Third-Party Opinions, Acting on Third-Party Opinions

Masayasu Kitagawa
Professor, The Okuma School of Public
Management, Waseda University

The past year saw huge changes in the way we think of CSR. First ISO 26000 was issued, then the creation of the International Integrated Reporting Committee was announced, and then companies began building a framework to integrate non-financial information into their financial reports. This movement's aim is to make the entire planet sustainable by elevating CSR to become a means of demonstrating the common values we all share in this global era and striving to enhance not only the economic value of corporations but also their social value. The Great East Japan Earthquake was the grave combination of a powerful tremor, tidal waves and a nuclear accident that together spawned a disaster that made us fundamentally rethink the sustainability of local communities and energy policies, and deeply tarnished the trustworthiness of Japan as a great manufacturing nation. Now is the time for CSR to not only be a part of corporate managerial practices but also to increase the realization of vital national activities with the aim of making the country and its communities sustainable. Japan's reliability must be restored.
The MHI Group's humble report of its support of the recovery effort was well-received, however, I feel that in the wake of this great disaster of national proportions, a more aggressive public announcement could have been made. Such an announcement could have demonstrated the steely resolve of MHI to proactively contribute to the sustainability of Japan and the world. As one of the nation's leading corporations, I expect MHI to issue CSR reports that will propel the sustainability of the whole of Japan.
With every year that passes, the significance of the sociability reports increases at MHI. They include descriptions of CSR activities involving not only company-wide efforts but also collaborations with stakeholders leading to concrete results from the interplay of three main themes in their corporate action plan. These reports demonstrate the full-scale penetration and broadening of CSR activities.
his year's report also includes the efforts of the Accident Exhibit and Materials Room. Displaying accidents involving one's own products for all the world to see and using this information in employee training takes a lot of courage. The Room has become a place to bare the company's soul to employees and I was moved by the sincerity of this particular CSR activity, whose aim is to provide a feeling of unity with employees.

Kumi Fujisawa
Vice President, Think Tank SophiaBank

What is the meaning of the rarely spoken phrase "contributions to society by companies," which is now expressed in the modern term "CSR?" I believe this term is a call to companies to reveal the very essence of their existence. Although CSR is defined in many ways, its concept has been renewed in the wake of the recent disaster here in Japan to mean "companies as creators of society." That disaster reaffirmed the value of earthquake-resistant construction and the strength of our infrastructure on the one hand, and the established presence of those companies who lent their support for a rapid recovery on the other. MHI was one of the companies that sent relief workers to hard-hit areas immediately after the quake and tsunami and worked to recover infrastructure.
This disaster taught us all once again the role of companies in society. Companies exist to make society safer and more secure continually by gaining strength in their respective core competency, enhancing their technological prowess and realizing new creations. The backbone of these activities is the employee, who individually serves as a source of corporate contributions to his or her society regardless of whether he or she thinks of themselves as a creator of that society.
This year's MHI report includes a wealth of information from employees who work on-site and know first-hand the day-to-day operations of their organization. They convey persuasively the responsibility their company has toward society.
In this respect, I would like to see MHI present its significance in society that includes its core competencies, much as they are demonstrating with the development of MHI's Eco-ship, which is a challenge to build a ship that can coexist with all living things on earth in addition to being economically efficient and high in safety. Eco-ships are entirely about social contribution and nothing else. I would like MHI to provide on paper a fresh perspective of the social significance of their varied core competencies as standard procedure.
In addition, I would like to see the NPOs and NGOs, whose activities garnered attention in the aftermath of the recent disaster, continue their collaboration with the citizenry. I want the economic value created by companies as well as their technologies and other knowledge and networks to contribute to the safety and security of communities, including those unprofitable areas where businesses cannot be transplanted, working hand in hand across the globe with citizen-activists who reveal to us every nook and cranny of their society much like the body's capillary vessels.