Corporate Social Responsibility at Advantest America, Inc. (AAI) is a commitment to contribute to economic development while behaving ethically and improving the quality of life of employees and their families as well as promoting critical social activities in the local community and the society-at-large. Subscribing to a "triple bottom line" philosophy and practice of profit, people, and planet, AAI's focus on the "people" side of the equation consists of identifying and supporting worthy non-profit social organizations in the Bay Area of California and our field-based communities across the U.S. AAI supplies employee volunteers and monetary donations regularly to to Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley, Second Harvest Food Bank, Family Giving Tree, SEMI Foundation's High Tech U program, Students Recycling Used Technology (StRUT), and the American Red Cross of the Silicon Valley. Through these active affiliations, AAI has supported safe housing, food donations, education, technology recycling, and disaster relief efforts in our community.
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Environmental Sustainability
at AAI comprises the "planet" component of our triple bottom line approach. The cornerstone of our sustainability commitment is our Environmental Management System (EMS) that has enabled us to receive 14001 certification for our headquarters operations in Santa Clara, CA. The three key aspects of our environmental program are 1) energy conservation; 2) waste reduction/reusing/recycling; and 3) green procurement of business supplies. Having received certification in 2008, we have already achieved a 30% reduction in energy use, a dramatic increase in reusing and recycling materials vs. waste, and now use exclusively environmentally sound janitorial supplies that are approved by the Green Seal label. Additionally, AAI has recently purchased Renewable Energy Certificates which offset the full amount of greenhouse gases generated by its main facility per year.
ISO 14001 and Advantest's Environmental Management System
EMS Aspect Data
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EMS Committee and its Role
The formation and ongoing operation of an Environmental Management System Committee is the foundation stone for application and certification of the ISO 14001 standard. Committee members are employees of AAI and are responsible for participating in the activities of the AAI EMS Committee. Typically consisting of ten (10) members, committee duties include attending monthly EMS Committee meetings in Santa Clara, staying abreast of AAI’s EMS program, taking on sub-committee duties as needed, and serving as EMS Committee spokespeople with employees. The EMS Committee meets on a bi-monthly basis.
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Current EMS Aspects and Targets
AAI identified and continually reviews environmental aspects of its operations. Three (3) aspects have been chosen by the EMS Committee and approved by senior management. They are: 1) Energy Conservation; 2) Waste Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling; and 3) Green Procurement.
1) Energy Conservation
The conscious conservation and reduction of energy has been a pillar of the environmental approach used by Advantest Japan since the mid-nineteen-nineties. In recent years, this approach has involved all of the worldwide subsidiaries of Advantest, including Advantest America, Inc. Monthly records are tracked by the corporation on the amount of electricity used by each subsidiary with the goal of reducing overall electricity use year-over-year. Energy conservation will play an important part of the AAI EMS. We will track and monitor electricity use in the headquarters building in Santa Clara as part of the EMS with the intention of continuing to reduce our usage.
2) Waste Reduction, Reuse and Recycling
Waste reduction and recycling has been another pillar of the environmental approach used by Advantest Japan since the mid-nineteen-nineties. In recent years, this approach has spread to all of the subsidiaries of Advantest, including Advantest America, Inc. The corporation tracks monthly records on the amount of waste generated by each subsidiary and the percentage of this total that is recycled. It will play an important part of the AAI EMS. We will track and monitor waste (including paper use and solid garbage), in the headquarters building in Santa Clara as part of the EMS with the intention of reducing the volume of waste year-over-year and increasing the percent of that volume that is recycled. We will continue our efforts recycling plastic, aluminum, batteries, lamps, cardboard, pallets, and Styrofoam.
3) Green Procurement
Green procurement is an increasingly important practice at AAI. With our establishment of this EMS, we will expand these practices. As part of the EMS, we have expanded our green procurement efforts by substituting numerous toxic materials with a full range of environmentally friendly janitorial supplies at our Santa Clara facility. All new supplies are Green Seal approved.
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EMS
An integral component of our ISO 14001 certification, AAI's Environmental Management System (EMS) provides the framework that enables us to successfully provide critical environmental sustainability programs at AAI. |
Renewable Energy Certificates are carbon offsets that promote the expansion of renewable energy generation in the U.S. Recently purchased by AAI, these RECs enable us to offset all of the electricity used at our corporate headquarters in Santa Clara, CA. Specifically, they invest in wind- generated power in the mid-west. |
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Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley
www.rebuildingtogether-sv.org
Rebuilding Together is a nationwide non-profit organization that rehabilitates houses of low-income, senior, and disabled homeowners and rehabilitates non-profit facilities. Advantest America works semi-annually with Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley as part of our ongoing corporate social responsibility effort in the Silicon Valley. Our volunteers do everything from painting the interior walls of homes, to repairing outdoor benches, to refurbishing garden sheds, to installing new light fixtures, and building decks. The money AAI donates to RTSV is used by the organization to help purchase supplies for the many projects slated to take place in the Silicon Valley. As always, we also contribute volunteer manpower to an Advantest project.
