In the interests of sustainable corporate management, we believe that communicating with our stakeholders is crucial if we are to incorporate their expectations and requirements into our business strategies and activities. While creating more opportunities for communication, our aim is to reflect stakeholders’ perspectives in our management practices to a greater extent than ever before.
| Stakeholders | Relationship with businesses |
|---|---|
| Shareholders & Investors |
|
| Customers |
|
| Employees |
|
| Local Communities |
|
| Business Partners (Suppliers) |
|
| Industry/Economic Organizations |
|
| Non-profit Organizations (Educational/Research Institutions, NGOs & NPOs) |
|
| Government |
|
| Environment & Future Generations |
|
We respond to issues highlighted and suggestions made by our stakeholders so that we can improve the standard of our sustainable management. We have launched a number of initiatives in response to key comments and requests, including the following. For information on methods of communication with stakeholders when ascertaining details, please see “Interaction with Stakeholders”.
| Key comments and their source | Group response |
|---|---|
| Continuing to expand and improve resource recycling measures |
|
| Responding to the risks and opportunities associated with climate change |
|
| Managing closed mines |
|
| Preserving biodiversity (company-owned forests, areas around mines) |
|
| Respecting human rights throughout the supply chain |
|
| Quality control |
|
| Creating safe, healthful working environments |
|
| Talent development |
|
| Promoting greater roles for diverse talents |
|
| Strengthening information security |
|
| The evolution of corporate governance |
|
As we continue to earn operating revenue and generate economic value added thanks to the involvement of our diverse range of stakeholders, we believe that it is important to fulfill our social responsibilities and adequately distribute that added value among our stakeholders.
Revenue for Mitsubishi Materials in fiscal 2023 came to 1229.7 billion yen. That included proceeds from the sale of products and services, dividends and other forms of non-operating income, and extraordinary income. Operating costs, which consist primarily of payments to suppliers, totaled 1160.8 billion yen.
After subtracting operating costs from our total revenue, the amount of added value generated through our business activities came to 68.9 billion yen.
Personnel costs, which include statutory welfare expenses and retirement benefit costs contributions and represent the portion of revenue distributed to our employees, came to 50 billion yen.
In the meantime, we distributed a total of 3 billion yen to financial institutions and other creditors, in the form of interest on borrowings. We distribute value to society and local communities through the government and through our own social contribution activities. We recorded a loss of 4.9 billion yen to the government this year, as the combined total of corporate income tax plus other taxes and public charges liable as expenses. We also gave 0.4 billion yen back to the community in the form of social contribution activities, including donations, lending our facilities to the public and providing employees’ services. Cash dividends, which represent the value that we distribute to our shareholders (companies and individuals, in Japan and overseas), came to a total of 9.8 billion yen. Retained earnings to cover investment and contingencies for the future meanwhile totaled 10.6 billion yen.
| Category | Stakeholder | Amount (millions of yen) | Details/method of calculation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | Customers and suppliers | 1,229,709 | Net sales, non-operating income, extraordinary income |
| Payments | Suppliers | 1,160,802 | Operating costs (cost of sales and selling, general and administrative costs, minus deductions for personnel costs, tax and public charges, and donations) |
| Employees | 49,982 | Personnel costs (including statutory welfare expenses and retirement benefit expenses) | |
| Creditors | 3,023 | Interest expense | |
| Government | ▲ 4,880 | Taxes (corporate income tax, and other taxes and public charges liable as expenses) | |
| General public | 405 | Donations, etc.* | |
| Shareholders | 9,819 | Cash dividends paid | |
| Retained earnings | 10,558 | Net income minus cash dividends paid |
Whenever we engage in business activities overseas, we make every effort to understand conditions in each country and the national identity of its people, placing an emphasis on engaging in activities as a member of the local community. In addition, we re-invest revenue earned from our overseas operations back into the local community wherever possible, in order to continue growing our business and contribute to the sustainable development of the local area.
Obligations relating to unfunded lump-sum severance payment plans and funded defined benefit pension plans totaled 33.1 billion yen and 40.1 billion yen respectively. 66.8 billion yen of this total was paid out in the form of pension assets to outside funds (coverage: 91.2%). In addition, 3.2 billion yen was registered as expenses in the form of accrued retirement benefits, with the remaining amount of 3.3 billion yen classed as unrecognized benefit obligations. We plan to amortize all unrecognized benefit obligations over the next ten years. Unrecognized retirement benefit liabilities are mainly posted as expenses based on the straight-line method for a 10-year period.
We received the amount of 0.01 billion yen in grants, subsidies and other financial assistance from the government. The government does not hold shares in Mitsubishi Materials or any of our Group companies.
Our Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders offers an invaluable opportunity for direct communication between our management members and shareholders. We therefore strive to send out materials relevant to the meeting at the earliest possible date, while also providing the materials on our website well in advance of statutory deadlines, to give shareholders sufficient time to consider the matters to be presented and resolved at the meeting. We also endeavor to expand the range of our information disclosure by posting the status of corporate governance including evaluations of the effectiveness of the Board of Directors.
Besides permitting shareholders to exercise their voting rights in writing or online, we have introduced an electronic voting platform to facilitate voting by both domestic and international institutional investors. We use slides with accompanying narrations at the General Meeting of Shareholders to help ensure participants’ clear comprehension of the presented contents. We also publish shareholders’ voting results for every resolution on the Website, after the meeting. Further, to improve convenience for shareholders, a hybrid participation-type General Meeting of Shareholders (live streaming) has been conducted from the 96th Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders held on June 24, 2021. The streamed video of the General Meeting of Shareholders is also posted on the Company’s website for a certain period of time.
