Oki has been developing its environmental protection programs since 1993. As part of the "Oki Eco Plan 21," defined in 2001, the company set a goal to achieve zero emissions at its major manufacturing plants, including development facilities at Oki group companies by the end of the fiscal year ending March 2005.

"Oki group positions the performance of an environment-friendly business, to be one of its core management policies. We believe that achieving zero emissions at two facilities at once, shows our responsibility as a leader in the electronic industry to encourage and promote environmentally sustainable business activities," said Masayoshi Ino, Executive Vice President at Oki Electric, responsible for Oki group's environmental protection strategies.

The facilities that have accomplished zero emissions are Oki group's Takasaki facility that designs and develops information systems including ATMs and printers, and its Tomioka Plant that manufactures ATM and other equipment for info-communications systems. The Takasaki plant focused on reducing paper waste and recycling the waste. It also focused on reducing waste generated from products by systemizing pre-evaluation of the environmental impact of products and packing in the design stage, by reducing the number of components and by building smaller, lighter and more simplified products.

For instance, previously, wooden frames and massive amounts of cushioning materials were used to protect the equipment when products were transported. However, by strengthening the transportation metals in the equipment, Oki was able to simplify packing and ship products without the use of wooden frames and cushioning materials. Through these efforts, Takasaki's packing materials were reduced by 263 tons per year and costs were reduced by 71 million yen per year, relative to the previous fiscal year.

The Tomioka Plant, where components are manufactured, focused on recycling the waste that is generated during the forming step, mainly metal cuttings scraps and plastic waste. In particular, for the plastic waste generated during the in-house forming stage, Tomioka engaged in material recycling*, a more environment-friendly method compared to the more widely used thermal recycling**. Tomioka Plant developed a suitable fabrication method for plastic waste materials by converting them into items such as tote bins, construction materials, and gutter covers. This method has also been employed at the Takasaki facility.

Oki's Takasaki and Tomioka facilities have implemented other major environmental initiatives, the results of which are given below:

1. Tomioka Plant was able to recycle "plastic-waste conjugated with metal," which had been the bottleneck in achieving zero emission. Utilizing plastic waste as fuel at the finder and then collecting the metal remains made this achievement possible.
   
   
2. Takasaki Plant reduced the large amount of paper waste by computerizing documents and miniaturizing design drawings.

Through product design, Oki will continue zero emissions and focus on reducing waste generated from and toxic substances contained in its products. With these efforts, Oki will achieve zero emissions at all manufacturing facilities in Japan by the end of the fiscal year ending March 2003.

Notes:
* Material recycling: To recycle waste as raw material for products
** Thermal recycling: To utilize waste to recover heat energy

About Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
Founded more than a century ago in 1881, Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. is Japan's first telecommunications manufacturer, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Oki Electric provides customers with top-quality products, technologies and solutions for telecommunications systems, information systems and electronic devices through its corporate vision, "Oki, Network Solutions for a Global Society."