Social Contribution Activities
Tosoh aims to coexist and prosper with society by contributing to the development of local communities through its business activities. To this end, we proactively create opportunities to converse with local communities throughout Japan and overseas in our efforts to build relationships of trust.
Co-existing with the Community
Communications with Communities
At each business location, we regularly create opportunities to exchange opinions with local residents regarding environmental protection, occupational safety and health, safety measures, and other issues.
In addition to introducing the business activities and initiatives of Tosoh, we also listen to the opinions residents have about Tosoh, and any requests they may have, which we then apply to the improvement of future activities. Candid exchanges with local residents help us to become a safer, more secure, and more reliable company.
Participation in Community Events
We participate in community events, in the belief that sharing and achieving goals with local residents through direct interaction is important for mutual development. We will continue these activities with the goal of achieving sustainable development for local communities and the Tosoh Group.
Developing the Next Generation
Educational Tours
We conduct various child-centered activities to convey the joys of chemistry and to interest children in the chemical industry.
We welcome educational tours of students to our facilities from local elementary and junior high schools. In addition to familiarizing students with manufacturing and having them appreciate the fun of it, we provide them with opportunities to become familiar with chemistry by experiencing its mysterious phenomena and enjoyment through experiment
Presentations
Young staff members from Tosoh play the lead role in presentations at local elementary schools. They teach students about our manufacturing sites and the social contributions of Tosoh products in the form of quizzes, help students make bath additives from soda, and supervise experiments that see students participate in flying cork activities and more.
Environmental Preservation
Community Cleanup Volunteer Group
As a company manufacturing raw materials for plastic products, Tosoh is serious about plastic debris in oceans—which has become a societal issue in recent years—and conducts cleanup activities at beaches and near rivers. In fiscal 2018, nearly 120 employees in total participated in cleanup activities.
We also conduct cleanup activities in the vicinity of each business location, at venues for local events such as fireworks displays, and other areas. In addition to engaging in cleanup activities, we will work on enhancing the awareness of employees by clarifying the purpose and significance of such activities.
Village Forest Preservation Activities
The Nanyo and Yokkaichi Complexes work to protect village forests. Weeding and pruning helps to maintain the forest ecosystem, allowing sunlight in, promoting tree growth, and improving water retention.
The Nanyo Complex participates annually in the Forestation Project for Protecting Water, which is hosted by Yamaguchi Prefecture. (The project scheduled to take place during fiscal 2018 was cancelled due to rain.) At the Yokkaichi Complex, 22 employees participated in activities hosted by the Yokkaichi City Committee for Promoting the Protection of the Natural Environment.
Witnessing the rebirth of village forests each year in part through our efforts provides the motivation to continue our involvement in these activities.
Support for Disaster-affected Areas
Accepting Disaster Waste from Kumamoto Earthquake at Cement Plant
We continue to accept and treat the waste from areas affected by the earthquakes that hit Kumamoto Prefecture in April 2016. That waste includes home electronics and similar items that we crush and extract metals from. We then recycle the remaining crushed disaster waste as fuel and raw material for the cement plant at the Nanyo Complex. Because our activities generate no secondary waste, we are helping to reduce the burden on waste disposal sites.
From July 2017 to January 2018, we accepted and treated approximately 220 tons of such waste, supporting disaster recovery.
Global Activities
United States
In the United States, we participate in community activities through donations and fund-raising activities. They include participation in Tour De Cure, a fund-raising cycling event aimed at caring for diabetes patients and reducing the amount of such patients, and the delivery of Christmas gifts to local, low-income families.
Philippines
Philippine Resins Industries, Inc. engages in various community-based activities.
In fiscal 2018, the company carried out a wide range of activities, including beach cleanup, mangrove planting, the provision of an ambulance, and participation in rabies shot and neutering programs in partnership with the local veterinary bureau.
Communications with Stakeholders
Tosoh’s main stakeholders are its shareholders, investors, customers, suppliers, and employees, the local communities of which it is a part, and the government administration and other municipal authorities of those communities. We believe that it is important in all of our business activities to build relationships of trust with each of our stakeholders.
Ties with our Stakeholders
Our various business activities are grounded in our corporate philosophy and medium-term business plan. As a result, we provide quality products and services and engage in environmental, government and social initiatives. We will continue to promote CSR initiatives in our business activities to ensure that we earn and maintain the trust and confidence of our stakeholders.
Dialogues with Stakeholders
Tosoh provides information about its business activities through its public websites and news releases (Japanese and English), its annual reports (English), its CSR reports (Japanese), and other means. We also gain invaluable insights from conversations with our stakeholders and from listening to their assessments of Tosoh.
Financial Results Briefings
Tosoh holds a financial presentation at the time of publication of the first-half and full-year consolidated results, and a conference call for institutional investors and analysts at the time of the publication of first-quarter and cumulative third-quarter consolidated results. Financial presentations are attended by the president, manager of Corporate Control and Accounting, and the group presidents to immediately answer questions. The relevant materials are made available to the public on our official websites.
General Shareholders’ Meeting
Tosoh sends the notice of convocation of the general meeting of shareholders to shareholders three weeks before the meeting and posts it on its official websites one week before the meeting. Over the last three years, the meeting attracted 370 participants on average. Our shareholders can also exercise their voting rights through an electronic voting system platform.
Dialogues with Customers
Communications through Sales Activities
We identify customers’ requests for improvements and future needs through our daily sales activities. We have responsible persons from the R&D division accompany sales people when they visit customers to immediately respond to questions and requests. We also provide products, services, and technologies that cater to customer needs. Sales, R&D, and manufacturing divisions work together to improve customer satisfaction.
In Japan, we have sales offices in Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sendai, and Yamaguchi, where we engage in community-based sales activities. In order to ensure speedier delivery and prevent issues during transportation, we have product warehouses close to our customers’ locations where our products are used.
Dialogues with Suppliers
Tosoh positions supply chain management as a material issue and promotes the establishment of systems related to purchasing activities. We also visit our suppliers regularly to communicate.
We will continue our efforts to build relationships of trust with suppliers through fair and honest purchasing activities and will promote these activities with awareness of CSR in the entire supply chain.