1. The Second Founding
2017-2024
(4) Sustainability Management
- 2018
- To fully integrate the resolution of societal challenges with our business activities, we have adopted the slogan “Sustainability Management.” For our company, sustainability—actions aimed at achieving a sustainable society—has been a core aspect of our management since our founding.
Since our inception, we have contributed to solving societal issues in the automotive sector through our efforts towards the environment and safety. It is essential to clearly communicate this management stance in a way that stakeholders can understand and empathize with. Recognizing this, we adopted the slogan “Sustainability Management” in 2018.
Our concept of sustainability is deeply woven into our corporate philosophy, which historically includes the spirit of “provide quality products and services.” This foundational aspect of our management has been consistently inherited and has driven our growth through various business environments.
Today, sustainability has become the most demanded approach in corporate management by society. Looking back, the concept of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) rapidly spread in Japan during the 1990s, driven by increasing environmental awareness and a series of corporate scandals. This shift emphasized the importance of compliance and social contribution, prompting companies to balance environmental and societal considerations with their core business activities.
The idea of CSR further evolved into the “SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)” adopted at the UN Summit in September 2015. The SDGs aim to achieve a sustainable and better world by 2030, focusing on economic, environmental, and social dimensions.
Our company decided to accelerate our existing sustainability management to meet contemporary demands. We also recognized the need for stakeholders to fully understand and empathize with our efforts. To achieve this, we found it effective to visualize the progress of our sustainability initiatives by selecting “Materiality (Priority Issue).”
Reference：List of Materiality
From various societal challenges, including the UN's SDGs, we identified three areas where we can significantly contribute to a sustainable society: “Green,” “Peace of Mind,” and “Corporate Foundation.” Within these areas, we designated specific “Materiality” to be addressed across the company. For each Materiality, we set a vision and concrete KPI (Key Performance Indicators) to ensure visible and measurable progress in our activities.
- Deep DiveMateriality in the “Green” Sector
- We are focused on reducing CO₂ emissions in manufacturing and developing and promoting products that contribute to the electrification of vehicles. One of our flagship initiatives is achieving “Carbon Neutrality,” which means balancing greenhouse gas emissions with their absorption. Globally, the shift from low-carbon to decarbonization through carbon neutrality is accelerating. By advancing our environmental management practices, we aim to achieve carbon neutrality in our production activities by the near future year of 2035.
A key focus has been the development of the “CO₂ Recycling Plant.” This facility captures CO₂ emissions generated during the manufacturing process, combines the captured CO₂ with hydrogen to synthesize methane gas, and then uses this methane as fuel within the factory. The plant was completed in July 2020, and we are continuing to develop technologies to enhance its efficiency and miniaturization, aiming for further practical application.
- Deep DiveMateriality in the “Peace of Mind” Sector
- We are committed to developing safety products and providing services that create comfortable environments. A particularly significant initiative is our challenge to achieve “Zero Traffic Accidents.” By integrating electronics technology and IT, we aim to enhance the safety performance of vehicles and provide products that offer peace of mind to occupants, thereby contributing to a safe and secure mobility society.
Traditionally, we have provided collision safety products and preventive safety products that help mitigate damage to occupants and pedestrians during collisions and reduce traffic accidents. However, we are now striving to go further by focusing on the development of advanced driver assistance technologies. These technologies support drivers in recognizing, making decisions, and taking actions based on traffic conditions, including maintaining safe following distances, changing lanes, and overtaking.