Promotion of environmental conservation from region to the planet

In order to massively reduce CO₂ emissions from each shopping mall, improvements on the hardware side are necessary. In addition to implementing the latest environmentrelated equipment to new stores and shopping malls under renewal, we perform continual improvements and verifications on energy-related equipment, and are are horizontally deploying any results obtained across all the shopping malls nationwide. We will be gradually abolishing facilities with heavy energy usage or CO₂ emissions such as heaters and independent power sources which use heavy oil.

Solar power panels

Solar power generation

Our company has actively pushed for the implementation of a solar power generation system from an early stage. Currently, for all 27 malls including three shopping malls in China, installations have been concluded with a part of the electricity used within the shopping mall been powered by this system. In AEON MALL Fukutsu, opened in April 2012, a new system was implemented whereby power generated by the solar panels can be used in the event of a power outage due to a disaster etc.

Ice thermal storage system

Ice thermal storage system

airconditioning especially during the middays of the summer period when load is high, an ice thermal storage system has been implemented in 26 shopping malls.This system works by using electricity during the nighttime when power load is small to accumulate ice in the thermal storage tank, and then to use the heat energy during sales times for the air-cooling to contribute to energy-saving by suppressing power consumption during the daytime.

Air-conditioning cold water cascade system

Developed by our company and already implemented in 5 shopping malls, the "Air-conditioning cold water cascade system" consists of multiple air-conditioning machines positioned in cascade to realize a reduction in the delivery of cold water as well as fine control over the air-conditioning load.
During winter, the cold water absorbs heat from the heat generated from people and lighting which then warms up the exterior air and used for blowing air. By using this system, we have made possible a power consumption reduction of about 10% in comparision with existing shopping malls and are contributing to a reduction of CO₂ emissions.

LED lighting
LED sign lamps

LED lighting

For the lighting in each shopping mall, we are promoting a changeover from the existing fluorescent lights and incandescent bulbs to LED lighting system with a lower power consumption and longer life, asking specialty stores for the introduction of the LED lighting.
At AEON MALL Fukutsu, opened in April 2012, 90% of the lighting in the common use spaces is LED lighting system.
LED lighting units are also adopted for exterior electric signs. Though, currently, the shopping malls that have introduced the LED lighting system account for 48% of the total, we plan to increase the ratio to 80% within 2012 and advance a changeover to the LED lighting in all shopping malls in 2015. We adopt the LED light source units also for the signboards and various signs.

AEON MALL will pursue the realization of a sustainable society through building malls with minimum environmental impact while effectively utilizing natural resources and raising the quality of services. As such, we have established the following Environmental Policy and will also put effort into communicating with many customers and executing regional contribution.

• AEON MALL will reduce CO₂ emissions in order to prevent global warming.
• AEON MALL will realize zero emission in the aim of preserving earth resources and constructing a recycling society.
• AEON MALL will contribute to the improvement of living conditions of customers and partners, the development of regional communities and environmental conservation.
• AEON MALL will conform to the environmental laws and regulations and requirements that we have accepted.
• AEON MALL will construct an environmental management system, create a system to prevent pollution by establishing objectives and goals for each operating division, and promote their continuous improvement.
• AEON MALL will enhance the environmental awareness of all its employees and continue enlightenment activities to customers and partners.
• We will disclose our environmental information while also ensuring that all our employees and partners are fully informed of this environmental policy.

The existing "CO₂ Reduction Committee" was moved to the lower organization of the SR Conference, "CSR Section Meeting" from this year. This section meeting, configured from slected staff from each department, was arranged to share information for the horizontal deployment of effective approaches across malls and to strengthen the PR of CSR activities. From now on, communication with the stakeholders will be further strengthened through the use of each type of printed item and Web site.

From 2008, employees of AEON Group have been encouraged to take the examination "Certification Test for Environmental Specialists (Eco Test)".
In our company, aiming at all employees being able to pass the test with the following objectives, of 476 employees who took the exam between 2008 and 2011, 401 passed.

• Having a high awareness of environmental problem, and using this in actual operations of the shopping mall business.
• Having detailed understanding on the methods of CO₂ reduction and leading to achievement of target figures through actions.
• Maintaining the position of being a pioneer company dealing with environmental problems.

Upon opening of a new shopping mall, we implement the "AEON Hometown Forests Program" to perform planting within the mall site with our customers.
Under the hope that the heart to nurture greenery will spread throughout the people of the region and for the new shopping mall to take root and become a communal place for the region, we perform this activity as an entire group. The accumulated count of all the shopping malls in Japan has reached approx. 1,811,000 seedlings (as of Feb. 20, 2012).

