The Sony USA Foundation's strategic philanthropic and corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts are aligned to reflect the diverse interests of our key businesses and focus on several distinct areas: education; arts and culture; civic and community outreach; sustainability and the environment; and disaster relief, with an emphasis on volunteerism in each of those areas.
The Foundation's commitment extends to helping local communities, investing in the education of children, supporting the arts and culture, helping disadvantaged youth, protecting and improving the environment, providing necessary support when large-scale disasters strike, and encouraging employee volunteerism.
Corporate Social Responsibility Sony's strategic philanthropic and corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts are aligned to reflect the diverse interests of our key businesses and focus on several distinct areas: education; arts and culture; civic and community outreach; sustainability and the environment; and disaster relief, with an emphasis on volunteerism in each of those areas.
Environment Sony is fully committed to environmental stewardship through its products, programs, practices and people. Sony's goal, as set forth in its Road to Zero environmental plan, is to achieve a zero environmental footprint by the year 2050. Innovative partnerships with non-profit organizations and educational institutions are also a core part of Sony's environmental efforts. Nationally and internationally, Sony supports a wide range of environmental organizations, including the World Wildlife Fund (also known as the Worldwide Fund for Nature), the world's leading conservation organization.
Community Involvement Healthy, robust communities create opportunities that allow us to live more meaningful lives. Sony supports a diverse set of programs and initiatives designed to enhance the quality of life in the communities in which they operate. The company is focused on inspiring and educating youth through the use of technology and focuses its efforts on supporting education in the classroom. SEL partners with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to support the Imagemakers National Photography Program & Contest. SEL also provides a number of in-kind donations each year for use by educational non-profits and academic institutions.
Volunteerism Public service activities and volunteerism are a vital part of corporate culture at Sony, and we actively encourage employees to give back to the communities in which they live by supporting a variety of programs that enhance the quality of life and help aid disadvantaged residents and victims of the tragedy. Sony Electronics (SEL) encourages its employees to provide leadership to non-profit organizations in the form of youth mentoring, Board of Director membership and project coordination.
Accessibility and Usability A commitment to accessibility and usability is an essential aspect of quality and a way of life at Sony. Sony is proud to take a leading role in the development of international accessibility and usability standards, including recent efforts to develop standards for text-to-speech functionality in televisions and to standardize user interfaces for audio, video, and multimedia systems and equipment.