Social Value

Seiko Epson traces its roots to Daiwa Kogyo, a watch factory. Over the decades, we have developed watch manufacturing technology and master watchmakers.

Seiko Epson holds watch assembly classes for elementary and junior high school students in the community to provide them with opportunities in which they can experience the fun and lure of monozukuri. Children who took the classes felt a sense of accomplishment and gained a greater understanding of local industry. They commented that they were surprised by the tiny parts in a watch and found it difficult to insert them in tiny holes. Nevertheless, they were pleased to complete their watches with support from the staff.

To stimulate the local economy and community, Seiko Epson sponsors fireworks festivals that take place in Suwa, Shiojiri, Azumino, Minowa, Beppu and other areas where it operates.
Seiko Epson has been sponsoring the Lake Suwa Fireworks Festival since 1956. The festival is held in the city of Suwa, a short walk from the Epson Head Office. This festival, one of the largest in Japan, is a local summer tradition. The sound of fireworks exploding over the lake reverberates off the surrounding hills, thrilling spectators.

Epson Singapore Pte. Ltd. (ESP) employee volunteers teamed up with the staff from Rainbow Centre to bring children with disabilities out for an excursion to Gardens by the Bay. It was an exciting day for us as we interacted with the children, which also allowed us to learn more about different ways to communicate with and befriend persons with disabilities.
Together, we can embrace diversity and inclusion to create a better world in our own ways.

Epson Deutschland GmbH (EDG) has been running its 290 Days of Social Commitment program since 2008. All 290 EDG employees are granted one day of paid leave to serve the community by volunteering their time at social welfare facilities or schools in the area around the Düsseldorf office.
The activities are diverse. In FY2023, they included building a warehouse in the schoolyard to store toys for children needing special educational support, cleaning up riverbanks, helping elderly people with gardening work, repairing stables for an animal welfare organization, and donating laptops to support disadvantaged people in need.

Seiko Epson has been bringing the Fantas Aquarium to hospitals and special-needs schools around Japan since 2015. The Fantas Aquarium is a projector-based production that uses a technique called Fantas Projection to generate a calm and peaceful space through a combination of video images, music, and gently swaying screens. The result is a richly stimulating sensory experience that delights the senses of sight, touch, and hearing. In the 2023 fiscal year, the company staged this event at 14 locations nationwide, welcoming 5,119 visitors. The shows were set up and run with the help of employee volunteers. In recent years, with access to facilities limited due to the pandemic, Epson started a Fantas Car (a mobile cart equipped with a projector) loan program. Facilities exercised ingenuity to effectively use the Fantas Car to stage shows in ways that were best for them. In FY2023, a total of 2,673 people were able to experience the program at 15 facilities nationwide.

Epson India Pvt. Ltd. (EPIL) believes in the importance of childhood education and has an assistance program that focuses on underprivileged children. Over the past several years, EPIL has been distributing notebooks, backpacks, stationary, and other goods to public schools that serve underprivileged children primarily in the states of Karnataka, in southwest India where EPIL is located, the southern state of Tamil Nadu, the northern state of Utter Pradesh and in the western state of Maharashtra. The number of recipient schools has been increasing year by year. In fiscal 2024, we delivered goods to 539 schools and 42,480 students. The children were happy with their new gear that helped with their studies.

In 2019, Epson Europe B.V. launched New Horizons, an education program that reaches 10,000 youth in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. This program leverages Epson's storehouse of technology and expertise to draw out the creative potential of youngsters and elevate their understanding of sustainability.

In 2020, the spread of COVID-19 made it necessary to alter the initial action plan and take most of the activities online. Still, Epson Europe's Sustainability Manager developed and delivered a presentation on sustainability to a total of 4,684 middle school, high school, and university students in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Spain. In Italy, moreover, a discussion was held with 480 teachers on creating a more sustainable future. In addition to providing a chance to think about the management and the responsibility of corporations, it was an excellent opportunity to find out what the younger generation thinks about environmental problems and their own roles therein, as well as to learn what they expect of corporations.

Seiko Epson has been providing print support for graduation projects of fourth-year students of Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo using digital textile printing technology since 2020. The students can use the latest Epson printers and technologies to create dresses and costumes that they have designed.

Comments from students

• I used to print about 20 times to reproduce the desired color, but I was never satisfied with the result, so I thought I had to compromise. However, thanks to Epson's printer with a colorimeter that enabled me to fine-tune the colors of the design that I wanted to express, I was able to produce a satisfying work.
• Lines for cutting are also printed on the fabric. This shortened the production time because I was able to start cutting and sewing the fabric right after printing.
  
  

Seiko Epson established the Epson Information Science Vocational School in 1989 to develop technical personnel who are trusted by the community and can make wide-ranging contributions to society. The school has produced more than 2,900 graduates so far, some of whom are working at Epson.
Most of the instructors are engineers and developers who have corporate experience, including at Epson. The curriculum is designed to enable students to master skills that can be used in actual work. There are three disciplines: Information Systems, Information and Electronic Systems, and Information Business. All of these are recognized as Professional Post-Secondary Courses by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Seiko Epson has been supporting the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival since it began, in 1992.
The festival brings together top-notch musicians from all over the world to perform high-quality programs, including orchestral concerts, chamber music and opera.
There are special events geared toward children. To date, invitations have been extended to 13,000 sixth-graders, seventh-graders, and to schools for the deaf, blind, and disabled in Nagano prefecture. This education program provides a valuable opportunity for the children to hear live orchestra music, thus serving as a catalyst for interest in music.