The high quality that motorists have come to expect from Mazda reflects the uncommonly high standards we set ourselves in our efforts to provide superior vehicles and services. Our efforts have enabled us to pass the most stringent international quality-assurance inspections. Most notably, in June 1996 Mazda became the first Japanese automobile manufacturer to be certified as complying with the ISO 9001 quality-assurance standard. Another attribute of Mazda's activities is the belief that we must promote environmental protection and contribute to a better society. Our environmental efforts were recognized in June 2000, when all of Mazda's domestic production facilities—these together employ more than 20,000 people—were certified as complying with ISO 14001, the international standard for environmental-management systems. The scale of this achievement is unprecedented in the Japanese automobile industry.