Sustainability Management
Sharp’s Sustainability Policy
Basic Philosophy on Sustainability
It has been Sharp’s business philosophy since its founding to “contribute to the culture, benefits and welfare of people throughout the world” and to understand that “our future prosperity is directly linked to the prosperity of our customers, dealers and shareholders.” Based on this business philosophy, Sharp has continued to meet the expectations and requirements of society and its stakeholders, and these aspirations for sustained mutual growth of the company and society are maintained as Sharp’s basic philosophy on sustainability.
Sharp Group Charter of Corporate Behavior and the Sharp Code of Conduct
To concretize its business philosophy and business creed, the company has set out the Sharp Group Charter of Corporate Behavior to serve as the principles of behavior for Sharp Group companies, and the Sharp Code of Conduct to serve as a standard for all directors and employees. Sharp works to ensure that these guidelines permeate the Group as fundamental sustainability policies, and that the Group takes appropriate and sincere action in all of its business endeavors with a high ethical standard and full compliance with the law.
Resolutions regarding the adoption of the Sharp Group Charter of Corporate Behavior and the Sharp Code of Conduct are issued by the boards of directors of Sharp Corporation and its main subsidiaries and affiliate companies in Japan and overseas. At overseas subsidiaries and affiliates, these documents are translated into local languages so that employees can fully understand and comply with them.
The content of the Sharp Group Charter of Corporate Behavior and the Sharp Code of Conduct is reviewed each year to determine if revisions need to be made.
System for Sustainability Policy
Participation in the RBA
In December 2021, Sharp joined the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) to further fulfill its social responsibility in its global supply chain in line with international standards.
Sharp shares the RBA’s vision and mission company-wide, and uses the RBA Code of Conduct, formulated by the RBA, as a concrete guideline for its own efforts to identify and address risks at its, and its suppliers’, factories.
Ensuring Adherence to the Sharp Code of Conduct
To deepen understanding of the Sharp Code of Conduct and ensure that all executives and employees act in accordance with it, compliance-related training based on the Sharp Code of Conduct is held every year in Japan.
In fiscal 2023, Sharp carried out Sharp Code of Conduct compliance e-learning for eligible employees at Sharp Corporation and affiliate companies in Japan, as well as eligible labor union members. This e-learning saw participation by about 18,000 employees. The training covered a range of areas and how to deal with issues related to them: conducting business activities in line with the Sharp Code of Conduct; raising awareness of the whistleblowing system; labor and human rights issues such as working hours, pay, and benefits; compliance matters such as abidance with the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations, insider trading rules, and preventing fraudulent accounting; and information security and confidential information management. We also spread knowledge about the Sharp Code of Conduct at overseas bases. This included distributing e-learning materials as part of efforts to ensure understanding globally at Sharp.
The compliance training will continue to be held and expanded in content with the goal of ensuring that employees have a better understanding of compliance and fostering awareness for potential problems and ways to prevent them. The training is held as an in-house measure based on the Basic Policy for Internal Control. Training results are reported to the Internal Control Committee, which is chaired by the president & CEO, and to the Board of Directors.
Sustainability Strategy and Implementation System
In line with Sharp’s basic philosophy towards sustainability, Sharp has positioned its role to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—adopted by the UN in September 2015 with major expectations placed on corporations—in its medium-to long-term vision, and is moving forward with those efforts.
In fiscal 2018, with this medium-to long-term vision in mind, Sharp established a fundamental strategy of proceeding with a sustainable management approach aimed at achieving the SDGs. The strategy takes a two-pronged approach: creating solutions to social problems through business and technological innovation, and reducing social and environmental impact through sustainable business activities.
Through these efforts, we are contributing to solving the social issues facing us today: realizing a low-carbon world, solving medical and nursing care problems, eliminating labor shortages, and realizing a diverse range of lifestyles. These contributions will ensure that we are always there for people and society and that Sharp more quickly achieves recognition as a company with a strong brand that continuously provides new value.
