To promote its CSR activities, Denka has established a CSR promotion structure in which the CSR & Corporate Communications Department serves as a secretariat and collaborates with other specialized bodies to oversee activities undertaken by all Group members. CSR materiality issues are discussed by the Management Committee, which is chaired by the president and in charge of deliberating important managerial matters, with the committee’s conclusions being reported to the Board of Directors. Each body and department placed under the Management Committee supervises such initiatives as worksite safety and Responsible Care activities and is striving to achieve systematic improvements in their respective areas of responsibility. Meanwhile, the CSR & Corporate Communications Department is charged with raising Group employees’ CSR awareness as well as publishing these activities’ results in the CSR report with the aim of facilitating stakeholders

In April 2017, the Denka Group specifi ed key CSR issues that are critical to its stakeholders and to the Group itself, identifying them as materiality issues that it will employ in guiding its CSR activities. This move was intended to help us achieve sound and sustainable growth over the future as a corporate group that lives up to society’s expectations and deserves its trust. We carefully selected these materiality issues based on pressing challenges society is now facing and in reference to external inputs, including United Nations SDGs, guidelines compiled by the GRI, ISO26000 and other international standards, as well as prevailing ESG investment criteria and insights we have gained through its involvement in CDP and CSR procurement. Moreover, these items were examined and evaluated with due consideration given to stakeholders’ expectations and their impact on our operations and were discussed by Denka’s Management Committee, which, in turn, approved on the fi nalization of each item.

In line with the corporate philosophy enshrined in The Denka Value, the Denka Group identified priority CSR materiality issues that, on April 24, 2017, its Management Committee narrowed down to 13 items, each of which is a matter of critical importance for a chemical manufacturer committed to fulfilling its social responsibilities. Through the pursuit of these 13 items, we aim to help realize the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in ways that fulfill our responsibilities as a manufacturer and provide solutions to issues society is confronting.
In particular, we expect our product technologies in three priority fields (healthcare, the environment and energy, and high-value-added infrastructure) specified by Denka Value-Up management plan growth strategies, to greatly contribute to the realization of SDGs.

Initiatives to Be Undertaken to Help Realize SDGs from Fiscal 2020 Onward

To clearly define the relationship between Denka’s materiality issues and the Denka Value-Up management plan, we changed the terminology used to refer to our materiality issues, switching from “priority CSR materiality issues” to “priority management materiality issues.” With the positioning of materiality issues thus clarified as focused on supporting the realization of the SDGs, we will ramp up our ESG-centered management approach, rallying the entire strength of the Denka Group.