In fiscal 2023, financial results briefings (quarterly), Management Briefing, Business Segment IR Meeting (biannually), Sustainability IR meeting, and Medium-term Management Strategy briefing were held for stakeholders. At each meeting, after explaining the contents of our financial results, management strategy and sustainability initiatives, etc., we set aside time for questions and answers in an effort to strengthen communication with participants. We communicated the feedback received from participants in a timely fashion through the IR reports published for senior management each month, and posted records including the details of the briefings and Q&A sessions to our website for viewing by individual investors.
We also actively exchanged opinions and communicated with institutional investors and securities analysts through individual meetings with institutional investors and securities analysts, small meetings with the CEO, CFO and Outside Directors, and participation in conferences hosted by securities companies. We also endeavored to communicate with individual investors by taking part in briefings for individual investors, and by posting our Material News shareholder newsletters on our website.
Going forward we will continue to engage in proactive IR and SR activities by deepening dialogue with stakeholders and maintaining and improving information disclosure.
| Item | Number of times held during fiscal 2023 |
|---|---|
| Financial Results Briefing (quarterly) | 4 |
| Management Briefing | 2 |
| Business Segment IR Meeting | 1 |
| Sustainability IR meeting | 1 |
| Individual IR/SR meeting | 153 |
| Overseas IR | 10 |
| Domestic conference hosted by a securities company | 2 |
| Briefing for individual investors hosted by a securities company | 1 |
Under our union shop scheme, we respect collective bargaining rights and freedom of association as the basic rights of workers, thereby striving to maintain a good labor-management relationship. The scheme also enables us to share information and exchange opinions between labor union and management on a regular basis. In particular, our biannual Labor-Management Conference, which is held with a year with the Mitsubishi Materials Federation of Labor Unions, is aimed at strengthening solidarity through active discussion, covering subjects such as recent issues, strategies and policies in each sector, and establishing a shared direction in the interests of the Company’s sustainable growth for the future.
Also, management spend substantial time on careful explanation and consultation with labor upon facing such events as business restructuring. The Current number of union members amongst those directly employed by Mitsubishi Materials (including employees on assignment) stood at 4,155. Including labor unions of Group companies that belong to Mitsubishi Materials Federation of Labor Unions, the total number of members was 7,098 (as of March 2023).
| Item | Number of employees |
|---|---|
| Non-consolidated | 4,155 |
| Consolidated | 7,098 |
The Group implements various communication measures with the aim of becoming an organization with good and healthy communication where employees have unrestricted communication. The Group began its inner branding activities in fiscal 2022 with the goal of encouraging employees to take ownership of “Our Commitment.” We are implementing numerous initiatives based on the three directions of “1. Communication with management,” “2. Connect every single employee and the entire Group horizontally” and “3. Support each challenge”.
Mitsubishi Materials Corporation started distributing smartphones to all employees in fiscal 2023. This is intended to activate internal communication through means such as delivering information to employees in a timely manner and enabling employees to communicate with each other using chat functions while also promoting DX and improving operational efficiency.
Led by our ambassadors, the “My Personal Mission Campaign” was launched in fiscal 2023. Through the campaign, Group employees shared their personal missions toward the realization of “Our Commitment”. Employees’ missions are posted on a special website, which was launched in July 2022. The website also introduces how employees interpret “Our Commitment” in their own way and face their daily work, together with various measures to create good and healthy communication.
In connection with internal branding activities, we hold town hall meetings as a way to enhance communication of management information and promote two-way dialogue. In fiscal 2023, we held 28 meetings for Mitsubishi Materials employees regarding the Four Management Reforms and eight meetings for Group employees covering areas such as Medium-term Management Strategy FY2031 and financial results.
Created to promote communication with managers and employees, regular radio-style broadcasts where the CEO personally acts as an entertainment personality, answering a range of questions from Group employees, have been delivered since fiscal 2022. Archived data can be posted on Link MATERIALS (Mate-Link) *and can be listened to by employees who cannot hear the real-time transmission. Fiscal 2023 saw a special project comprising real-time broadcasts from work sites, during which employees introduced their workplaces and their work. We have received feedback that this opportunity to hear the CEO’s honest views and get an insight into his personality as he converses with guests in a friendly atmosphere distinct from official management messages leads to a better understanding of the Company and management reforms.
Reverse mentoring is a program in which young employees become the mentors and give mentoring to Executive Officers. By discussing various themes from a standpoint different from that of work, we aim to provide opportunities to gain mutual awareness and foster culture of good and healthy communication is possible. In fiscal 2024, we implemented a new format reflecting feedback such as the results of participant surveys. This includes a system whereby mentors choose their own mentees based on a profile describing elements such as the mentees’ preferred mentoring period, frequency of sessions and discussion topics.
Ambassadors are appointed from throughout the Group through an open application process. They promote inner branding, and have been actively fulfilling this role since fiscal 2022. Their main role is to create a mechanism for each employee to take ownership of “Our Commitment” and put it into practice through their actions. In fiscal 2023, the second intake of 16 ambassadors undertook various activities to deepen employees’ understanding of their and the Group’s mission. These activities included the provision of audio material by ambassadors, videos introducing different departments, and the sharing of interviews with people who are active in various fields outside the Group.
Half-day workplace experiences are being carried out as an opportunity for employees to experience jobs at other workplaces. This promotes communication centered on the themes of “know” and “connect.” Know means getting to know other divisions and Group companies by learning about the people and their work and understanding how they contribute to “Our Commitment”, and connect refers to horizontal communication and relationship building both between Divisions and Companies and within the workplace. This initiative serves as an opportunity for individuals to consider their own career on an autonomous basis. In fiscal 2023, 33 people took part at 19 workplaces.
