Materiality (Key CSR Challenges)
To reflect CSR challenges in our business strategy, the GS Yuasa Group analyzes and assesses the impact on business and the impact of our business on society and then clarifies the Group's materiality for items that need to be addressed. Regarding the specified materiality, as necessary we have set targets relating to our business strategy and, to achieve those targets, have formulated concrete activity plans and key performance indicators (KPIs) to gauge progress in achieving the goals.
Materiality Specification Process
Step 1: Identify risk and opportunity in CSR
For key challenges in the Mid-Term Management Plan, we identify risk in CSR (that hinders the resolution of these challenges) and opportunity in CSR (that promotes the resolution of the challenges). When identifying these risks and opportunities, our actions are based on international guidelines related to CSR.
Step 2: Specify significant risk and opportunity in CSR
We evaluate and assign a score to the scale of the CSR risk and opportunity identified in Step 1 in consideration of the impact on business (possibility of occurrence x scale of impact on business), which enables us to specify risks and opportunities as key business challenges. Next, we evaluate the impact of our Group's business activities on society relative to these core business risks and opportunities based on the number of related CSR themes and social importance. We then specify risks and opportunities that will be key CSR domains.
Matrix of key CSR domains
Step 3: Specify materiality
We order the core CSR risks and opportunities evaluated in Step 2 and then specify materiality in consideration of the response method to the risks and opportunities. In order to ensure the appropriateness of the specified materiality, where necessary we also incorporate feedback from stakeholders through dialogue with outside experts.
Materiality and Response Plan
Materiality specified by the GS Yuasa Group and its response plan are shown in the table below. With respect to materiality shown in this table, we will implement management by objectives based on the response plan and make improvements. This table also shows results of specifications after confirming the relevance between the materiality specified by the Group and SDGs* which is regarded as the universal language, for our stakeholders' understanding.
*SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals):Goals to construct a sustainable society, which were adopted by the United Nations, clearly indicating global social issues that should be solved.
Table of Materiality/Response Plan
| Materiality | Activity outline | Scope of application* | KPI (key performance indicator) | FY 2018 target | SDGs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developing fair, transparent, and sound business, and anticorruption | |||||
| Thoroughly fulfilling our CSR and ensuring compliance | Provision of legal information and promotion of compliance training | Domestic | Annual frequency of issue of legal information | 16 times |
|
| Ratio of implementation of compliance training in training by rank for employees promoted to managerial and supervisory positions | 100% of eligible persons | ||||
| Overseas | Overseas deployment of domestic compliance training system | Understanding of local training systems | |||
| Building of system to share the legal information of each country | Understanding of method of gathering legal information at overseas sites | ||||
| Respect and Protection for intellectual property | Thorough avoidance of infringements from third-party intellectual property rights | Global | Strengthening of search to prevent patent infringement(thorough implementation of surveys at the development stage) | Complete operation |
|
| Promotion of the enforcement against infringement products(expansion of access channels to overseas organizations, etc.) | Overseas | Monitoring and enforcement of local intellectual property infringement (imitation products) | Complete operation | ||
| Strict management of confidential information | Promotion of security measures and strengthening of illegal /inappropriate access monitoring | Global | Cyberattack response ratio at time of detecting high security alerts | 100% |
|
| Domestic | Information leakage confirmation and response ratio at time of large data output | 100% | |||
| Overseas | Achievement of plan to deploy illegal /inappropriate access monitoring system in overseas Group companies | 100% | |||
| Promotion of information security training | Domestic | Ratio of employees passing information security proficiency test | 100% | ||
| Respect for human rights | |||||
| Respect for individuality | Promotion of human resource development programs | Domestic | Achievement of educational plans relating to the improvement of self-analysis skills | 100% |
|
| Overseas | Understanding of the state of implementation of education relating to the improvement of self-analysis skills | Understanding of performance | |||
| Conservation and improvement of adequate working environment | |||||
| Human resources development | Promotion of human resource development programs | Domestic | Achievement of educational plans relating to the improvement of self-analysis skills | 100% |
|
| Overseas | Understanding of the state of implementation of education relating to the improvement of self-analysis skills | Understanding of performance | |||
| Improvement of safety and health in working environments | Promotion of the thorough management of employees' working hours and prevention of the recurrence of long working hours | Domestic | (1) Response ratio to prevent the recurrence of long working hours (2) Annual frequency of labor-management consultations relating to working hours (3) Number of days of annual paid leave acquired |
(1) 100% (2) 12 times (3) 10 or more days/person |
|
| Overseas | Understanding of the state of response to long working hours, etc. | Understanding of performance | |||
| Promotion of labor safety and health risk management | Domestic | (1) Number of accidents requiring days off work (2) Employees' blood lead concentration (3) Number of Class 3 working environments |
(1) None (2) 35㎍/㎗ or less (3) None |
|
|
| Overseas | (1) Understanding of state of accidents requiring days off work (2) Understanding of state of employees' blood lead concentration and setting of administrative standards (3) Understanding of state of lead handling control concentration |
Understanding of performance Setting of administrative standards |
|||
| Fulfillment of our responsibilities to provide safe and secure products and services | |||||
| Provision of high-quality products | Promotion of quality improvement and strengthening of quality communication (utilization of quality management system) | Global | Achievement of quality targets | 100% |
|
| Strengthening of maintenance service setup (site expansion, personnel training, etc.) | Domestic | Achievement of sales targets of maintenance companies | 100% |
|
|
| Promotion of product safety education | Global | Number of serious product accidents | None |
|
|
| Global environmental conservation | |||||
| Promoting environmental protection | Promotion of effective use of water resources | Domestic | Volume of wastewater | Reduce by 77% or more (compared with FY 2003) |
|
| Overseas | Understanding of state of use of water recycling | Understanding of performance | |||
| Contribution to realization of low-carbon society | Domestic | CO2 emission intensity | Reduce by 5% or more (compared with FY 2013) |
|
|
| Overseas | Understanding of state of management of Co2 emission reduction targets | Understanding of performance | |||
| Promotion of measures to prevent pollution (thorough environmental risk management) | Domestic | Number of cases exceeding voluntary administrative standards (water and air quality) | None |
|
|
| Overseas | Understanding of state of operation of voluntary administrative standards (water and air quality) | Understanding of performance | |||
| Implementation of underground seepage risk surveys | Understanding of performance | ||||
| Consideration of overseas deployment of voluntary used product retrieval system | Overseas | (1) Understanding of state of used product recovery in target countries (2) Understanding of used product recovery systems at target sites |
Understanding of performance |
|
|
| Developing and popularizing environmentally considered products | Market expansion for our products contained in environmentally conscious products (for use in low- emission vehicles, etc.) | Global | Achievement of sales targets | 100% |
|
| Development of products enhancing environmental performance | Domestic | Achievement of long-life targets for Li batteries | 100% | ||
| Ensuring social responsibility within our supply chain | |||||
| CSR procurement promotion | Continued implementation of conflict mineral surveys | Global | Conflict mineral survey implementation ratio | 100% |
|
| Management of supplier CSR risks | Global | Retrieval ratio of supplier CSR risk questionnaires | 100% | ||
*The scope of application may not cover all Group companies.
