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Toshiba Corporation and its worldwide group of companies are celebrating December as CSR month, a series of events that underline the global Toshiba Group’s commitment to management grounded in corporate social responsibility, recognize achievements in the last year, and encourage participation in voluntary activities by all of the Group’s 200,000 employees.

 

Held every December since 2006, CSR Month reminds employees and stakeholders around the world of the importance Toshiba attaches to turning its guiding principles—committed to people, committed to the future—into real engagement with society, thorough events and activities that raise personal awareness and contribute to the community.

 

This year, a highlight of the month will come on December 5, International Volunteer Day, when employees at Toshiba Group companies worldwide underline their personal commitment to contributing to a better world by participating in a wide range of voluntary activities, large and small.

 

In Japan, Toshiba plans a full calendar of events, including a continuing program of support for Save The Children Japan. Here Toshiba is supporting a kindergarten in Tanzania, and employees will collect donations and prepare materials for use in the school. Other activities include programs at the Tokyo headquarters and Smart Community Center in Kawasaki to promote human rights for children and promotion of voluntary activities in the Tohoku region in support of the continued recovery from the 2011 earthquake. Toshiba Group companies are also planning their own activities.

 

Other and many kinds of activities are being held around the world. In China, 30 companies are promoting reducing environmental stressed and recycling, and making donations to Toshiba Hope Elementary Schools for children in need. Toshiba America Group companies are participating in Soles4Soles, an anti-poverty campaign, and will contribute over 5,000 pairs of shoes to charity, plus clothes. In India, employees of Toshiba India Private Ltd. are participating in cleaning up public spaces. In Singapore, local companies are reaching out to support a residential school that provides a home for disadvantaged children, and in Brazil, a helping hand is being extended to the homeless. In France, three Toshiba Group companies have organized voluntary activities, and in Germany volunteers will support regeneration of a disaster-hit forest.

 

A driving force behind Toshiba’s volunteer day is Hisao Tanaka, Toshiba’s president and CEO. Since his appointment in June 2013, Mr. Tanaka has repeatedly emphasized CSR as the guiding force for Toshiba Group’s approach to management. In his message announcing this year’s CSR Month, Mr. Tanaka commented: “All Group employees worldwide are encouraged to participate in activities that contribute to their local community, and to make sizable impacts that could not be achieved by an individual acting alone… What each individual can do is small, but a groundswell of social contributions can be generated if all 200,000 Toshiba Group employees join forces. I am looking forward to an exciting day of events on December 5.”

 

Later on in the month, on December 10, the annual Toshiba Group CSR Conference will be held at Toshiba’s Tokyo headquarters, and it will culminate in an awards ceremony to recognize outstanding achievements in CSR activities over the last year. Nominations for totaled over 1.400, underlining how deeply the voluntary spirit has spread throughout the Toshiba family, and awards will be presented to 14 companies and six individuals.

 

Building on its achievements to date, Toshiba Group will continue to encourage its 200,000 employees to join hand.