Positioning of ESG and CSR in the Group

To put the Group’s corporate philosophy into practice, we define corporate social responsibility (CSR) as faithfully carrying out the role required and expected of us as a company, disclosing and sharing details of our activities, both inside and outside the company, and deepening mutual understanding through dialogue. ESG organizes these initiatives into the three categories of Environment, Social and Governance.
To put it another way, promoting CSR means incorporating society’s needs into our management activities. Our corporate philosophy system reflects the principles set out by the International Council on Mining & Metals (ICMM), of which we are a member, and the modern-day requirements of the international community.
In identifying key issues too, we started by ascertaining public demand based on a wide range of information sources, including international guidelines and ESG research questionnaires. We then evaluate and prioritize issues based on stakeholder and management perspectives. Our approach to resolving key issues, once they have been identified, is to incorporate them into our business strategy, and tackle them in different ways as part of our day-to-day business processes.
We have also looked in detail at the relationship between the Group's business activities and the SDGs, which summarize the international community's awareness of issues in the run up to 2030. In light of dialogue with outside experts and other considerations, the SDGs have been established as a key pillar of our efforts. For details, see "Mitsubishi Materials Group's Business Activities and the SDGs".

Outline of the Mitsubishi Materials Group’s approach to ESG and CSR 

CSR Definition

The Mitsubishi Materials Group is an ensemble of companies operating under the composite profile of a comprehensive basic materials maker. As a group, we provide resources, basic materials and energy indispensable to modern lifestyles, and in these efforts, we adhere to a corporate philosophy that emphasizes efforts that contribute to people, society and the Earth.
CSR for the Group thus hinges on making this philosophy a reality, through the sincere fulfillment of the obligations and expected role that society places on a corporate citizen, disclosure of the approaches taken—with proper explanation—and the constant pursuit of two-way communication with stakeholders to promote greater mutual understanding.
These actions will underpin a position of trust in society.

CSR Direction

Respecting relationships with people: Reinforcing ties to stakeholders

Through mutual communications, plants and companies under the Group umbrella will go to great lengths to maintain favorable perceptions of the Group—as held by shareholders, customers, suppliers, employees and other stakeholders—deepen their understanding of stakeholder points of view, and work hard to ensure a high level of stakeholder satisfaction.

Respecting promises made to society: Ensuring thorough compliance and risk management practices

We will systematically reinforce levels of compliance and risk management to ensure legal compliance—a vital prerequisite for expanding corporate activities—and to prevent business-related problems from arising.

Respecting the Earth: Reducing environmental impact

In our activities, which serve to reduce environmental impact, we will direct efforts toward such measures as saving energy and resources, cutting waste and limiting the use of hazardous substances.

Sustainable Management System

Since tackling management issues regarding sustainability is essential for the Group to improve its corporate value in the medium- to long-term, we established the Sustainable Management Office on April 1, 2020 to promote centralized handling of such issues. The activities led by the Sustainable Management Office will enable the Group to actively solve issues regarding sustainability and appropriately handle issues from a risk management perspective, which will contribute to both building a sustainable society and improving corporate value in the medium- to long-term.
The mission of the Sustainable Management Office is to promote centralized handling of various management issues in order to contribute to developing a sustainable society and enhance corporate value in the medium- to long-term via business activities that follow the corporate philosophy of the Group. The organization is led by the Chief Executive Officer as Chairperson and composed of members across the entire company. It contains panels specialized by theme, where issues are identified, then countermeasures are formulated, measures implemented and follow-up carried out. As the issues we should address shift with social or other factors, the composition of the Panels and the issues to be dealt with will be flexibly rearranged. Centralized management will also enable us to gather together the opinions of stakeholders and reflect those opinions in our management issues, and we will aim to build a system that enables us to appropriately disclose and explain our activities and promote dialog.

Sustainable Management System (as of July 1, 2021)

Responding to the Expectations and Needs of Stakeholders

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	"Contributing to the development of a recycling-oriented society" is stated as one of the three pillars of the company's vision. Optimization of material flow across the overall Group Business expansion, research and development aimed at improving urban resource recycling
Responding to the risks and opportunities associated with climate change	Declaring targets for each business site and promoting the reduction of CO2 emissions Developing materials, products and technologies that contribute to decarbonization Developing and promoting the use of renewable energies (geothermal energy, geothermal heat, hydroelectric energy, solar energy, etc.) Taking part in CO2 collection and storage demonstration testing and projects to investigate suitable locations Activities to preserve company-owned forests Approving of the TCFD recommendations and joining the TCFD consortium Conducting water risk assessments and implementing reduction measures
Managing abandoned mines	Continuing management work at abandoned mines owned by the Group in Japan (including the preservation and effects of some mines as cultural assets) Systematically implementing facility upgrades and construction work for environmental measures (construction work to prevent mine pollution and hazards to prepare for increasingly severe natural disasters, tailings dam reinforcement work in preparation for a major earthquake, measures to deal with the source of pit and waste water, upgrading of obsolete equipment, and so on) Cultivating the development of abandoned mine workers Developing technologies related to the management of abandoned mines
Preserving biodiversity (company-owned forests, areas around mines)	Obtaining the forest certification by SGEC for company-owned forests and promoting sustainable forest management Confirming that biodiversity has been factored into mines in which we invest, and carrying out preservation activities at facilities located adjacent to national parks.
Respecting human rights throughout the supply chain	Rolling out multi-layered initiatives aimed at ensuring the effectiveness of the CSR Procurement Guideline for the Procurement & Logistics Division Operating CSR investment and loan standards and CSR Procurement Standards in the Metals Business, and engaging in dialogue with local communities where the Company has invested in mines Obtaining certification for conflict-free minerals (gold, tin, tungsten)
Quality control	Continued implementation of preventive measures regarding quality issues Days to reflect on quality and prevent quality Issues from being forgotten Developing mechanisms that avoid producing non-standard goods through "aggressive quality"
Creating safe, healthful working environments	Activities to raise awareness of SCQDE (prioritizing safety and health in every action) Continuing the Zero Occupational Accident Project Thorough efforts to make equipment safe (engineering measures) through risk assessments (RA) Strengthening health and safety education Raising employees’ awareness of health Strengthening safety and health systems Ensuring the safety of employees of operating support providers (partner companies) Measures to control the spread of COVID-19
Human resources development	Clarifying our long-term vision and the ideal human resources Developing a Group-wide education system and achieving continual improvement Cultivating next-generation leaders "Professional system" to advance the success of expert human resources
Promoting greater roles for diverse human resources	Utilizing telework and satellite offices, and improving work-life balance Expanding women’s active participation activities Rehiring retired employees and hiring disabled persons’ employees Improving the hiring of foreign human resources
Strengthening information security	Improving and expanding the information infrastructure Measures to defend against attacks that use known vulnerabilities Reducing the risks of targeted attacks
The evolution of corporate governance	Shift to a company with a Nomination Committee Improving the transparency of director remuneration Group governance enhancement (communication, compliance framework and awareness, allocation of resources) Building a new risk management system that enhances effectiveness and certainty Responding to the corporate governance code