ISAO UCHIGASAKI RECEIVES 2004 AKIRA INOUE AWARD FOR ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH AND SAFETY EXCELLENCE
Award Honors Outstanding Environmental, Health and Safety Achievement in the Semiconductor Industry
TOKYO, Japan, December 1, 2004 – Isao Uchigasaki, chairman of the board of Hitachi Chemical Company, is the recipient of the 2004 Akira Inoue Award for Outstanding Achievement in Environment, Health and Safety in the Semiconductor Industry. The award, presented annually at the SEMICON Japan exposition, is sponsored by the global industry association SEMI.
Uchigasaki is recognized for his contributions towards dramatically reducing emissions of chemical substances into the atmosphere and for pursuing a zero injuries and incidents policy in the company.
"Under Uchigasaki-san’s leadership, Hitachi Chemical has accelerated its efforts to minimize the impact of chemicals on the environment and to meet the safety and health requirements of the community," said Stanley Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "The spirit of Akira Inoue’s dedication to environmental protection is embodied in Uchigasaki-san’s commitment and SEMI is pleased to honor him with this award."
Among the achievements cited by the Akira Inoue Award committee in the selection of Uchigasaki include:
* Increasing the proportion of green products in the company’s portfolio from 22 percent in 2001 to 69 percent in 2003. Note: green products require improvements against criteria that include functionality, resource conservation, safety, and energy savings.
* Reducing by at least 54 percent emissions of chemical substances into the atmosphere during the period from 2000 to 2003.
* Launching a campaign to reduce carbon dioxide emissions per unit sold to 75 percent or less of 1990 levels by 2010. Note: this is being achieved by using alternative manufacturing methods and reduction of fuel use.
* Introducing abrasive free slurries for copper CMP to minimize solid wastes from CMP waste streams in wafer fabs.
* Adopting safety measures such as the Occupational and Safety and Health Management System and the Hiyari-Hatto (“Near Miss”) program to pursue a goal of zero incidents and zero injuries.
Reducing volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions by switching to aqueous photo-definable polymides and developers.
* Starting in 1999, publication of annual environmental, safety and health reports for Hitachi Chemical, which in 2004 were broadened in scope to cover a wide range of social issues.
Uchigasaki joined Hitachi Chemical Company in 1963 and served as president and representative director from 1997 to 2003 and as chairman since April 2003. From April 2004, he started to serve concurrently as Hitachi Group executive officer of Hitachi, Ltd. (present); and from June 2004, was also appointed as director of Hitachi, Ltd. (present).
Uchigasaki was elected board director and general manager of the chemical products division in June 1992 and the following year was named executive managing director and general manager of the semiconductor and LCD materials division. By December 1996, Uchigasaki had progressed to executive managing director and general manager of the Industrial Materials Group and Marketing and Sales Planning Office. Born in January 1939, Uchigasaki graduated in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science from Ibaraki University.
The Akira Inoue Award is sponsored by the Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Division of SEMI. The award is named after the late Akira Inoue, past president of Tokyo Electron Limited and a strong advocate of environmental health and safety. Inoue also served on the SEMI Board of Directors. The award recognizes individuals in industry and academia who have made significant contributions to this area by exercising leadership or demonstrating innovation in the development of processes, products or materials that reduce EHS impacts. A subcommittee of the SEMI EHS Executive Committee reviews all nominees and selects the winner.
Past recipients of the Akira Inoue Award include Pasquale Pistorio, CEO of STMicroelectronics; Craig Barrett, CEO of Intel Corporation; Farhang Shadman, director of the Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing at the University of Arizona; and Saburo Kusama, president of Epson Corp.
A digital image of Isao Uchigasaki is available in the News and Resources / Journalist Resource Center section of the SEMI website, www.semi.org.
About Hitachi Chemical Company
Hitachi Chemical produces a wide range of materials products and technology solutions for a variety of end markets. Among the company's semiconductor-related products are interlayer dielectric materials, chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) slurries, high heat resistant fine polyimides for VLSI circuit production, die bonding paste and film, epoxy molding compounds, and high heat resistant coating materials.
SEMI is a global industry association serving companies that develop and provide manufacturing technology and materials to the global semiconductor, flat panel display, MEMS and related microelectronics industries. SEMI maintains offices in Austin, Beijing, Brussels, Hsinchu, Moscow, San Jose (Calif.), Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.semi.org.
Aimee Bordeaux/SEMI EHS Division