SustainabilityCSR from the Meiden Group Perspective

The Meiden Group’s Approach to ESG

Since it was founded in 1897, the Meiden Group has provided a variety of technologies, products, and services, with a focus on electrical equipment relating to social infrastructure, and we have contributed to the sustainable development of society by dealing sincerely and building relationships of trust with our customers.
In recent years, social issues such as deterioration of the global environment, increasing economic inequality, and lessened well-being have come to the fore around the world, as a result of prioritizing economic growth. In addition, the business environment in which the company operates and the needs of the world are rapidly changing due to the progress of globalization and digitalization, increasing population, urbanization, and aging infrastructure, etc.
Against this backdrop, we will work with our stakeholders to embrace the challenge of realizing a safe and vibrant society where people are in harmony with nature, in order to pave the way for a more affluent tomorrow, while continuing to value a sincere attitude to social contribution, which is Meidensha’s DNA.

Relationships with Stakeholders

“Society” in the phrase “a Meiden Group that is integral to society” is defined as all Meiden Group stakeholders. To be integral to society, it is necessary to meet the diverse expectations of various stakeholders and increase the satisfaction of all stakeholders as a whole.
We seek to learn what challenges we need to address by maintaining an interactive, two-way communication with the Meiden Group’s stakeholders. We believe that recognizing issues and taking various measures for improvement will lead to understanding and positive evaluations from our stakeholders.
By actively disclosing not only financial information related to laws and regulations, but also non-financial information on environmental and social aspects, we eliminate risks that could lead to a loss of stakeholder trust. We will remain aware of the role expected of us and strive to fulfill that role.
The Meiden Group has adopted the President’s CSR Policy Statement for each employee to practice our social responsibility and corporate philosophy in their daily work. Departments in charge of specific CSR themes play a central role in forming the policy, taking into account the current business environment, and CSR issues.

President’s CSR Policy Statement

The environment, society, and human resources are the three key issues for each employee to put the Group’s corporate philosophy into practice. By taking on these three key issues with initiatives built on the fundamental management elements of compliance, corporate governance, and risk management, we fulfill our responsibility to our customers and other stakeholders.

Management Foundation of Our Business Activities

Compliance, Corporate Governance, Risk Management

By strengthening these building blocks of management foundation, we hope to further cultivate the corporate culture necessary for CSR management.
We work for prompt, efficient business management that is fair and transparent, maintaining a system to ensure proper work processes. Our efforts in compliance involve not only complying with the law, but also with social norms and ethics. We also strive to inspect risk items and develop a risk management system in order to strengthen our response to those risks.

1. “Environment”—Promote strategic environmental management

We contribute to society through the offering of products and services for the environment and energy. At the same time, we will work to reduce the environmental impact of our business activities.

2. “Society”—Provide values needed by society

We accept our responsibilities as good corporate citizens through many initiatives, including: resolution of customer issues; promotion of community involvement and proactive communication; proper information disclosure at the correct time, etc.

3. “Human Resources”—Produce work that gives pride to our employees and creates positive working environments

We will tackle these issues: create a positive working environment that brings out the best potential and unique talents of each employee; promote better work-life balance; and develop abundant and diverse talent, as human resources are precious to the Group.

CSR Management Promotion Structure

The Meiden Group conducts activities under the ten CSR themes under the direction of the in charge of environmental and CSR initiatives. With each theme, we develop a concrete action plan led by the department supervising that theme. Then, we actively pursue initiatives, including cross-sectional committee activities, which advance the work on those themes. We refer to ISO26000, the international standard on social responsibility, when we prepare our action plans.
The secretariat summarizes the plans and results for each theme we pursue, promotes initiatives through the PDCA cycle, and raises CSR awareness in the Meiden Group as a whole.

Meiden Group Initiatives for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

At the UN Sustainable Development Summit in 2015, the world adopted common goals known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)*. The SDGs are challenges the international community is addressing over the 15 years from 2016 to 2030.
The targets of the SDGs are very compatible with the President’s CSR Policy Statement and business activities of the Meiden Group. They include many areas where we can contribute to a solution with technologies and expertise we have cultivated over the years. Thus, to really learn and take advantage of the opportunities and challenges presented by the SDGs, we laid out the effects that our business activities have on the environment and society. This process considered the entire value chain and issues specific to the countries where we do business. It even included any negative impacts of our business activities.

*

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Seventeen goals incorporated into the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by world leaders at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015. Based on these new goals—universally applied to all nations–each nation will end all forms of poverty, combat inequality, and take steps to address climate change while ensuring that no one is left behind over the next 15 years.

External Support Initiatives

●CDP*1
●Children’s Rights and Business Principles*2

※ *1 An initiative begun by a coalition of major institutional investors around the world. It calls on the world’s enterprises to disclose their climate change strategies (risks and opportunities) and their GHG emissions, among other information.
※ *2 These principles offer a comprehensive framework for understanding and working on the impact that business activities have on children’s rights and happiness. They were presented by Save the Children, the UN Global Compact, and UNICEF.

Group Membership Credentials

●KEIDANREN (Japan Business Federation)
●The Japan Electrical Manufacturers' Association (JEMA)
●The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan (IEEJ)
●Electric Technology Research Association
●The Japan Electric Association
●The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers