entrants as "Established Reporters". The results of total scores up to this point make IBM Japan Ltd. the first such Established Reporter.
General Comments
In this year's contest, the judges were impressed not only by the remarkable increase in the number of entries but also by the qualitative improvement of enrolled environmental reports in general. It seems that there is growing standardization as to what kinds of information to be included in environmental reports, and a noticeable improvement has also been observed regarding the presentation of environmental information and reader-friendly descriptions.
It was not easy to elect a winner of First Prize from among the three final candidates, Seiko Epson, Kirin Brewery Co., Ltd. and the Matsushita Electric Group. Seiko Epson was highly rated for its clarity, elaboration, and sincerity in the analysis of the environmental impact of its business activities.
On the other hand, Kirin Brewery and the Matsushita Electric Group, both frequent prize winners, were highly evaluated for the excellent quality and quantity of the contents of their reports.
In the discussion leading up to the final decision, there were a slightly greater number of judges commending Seiko Epson for its superior disclosure of environmental performance; First Prize went to Seiko Epson. Second Prizes were awarded to Kirin and Matsushita.
The growing number of total entries led the judges to increase to 12 the number of Third Prizes. The judges' comments on the winners of this prize are presented in summary below, on a categorical basis.
In the electric and electronic industries, Third Prizes were awarded for reports submitted by Toshiba, NEC, IBM Japan, Fujitsu and the Ricoh Group. All five of these corporations are highly reputed for their environmental reporting.
In detail, Toshiba's report was distinguished by its elaborate and convincing explanation and its unique approach to green accounting. NEC's report presented detailed information on its products' eco-friendly aspects. In IBM Japan's report, the judges were particularly impressed by the in-depth analysis of relations between IT and environmental issues. Fujitsu's sincere stance toward corporate accountability in the environmental impact of its business activities was favorably received. In the Ricoh Group's report, detailed disclosure of the company's environmental management system enjoyed a high rating.
In the automobile industry, Toyota Motor Corporation took a Third Prize. The environmental reports Toyota has submitted so far have all been well recognized in terms of both quality and quantity. The company's report this year was also applauded as a benchmark for the industry.
In the distribution industry, The Seiyu Ltd. won a Third Prize. Seiyu's report was impressive in that it contains ample information on environmental preservation activities including in-house environmental auditing and descriptions of eco-friendly products.
The public utilities category had two winning entries, from the energy supplier Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., and JR East Japan, a railway company. Both tabulated information on their business activities' environmental impact. The operations of both companies cover wide geographical areas, earning high recognition for their reports.
In the food industry, the report of Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd. was highly rated for the unique reader-friendly statements of accounts in the green.
INAX Corporation and Toyo Ink Mfg. Co., Ltd. became the first prize winners in the pottery and chemical industries. In INAX's report, the most noteworthy aspect was an effort to introduce original expressions such as an indexing of the company's basic environmental concept. Toyo Ink's report was praised for its clear-cut graphical presentation and fully explanatory information.
This year's Site Report Prize winners were Toshiba Corporate Research & Development Center and the Ricoh Fukui Plant. Although it takes the form of a site report, the report by Toshiba Corporate Research & Development Center seems to attempt to be a sustainability report. The quality and quantity of the outstanding report of the Ricoh Fukui Plant is almost comparable to the reports of the Third Prize winners.
In consideration of company size, Pickles Corporation was awarded the Small and Medium-size Enterprise Prize. The judges admitted that although the company is not a large one, its zealousness towards environmental protection is well reflected in its green report.
Lastly we would like to stress that the quality of corporate environmental reports is improving annually, and also that although they were not able to take prizes, some of the reports submitted in this year's contest are in no way inferior to the prize winning reports.
Award
- The First Prize:
SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
- The Second Prizes:
KIRIN BREWERY Co., Ltd.
Matsushita Electric Group
- The Third Prizes:
INAX CORPORATION
NEC Corporation
THE SEIYU, Ltd.
TAKARA SHUZO Co., Ltd.
TOKYO GAS Co., Ltd.
TOSHIBA CORPORATION
TOYO INK MFG. Co., Ltd.
TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION
IBM Japan Ltd.
Fujitsu Ltd.
RICOH Group
- Prize for Site Report:
TOSHIBA CORPORATION Corporate Research & Development Center
RICOH Fukui Plant
- Prize for SME:
PICKLES CORPORATION
- Established Reporter:
IBM Japan Ltd.
Criteria for judgment
The corporate environmental reports were examined and judged in a comprehensive manner according to the following criteria:
- [1] The company's principles concerning environmental information disclosure and environmental preservation activities should be clearly defined.
- [2] The report should be systematically compiled and relations and priorities among various environmental factors should be clearly shown.
- [3] The report should disclose corporate environmental performance in a comprehensive, clear-cut manner.
- [4] The report should include self-evaluation and self-analysis of corporate environmental performance.
- [5] The information contained in the report should be reliable and serve as a good communication tool.
Judges
- -Hajime Ota
Executive Counselor, Keidanren (Japan Federation of Economic Organizations)
- -Mariko Kawaguchi
Chartered lember, Security Analysts Association of Japan
; Board member, Valdez Society
- -Kouichirou Kishikawa
Director, Japan Environmental Managers and Auditors Society
- -Tomoko Kurasaka
Certified Public Accountant
- -Katsuhiko Kokubu
Professor, School of Business Administration, Kobe University
- -Toshihiko Goto
Co-Chair, Environmental Auditing Research Group
- -Masaatsu Takada
Professor, Kyoto Gakuen University
- -Koji Tajika
Chairman, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
- -Kimie Tsunoda
Consumer specialist; Co-cordinator, Green Reporting Forum
- -Makoto Hoshino
Chief Executive Director, World Wide Fund Japan
- -Takeshi Mizuguchi
Assistant Professor, Takasaki City University of Economics
- -Junji Asano
President, TOYO KEIZAI INC.
Sponsored by: TOYO KEIZAI INC.
Green Reporting Forum
