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Murata's Value Creation through SDGs (Part 2)

Using objective assessments as PDCA benchmarks

Murata set 11 goals as key issues for fiscal years 2019-2021, and is steadily moving forward with initiatives.

 

Imagawa: Currently, we are committing ourselves to climate change measures and the effective use of resources. We are moving on with various initiatives. For example, a mega-solar power generation system covering a space of 1,200 car parking spaces introduced at Okayama Murata Manufacturing. In December 2020, we joined “RE100,” which aims to change the power used in business activities to 100% renewable electricity. The bar is high for us as a business dealing in electronic components, but we are proud to say this is an activity leading the industry.

 

Hosomi: For initiatives, we use assessments by an ESG rating agency as a reference. This is to analyze our activities from an objective view as benchmarks used for how to improve lower-marked items working with relevant teams to follow the PDCA cycle, rather than intended to get higher evaluations.

 

Imagawa: Please note that these activities are not anything new. In 1994, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the company's founding, we came out with the corporate slogan “Innovator in Electronics.” Its philosophy includes one of our resolutions: “To environments and communities, Murata will proactively approach for the better.” Further, “keihakutansho,” which means light, thin, short and small, and leads to the effective use of resources, has been inherited as Murata’s core competence since its foundation in 1944.

 

Hosomi: We should have more and emerging opportunities to see that are actions thus far have contributed to communities by our promoting and adopting the SDGs. Connecting our satisfaction and pride in working at Murata is also our role and recognized as a major responsibility.

Strengthening market competitiveness leveraging QCDS + sustainability

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China is seeking a policy to make all new vehicles sold by 2035 electric-powered, and the UK has set the year 2030 to ban the sale of gasoline-/diesel-powered vehicles. Such social movements are tightly connected to the SDGs and megatrends.

It is said that such initiatives related to the SDGs enhance corporate value and lead to strengthened market competitiveness.

 

Imagawa: Generally, businesses in emerging countries are catching up in each field of QCDS (quality, cost, delivery, and service) at a very fast pace. How can we differentiate ourselves and strengthen market competitiveness while continuing to increase our QCDS value? One of the new axes should be sustainability. In addition to our traditional straightforward manufacturing, we are going to set sustainability as a new axis, and strengthen market competitiveness leveraging QCDS + sustainability.

 

Hosomi: We look ahead to a future when clean production and supply processes will be required as a business condition. It’ll be too late even if we struggle in haste after it happens. The SDGs should be attained by 2030, which seem to be shorter than we ecpected.

 

Imagawa: Megatrends such as the SDGs and global risks can be used as a set of guidelines to plot management strategies and be what triggers businesses to transform. For example, countries such as China and the UK are driving the shift to electric-powered vehicles in the future, and many businesses have declared their commitment to carbon neutrality. Such various social movements are connected through the SDGs. The dots connect, forming lines. Because they can be chances to acquire business-like thinking and power to read the market, I would like to use them to change the mindset of employees.

 

Murata has started engaging in the SDGs as guidelines for management strategies aiming to improve corporate value and market competitiveness, and to provide opportunities to change the mindsets of employees. In the next article, we will focus on more specific activities to show you how Murata is evolving and deepening the SDGs.

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