AEON MALL Kurashiki

Roof greening / Wall greening

Not only does greening of the shopping mall roofs and walls improve the scenery, but suppresses the rising of temperature within the shopping mall during summer which leads to the reduction of energy usage by airconditioning.
It also prevents heat reflection towards the surrounding environment. At AEON MALL Kurashiki, opened after renewal in 2011, approx. 300 denim products provided by customers were reused as earth panels to green the walls.

Leaflets for the Employees

Efforts towards the environment cannot be pushed forward by our employees alone but requires the understanding and cooperation of specialty stores and customers. We are asking the staff in specialty stores for cooperation with the distribution of leaflets, display materials in the backyard, and others.
We are also asking for cooperation from the customers in the eco-bag use and recycling as well as performing environmental communication with the customers through eco-stations and eco-benches in the buildings.

Magnification

From concerns over power shortages due to the Great East Japan Earthquake in the summer of 2011, we made efforts to reduce power usage centering on the following measures:

● Extinguishing part of the in-building lighting
● Setting the in-building temperature at about 28℃
● Stopping operation of part of the escalators and elevators

In addition to requesting cooperation over power saving from specialty stores, we are asking for the cooperation and understanding from our customers through store posters and announcements. As a result, we were able to achieve demand restraint ratios of 25%, far over 15% requested by government for shopping malls on the network of Tokyo Electric Power Co.

Although we had mainly made the development of suburban shopping malls where customers are expected to arrive by their own cars, currently one-third of all the shopping malls in Japan are situated close to an overground or underground station with all shopping malls domestically having prepared an environment where public transport organs can be used to reduce the load on the environment.

Promotion of using public transportation

AEON Lake Town and AEON MALL Tsurumi-ryokuchi are promoting campaigns to encourage customers to arrive by public transportation in cooperation with railroad companies and the transportation authority. A customer who arrives at the shopping mall by public transportation by using a travel card can accumulate scores points to be exchanged with prizes and points to get a discount off the travel fee by touching the card to dedicated terminals within the shopping mall.

Electrical vehicle battery charging station

Within AEON Group, electrical vehicle battery charging stations have been set-up at 25 commercial facilities including our 11 shopping malls, as of April 2012. We will continue to place battery charging stations in each area to realize a sustainable society and conservation of the global environment.

"Park-and-ride" business contract conclusion ceremony (Yamanashi Pref.)

Park-and-ride system

In cooperation with local governments, we have implemented "park-andride" at AEON MALL Natori, AEON MALL Higashiura and AEON MALL Kumamoto. The purpose of this is to contribute to the lessening of atmospheric pollution and the loosening of traffic snarls by allowing regional people to park their cars at the mall parking space and travel to the closest station or town center by public transport. From April 2012, AEON MALL Kofu Showa has started demonstration experiments into a "park-and-ride" system where a shuttle bus runs between the shopping mall's parking lot up towards Kofu Station.

In the reduction of waste, it is important to clarify "What, Where and How much waste is being disposed of?" and be made aware of as an issue.
At each shopping mall, waste is first separated into 17 different types and the introduction of the weighing system for each of the 17 waste types is being examined, and 43 shopping malls are using this system as of 2011. After weighing waste of each type, specialty stores stick a "Weighed" sticker on to the waste and dispose of wastes at the storage location for each waste type. From now on, we can expect improvements in waste reduction and management efficiency by further analyzing the waste types by business type and passing the feedback regarding the emissions data to the specialty stores. Of the separated wastes, maximum effort is given to those that can be recycled with data being collected for the recycle rates of each type. Recycle rates for the entire company was 81.4% in 2011. At the same time, as a measure towards the Wastes Disposal and Public Cleansing Act, we are improving the SR system so that the system automatically notifies waste disposers to prevent expiration of the contract or permit before it happens.

Air-conditioning in the raw garbage storage site prevents from turning rancid and damage from pests.
Waste is separated and weighed by type. Data of the amount of waste from each specialty store can be obtained.
Separation is performed for both bins in the mall and those used by employees with promotion of recycling through cooperation with customers.

Magnification

It is our responsibility as a developer of shopping malls, to as much as possible reduce the influence of the mall on the surrounding environment.
As part of the planned are for AEON Mall Omuta, opened in March 2011, was home to 25 types of endangered species, close to 5,800 m2 of the space was conserved as a biotope.
Following mall opening, customers are able to become acquainted with nature through our mall.

Biotope within the site (AEON MALL Omuta)
Ischnura senegalensis

As the grass "Elymus humidus", designated as vulnerable in the Red Data Book of Japan by the Ministry of the Environment, was found at the planned construction site of AEON MALL Kusatsu (opened in November 2008), surface soil originally stored from the site was stuck to a rice paddy to perform conservation. Now, any number of insects such as dragonflies and grasshoppers have been confirmed.

Replication biotope of a rice paddy at the planned location.