Press Release

MMC announces Environmental Sustainability Plan

- mid-term environmental action plan -

Date: June 6, 2002

MMC will, by the end of fiscal 2002, establish developmental processes using Design for Environment (DfE) principles which effectively minimize the environmental loads of its automobile products throughout their full life cycle

MMC is set to achieve its 2005 target, announced in September 1999, of meeting Japanese domestic market 2010 gasoline fuel economy standards

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation today publishes details of the "Environmental Sustainability Plan" a 5-year mid-term plan that gets under way in fiscal 2002.

Global warming, depletion of natural resources, pollution, increasing amounts of industrial waste and other environmental issues have grown more serious in recent years. These plans have brought into focus the need to change our society from one based on mass production, mass consumption and mass waste to one based on a circulatory economy that promotes growth while maintaining the environment in a sound state.

Aware of the situation and conscious of its social responsibilities, MMC has chosen "Offering attractive automotive products and protecting and conserving the global environment - for the sake of future generations" as the key theme in the new plan which calls for greater emphasis on sustainability in its corporate activities.

Environmental Sustainability Plan Overview

1.	Duration
	MMC expects the ESP to run for a 5-year term, starting in fiscal 2002

2.	Plan elements
	The ESP addresses 28 areas, taking a 4-pronged perspective that covers (1) Environmental management, (2) Recycling, (3) Global warming prevention, (4) Pollution prevention. Wherever possible, the ESP sets out numerical targets and achievement date targets.

3.	Content
	The major areas addressed by the ESP are outlined below.
	(1)	(DfE) Design for Environment
		MMC will establish, by the end of fiscal 2002, new development processes that mini mize the environmental loads of its products throughout their total life cycle - from design, through "Produce" "Use" and "Recycle".

		Backdrop to establishment of new development processes MMC has, over the years, been an industry leader in environmental stewardship through: the development and building of environment-friendly automobiles; design practices that promote the use, and weight reduction, of recyclable parts and materials; and fuel economy improvements driven by new technologies. The announcement of the ESP marks another step forward in MMC environmental stewardship as its lays greater emphasis on minimizing the total environmental impact of its automotive products during their full life cycle - from development through to ultimate disposal. Concepts underlying new development processes MMC will build up development processes that are founded on all-encompassing and quantitative evaluations of environmental loads using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)¹ and other techniques. In the creation of new development processes, MMC will employ its recently introduced Quality Gate System², which incorporates techniques acquired from DaimlerChrysler, in conducting stringent quality inspections at every step in the process - from drawing board all the way through to delivery.

	(2)	Reduction of waste and resource-saving in production process
		MMC successfully reduced to zero the amount of in-plant waste requiring land-fill disposal at its production plants in Japan by the end of fiscal 2001. The company will continue to implement its zero land-fill waste practices.

	(3)	Promotion of vehicle recycling
		To meet the requirements of recycling legislation in Japan and the EU, MMC is implementing activities that contribute to the achievement of a 95% recycling rate.

	(4)	Improvement of vehicle fuel economy
		MMC is well on track to achieving Japanese 2010 fuel economy standards as early as 2005. (Industry topping performance).

	(5)	Development and expantion of low emission vehicle
		MMC will raise to 70% the ratio of its post-fiscal 2003 domestic vehicle fleet that meets Japanese 2010 fuel economy and J-ULEV standards. Further details of the MMC ESP are given in the following pages.

¹ LCA:	Technique for assessing total environmental load during full product life cycle: from the extraction of oil and minerals, manufacture of materials and manufacture of the automobile through to its final disposal and recycling.

² Quality Gate:	Stringent quality control system borrowed from DaimlerChrysler in which "Gates" are established at each step in the conceptual and design stages and right through to the production process and final completion of the automobile.

"Environmental Sustainability Plan"

1. Environmental Management

Categories	Items	Targets
1.1 DfE(Design for Environment)	Making structure for promotion of Design for Environment	Make development process to effectively reduce environmental impact throughout products' life cycle (by the end of FY2002).
1.2 Cooperation with suppliers (Green procurement)	Promoting the acquisition of ISO14001 certifications	Promote the acquisition of ISO14001 certification at all suppliers (by the end of FY2004).
1.3 Cooperation with dealers	Support of environmental management system for dealers	All dealers will complete and construct / implement the environmental management systems.
1.4 Cooperation with domestic and overseas affiliated companies	(1) Promoting the acquisition of ISO14001 certification	Expand the acquisition of ISO14001 certification at domestic and overseas plants, and promote the environmental activities as well as MMC, which had acquired one at all plants in Japan.
	(2) Cooperation with domestic affiliated companies	Enhance 'Environmental Sustainability Plan' and promote the certain action by Production Environmental Conference MMC Group (twice a year)
	(3) Cooperation with overseas affiliated companies	Get regular information about official regulations, measure and trend in regulations (twice a year) Take actions to prevent the environment, befitting the present society Reinforce the cooperation about environmental / recycling problems in International Production Conference with major affiliated companies
1.5 Disclosure of information	Disclosure of environmental information	Continuously publishing and improvement of Environmental Report Improving the disclosure of environmental information on the Internet Web site

