By Being "At your side," We Enable People's Productivity and Creativity, Contribute to Society, and Help Protect the Earth.
Response to global social issues
Corporations are also expected to act upon the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 2015 in order to realize a sustainable society, with a goal of 2030. In addition, many stakeholders expect us to operate with a focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) sustainability factors.
At the Brother Group, in readiness for 2030, we formulated the Brother Group Vision "At your side 2030" that indicates Brother's raison d'être and value proposition to society.
By being "At your side," we enable people's productivity and creativity, contribute to society, and help protect the earth, this is Our Purpose as Brother Group. The Brother Group has formulated the medium-term business strategy "CS B2024" for the period from FY2022 to FY2024 to achieve this Vision and has identified five materialities (priority social issues) in order to "contribute to society and help protect the earth."
- Contribute to society···Supporting people's value creation; Realizing a diverse and active society; Pursuing a responsible value chain
- Protect the earth···Reducing CO2 emissions; Circulating resources
In CS B2024, we have set sustainability targets to address these materialities and will tackle them as a key management issue.
Contribute to society
I believe that we can achieve the creation of social value through the business when all Group employees manifest the spirit of "At your side." coming together as one to create superior value and deliver it promptly, thereby pleasing our customers. And it is our employees who will realize the "At your side." spirit. As customer needs diversify, in addition to nurturing global talent and IT talent, we are further bolstering the promotion of participation by women, whereby we demonstrate respect for diversity, and advance the creation of a workplace with a high degree of engagement.
Social responsibility in the value chain is also an important theme. By attaining Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) certification and expansion of human rights risk assessment, we demonstrate respect for the human rights of workers, including those at Group manufacturing facilities and promote assurance of a safe and secure work environment.
Contribution to protecting the Earth
In addition to the global trend of aiming to realize carbon neutrality by 2050, in the current circumstances, with the frequent occurrence of natural disasters worldwide, we must tackle the response to climate change as a top priority issue. In order to further promote the response to climate change, the Brother Group endorsed the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations, conducted scenario analysis of risks and opportunities posed to the business by climate change, and disclosed the relevant information. Furthermore, we have revised the targets of the Brother Group Environmental Vision 2050, formulated in 2018, and aim to achieve carbon neutrality in our various business activities and to minimize CO2 emissions throughout the value chain by 2050. Also, we are continuing to make arrangements for resource circulation throughout the value chain, including achieving a ratio of virgin materials used in our main products of 65% or less by FY2030, aiming to use resources sustainably and to minimize the environmental impact of waste materials.
Value creation and our business model
The Brother Group considers the customer's voice to be the starting point for all business activities, including product planning, development, design, manufacturing, sales and services, and formulated the Brother Value Chain Management (BVCM) as our unique business model to promptly respond to that voice. In order to realize the goals set out in "At your side 2030" of promotion of cyclical businesses and expansions in the industrial area, in CS B2024, we have added processes to create a bidirectional chain for a circular economy and improve products quickly based on customer feedback, mainly in the industrial area. We are aiming to operate this BVCM process rapidly at a global level and to enhance it, to deliver superior products to customers as quickly as possible.
I believe that "At your side." is a journey that never ends. While constantly evolving the spirit of "At your side." we will utilize our unique technologies and global network, which are Brother's strengths, and continue to tackle various challenges. By continuing to deliver superior products to customers worldwide, we will expand our corporate value and contribute to the realization of a sustainable society. Thank you in advance for your continued support.
Ichiro Sasaki
Representative Director & President
Brother Industries, Ltd.
October 2022