Annual Report 2002: Operating in Harmony with Society as a Good Corporate Citizen

•	Broaden the scope of global corporate citizenship.
•	Ensure the highest levels of quality and safety.
•	Continually improve sound environmental performance.
•	Promote our social responsibility activities principally in the areas of food and health.

   We are aware that what customers and stakeholders expect most from a food company is a reliable brand that they can trust. In order to strengthen its corporate governance and continue to fulfill its social responsibilities, Ajinomoto works to further improve quality assurance and deals proactively with environmental problems. Measures include Groupwide product quality and environmental audits. By publicizing its corporate stance and philosophy and contributing to society, Ajinomoto strives to promote better communication while enhancing its transparency and credibility with the public.

Comprehensive Implementation of Groupwide Quality Assurance
   As consumer concerns about food companies rise to greater levels than ever before, quality assurance (QA) must be conducted on a global level for Ajinomoto to be a truly global company. The Ajinomoto System of Quality Assurance (ASQUA), based on the concepts outlined in the ISO standards, specifies the quality standards that all Group companies must follow, and their proper implementation will be constantly monitored by corporate management. These initiatives have been codified in the Ajinomoto Group Quality Policies established in October 2000.
   Under the new three-year management plan, these standards and policies will be thoroughly implemented throughout the Ajinomoto Group to further strengthen product quality assurance. Specific targets and plans for achieving them will be decided at regular meetings of top management and managers directly responsible for QA. In addition, the Corporate Division will carry out annual product quality audits at all parts of the organization involved with QA. QA targets will be set for pharmaceuticals and amino acids, with the aim of compliance with good manufacturing practice (GMP) standards at all Group production bases by the end of March 2004.
   Ajinomoto strives at all times to ensure a world-class level of QA in keeping with its aim of being a global corporation in food and amino acid products, with its beginnings in Japan.

Reconciling Environmental Preservation and Corporate Growth
Under the current three-year management plan, the Ajinomoto Group’s environmental management system will be restructured to adapt to the new internal company system, so that every business area is involved in environmental preservation efforts. Measures will include strengthening environmental audits and environmental impact evaluations/assessments. Specifically, we have set the goal of obtaining ISO 14001 accreditation for the environmental management systems of approximately 70 major operating sites of the Ajinomoto Group worldwide by March 2005, including the Company’s head office in fiscal 2002. As of April 1, 2002, twelve of the Group’s facilities in Japan and overseas had obtained ISO 14001 accreditation.

Ajinomoto sponsors a program in Cambodia, implemented by the nonprofit Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC), that helps people with their household gardens in order to add vegetables and calories to their diet, therefore supporting both better nutrition and self-reliance.

   In addition to strict, full compliance with all regulatory requirements, Ajinomoto has established its own voluntary standards for environmental activities. For example, the Company’s self-imposed limit for dioxin emissions is one-tenth of the amount allowed by law in Japan.
   The Ajinomoto Group is also dealing with issues such as conserving energy, using resources more effectively, preventing global warming, further reducing waste generation and disposal, and promoting effective utilization of by-products and wastes. Efforts in these areas at four of Ajinomoto’s plants in Japan have resulted in reduction of unit energy consumption by 22 percent and reduction of CO2 emissions by 14 percent, both compared to fiscal 1990 levels. In addition, the entire Ajinomoto Group in Japan has achieved a zero emissions* achievement ratio of 88 percent and a resource recovery ratio of 82 percent.
   Through these initiatives, the Ajinomoto Group aims to realize its corporate philosophy, “to contribute to significant advances in food and health on a global basis and ultimately to create a better life for all,” and to achieve sustainable development that reconciles environmental preservation and corporate growth.

Promotion of Improved Communications with Society as a Whole
   As a company that is integrally involved with food and health, Ajinomoto has always placed strong emphasis on open communication with society and sound corporate citizenship. We intend to further deepen this commitment under the new management plan by heightening public awareness of our position and corporate philosophy.
   Ajinomoto believes that its policies centered on sound regulatory compliance, transparency, health, safety and environmental preservation are sincere and beneficial forms of corporate citizenship that serve as concrete evidence of our commitment to society.
   As one specific example of the Company’s corporate citizenship activities, Ajinomoto published its second annual report on the Ajinomoto Group’s environmental activities in autumn 2001. The report can also be accessed from the Company’s homepage for easy reference. The scope of the report was widened and deepened to offer more detailed coverage.
   In Japan, Ajinomoto has been cooperating with the Future Homemakers of Japan (FHJ) since 1975 in sponsoring the FHJ-Ajinomoto Home Project Contest for essays covering culture- and diet-related themes. The Ajinomoto Foundation for Dietary Culture supports research and disseminates a broad array of dietary information. Ajinomoto also participates in a service that delivers meals to senior citizens.
   Overseas, the activities of the Thai Ajinomoto Foundation have included donations to elementary schools to cover rebuilding expenses, and support for gifts of artificial limbs for the needy. In Indonesia, Ajinomoto’s activities have included scholarships for graduate students at each of Indonesia’s 23 universities. In Brazil, the Instituto Assistencial Ajinomoto (IAA) donates medical equipment and carrier vehicles to local medical organizations. Social contributions in Peru have included gifts to cover new school construction. In the Philippines, Ajinomoto provides joint support with the Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning (JOICFP) for a project administered by Batangas Province to improve reproductive health and nutritional status at the household level.

*Zero emissions: To eliminate the outsourcing of waste disposal to an external waste-processing dealer.


	Ajinomoto supports FHJ group visit to New Zealand. A long-time sponsor of the Future Homemakers of Japan, Ajinomoto also supported the opportunity for members to travel to New Zealand in 2001. A group took part in an international exchange program with high school students there, to expand their horizons.

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