2. Recycling

Categories	Items	Targets
2.1 Promotion of vehicle recycling	Action for vehicle recycling laws in Japan and EU/ Improvement of recycling effect/ Reduction of environmentally hazardous substances	Activity for achieving recycling rate 95% 1) Positively participate in building domestic recycling system in cooperation with government, municipalities and related companiesConstruction of recycling network for used vehicles in cooperation with related companies in EU. 2) Promote production of easily recyclable products.Develop environmentally friendly materials, design easily recyclable structure and expand use of recycling materials. 3) Promote reducing of environmentally hazardous substances such as lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium and cadmium.
2.2 Reduction of waste and resource-saving in production process	(1) Eliminate landfill waste	Maintaining zero landfill waste at all plants achieved in the end of FY2001
	(2) Promotion of recycling	Recycling ratio must be more than 98% (by the end of FY2005)
	(3) Reducing by-products	Reduce metal scrap and casting waste sand
	(4) Effective use of water resources	Reduce use of water by, for example, expansion of utilizing recycled water.

3. Prevent Global Warming

Categories	Items	Targets
3.1 Improvement of vehicle fuel economy	(1) Countermeasure for domestic new fuel economy standard	Early achievement of new fuel economy standard for domestic for year 2010 in FY2005
	(2) Countermeasure for self-targets of EU fuel economy	Certain action to achieve goals of European voluntary commitment for fuel efficiency in 2009.
	(3) Countermeasure for truck and bus	Further improvement of fuel economy
3.2 Countermeasures for air conditioner refrigerant	(1) Reduction of HFC134a (Freon substitute) utilization	Continuous application of refrigerant reduced air conditioner system for new cars
3.2 Countermeasures for air conditioner refrigerant	(2) Promotion of air conditioner development without HFC134a	Promotion to develop CO₂ air conditioner (cooperated with air conditioner makers)
3.3 Measures concerning production and logistics	(1) CO₂ emission control (save energy)	Reduce total CO₂ emission with more than 20% compared with value of 1990(by end of FY2010)
	(2) Control CO₂ emission at logistics	By improvement of logistic efficiency, reduce CO₂ emission per shipped car with more than 10% compared with value of 2000 (by end of FY2005)
	(3) Reduction of packing materials	Reduce use of wooden cases per sales amount with more than 15% compared with value of FY2000 (by end of FY2005)
3.4 Improvement of smooth flow of traffic	Improvement of traffic environment by ITS technology	Promotion of research and development, diffusion of ITS components

4. Prevent Environmental Pollution

Categories	Items	Targets
4.1 Development and expansion of low emission vehicle	(1) Promotion of research & development of FCV	Continuance of research and promotion of actual use with Daimler Chrysler
	(2) Market launch of clean energy vehicles	Development and market introduction of compressed natural gas vehicles, CNGV and hybrid electric vehicles, HEV
	(3) Expansion of good fuel economy and low emission vehicles	Ratio of government official vehicle objectives (2010 fuel economy standard + J-ULEV) is more than 70% in domestic vehicle sales volume after FY2003. Ratio of green purchasing law objective is more than 80% in domestic vehicle sales volume after FY2003. Ratio of green purchasing law objective is more than 45% in domestic mini car sales volume after FY2003.
	(4) Correspondence to domestic and overseas exhaust emission regulations	Timely release vehicles complying with exhaust emission regulations
4.2 Reduction of hazardous substances in production process	(1) Use lead-free paint in ED coating	Promotion of ED coating in domestic plants lead-free (by end of FY2002)
	(2) Restriction of VOC emission	Achieve an 35g/m² or lower for all passenger-car production lines by using new materials like waterborne paint (by end of 2007)
	(3) Restriction of dioxin emission	Reduce dioxin emission from industrial waste incinerator to less than 1/10 of emission regulation value (by end of 2002)