Hitachi America, Ltd. Employees Plant Trees and Cut Vines along Saw Mill River Parkway in Honor of Earth Day 2010
(Tarrytown, NY) April 16, 2010 – Hitachi America, Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT/TSE: 6501) located in Tarrytown, NY is honoring the 40th anniversary of Earth Day by sending a group of employees to the Saw Mill River Coalition’s Restoration site to participate in a tree planting and vine cutting event in partnership with Groundwork Hudson Valley. Among the employees participating is Mr. Chiaki Fujiwara who assumed the role of President and CEO of Hitachi America, Ltd. on April 1, 2010. Eight other Hitachi employees, including others in senior management positions, are also participating in this volunteer activity.
In June, 2009, Hitachi America, Ltd. expanded its already active employee volunteer program to include giving employees paid time off during normal business hours to participate in organized volunteer activities. Employees can select from one or two company-organized volunteer opportunities per month and can elect to devote a half a day every six months to volunteering in the community.
The program has been well-received by both employees and the non-profit organizations involved. It is also structured differently from other large corporate volunteer days in which whole departments or companies devote a single day to a large volunteer project. Hitachi’s program is structured to send employees out into the community in small groups and on a regular, monthly basis.
For many smaller non-profit organizations, coordinating smaller groups of volunteers presents fewer logistical challenges. Through Hitachi’s volunteer program, employees have gone out in groups as small as three people and as large as ten people to serve food in soup kitchens, paint and tile kitchens, bathrooms and activity rooms and do trail maintenance for area organizations.
Hitachi America, Ltd. chose to celebrate Earth Day with Groundwork Hudson Valley for several reasons. As a company that produces and manufactures products and technologies with a focus on reduction of Co2 emissions, participating in a tree planting project on Earth Day was an ideal way to let employees make an even more tangible contribution to environmental conservation right in their own community. Also, in 2009, Hitachi’s employee-based Community Action Committee (CAC) provided funding to Groundwork Hudson Valley for educational material related to energy conservation. Groundwork will also receive funding from The Hitachi Foundation for the tree-planting project in recognition of the investment of volunteer time our employees have made to this project.
“We are really excited to be commemorating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day by planting trees in our own community,” said Lauren Garvey, Director, Community Relations for Hitachi. “We appreciate the opportunity to spend an afternoon helping to preserve our local forest areas with Groundwork Hudson Valley and the Saw Mill River Save-A-Tree Coalition.
“We are extremely honored to have Mr. Fujiwara attend our 2010 Earth Day tree planting and river restoration project along the Saw Mill River in Westchester County. His presence at this event, along with local employees, underscores Hitachi’s deep commitment to local and global environmental change,” said Rick Magder, The Executive Director of Groundwork Hudson Valley. “This year, Hitachi is providing critical support to our internationally recognized Science Barge, which uses cutting edge technology and renewable energy to demonstrate how communities can grow food in environmentally sustainable ways. The Barge serves over 9,000 visitors each year, including 3,000 local school children.”