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Second Harvest Food Bank
www.secondharvestsjca.org
Advantest America participates with the Second Harvest Food Bank of San Jose, CA during the holiday season. Food barrels are delivered to our headquarters building in Santa Clara, CA and are placed throughout the building. Second Harvest collects dry and canned food products from employees to give to needy families in the Bay Area. Many employees help us in this worthy effort by going through their cupboards and dropping off food they can spare for the holidays in our barrels. Employees can also contribute monetary donations in the form of a check to the organization rather than food. We have successfully participated with this worthy organization for the past six years.
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Family Giving Tree (Back to School Drive)
www.familygivingtree.org
Advantest America partners with the Family Giving Tree during the holiday season. The Family Giving Tree is an innovative California-based non-profit organization which provides presents during the holidays to needy children and their families, mental health patients, homeless persons, foster children, the elderly, and families in domestic violence shelters. Employees stop by our tree in the Santa Clara building lobby and pick out one or more "wish cards". Gifts are then purchased, wrapped, and placed under the tree. Our goal is to turn all of the wish cards on the tree into presents under the tree. AAI has been partnering with Family Giving Tree since 2004.The Family Giving Tree in cooperation with the Resource Area for Teachers (RAFT) also conducts a Back-to-School Drive each summer in the Silicon Valley. School supplies are collected by our employee volunteers and the backpacks full of supplies are then provided to underprivileged kids in the area.
  
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SEMI Foundation - High Tech University
http://www.semi.org/foundation
For nearly 10 years, Advantest America has participated via monetary donation and volunteer assistance in High Tech University, an educational initiative of the SEMI Foundation. Minority high school students are identified and brought together for a 3 day-long program that introduces them to the world of semiconductor work and technology. HTU focuses on a number of strategic elements to achieve the overall vision of reaching more students:
- Stay in school
- Enroll in math, science and technology courses
- You can be successful in these disciplines and have a career in the semiconductor or related industries.
The SEMI Foundation's objectives are as follows:
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Reach more students and teachers Reach a more diverse audience
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Connect with the community
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Deliver a value for the money and a return on investment to all customers/host supporting companies
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Collect valid data that supports our actions and attracts future funding
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Students Recycling Used Technology (StRUT)
www.svstrut.org
Students Recycling Used Technology (StRUT) in the Silicon Valley focuses on bringing used but still useful technology to educational programs and is proud to be a part of the national effort to help those whose lives have been disrupted by the recent disasters. Starting in 2005, Advantest America began to donate its used computing equipment to this non-profit prganization, which was founded by Advantest America partner, Intel Corporation.
Everyone benefits from the StRUT effort. Students learn computer repair, maintenance and troubleshooting, computer networking, business management, and employment skills. Teachers receive training and curriculum development to teach classes in computer repair, maintenance and troubleshooting, computer networking, business management, and employment skills. Schools receive computers to prepare students for working in the technology environment. They gain trained technicians to support IS needs and save money by reducing their technology budgets and expenditures. Industry supports local education, helps in training our future workforce, gains a viable resource partner for inventory displacement, and obtains a tax break. And the environment gains from the prevention of tons of waste going into our landfills.
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American Red Cross - Silicon Valley Chapter
www.siliconvalley-redcross.org
Founded in January 2009 with the merger of the Palo Alto Area and Santa Clara Valley chapters, the American Red Cross Silicon Valley Chapter is a non-profit, humanitarian organization that depends on the generous contributions of time and money from local Santa Clara County residents and companies to provide services and programs that help our community prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies.
Led by volunteers and supported by community donations, your American Red Cross Silicon Valley Chapter is part of a nationwide network of approximately 710 locally supported chapters dedicated to saving lives and helping people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. With nearly one million volunteers and 35,000 employees, the American Red Cross annually
- Provides relief to families affected by 70,000 disasters,
- Keeps U.S .military families connected worldwide,
- Trains more than 15 million people in the skills they need to prepare for and respond to emergencies in their homes, communities and world,
- Supplies one third of the nation's blood and blood products,
- Works with Red Cross partners around the globe to restore hope and dignity to the world's most vulnerable people.
Advantest America has provided donations to the American Red Cross over the years to assist the victims of earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, and other natural disasters. Most recently we gave a donation on behalf of the San Bruno Fire Relief Fund.
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