Environmental Management Environmental Management

Basic Policy

Based on our basic attitude of “Caring for Our Planet,” the Advantest Group promotes environmental initiatives by considering the environment in the course of its daily business activities, striving to reduce its environmental impact and offering environmentally friendly products. Through these efforts and as a corporate citizen we aim to give back benefits to industry and commerce, society, and the global environment.

Advantest Group Environmental Policy

1. Promoting Environmental Management
   By establishing our Environmental Management System, we promote global environmental conservation efforts that achieve a balance between business activities and environmental concerns. Individual Advantest employees strive to protect the environment while carrying out their daily work and their responsibilities.
2. Provision of Environmentally-Friendly Products
   We strive to provide environmentally friendly products throughout their life cycle -- from procurement of material to waste disposal, through energy conservation, improved recyclability, and the elimination of hazardous substances.
3. Reduction of Customers' Environmental Burden
   Through our sales of products and services, we contribute to our customers' reduction of their environmental burden.
4. Better Workplace Procedures
   We constantly strive to reevaluate and reform work procedures to help preserve the environment.
5. Conservation of Biodiversity
   By being alert to the impact of our business activities on biodiversity, we strive for the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable use of biological resources.
6. Complying with environmental laws and regulations and preventing pollution
   Upholding all environmental laws and regulations and voluntary standards, we protect nature and shield our neighbors from environmental pollution and health hazards.
7. Disclosing information related to environment
   Advantest's environmental policy is made freely available to all employees, stakeholders, and other concerned parties. We strive to disclose our environmental activities and openly communicate with society.

The Advantest Group's Guidelines of Action for Biodiversity

To show our gratitude for the gift of nature that is endowed by biodiversity, and to recognize the significance of biodiversity in underpinning the prosperity and the wellness of our society, the Advantest Group will carry out initiatives in conserving biodiversity and in contributing to the sustainable use of biological resources.

1. Understanding Environmental Impact
   We identify, evaluate and share the information on any aspects that may have a significant impact on biodiversity in the entire lifecycle of our business activities.
2. Understanding Biodiversity
   We increase awareness and understanding of biodiversity among all employees so that they are able to engage in activities that give consideration to biodiversity in their business activities and daily lives.
3. Reduction of Environmental Impact
   By seeking highly effective measures, and by carrying them out continuously, we reduce the impact of our business activities on biodiversity.
4. Cooperation with Stakeholders
   We cooperate with a variety of stakeholders such as the government, educational organizations, NPOs, local residents and our business partners to promote activities related to the conservation of biodiversity.

Framework to promote environmental management

The Advantest Group is building a framework to better promote our global environmental initiatives.

Acquisition of ISO14001 certification

The Advantest Group has acquired Integrated ISO14001 certification for its offices, as well as its research, development, and production facilities in Japan. In addition, at its overseas business locations, the Group is working to introduce ISO14001 based on particular circumstances of each country and is conducting initiatives to this end. Based on the unified ISO14001 standard, the Group is conducting a range of initiatives aimed at reducing energy use, reducing waste, and developing and providing environmentally friendly products in order to reduce the environmental impact of its business activities. The Group is achieving results in these efforts in each country it operates in.

Internal environmental audit

The Advantest Group performs regular internal environmental audits scrutinizing the functioning of our environmental management systems at respective business sites, geared toward bettering the company's environmental performance on the basis of internal and external compliance requirements. The environmental audit performed in fiscal 2012 found no instances of non-compliance. We remain committed to bringing about even better environmental performance going forward, and are accordingly working to achieve continual improvement of our environmental management systems.

Basic stance

To advance environment conservation initiatives, it is essential for each and every employee to always remain aware that environmental issues are actual, immediate problems and consider what they can and should do in their business and home life, and that this awareness translates to action. Based on this stance, the Advantest Group conducts environmental education aimed at fostering an awareness of the environment and more practical approaches to the environment.

List of environmental education programs

• Training for new employees
• Training for new managers
• Environmental internal auditor training
• Training on the safety of chemical substances
• ECOCH activities
• Solicitation of environmental value engineering(VE) proposals
• Holding of environmental events for employees and their family members
  (Ecological tours, environmental art and photo contests,etc..)
• Environmental lectures
• Local cleanups
• Forest conservation activities

Adoption of e-learning solutions

The Advantest Group has created an e-learning framework for providing general training to our employees on the ISO 14001 standard and chemical substances. Accessible anytime and anywhere, these solutions deliver a convenient environment through which those undergoing training are able to repeat lesson modules as needed in order to gain a better grasp of the material, which has thereby resulted in a higher rate of employee participation in training along with better levels of material comprehension.