To confirm that the EMS is operating effectively, regular annual audits of the Hiroshima district, Hofu Plant and R&D departments*1are carried out internally and externally by an ISO 14001 accreditation organization (periodic and renewal audits).

To increase the validity and objectivity of internal audits, we perform them not on a departmental basis, but on a cross-sectional, Company-wide basis. Senior staff who are accredited as internal auditors by an external accreditation organization visit each department and audit it as required. When problems are identified, countermeasures and improvements are implemented rapidly in order to aim at further improvements.

The internal audit for FY2008 revealed no serious noncompliance issues, 21 minor noncompliance issues, and 107 observation issues. The external audit reported no minor noncompliance issues and nine observation issues. These results were reported to management and the problems were swiftly rectified.