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Kumon China Annual Environmental Report 2012 – 2013

“The Kumon Group views the preservation of the global environment as an important challenge to be met as we carry out our business activities. Accordingly, the Kumon Group believes that one of our core values is to fulfill our responsibilities and obligations in regard to solving global environmental problems. We will incorporate this environmentally-friendly vision into our business planning and will work on a permanent basis to protect our precious planet and sustain its natural resources for current and future generations.” This is the environmental Philosophy of the Kumon Group – an international enterprise which is willing to shoulder the responsibilities and values the benefit of society. In order to fulfill the promise of “Contributing to the global society” by the Kumon Group, Kumon China Green Team was established in March 2011. It aims at encouraging all staff to take all possible actions “to conserve natural resources and to preserve the natural environment through the development of human resources”, from internal to external, from saving to preservation. By implementing various kinds of measures to conserve energy and resources, everyone in Kumon China is striving to move towards a green Kumon China in the past two years.

Effective conservation of resources is an important focus for environmental protection and minimization of wastage. In daily operations, bulk consumption of paper is regarded as a significant challenge against environmental protection. Each office has taken different measures to minimize paper usage. For example, considering sharing the electronic document, adopting double-sided printing and making it a default mode for photocopiers and printers, using recycled paper for printing. KBT has made use of a new system called “Document Library” to share information among cities effectively. With the joint efforts of different offices, the overall paper usage of Kumon China in the 4th quarter of 2012 and the 1st quarter of 2013 has decreased by 16.5%. Within this period, the paper usage of KHK has a 12.7% decrease while KSH has also achieved a 8.5% decrease from the 2nd to 4th quarter of 2012.

In order to achieve the ultimate goal of environmental protection, energy conservation is another essential task for offices. Associates are highly conscious of the importance of energy conversation and they have actualized this belief in their daily work. When associates are in office, they would switch off the computer screen if they are not at seats for long. Moreover, they would switch off the lights and other electrical appliances after meeting or after work. The last one to leave the office would check if all the power sources are switched off. For warehouse operation, associates have adopted measures to minimize the use of air-conditioners. For example, when the temperature is lower in the morning, they would focus on packing materials which requires higher energy level. When the temperature is higher during noon, they would mainly work on unpacking cartons as this task requires less energy. The above measures have brought improvement in energy conservation. Take the 2nd to the 4th quarter of 2012 as an example, the electricity consumption of KSH, KBJ and KHK has decreased by 8.2%, 4% and 1.6% respectively. The consumption of KBT has even recorded an encouraging decrease of 32.5%.

To minimize the environmental impact caused by business activities, Kumon China has actively encouraged all associates to carry out Environmental Policy – recycling. Paper box and magazine involved in business or personal use are being collected and recycled for future use; Warehouse materials like carton, packing strings and wrapping paper are categorized and recycled by KBT through systematic measures to minimize wastage and utilize resource. From April 2012 to March 2013, Kumon China has accumulated a total of 3,421 kilograms of paper for recycling. This number has increased by 27.8% in comparing to the same period of last year.

Following the policy of “strive to make each and every Kumon Associate more aware of environmental issues through education”, every office has carried out continuous education and promotion to emphasize the importance of environmental protection. For instance, they have shared the group’s environmental philosophy and action plan during all staff meeting. They have also shared the latest green news and tips via instructor newsletter. Reminders have been used in different parts of the offices to reinforce the environmentally friendly attitude. Furthermore, associates are encouraged to take part in the global activity “Earth Hour”.

The road of protecting our environment is full of responsibilities and challenges. Kumon China believes that with strong determination and devotion of every associate, a green Kumon China will be realized in the near future. Let us continue protecting our earth!

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