To execute these strategies and manage them in a PDCA cycle, the company launched the Sustainability Committee, which is chaired by the president & CEO of Sharp and comprises members of top management, head office divisions such as environment, personnel, and procurement, business units, and subsidiaries. The committee engrains policies and visions into the Sharp Group, discusses crucial measures, shares the latest trends in social issues, and reports important policies and decisions to the Board of Directors. To accelerate its efforts, Sharp set up sustainability subcommittees in fiscal 2024, each focused on specific sustainability issues.
Sharp will continue to step up its efforts in the SDGs and ESG and improve its ESG rating, while at the same time building a solid management foundation to support sustainable growth and contributing to the realization of a sustainable society.
Fundamental Strategy of Sustainable Management
Organization for Sustainability Management
Participating in Various Initiatives
As a member of the global community, Sharp conducts business in way that respects international guidelines and norms.
United Nations Global Compact
We became a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact in September 2009. We carry out measures in line with the Global Compact’s 10 principles in the four areas of human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption.
RBA（Responsible Business Alliance）
In December 2021, we joined the RBA, an alliance of companies that pursues social responsibility across the global supply chain. We endorse the RBA vision and mission.
RMI（Responsible Minerals Initiatives）
Since December 2021, we have been a member of the RMI, an international initiative for the responsible sourcing of minerals. We actively pursue due diligence in our procurement of minerals.
JaCER (Japan Center for Engagement and Remedy on Business and Human Rights)
In October 2022, Sharp joined JaCER, which provides a platform for addressing grievances in accordance with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and is working to establish mechanisms for addressing grievances within the global supply chain.
Other groups Sharp is a member of:
- Keidanren (Japan Business Federation)
- JEMA (Japan Electrical Manufacturers’ Association)
- JEITA (Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association)
- JBMIA (Japan Business Machine and Information System Industries Association)
- JMC (Japan Machinery Center for Trade and Investment)
- JPEA (Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association)
TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures)
In August 2022, we declared our support for the TCFD recommendations. We are expanding and improving the disclosure of information related to climate change, in accordance with the framework set by the TCFD.
SBTi (Science Based Targets Initiative)
In March 2024, we were certified for SBT 1.5°C. This was a recognition that our targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions are based on science and conform with the Paris Agreement.
GX League
In April 2023, we joined the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s GX League. The GX League is a forum that brings together corporations, the government, and academic institutions. Through collaborations, the League seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while building a society that can grow in measurable ways—the aim is to achieve a virtuous cycle encompassing the economy, environment, and society.
Industry-Government-Academia Partnership on Circular Economy
In December 2023, Sharp joined the Industry-Government-Academia Partnership on Circular Economy (Circular Partners), which is organized by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Sharp’s aim is to deepen collaboration between industry, government, and academia that will lead to the realization of a circular economy.
TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures) Forum
In August 2024, Sharp joined the TNFD Forum in support of the TNFD’s mission and actions. Sharp will use the knowledge it gains through participation in this forum to prepare for the disclosure of nature-related information.
30by30 Alliance for Biodiversity
In June 2024, Sharp joined the 30by30 Alliance for Biodiversity organized by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment. The aim is to help achieve the 30by30 goals by expanding the company’s efforts to conserve biodiversity and realize a sustainable society through its business activities and environmental and community service activities.
Material Issues
Identifying and Monitoring Material Issues
A succession of international long-term goals that seek solutions for social issues at the global level, such as the SDGs and the Paris Agreement*, have been announced, and there is a growing interest in human rights issues such as forced labor in global supply chains. As such, expectations continue to grow for companies to put forth an effort to address these goals and issues.
Against this backdrop, Sharp is identifying material issues for the sake of sustainable management with a view to solving global-level social issues and achieving medium-to long-term growth for the Sharp Group.
In identifying material issues, we took into account our business philosophy, business creed, and medium-term management policy. We also considered international guidelines and principles such as the UN Global Compact, the SDGs, and the RBA vision and mission, as well as international non-financial disclosure standards such as the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative), SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board), ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Board), and ESRS (European Sustainability Reporting Standards). We also considered the opinions and expectations of various stakeholders and the results of assessments by ESG research and rating institutions.
The material issues uncovered were used to identify priority topics to be addressed company-wide from the two standpoints of “magnitude of impact on the environment and society” and “magnitude of impact on corporate finances.”
