Materiality (Key Issues)
Identification of Materiality (Key Issues)
In order to further endeavor to make its Management Philosophy a reality and solve social issues, the Furukawa Company Group has reviewed the CSR priority issues identified in 2013, and at a meeting of the Board of Directors held in November 2022, it resolved to identify 10 items of Materiality (Key Issues) based on the “Basic Policy on Sustainability Initiatives” established in December 2021, as follows.
Furthermore, the Group is considering measures related to initiatives targeting Materiality (Key Issues), etc.
By steadily implementing the PDCA cycle in relation to any measures determined, etc., the Group aims to intensively “increase the value of the Furukawa brand through ‘marketing-based management’ that incorporates CSV* perspectives” and “increase corporate value by emphasizing business practices that reflect CSR/ESG issues recognized and to be solved by the Group,” as is clearly stated in “Vision for 2025,” and thereby aims to achieve sustainable growth for society and the Group and increase corporate value over the medium to long term.
- *CSV (Creating Shared Value): This is a management framework that enables companies to co-create social value and corporate value by tackling social, environmental, and other issues.
The Furukawa Company Group Materiality (Key Issues) on Sustainability Initiatives
Proactive: CSV issues
Materiality (Key Issues) on resolving “social issues” through business
- Providing environmentally friendly products, technologies, and services
- In order to provide products, technologies, and services that are environmentally friendly, such as those that counter climate change, the Group will focus on pursuing innovation and promoting research and development.
- Contributing to the resolution of customer issues
- In order to resolve its customers’ issues amid rapidly changing market conditions, the Group will endeavor to provide various products, technologies, and services through technological innovation.
- Contributing to the creation of a safe and comfortable society, including infrastructure development
- In order to solve social issues, such as aging social infrastructure in Japan and infrastructure development overseas, and ensure that people can live safely and comfortably, the Group will focus on areas such as measures to counter aging social infrastructure and the development of infrastructure to prevent and mitigate disasters.
Defensive: CSR/ESG issues
Materiality (Key Issues) on establishing a robust corporate foundation for growth
- Promotion of climate change countermeasures in business activities
- As the impact of climate change has become more severe and there is a great desire to achieve a “decarbonized society,” the Japanese government is aiming to “achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and cut greenhouse gases by 46% by fiscal 2031 compared with fiscal 2014.”
The Company has also set targets aligned with these goals, and will focus on reducing CO2 emissions.
- Promotion of biodiversity preservation activities
- In order to protect the biodiversity of the Earth, we will deepen our understanding of biodiversity, and actively engage in activities to preserve biodiversity, such as the use of sustainable resources, continuous greening activities, and the conservation of living organisms.
- Development of a safe and rewarding work environment that takes health into consideration
- In order for the Group to engage in business in a sustainable manner, we must create a work environment where each and every officer and employee is respected and can leverage their capabilities and work with a sense of vitality. In order to do so, the Group will endeavor to ensure safety, promote health and productivity management, and develop a rewarding work environment.
- Recruitment and development of diverse human resources
- In order to create innovation and provide new value to society, it is essential that human resources who have a variety of characteristics in terms of gender, race, age, values, etc. and have diverse ways of thinking actively participate. The Group will focus on recruiting a diverse range of human resources, and on providing opportunities for development and active participation to enable such human resources to freely utilize their characteristics and ways of thinking.
- Promotion of management that respects human rights
- The Group will promote management that respects the rights of people throughout the entire value chain affected by the Group’s businesses, not just the officers and employees of the Group.
- Development of an enterprise risk management system
- Each Group company and division of the Company will work to identify enterprise risk, and the Group will create systems for managing risks and opportunities centered on the Risk Management Committee. In addition, the Group will endeavor to enhance its ability to respond when crises occur.
- Thorough compliance
- Companies must be socially fair and maintain a sound position in order to provide value to society and continue to exist for a long time. The Group will respond flexibly to the changing social environment and focus on thorough compliance, including compliance with laws and regulations, and honest, fair, and just business activities.
Background to the Identification of Materiality (Key Issues)
In 2013, when the Group launched a framework for promoting CSR, the Group identified CSR priority issues, established related targets, and worked to achieve those targets. In recent years, however, measures to counter climate change and initiatives tackling the SDGs have come to be viewed as increasingly important, and in order for the Group to review its existing understanding of the issues, and further endeavor to make its Management Philosophy a reality and solve social issues, it determined a “Basic Policy on Sustainability Initiatives” on December 1, 2021, and reorganized from a CSR promotion framework to a sustainability promotion framework. Now, the Group has reviewed the existing CSR priority issues, and identified the Materiality (Key Issues) on sustainability that it should focus on as a matter of priority.
Process for Identifying Materiality (Key Issues)
