Material Issue 6

Related SDGs

Basic Policy

In order to achieve sustainable business growth, it is important to create an environment where people involved can thrive. Foundation of a fair work environment is that everyone in the supply chain accepts diversity, including race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, and gender, and respects human rights without discrimination. We must also respect work-life balance, which emphasizes lifestyle of each individual. In addition, there is a possibility that serious occupational accidents may occur in the forest business or Housing and Construction Business, and sufficient measures are necessary.

The Sumitomo Forestry Group sets "We promote a free and open-minded corporate culture that respects diversity" as one of Our Values, and also make Declaration on Health Management in an effort to maintain and improve physical and mental health of all employees and their families so that they can work healthily and actively. In the future, with the utmost emphasis on continuous improvement of employee satisfaction, we will work on multi-faceted and concrete targets such as realization of diversity, prevention of harassment, elimination of occupational injuries, and improvement of retention rate and number of obtained qualifications.

Impact on Society and the Environment

Management of Material Issue 6 (FY2023)

In Mid-Term Sustainability Targets 2024, Material Issue 6 is divided into 18 evaluation indicators, and management is carried out by incorporating them into annual activity policies and measures of the management department. We also assess the impacts that the material issue has on society and the environment.

*1Calculated as a percentage of the number of new graduate employees who joined the company between April and the following March and who will be with the company on April 1, three years later.

*2Percentage of employees who answered either "absolutely" or "yes, if I have to choose" in employee satisfaction surveys

Diversity

We manage targets based on the five indicators to encourage women to play active roles in the workplace.

Sumitomo Forestry on a non-consolidated basis fell short of the targets, despite improvements seen since fiscal 2022.

In order to achieve the targets, we will conduct educational activities to look at careers using a long-term perspective. This includes training for all levels of management, i.e., general management candidates for administrative planning positions, new managers and female candidates for leadership positions. We will also continue to hold seminars pairing employees raising a child or children with their supervisor to foster understanding and promote work-life balance, an initiative held since 2022. Going forward, measures will be implemented in the context of human capital management initiatives.

Results

Ratings in the table below
Achieved: ◯　Not achieved but improved from previous year: △　Not achieved and declined compared to previous year: ✕

*1Among managers, supervisors are defined as senior managers and the rest as general managers.

*2Calculated by adding the number of new graduate employees hired between May and the following March of the previous year to the number of new graduates hired in April.

Human Resources Development

Training costs per employee were 117 thousand yen, which did not reach the plan, but improved from fiscal 2022. We expanded self-development options in which a wide range of employees can participate, and the implementation of several projects with a large number of participants led to an overall improvement. In addition to steadily implementing existing training, we will continue to review and expand our training offerings to provide a wider range of learning opportunities going forward.

In response to growing environmental awareness, the Sumitomo Forestry Group encourages its employees to take the Certification Test for Environmental Specialists Test (eco kentei) in order to develop the capability to accurately explain the relationship between our business and the environment. Sumitomo Forestry on a non-consolidated basis acquisition rate for fiscal 2023 was 54.4%, falling short of the plan, but up more than 10 points from fiscal 2022. We will continue to promote the acquisition of these certifications by posting details on the company intranet, utilizing our certification acquisition support rules, and distributing textbooks to departments with low participation rates.

Results

Ratings in the table below
Achieved: ◯　Not achieved but improved from previous year: △　Not achieved and declined compared to previous year: ✕

* Numerical values as of January 1, 2024

Occupational Health and Safety

As for the number of occupational injuries, we have set a target of zero serious occupational injuries (occupational injuries resulting in four or more days of absence from work), but in fiscal 2023, these accidents occurred in each business field. Especially at detached house construction sites in Japan, heat stroke and injuries involving crashes and falls increased, resulting in 18 cases of serious work-related injuries lasting four days or more days. However, this was one less than in fiscal 2022. The number of cases of heat stroke fell significantly from 16 in fiscal 2022 to four thanks to our countermeasures to raise awareness among on-site workers, such as showing heat stroke prevention awareness videos and using items to prevent heat stroke. The number of crashes and falls decreased by seven, but there was a fatal accident from a fall during the assembly of scaffolding prior to the start of work. As a countermeasure, we are providing fall prevention courses for contractors who carry out construction work that requires scaffolding, conducting foreman education for site supervisors, and showing orientation videos for all on-site personnel.

In fiscal 2023, the Quality Control and Worker Safety Management Department organized the ISO45001 internal auditor training courses, and 71 employees (66 in the internal auditor qualification course and 5 in the standard explanation course) attended the courses. In addition, we worked to raise safety awareness by evaluating and awarding safety and health activities, among other measures. In the event of a serious occupational injury, we will pursue the cause of the injury, prevent its recurrence, and conduct internal auditing to keep these initiatives in check. We will continue to strengthen our efforts to achieve zero occupational injury throughout the Sumitomo Forestry Group by implementing Group-wide management of occupational injury cases, strengthening safety education in each division and affiliate, and providing support horizontally.

Results

Ratings in the table below
Achieved: ◯　Not achieved but improved from previous year: △　Not achieved and declined compared to previous year: ✕

*1Occupational accident equivalent to a serious occupational injury in Japan’s occupational injury classification (four or more days of absence)

*2Total of 8 consolidated companies of Nelson Pine Industries (NPIL), PT. Kutai Timber Indonesia (KTI), PT. AST Indonesia (ASTI), PT. Sinar Rimba Pasifik (SRP), Canyon Creek Cabinet (CCC), and Vina Eco Board (VECO), Pan Asia Packing (PAP), and PT. Rimba Partikel Indonesia (RPI)