For the priority topics identified, measure-specific targets, goals, KPIs, and action plans are established. The implementation and results of these are reviewed at the twice-a-year meetings of the Sustainability Committee and the sustainability subcommittees, as well as at other meetings company-wide.
- An international framework for the prevention of global warming agreed on at the 21st yearly session of the Conference of the Parties to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21), held in Paris in 2015. The agreement was to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
Process for Identifying Material Issues
| Material issue (priority topic) | Priority initiative | Fiscal 2024 KPI |
|---|---|---|
| Climate change action | Reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with business activities |
|
| Make products carbon neutral (energy-saving and carbon footprint) | ||
| Resource reuse and circular economy initiatives |
|
|
| Containment management | Reduce waste associated with business activities | Final landfill disposal rate of less than 0.5% |
| Reduce VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions | VOC emissions into the atmosphere: 204 tons or less (fiscal 2010 levels) | |
| Water environment and resource management | Improve water intensity | Improvement rate of water intensity: 10% (baseline year: fiscal 2021) |
| Human resources (human resource development, DEI, health and safety, human rights, etc.) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
| Human rights due diligence through ESG self-assessment and auditing at Sharp factories | ||
| Product/service quality and consumer protection | Ensure reliability and strengthen efforts to raise product/brand value to achieve quality that customers around the world will acknowledge | |
| Improve customer satisfaction with service | Customer satisfaction rate 90.0% or higher | |
| Supply chain management |
|
|
ESG Risk Evaluation in Line with International Standards
Sharp believes that to ensure global business expansion is accompanied by the creation of a sustainable society, it is extremely important to conform to international standards.
Since fiscal 2015, the Sharp Group has been using the Sharp Supply-Chain CSR Deployment Guidebook, which was created in line with the RBA Code of Conduct (an international standard), as the guideline for its activities. It has been carrying out ongoing self-assessment surveys of Sharp production sites in Japan and overseas.
These surveys are carried out based on the RBA’s Self-Assessment Questionnaire and serve as a review and assessment of the status of activities at Sharp’s production sites. Sharp uses the survey as a means of facilitating better understanding of international standards among local managers.
In fiscal 2023, the survey was carried out at 27 plants in Japan and overseas. Following the survey, each plant was given feedback in the form of an overall and area-specific evaluation in three levels—low risk, moderate risk, and high risk—based on RBA criteria.
Survey responses from the bases are reviewed by the head office functional divisions. If it is determined that a base’s efforts are inadequate or latent risks exist, the base in question is interviewed and provided with guidance for undertaking necessary improvement activities.
As a result, the average score for all factories in fiscal 2023 was 91.7 (up from 91.2 the previous year), showing continued generally favorable assessments. Sites that got a “low risk” overall evaluation score comprised 96% of the total. No problems have been identified that pose an immediate, large risk for the Sharp Group as a whole.
In addition, to improve the effectiveness of risk assessment and ensure objectivity and transparency, major production sites in Japan and overseas undergo VAP* audits by the RBA. In fiscal 2023, four plants in Japan, China, and Thailand underwent VAP audits. As a result of implementing corrective measures for the issues discovered during the audits, all plants achieved a silver rating.
In addition to continuing to conduct surveys and audits, Sharp will use the RBA’s risk assessment mechanism and tools to keep improving activities.
- Validated Assessment Program. A VAP audit is a local audit performed by a third-party auditing service certified by the RBA.
Overall Assessment Ranking Ratio
Area-Specific Assessment Ranking Distribution
Stakeholder Engagement
Stakeholder Engagement
In order to ensure that, “Our future prosperity is directly linked to the prosperity of our customers, dealers and shareholders,” as stated in the company’s Business Philosophy, Sharp suitably discloses information to the diversity of stakeholders that it serves, including customers, suppliers, and local communities.
Also, amidst the increasing focus on ESG-related investment, we strive to improve our ESG level by creating a range of opportunities for dialogue with shareholders and investors.
We will continue to reflect stakeholder opinions in our corporate activities with the goals of helping society solve problems and achieving sustainable growth for Sharp.
