
SustainabilitySustainability Message
The resilience of humanity in the face of Covid-19
Globally, the Covid-19 epidemic has wrought unprecedented and
significant changes on our lives, economy, and society, and there is
no clear way out of our current situation.
From the start, the TDK Group has placed the highest priority on
human life, taking a consistent stance to protect its employees and
not allow TDK to become a source of infections. Even before Covid-19
spread, we had established a flextime system without core hours and
put in place online infrastructure, facilitating a smooth transition
to working from home and helping us to realize the importance of
being prepared even in normal times. At the same time, I still feel
deeply responsible for the fact that we were not able to reduce the
number of employee infections to zero, and that has made me
painfully aware of just how harrowing Covid-19 is.
Looking back at the past year, I marvel at the resilience of human
society—its ability to flexibly adapt and continue on, even in the
most difficult circumstances. The initial spread of infections may
have brought into relief our human weaknesses and fragility, but
thanks to our collective wisdom, in a short time vaccines were
developed and people are now being vaccinated the world over. And
yet, the future of the pandemic remains unpredictable. Digital
technology has played a part in the development and dissemination of
effective drugs and vaccines. This effort is not unrelated to our
own business, and in fact means that we must devote ourselves even
further to fulfilling our role as the TDK Group.
Review of fiscal 2020
Working on a value creation cycle with Social Value as a starting
point
Fiscal 2020 was the final year of “Value Creation 2020,” our
previous Medium-Term Plan. Under this plan, we endeavored to
establish a cycle in which we achieve our Commercial Value (growth
strategy) by increasing our Social Value, and through efficient use
of the Asset Value (profits and assets) thus gained, make further
contributions. Among these three values, Social Value is the
starting point. Solving social issues is the very purpose of our
business, allowing us to gain opportunities for growth and, in turn,
leading to improved performance. The Medium-Term Plan clarified this
causal relationship, and I feel confident of the results: Over the
three years of the plan, net sales totaled over 4,000 billion yen, a
record high, and we reached over 300 billion yen in operating
income.
Our businesses vary widely, but each one of them is connected to
society. In fiscal 2020, the Sustainability Promotion HQ, an
organization directly under the president, deepened discussions with
various business groups regarding the TDK Group’s goals for
sustainability and the SDGs. Of the issues raised by the SDGs, I
believe we have made great progress in studying those for which our
technologies and solutions can be utilized in the medium to long
term, and in incorporating them into the plans of each division.
In addition, under the Global Human Resources Management system
begun in fiscal 2020, TDK Group members around the world are
beginning to be linked horizontally in an organic way. At the same
time, we have been working to spread our Global Common Regulations,
which clarify the rules to be followed by the TDK Group, while
respecting the corporate culture of each company. The fact that each
Group company has taken these rules as their own and are utilizing
them is already a sign of these initiatives bearing fruit.
Identifying TDK Group’s Materiality under the New Medium-Term
Plan
Aiming for a sustainable society and company
As we prepared “Value Creation 2023,” our new Medium-Term Plan
beginning in fiscal 2021, we also reviewed our key CSR issues and
newly identified our corporate materiality. These are management
issues we should prioritize if we are to achieve the goals of our
Medium-Term Plan and grow sustainably along with society.
Under the new Medium-Term Plan, our primary focus is on digital
transformation (DX) and energy transformation (EX) as a means of
achieving customer experience and consumer experience (the two
“CXs”) and creating value for a sustainable society. The tailwinds
driving the digital shift so essential for social resilience, and
the need to address climate change—an urgent global issue—continue
to expand the fields in which we can play an active role.
Materiality is also based on the idea that members of both the
business divisions that create products, technologies and solutions,
and the staff divisions responsible for quality, human resources,
the environment, procurement, corporate planning and marketing will
each engage in the sustainability effort. The TDK Group’s
materiality reflects the determination of the entire Group to work
together to achieve both a sustainable society and corporate growth.
Fundamental workstyle reforms and
leveraging diversity to create a strong organization
Once past the Covid-19 crisis, society will likely not revert to a
previous state, continuing on instead with a new normal. Taking this
as an opportunity to move into the next era, in June 2020 we
established the New Steady State Task Force, made up of young and
mid-career employees. They have offered their honest opinions about
how our new ways of working should be improved, and we are already
addressing those items where changes can be made immediately.
This is not just a matter of making systemic changes, but also will
create an opportunity for fundamental workstyle reforms. As a next
step, we have created a group of Corporate Officers who bring depth
to the critical discussions of what is needed for employees to gain
a sense of joy in their work and fulfillment in their lives—an issue
that goes to the very core of the company.
Diversity in human resources is also essential. The origins of my
understanding of diversity lie in my work experience in Europe,
where I was assigned at the age of 32. It was a society in which
people from many different countries interacted in diverse ways,
sharing their wisdom and working together toward a common goal,
accepting one another quite as a matter of course. Having people
with diverse backgrounds and opinions come together for discussions
is clearly a shorter path to creating innovative ideas than
discussing them among a group of uniform members. Currently, the
Diversity Promotion Department is working to set numerical targets
for issues such as the ratio of female managers, but this is only a
starting point for generating change. To reach deeper into the
essential issues and make our organization stronger, we will
champion and leverage our diversity—in terms of gender, age, race,
values, or otherwise.
Achieving our Sustainability Vision:
Realizing a well-being society in which no one is left behind
Through its efforts to address materiality, the TDK Group aims to
reach the goals of its Medium-Term Plan and its Sustainability
Vision, which states that we will “advance the development of a
sustainable society and champion well-being for all people.”
We believe a happy society is one in which no one is left behind.
Technology is evolving at a very fast pace, and while there are an
increasing number of digital natives able to manipulate it at will,
there are also those who are unable to make proper use of
technology. It is essential that we think about how to create a
society in which everyone can enjoy the benefits of technology
without leaving anyone behind.
At the same time, I would also like to realize a society in which
people of all ages continue to have the motivation to grow and bring
their enthusiasm to take on a variety of challenges. To this end,
the TDK Group will continue to engage in dialogue with its various
stakeholders, and with all those employees who strive for personal
growth as a driving force, we will move steadily forward toward
creating value for a sustainable society.