Third Party Review of the CSR Report

Professor Katsuhiko Kokubu
Graduate School of Business Administration
Kobe University

Enhanced materiality

Toshiba Group follows its well-established approach of organizing CSR activities based on materiality levels assessed in accordance with ISO 26000, and this year, Toshiba Group has further developed its approach. Of particular importance is the fact that the Group has adopted a process of selecting key issues through stakeholder dialogue with outside experts. CSR defines a company's obligations toward society; by its very nature, it is difficult to determine a company's CSR by its members alone. In order to implement effective CSR initiatives, it is therefore essential to adopt the views of outsiders. In this respect, Toshiba Group's approach is to be highly commended. We hope that Toshiba Group will follow the same approach not only in the P phase of the PDCA but also in the more major phases of the management cycle in the future.

Determined actions in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake

Another important characteristic of this year's CSR Report is the disclosure of detailed information on its actions taken in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake, a disaster that caused unprecedented damage. As President Sasaki states in his message, Toshiba Group fully recognizes the serious implications of the accident at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station as a company engaged in the development of nuclear power generation systems. Accordingly, Toshiba Group has disclosed information about the proactive initiatives it has taken to ensure nuclear safety and treat contaminated water. In particular, Toshiba Group's personnel support activities, including generating local employment and providing support by employee volunteers, are highly valued by local community residents. We hope that Toshiba Group will continue its collective efforts to support the recovery of the affected areas through its business activities.

Support for the development of smart communities

Realizing a smart community is a goal for all of humanity as a means to resolving global energy issues. Detailed explanations of Toshiba Group's contributions to the development of smart communities are another important characteristic of this year's CSR Report. The development of smart communities has highly important implications in contemporary society and the Group's positive contributions in countries around the world are to be commended. We hope that Toshiba Group will incorporate goals and other initiatives into its CSR activity plans as part of its efforts to disclose information in an ongoing and systematic manner.

Activities as a company engaged in advanced environmental practices

Toshiba Group is also widely recognized as a company group engaged in advanced environmental practices. In this year's CSR Report, Toshiba Group presents its Fifth Environmental Action Plan for the further promotion of environmental activities. Of particular importance is the fact that the Group has expanded the scope of its activities based on ISO 26000 and other environmental management standards. This approach of placing the highest priority on comprehensive KPIs, including overall eco-efficiency, product eco-efficiency, and business process eco-efficiency, also deserves high appraisal as a method for implementing systematic environmental management. As general assessment indexes, these KPIs can be used in the same way as profit rate indexes in accounting. We therefore hope that Toshiba Group will develop these indexes as fundamental environmental KPIs comparable to financial KPIs that can be used for information disclosure for Toshiba Group as a whole.

Professor Katsuhiko Kokubu
Graduate School of Business Administration
Kobe University

Biographical outline:

Professor Kokubu completed his Ph.D. at Osaka City University. After serving as Associate Professor at Osaka City University and Kobe University, he has served as Professor of Social and Environmental Accounting at Graduate School of Business Administration, Kobe University since 2001. In 2003, he established the Institute for Environmental Management Accounting, an organization that applies the results of research. He has served as Convenor of Working Group 8: Material Flow Cost Accounting at ISO TC 207, and has also been appointed as Chairperson of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Material Flow Cost Accounting Development Project Committee, as well as member of the Committee for the Revision of the Environmental Reporting Guidelines. His publications include Environmental Management and Accounting (Yuhikaku).