Kyocera Earns 9th Waste-Reduction Award from State of California’s CalRecycle

SAN DIEGO--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Kyocera Communications Inc., a San Diego-based provider of Kyocera- and Sanyo-branded wireless phones in the Americas, announced today that it was awarded a 2011 Waste Reduction Award from the California Department of Resource Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle). It is the ninth year that Kyocera has been recognized with the award by the State’s Waste Reduction Awards Program (WRAP) for its recycling and environmentally friendly business practices. Kyocera also is the City of San Diego’s most-awarded company for environmental programs.

“Concern for the environment and social responsibility have been key components of Kyocera’s management philosophy since the company was founded over 50 years ago”

“Concern for the environment and social responsibility have been key components of Kyocera’s management philosophy since the company was founded over 50 years ago,” said Yasuhiro Oishi, president of Kyocera Communications Inc. "Innovation shouldn’t just be applied to the products we make, but also to how we make them, how our employees conduct business and how we can conserve our natural resources.”

In line with its corporate commitment to environmental protection and "harmonious coexistence," Kyocera believes, and has demonstrated, that striving to minimize environmental impacts from business operations by recycling and reducing waste can be both good for the environment and good for business. In 2010, Kyocera Communications Inc. recycled more than 43,596 pounds of paper, plastic, electronic and other waste destined for landfills. Kyocera also radically reduced its carbon footprint on its Sanyo-branded phones by shipping phones in bulk (rather than in retail packaging) from overseas to a U.S. distributor, increasing phone counts per pallet from 240 to 3,600. The company’s offices also reduced electricity consumption by 13 percent and water consumption by 25 percent compared to 2009. Between cost avoidance and recycling revenue, these programs contributed more than $7 million to the company’s bottom line in 2010.

Kyocera’s San Diego-based wireless phone unit focuses on the following recycling efforts locally:

Cell Phones: Collection bins are placed in Kyocera facilities, along with a link on the company’s external Web site telling consumers where they can recycle phones at no cost and even direct any proceeds to their choice of several charitable organizations.
Cardboard: Cardboard is collected from delivered items and is sent to a recycler. In 2010, employees recycled 10,365 pounds of cardboard.
Paper: White and colored paper is collected in offices, copy rooms and labs, while confidential and proprietary documents are collected and securely shredded. The operation recycled 2,414 pounds of mixed paper in 2010.
Electronic Scrap: In 2010, employees collected and recycled 5,814 pounds of miscellaneous electronic scrap from labs and offices.

More information, including the company’s ISO-14001 certification for environmental management systems, is available at www.kyocera-wireless.com. Information about Kyocera Corporation’s global environmental and social responsibility efforts is available at http://global.kyocera.com/company/csr.

About Kyocera Communications Inc.

Kyocera Communications Inc. is the headquarters for Kyocera- and Sanyo-branded wireless products and accessories in the Americas. The company's devices are driving the convergence of telecommunications, broadband and multimedia. It was formed in April 2009 through the combination of Kyocera Wireless Corp. and Kyocera Sanyo Telecommunications Inc., two wholly owned subsidiaries of Kyocera International Inc. The former was created when Kyocera purchased QUALCOMM Incorporated's consumer wireless phone business in 2000, while the latter was formed when Kyocera purchased the wireless phone business of Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. in 2008. Based in San Diego, Kyocera Communications Inc. leverages Japan's history of creating advanced consumer technologies around humanism and respect for the environment and blending them with a Western entrepreneurialism and style, resulting in a unique design language and a natural, user-friendly interface. For more information, please visit http://www.kyocera-wireless.com or follow the company on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kyoceramobilephones.

Kyocera Corporation (NYSE:KYO) (TOKYO:6971) (http://global.kyocera.com/), the parent and global headquarters of the Kyocera Group, was founded in 1959 as a producer of fine ceramics (also known as “advanced ceramics”). By combining these engineered materials with metals and plastics, and integrating them with other technologies, Kyocera has become a leading supplier of telecommunications equipment, copiers, printers, solar power generating systems, electronic components, semiconductor packages, cutting tools and industrial ceramics. During the year ended March 31, 2011, the company’s net sales totaled 1.27 trillion yen (approx. USD15.3 billion). The company is ranked #604 on Forbes magazine’s 2011 “Global 2000” listing of the world’s largest publicly traded companies.