The member's nature conservation activity - The Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.

Keidanren Nature Conservaition Fund / Keidanren Committee on Nature Conservation

The Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.

The member's nature conservation activity
The Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.

1. Nature conservation (Environment) Measure posture to activity

Recognizing our own role as a company that provides people with energy, Kansai Electric Power Company has begun addressing the needs of the age by playing an active part in helping to solve environmental problems.
Establishing the "Five Basic Principles of the Action Plan for Global Environmental Considerations" in 1990, the "Action Plan for Global Environmental Considerations" as an action course in 1991 and the "The Kansai Electric Group CSR Action Constitution" in March 2004, the company has offered its "Addressing Global Environmental Problems" as an action principle and as a social obligation that Kansai Electric must fulfill as an ideal.

The Kansai Electric Group CSR Action Constitution
"Addressing Global Environmental Problems"

As an energy supplier with ties to the environment, the Kansai Electric Group aims for the world's highest level by recognizing the size of the impact of its business activities on the global environment and by working to reduce the load placed on the environment by its own business activities. The Kansai Electric Group furthermore has taken advanced initiatives to create a better environment and actively contributes to building a sustainable society.

2. Cooperation with NGO

The Kansai Green Power Fund provides financial assistance for construction of solar and wind power generation by contributions from customers in order to help spread the use of new forms of energy. In addition to handling system PR, receiving applications and bank transfers for donations for the Kansai Institute of Information Systems and Industrial Renovation, as the operator of the fund. Kansai Electric provides assistance such as matching customers' donations.

3. Environmental education and volunteer training (employee)

In addition to group education for those in charge of environment-related matters at branches and sales offices, the "e-learning" program for environmental problems was implemented in fiscal 2004 for all Kansai Electric employees. In fiscal 2005 the scope of the program was widened to include the staff all employees of the Kansai Electric Power Group.
The "100,000 People's Eco-Family Campaign" that recommends voluntary initiatives for local environmental problems for the families of employees has been growing since 1998. In fiscal 2005, the scope was expanded to include the staff all employees of the Kansai Electric Power Group and the "Kids' ISO 14000" program has been implemented.
Concerning volunteer activities for local employees, we have prepared and support a voluntary vacation system. The company also matches any donations by employees to public organizations that are engaged in activities for a certain period of time. Kansai Electric also provides information about holding volunteer seminars and introducing employees to organizations involved in environmental activities if they so desire.

4. Environmental education (exterior)

June of each year is "Kansai Electric Group Environment Month". During this month, panel exhibits and tours of facilities are held to enhance awareness of environmental problems.
Support is provided for education of the next generation. Kansai Electric employees visit schools and hold lessons on demand to explain energy and environment problems (approx. 740 lessons involving 32,000 students held in 2004) and tours of company facilities are conducted (approx. 350 tours involving 18,000 students in 2004).

5. Practical use and preservation of the company-owned ground etc.

The company is involved in creating biotopes for dragon flies and fireflies at thermal power and nuclear power stations, and allows local people to observe the insects in groups. The biotopes are used as a sanctuary for wild birds and provide water for them to drink. The effect of "creating a green network" is also increasing.

6. Woods structure activities of afforestation, silviculture, etc.

The company is involved in "ecological greening method" based on plant ecology at thermal and nuclear power stations and is preparing a large green area. Planting primarily broad-leaf evergreen trees like shii, tabnoki and kashi, (types of evergreen oak) which have the best global environment characterizes, in close proximity to each other is a technique for realizing early forestation that closely resembles a natural forest.
Kansai Electric is also involved in "Everyone's Eco-Friendly Campaign" whereby the company works together with local people to plant forests. In 2004, the company planted and distributed approximately 10,000 saplings to primarily public facilities such as schools and parks.
From the standpoint of expanding resources that absorb CO2, the principle factor behind global warming, the company is also involved in planting ecological forests overseas. In 2003 for example 2.5 million eucalyptus trees were planted in an approximately 1000 hectare area near Perth in West Australia, which will be capable of absorbing an estimated 860,000 tons of CO2 in twenty years from now. Damage due to rising underground water level containing salt due to lumbering has made it impossible to grow crops in the area, but the plan to plant trees is supposed to simultaneously prevent soil salinization.

7. Others

Thanks to the advanced skills of gardeners, traditional garden plants have crystallized traditional culture that has been preserved since the Edo period. The majority of these plants have become in danger of being lost in recent years. Kansai Electric is involved preservation and conservation of these precious traditional garden plants at the Yamazaki Traditional Garden Plants Research Center.