In order to better understand those areas that we will focus on in the medium to long-term, Kuriyama Group has examined its business model in light of societal challenges - specifically SDGs and ESG - and identified key challenges for us to address. During the process of identifying these challenges, we received, discussed and debated input from Kuriyama management and all of our stakeholders, both inside and outside the Group.
Currently, Kuriyama Group is undertaking initiatives which address 15 of the 17 SDGs. By bolstering business activities connected with SDG-related key challenges in high-priority areas for the Group (materiality), we are building greater corporate value while contributing to the development of a more sustainable society.
We have established the following challenge (materiality)-specific KPI (Key Performance Indicators) to help in measuring progress towards SDG achievement by 2030. On top of this, we have sorted our initiatives into those representing "Challenges to Actively Address through Business" and those representing "Challenges which Demand Stronger Group-Wide Efforts."
We will periodically conduct materiality reviews and revise as-needed, based on changing trends in the international community, needs among customers, and conditions in the business environment facing Kuriyama Group.
In order to identify Kuriyama Group key sustainability challenges (materiality), we used the "SDG Compass - A Guide for Business Action to Advance the Sustainable Development Goals," published by the GRI, UN Global Compact and WBCSD, as a guide to establish our SDG-related corporate vision, basic policy and business strategy via the following five steps.
The GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) is an international independent organization that has been a pioneer in corporate sustainability reporting since 1997. GRI's mission is to empower decision-makers everywhere, through its sustainability reporting standards and multi-stakeholder network, to take action towards a more sustainable economy and world.
The UN Global Compact is a call to companies to align strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption, and to take actions that advance UN goals. It is the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative, with over 8,000 companies participating in 160 countries.
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is committed to galvanising the global business community to create a sustainable future for business, society and the environment. The WBCSD provides a forum for its 200 member companies to scale up business solutions that change the status quo.
To seize the most important business opportunities presented by the SDGs and reduce risks, we defined our Group priorities based on an assessment of their positive and negative, current and potential impacts on the SDGs across our value chains.
The first step to integrating the SDGs into our business involved messaging from the CEO, followed by multiple working group sessions at the executive officer level and above.
And, in order to ensure that, from 2021, all Kuriyama Group employees approach their work with a focus on addressing social challenges, we have incorporated SDG-related goals into our business and departmental planning.
In addition, we are utilizing in-house public relations and other communications tools to disseminate information that will give all Kuriyama Group employees a better understanding of the SDGs.
To seize the most important business opportunities presented by the SDGs and reduce risks, we defined our Group priorities based on an assessment of their positive and negative, current and potential impacts on the SDGs across our value chains.
By mapping the SDGs against our value chain, we were able to identify the opportunities and risks presented by the SDGs and determine what our priority initiatives should be.
Based on the key challenges identified in Step 2, we engaged in dialog with, as well as conducted surveys of, internal and external Kuriyama Group stakeholders to find out what their hopes and expectations of us are, and we then created a materiality map which visually represents the relative priority of each for the Group.
Key challenges (materiality) were derived from those social issues which the materiality map shows to be of great importance to stakeholders both inside and outside the Group.
The materiality map is not meant to be an exhaustive list of the issues and challenges that Kuriyama Group addresses; rather, it identifies the key challenges for the Group in terms of materiality.
In 2020, the Kuriyama Group Key Performance Indicators (KPI) were created for use as concrete indicators in gauging our progress towards the SDGs within our business activities. We conduct our business activities with the aim of meeting these KPI to a degree appropriate for achieving the SDGs by 2030. In establishing our KPI, we used our existing eco-action targets as well as created new health and productivity management-related targets. The scope of our KPI has been expanded to include all Group companies, and performance throughout the PDCA cycle is measured.
*To learn more about the materiality KPI, please see our ESG Initiatives.
For Kuriyama Group, the aim of sustainable development is to cultivate lasting corporate vitality through activities which promote an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future for humanity and the global environment. To achieve this, the three elements of economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection must be harmoniously incorporated, as they are not only interrelated but also essential to peace and stability.
*To learn more about our global and domestic business strategies, please go here,
For Kuriyama Group, sustainability represents the fundamental identity of our management strategy, and Management Strategy Office, under the supervision of the CEO, is taking the lead on SDG-related activities.
Moving forward, we are planning to introduce a sustainability promotion framework that will expand the scope of SDG activities across the entire Group.
We actively make use of information sessions, company reports and various other means to communicate information about our SDG activities.
