On February 8th, 2023, an award ceremony for the 2022 Factory Greening Award Program Kinki Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry Director-General's Award was held at ROHM head office.
The ROHM head office and plant received the Kinki Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry Director-General's Award in the 2022 Factory Greening Award Program (commonly called the National Award for Greenery Factory) sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which is an improvement from the previous year when we received the Japan Greenery Research and Development Center Chairman's Award.

The Awards have been organized annually since 1982, sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and operated by the Japan Greenery Research and Development Center, with the aim of further promoting factory greening. The Awards recognize factories, organizations, and individuals for their outstanding achievements in promoting factory greening and improving the environment inside and outside their factories. The Awards are given based on the state of greening and other factors. There are four tiers of the Awards: the Chairman's Award of the Japan Greenery Research and Development Center, the Director-General's Award of the Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry in each area, the METI Minister's Award, and the Prime Minister's Award.

On the day of the ceremony, Mr. Hideaki Ibuki, the Director General of the Kinki Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry, presented our company with a certificate of commendation. Afterwards, we showed him the biotope area and explained ROHM's commitment to coexistence with nature and environmental communication policy.

ROHM has long been involved in community-based initiatives, such as greening the area around the head office based on the concept of a "factory in the forest" and using a part of the head office premises to widen the public sidewalks. These greening activities around the head office have been widely recognized - in March 2021, the company received the Ikimono Kyosei Business Office Certification from the Association for Business Innovation in harmony with Nature and Community (ABINC); in April 2021, we received the SEGES certification from the Organization for Landscape and Urban Green Infrastructure. We received both of these certifications again in 2022.

ROHM will continue promoting sustainability management based on our company mission and management vision and will strive to protect the environment and biodiversity and achieve a sustainable society while maintaining a healthy relationship with local communities.

< ROHM's Greening Activities and their Background>
ROHM's head office has been in the same location since 1961. As the scale of ROHM's business expanded, the premises and the plant gradually grew larger, and with the desire to always value the relationship with the local community, ROHM began greening the area around the head office in the 1980s based on the concept of a "factory in the forest" out of concern that an increasing number of inorganic factories would spoil the townscape. Also, several meters of the company premises facing the roads were converted into a part of the sidewalk, and Metasequoia, zelkova, and red bayberry trees were planted along the roads. Trees now surround the company plant, and the adjacent public streets are lined with trees that the local community can enjoy.

<Climate Change Initiatives and the Implementation of Renewable Energy >
ROHM understands that climate change is one of the critical issues impacting business activities and has set the goal of Carbon Zero (zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050) in the Environmental Vision 2050. We are also actively promoting the use of renewable energy, and 100% of the electricity used at our main offices in Japan (Kyoto Ekimae Building and Shin-Yokohama Station Building), major production sites for SiC wafer manufacturing (Germany Plant, new SiC building at Chikugo Plant in Fukuoka), and production plant in Thailand is supplied by renewable energy.

<Community Collaboration towards the Coexistence with Nature and Decarbonized Society>
In order to contribute as a corporate citizen to the development and restoration of society, we entered into the Linking People and Forests Agreement with Shiga Prefecture in April 2022 to work together towards achieving a sustainable society that coexists with nature. In June 2022, we signed the Collaboration Agreement for the Creation of a Decarbonized Society with Kyoto City to address climate change issues.

<The Biotope Area on the Head Office Premises>
In March 2022, based on the concept of "a place where ROHM, local communities, and living creatures can connect," we created an 8,400 m2 biotope area on our head office premises. A red bayberry tree has been planted as a symbolic tree, and a waterfront and fields have been created to play an essential role in creating a place for various living things. A variety of insects and birds have been spotted around as the biotope is becoming a habitat for many living creatures. We also want to use the fields in the biotope area as a place for environmental education to illustrate the importance of coexistence with nature. In June 2022, 71 employees and their family members participated in a rice planting experience. In October, the participants, who joined the rice planting before, harvested the rice that had grown into a magnificent crop. Also, in order to understand the progress of inhabitation of plants and animals on the site, a survey of living things has been conducted since 2021, before the establishment of the biotope area, and guided tours led by professionals in the field have also been organized for the company employees.
We plan to continue using this area to strengthen communication with the local community and promote measures to preserve the ecosystem.