Stakeholder Engagement

SEKISUI CHEMICAL Group believes that constructive dialogue to increase corporate value is important to build relationships of trust with its five stakeholders: Customers, Shareholders, Employees, Business Partners, Local Communities and the Environment.
Positioning stakeholders as partners when enhancing corporate value, and grasping their expectations and demands through constructive dialogue while solving issues for society as a whole will lead to significant business opportunities for the Group. In addition, we will further promote sustainable growth by building relationships of mutual prosperity with stakeholders.
In fiscal 2023 the ESG Management Department, which falls under the purview of the Representative Director, Senior Managing Executive Officer (Head of the ESG Management Department), took on the role and responsibility for promoting constructive dialogue with all stakeholders. The various evaluations and opinions received from our stakeholders are reported to the Sustainability Committee, which is chaired by the president and comprised of directors, to ensure that they are appropriately reflected in our corporate activities. Moreover, to secure the timely, appropriate, and proactive disclosure of information throughout the Group, we have formulated the Corporate Information Disclosure Regulations that encompass such items as the specific content of disclosure and disclosure systems based on our Principle of Corporate Information Disclosure, and disclose information in accordance with our IR (disclosure) Policy.
There were no significant concerns raised by stakeholders through each engagement in fiscal 2023.

SEKISUI CHEMICAL Group held "Vision Caravan 2023" (Japan/overseas) and "Meeting with the President/Top Management in 2023" as events for direct dialogue between top management and employees.
With fiscal 2023 the first year of the Medium-term Management Plan, Vision Caravan 2023 was an opportunity for top management to explain to employees the Group’s aspirations as outlined in its Long-term Vision, Vision 2030, and the role played by the Medium-term Management Plan, Drive 2.0, as a strategy to achieve the Vision.
Continuing on from fiscal 2022, the Meeting with the President/Top Management initiative was also held to allow employees to gain a true picture of top management and their intentions while generating increased energy through an improved sense of expectation and trust. Centered on the key words: Vision 2030, ESG management, and challenge, these events served as a forum for executives to offer their thoughts on achieving the Long-term Vision and to talk about their own experiences and challenges. In response, employees were able to directly ask questions and seek advice on how to address issue and better take on challenges. This process of mutual dialogue helped employees gain an understanding of the connection between their daily work and the Long-term Vision, and get hints on how they can contribute to the realization of the Long-term Vision through their work.
In addition to an online format, meetings were also held at production and other business sites. Employing a hybrid format of online and face-to-face meetings roughly 2800 employees participated in fiscal 2023.

SEKISUI CHEMICAL Group believes it is extremely important to engage in constructive dialogue with shareholders and investors in order to achieve sustainable growth and enhance corporate value over the medium to long term
We have therefore identified Active Engagement Between Investors and Management as one of our key issues, while the President and Senior Managing Executive Officer, Head of the Business Strategy Department are taking the lead in proactively holding quarterly financial results briefings and direct dialogue with shareholders and institutional investors to leverage our management strategy to enhance corporate value. During fiscal 2023, we held 80 engagements
We are strengthening information dissemination on our website with an awareness of fair disclosure while striving to　reflect as much as possible the opinions and questions received through dialogue with shareholders and investors in　the Integrated Report and other IR materials. In fiscal 2023, we formulated a new medium-term management plan to strengthen capital policy disclosure in a bid to secure growth, based on feedback from institutional investors, and held briefings for institutional investors and analysts. Details have been published on our website
In recent years, interest in ESG investment has grown globally, and ratings agencies are proactively undertaking　surveys. SEKISUI CHEMICAL Group compiles and publishes its Sustainability Report based on rating agency questionnaires and third-party reviews, as well as referencing various report-drafting guidelines including GRI standards and considering the importance of the report to society and SEKISUI CHEMICAL Group.

We are promoting a variety of initiatives to deepen the understanding and penetration of various issues including SEKISUI CHEMICAL Group’s approach to ESG management.
We took steps to instill and promote a better understanding of the Group’s Long-term Vision, Vision 2030, and approach toward ESG management through Vision Caravan 2023 held in Japan and overseas in fiscal 2023.
Moreover, we implement ESG management training for new employees, newly appointed managers, and others based on their position.
In fiscal 2023, as in fiscal 2022, we held President Workshop meetings for the presidents of local subsidiaries outside of Japan. We were able to confirm the progress and effectiveness of challenging behavior and engagement improvement measures, and gain insights that will lead to the resolution of our own issues from other companies' case studies.

SEKISUI CHEMICAL Group has published an in-house magazine (including a series of special features on ESG management) and the SEKISUI CHEMICAL Group ESG Management Reader’s Guide (introduction to ESG management), a tool to promote understanding of ESG management among all employees, in order to secure increased acceptance of the Group’s ESG management.
These communication tools and ESG-related materials are freely available for employees to download from the intranet, and are also distributed to all employees, regardless of whether they are regular or non-regular staff, on an as needed basis, for example when employees join the Company or when implementing ESG-related educational programs.
The regional headquarters disseminate ESG-related information to employees of their respective Group companies. In Europe, ESG-related information is posted on the intranet once a month, and in the U.S., ESG training based on each employee’s position is held on a regular basis. In China and Asia, we are working to raise employees' awareness of ESG by holding ESG poster competitions and creating animated videos.

SEKISUI CHEMICAL Group calculates distribution status based on financial statements by stakeholder, using GRI and other standards as a reference.

SEKISUI CHEMICAL Group respects international norms and standards including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ISO 26000, the OECD’s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the ILO’s International Labor Standards, and the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (Ruggie Framework). In March 2009, SEKISUI CHEMICAL signed the United Nations Global Compact^*.
In addition, SEKISUI CHEMICAL Group is a supporter of the Japan Climate Initiative (JCI) Declaration. As such, the Group is joining the front line of the global push for decarbonization from Japan.

SEKISUI CHEMICAL Group declared its support for the recommendations put forward by the TCFD^*1 in January 2019. The Group began disclosing information based on these recommendations from July 2019. Furthermore, in July 2023 we began addressing the Group's biodiversity issues based on a guide released by the TNFD^*2 in February 2023^*3. By promoting the disclosure of such information, we will strive to build a sustainable management infrastructure that includes relationships of trust with stakeholders.