Sustainability
SDGs Initiatives and Materiality
SDGs Initiatives and Materiality
Creating New Businesses That Contribute to Solving Social Issues
We have inherited the words left behind by our founder, Chojiro Nitta, in the Meiji era: “A business prospers by manufacturing excellent products, but that money must be put to public use so it can contribute to society.” We see contribution to society as our mission, aimed at achieving the current SDGs. We grasp social issues through social trends, movements in the international community, and the expectations of stakeholders, and we seek to create new businesses that will allow both society and the Nitta Group to develop sustainably.
Five main SDGs
Materiality Identification Process
At the CSR Promotion and Risk Management Committee in 2020, the Nitta Group identified seven materialities, issues that are critical to growing sustainably together with society, based on the NITTA Group Mission and the NITTA Group Code of Conduct. We periodically review our materialities in light of changes in the social environment.
Actions we take to address materialities are aimed at accomplishing sustainability management in terms of business operations. For this reason, we have reorganized the previously existing CSR Promotion and Risk Management Committee into the Sustainability Committee and the Compliance Committee to make them more effective, while increasing the specialization of the Sustainability Committee. A Sustainability Subcommittee will be established under the Sustainability Committee to study specific measures and roadmaps. We have established a system to support business activities toward realizing our goals and to instruct business units to take necessary actions. Activities are also reported to the Board of Directors on a regular basis as important sustainability management topics.
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STEP
01
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Consideration of candidate materialities
We take stock of the Group’s businesses and initiatives and link them to a list of social issues organized according to international frameworks such as the SDGs and GRI standards, and identify potential social issue themes that are highly relevant to the Group’s business activities.
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STEP
02
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Narrowing down of candidate materialities
In assessing the level of importance of social issues, we have created a two-axis graphic index, with importance to stakeholders on the graph’s vertical axis and importance to the Group on the horizontal axis. Based on the materiality map, the candidates are narrowed down and provisional materialities are identified.
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STEP
03
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Identification of priority SDGs related to the provisional materialities
After analyzing the relationship between the SDGs and business activities (value proposition) related to the provisionally specified materiality, the CSR Promotion Subcommittee (now the Sustainability Subcommittee) discusses priority issues and promotes sustainability activities based on how the materiality is formulated.
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STEP
04
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Validation confirmation and management approval
The Sustainability Committee verifies the validity of these materiality assessment processes and analysis results, confirms which materialities should be prioritized, and receives approval from the Board of Directors after deliberation by top management.
Materiality and Five Main SDGs
Social issues
- Environment
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Global warming, resource depletion
Increase in endangered species
Drought, flooding, and other water-related risks
- Security and safety
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Declining birthrate and aging population
Advance of globalization
Education and waste issues
Advanced informatization of society
Information security
- Communities
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Improvement of working environments
Utilization of human resources and active participation by women
Diversity of values
Respect for human rights
- Our sustainable growth
Developing products for the future - Solving social issues
Creating new businesses
Solving social issues
through our business
Environmental (E)
- Materialities
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- Achievement of a low-carbon society through the reduction of greenhouse gases
- Reduction of environmental impact and achievement of a circular economy
- Forest management that contributes to global warming countermeasures and to preservation of biodiversity
- Reasons for selection
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- ：In light of society’s demands for environmental maintenance and conservation, as well as our responsibilities as a manufacturer, these issues were selected as those that should be given the highest priority in our business activities
- ：Selected to maximize the multifaceted functions of forests and contribute to global environmental protection and biodiversity conservation through the management of company-owned forests
- Main activities
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Development and expansion of sales of environmentally friendly products
- Development of products that reduce CO2 and contribute to saving energy
Reduction of usage of energy and materials through greater manufacturing efficiency
- Upgrading and switch to energy-saving equipment
- 3Rs and waste reduction activities
Green procurement, maintenance and expansion of forests through sound forest management
- Maintenance and expansion of owned forest area and timber stocks
- Creation of environments that take biodiversity into consideration
- Ideal
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- Achieving carbon neutrality in 2050
- Striving to maintain a sustainable global environment
Social (S)
- Materialities
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- Social responsibility throughout the entire value chain
- Achievement of motivating and appealing work environments
- Pursuit of customer satisfaction
- Reasons for selection
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- ：Selected because collaboration with suppliers and subcontractors as business partners is crucial to fulfilling our social responsibility through business activities
- ：Selected to ensure that each and every employee of our Group is able to demonstrate their abilities, which will lead to the growth of the company
- ：Selected because the pursuit of customer satisfaction is a fundamental philosophy that has been cultivated since the company’s founding
- Main activities
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Clarification and development of Nitta’s CSR Procurement Policy; diversity and equal opportunity
- Active participation by women
- Active participation by foreign human resources
- Development of global human resources
Work style reform, improvement of quality
- Strengthening of cross-sectional quality assurance system
- Ideal
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- Developing safe and secure work environments
- Contributing to society by facilitating smooth communication with stakeholders and being a good corporate citizen
Governance (G)
- Materialities
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- Promotion of compliance and strengthening of risk management
- Reasons for selection
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- ：Selected because compliance and risk management are the foundation for the company’s survival
- Main activities
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Enforcement of compliance
- Setting of opportunities for education on the NITTA Group Mission, Code of Conduct, etc.
Appropriate risk management through the CSR Promotion and Risk Management Committee structure
- Surveys of BCP activities at suppliers
Strengthening of Group governance, including at overseas sites
- Development of business management- and auditing-related human resources, including resources assigned to overseas sites
Initiatives for fair and appropriate information disclosure and enhancement of communication with stakeholders
- Ideal
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- Sustainable growth and medium- to long-term enhancement of corporate value through fair business activities