Mandom Group's CSR KohDoh Practices

On Tuesday, December 18, 2018, we held a sustainability seminar and dialogue session at the Mandom head office, enlisting the cooperation of experts familiar with international environmental issues and trends in global enterprises.

The event was held to clarify how to embody CSR principles and uphold international codes of conduct and frameworks as a respected global company. At the event we addressed: the Mandom Group's KohDoh Principles, the Mandom Group's CSR Material Issues (Ver. 2), and the 10 Principles of the UN Global Compact.

For the sustainability seminar, we enlisted the expertise of Yosuke Ikehara of the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) Japan, a branch of the world's largest conservation NGO. Mr. Ikehara gave a talk attended by 64 Mandom employees, entitled "International Trends for Sustainability and Expected Efforts by Enterprises-How Enterprises Should Work Toward a Low-Carbon Society."

Just prior to the seminar, on December 2–14, 2018 COP24 (the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) was held in Poland, at which detailed rules (implementation guidelines) of the Paris Agreement were adopted. Mr. Ikehara shared the latest information from the conference in his field of climate change control, including developments in the United Nations and among governments, international NGOs, and companies.

In addition to the issues pertaining to climate change control and a low-carbon society, Mr. Ikehara spoke about a range of issues that relate to our business activities, such as the conservation of forest resources, which are the source of palm oil, paper, and cardboard, as well as international efforts to promote the sustainability of natural capital (the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and Forest Stewardship Council) . He also discussed plastic, an issue that has gained a great deal of attention recently.
His discussion of the plastic problem was especially interesting. He said that while the media has raised public awareness of marine pollution caused by plastic microbeads contained in facial cleansers, straws, plastic shopping bags, plastic bottles, and the like, an ever-increasing volume of garbage remains the underlying problem. He also discussed domestic and international efforts at recycling plastic and recyclable waste and a global movement aimed at achieving a circular economy and low-plastic future.

Following the lecture, a dialogue session was held with employees, primarily members of our Environment Promotion Subcommittee, led by Mr. Ikehara of WWF Japan and Ms. Junko Kano of BASF Japan.

The dialogue focused on the topics of long-term vision and ambitious goals, as well as backcasting, and we received a great deal of valuable advice through the exchange of ideas.
First, Mr. Ikehara from WWF Japan went into greater detail from his seminar talk, discussing the significance and merits of enterprises widely publicizing their long-term vision and ambitious goals as their corporate stance, sharing many actual examples.
Then, Ms. Kano from BASF Japan presented the corporate strategy that her company announced to the world in November 2018, and discussed its background and purpose, and introduced practical steps the company is taking to fulfill its strategy and achieve sustainability at the same time.
Some comments from participating employees: "I finally understood the significance and purpose of setting ambitious goals that seem impossible to achieve at the time and widely disseminating them outside the company." "I learned that many other companies are formulating and announcing very long-term targets, such as for 2050, and about the circumstances surrounding their doing so." "I now understand the need for technological and other types of innovation, and the importance of a co-creative relationship with various stakeholders outside the company."

Backcasting is a planning method that starts with defining a desirable future and then works backwards to identify policies and actions that will lead from the present to that specified future. Utilizing the approach for a sustainable future society was pioneered by The Natural Step, an international non-profit, non-governmental organization founded in Sweden, dedicated to applied research for sustainability.
It is not possible for us or anyone else to overcome the social and environmental hurdles to a desirable future, or to achieve the ambitious goal of sustainability, by going it alone. Only when we share our long-term vision and ambitious goals with society at large are we able to gain recognition by society for that stance, followed by its appreciation and support. This gives rise to co-creative relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, including suppliers, business partners, research organizations, NGOs, and others. These relationships, in turn, lead to a collaborative system for creating innovation that makes the impossible possible.
The sustainability seminar and dialogue provided an excellent opportunity to deepen our understanding of international approaches to solving environmental issues and the significance of sharing with society ambitious goals backcast from a long-term vision. It also served as a chance to reflect on what steps the Mandom Group should take going forward on the way to give form to our principles of "Challenge, Change, Innovation" and "Social Responsibility and Sustainability."
The CSR Promotion Division will continue striving to promote social responsibility and achieve sustainability in response to the expectations and demands of a diverse range of stakeholders through dialogues and exchanges with others outside the company, which is a basic concept of CSR. We offer our heartfelt thanks to Mr. Ikehara of WWF Japan and Ms. Kano of BASF Japan for their cooperation.