CSR at the ICT & Machinery Company

CSR at this Division Company

Developing an international society and creating affluent lifestyles through environment-friendly businesses

The ICT & Machinery company will endeavor to develop and promote environment-friendly businesses and products which will reduce the environmental impact of our operations, and develop new businesses in a wide range of fields to contribute to the prosperity of local communities and international society, as well as to the establishment of safe and affluent lifestyles.

Toru MatsushimaPresident, ICT & Machinery Company

CSR Action Plans

Key points of our FY2012 action plans

In fiscal 2012, we will continue to actively engage in renewable energy business such as biomass, geothermal, and wind power, as well as water-related business such as desalination plants, while pursuing management objectives with due regard for our obligations to the environment and society.
In addition to existing initiatives, we will aggressively promote new businesses such as green tech, smart grids, and secondary batteries, providing products and services that contribute to a secure, safe, and affluent society at the same time as protecting the environment.

Click here for details of our CSR action plans

Major CSR initiatives

Participation in the rehabilitation of a desalination plant in Saudi Arabia

In April 2011, ITOCHU won an order to rehabilitate the Shoaiba Phase 1 Seawater Desalination Plant from Saline Water Conversion Corporation (“SWCC”) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the Arabian Company and Sasakura for Water & Power, a joint venture with local capital in the country. The plant to be rehabilitated is a multi-stage flash (MSF) desalination plant constructed in 1988. It is possible for normal plant life (20-25 years) to be extended by another 15 years or more by replacing heat exchanger tubes and other corroded components and modifying the venting system in the evaporator. In Saudi Arabia, where a large majority of water demand for household use is met through desalination plants, water supply is tightening due to rapid population growth and industrialization. ITOCHU will aim to boost orders for rehabilitation as well as to win orders for new plant construction, contributing to the stable supply of water through this business.

SWCC seawater desalination plant in Shoaiba, Saudi Arabia

Alliance with major US electric utility in lithium-ion battery business

An agreement was signed with major US electric power company Duke Energy in November 2010 regarding an alliance in the smart grid (next-generation electricity transmission network) and renewable energy fields. As a first step, evaluation and testing will be carried out for the re-use of lithium ion batteries (“LiB”) that have been used for a certain period of time for household and industrial use. Evaluation will use automotive lithium-ion batteries produced by US battery system manufacturer Ener1, Inc., an Indiana-based company in which ITOCHU owns a stake, for a range of applications and analyze battery management and the potential impact on the existing power grid. The initial objective is to develop, with Duke Energy, a product ready for commercialization.