JP considers environmental activities to be an important part of business management, and is committed to not only becoming a company that the public can trust, but one that promotes harmony between individuals and society through the benefits of paper. As a specialized trading company with a comprehensive understanding of paper and its various characteristics, we are carrying out environmentally conscious business activities and working to strengthen the paper resource recycling system. In turn, we are contributing to the creation of a sustainable resource recycling-orientated society. JP was early to note the importance of paper recycling, and has been handling recovered paper for more than thirty years. Since the establishment of its first recovered paper subsidiary J.P. Resources Co., Ltd., in 1973, JP has continued to strengthen its paper recycling capabilities, with the JP Group currently owning and operating nine domestic recovered paper processing yards. Furthermore, since the establishment of our Los Angeles subsidiary, Safeshred Co., Inc. in 1998, we have been actively conducting recovered paper operations in the southern California region. At the domestic level, JP has built a comprehensive nationwide recovered paper collection network, and promotes both paper collection and recycling businesses. Through its establishment of a system that encompasses all processes, from the collection of recovered paper to the supply of recycled paper, JP is continuing to work together with paper users to proactively address environmental issues from the standpoint of an environmentally conscious company. Due to an increase in environmental awareness, demand is growing for recycled paper and other environmentally conscious products. Accompanying this growth is an increase in the diversification of quality demanded by users, as well as a refinement in product grade categories. JP cooperates with manufacturers as part of its active role in the development and marketing of environmentally conscious products. JP is participating in an afforestation project being carried out in Australia that aims to protect forest resources and prevent global warming by fixing carbon dioxide limits. Together with Oji Paper Co., Ltd., Sojitz Corp., and Shogakukan, Inc., JP has established this Australia-based joint venture and begun planting eucalyptus trees in an area located in eastern Victoria, approximately 200 kilometers from Melbourne. 10,000 hectares have been set aside for afforestation, with approximately 1,000 hectares having been planted each year since the inception of this project in July 1999. Harvesting is expected to commence in 2009, with the trees to be marketed in the form of wood chips. The plantation will be reforested after harvesting as a part of JP's ongoing commitment towards abolishing global warming. In keeping with the Company's environmental policies, JP is focusing its efforts on developing and marketing products that have a minimal impact on the environment. Furthermore, JP is promoting energy and resource saving, recycling, and a variety of other environmental preservation activities at each of its offices, as part of the Company's efforts towards the creation of a resource recycling-orientated society. In January 2001, JP received ISO 14001 certification at its head office in Tokyo, and in January 2002, increased this coverage by obtaining certification at all JP branches and offices throughout Japan.