Top Message
Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR, forms a major foundation for the roles and values of the corporation.
As it marks its 61st anniversary, how does the TOSHIBA TEC Group, which is supported by a large number of stakeholders and is in the process of expanding its operations, consider and implement CSR?
Mr. Mamoru Suzuki, President and CRO* of the corporation, provides us with a direct message from his position in senior management at the TOSHIBA TEC Group.
CSR of TOSHIBA TEC
Please explain TOSHIBA TEC's CSR commitments.
"Promotion of CSR Management" provides the foundation for The TOSHIBA TEC Group's business activities and the Corporate Philosophy "Our Five Commitments" is what those business activities are based on.
When all employees fully understand each one of "Our Five Commitments" and apply the commitments to their operations, I believe such efforts lead to CSR management and sound business activities.
I think compliance, accountability and corporate transparency are of importance in CSR management.
We always draw the attention of all employees, both in Japan and overseas, to compliance. Five committees responsible for Customer Satisfaction, Human Rights & Employees, Philanthropy, Environmental Protection and Risk Compliance are systematized under the CSR Promotion Committee. By asking employees to thoroughly ensure compliance and willingly implement activities, we provide robust education and training to eliminate deviations in standards.
Accountability is to allow what we are doing to be explained to our stakeholders in an easy-to-understand manner and to be clearly viewed by increasing corporate transparency. For example, when any event occurs, we need to understand and determine the causes of and background to the event, after which the company informs our stakeholders of the details, instead of just providing perfunctory notification.
In addition, we organize the quality assurance system on a global basis while striving to provide products and services, which customers can use with ease, in order to discharge the manufacturer's duty to ensure product safety to prevent accidents, which endanger human life and safety, from occurring. At the same time, we always make efforts to boost our quality levels by benchmarking competitors' products as a means of ascertaining quality.
Great East Japan Earthquake
The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011. Please explain the changes brought about by the aftermath of the disaster.
First of all, I would like to express my deepest sympathy to all victims and sufferers of the earthquake, and truly hope for the earliest reconstruction of the affected areas.
This disaster reminded us of the inherent threat from nature. The TOSHIBA TEC Group has the Business Continuity Plan or BCP. The earthquake and tsunami made us realize keenly how deficient our previous disaster assumptions had been. Following the disaster we initiated a prompt review on the areas that require improvement as a matter of priority.
Our office building suffered partial structural damage, which was fortunately not severe. As was reported in other industries, I was surprised to learn that many of our suppliers of parts and materials are centered in the Tohoku region. We have attempted to operate in a multivendor environment, but it has been the case that vendors have eventually been concentrated in one region.
Given the fact that an in-house communication system needs to be developed to ensure a stable supply of products and logistics, I realize there are plenty of issues to think over and address.
What assistance did the TOSHIBA TEC Group provide?
The first thing the TOSHIBA TEC Group did was to provide supplies to employees and their families affected by the earthquake. Since we heard they were short of food and water, we obtained necessary supplies from the Kansai and Kyushu regions and delivered them via Niigata.
In addition, we made repairs to damaged homes through donations.
For customers and suppliers, we offered our copiers and MFPs, registers and coin-operated fully automatic washer-dryers, with the coin operation function disabled, on a long-term free-ofcharge basis, through local chambers of commerce. As we move forward it will be important to think about what assistance we can offer in the long term.
Business Activities as a Global Enterprise
Please explain specific activities as a global enterprise.
First of all, with regard to the idea of limited resources, our major mission as a global enterprise is to find ways to save and reuse resources, and establish a system by which to achieve that.
By giving top priority to the conservation and protection of the world's natural resources, the TOSHIBA Group, as seen in the "Action Plan," and the TOSHIBA TEC Group as seen in the "Environmental Plan," work to reduce greenhouse gas （CO2） emissions as well as the environmental impact of business activities through our products, development efforts, sales and services.
One more thing to consider is human resources. A variety of people live on earth, of difficult races, genders and ages, each with their own individuality and personality. We devote our energies to the utilization and development of human resources and the creation of an environment where individuals with different personalities can learn from each other and where diversity is respected.
Stakeholder
What are your thoughts on stakeholders' expectations?
The ultimate corporate mission is to grow, remain in business and produce profits. The foundation to achieve this mission is CSR.
Corporate transparency is essential along with improvement in business performance. Transparency, in other words, the achievement of accountability, can present the results of corporate activities to society. I think that such communication skills are now needed more than ever.
The concerns and requirements of society and stakeholders are changing regularly according to the time and environment. I believe it is important to properly comprehend and respond to their expectations through various opportunities for communication.
