The NGK Group is expanding lines of communication with its various stakeholders while pursuing CSR initiatives in partnership with them.
Dialogue with Employees -CSR Talk Live Sessions-
Since the fall of 2009, the NGK Group has held live CSR discussion events between employees and senior management. These CSR Talk Live sessions are staged with the goal of ensuring that each and every employee understands and gains a deeper awareness of our CSR initiatives, and our vision for CSR.
Eleven sessions held in fiscal 2010, with lively questions and opinions offered by employees.
Left : President Taro Kato
(Executive Vice President when
sessions were held)
Right : CSR Committee
Chairman and
Director Mitsuo Ibuki
CSR Talk Live sessions are an opportunity for the Company and a key stakeholder group, its employees, to directly discuss CSR initiatives and interact. In fiscal 2010, 479 people took part in the events, or roughly 10% of the Group's workforce in Japan. At each venue, President Taro Kato (then Executive Vice President) and CSR Committee Chairman and Director Mitsuo Ibuki, focusing on the theme of CSR initiatives taken by the NGK Group, highlighted the importance of CSR. Meanwhile, the Environmental Management Department and CSR Promotion Office off ered explanations of specific case studies from the CSR Report 2010.
Questions and opinions from attendees covered a
host of topics, including NGK Group CSR activities, its approach to the active utilization of women and hiring of foreign nationals, and ways of practically refl ecting the opinions expressed in CSR Talk Live. Amid this interchange of opinions, those present gave consideration to the kinds of actions that employees and the Company should strive for together.
- Participants by Age Group
- Rating the Management's Explanations (Total participants each time)
- Rating of Time Spent (Total participants each time)
CSR Talk Live Sessions Held Everywhere to Entrench Understanding of CSR
Nagoya Site
- ♦ In looking at "CSR Objectives and Achievements," who determines the level of target achievement for the year and how is this done?
[Male employee, joined in 1986]
- ♦ I vaguely knew that NGK conducts CSR activities, but participating in CSR Talk Live increased my understanding. Since it was a rare opportunity to communicate with top management, I felt it would have been nice to have a bit more time to exchange viewpoints with them.
[Male employee, joined in 1988]
- ♦ How are you working to entrench CSR activities at overseas Group companies?
[Male employee, joined 1988]
- ♦ I think NGK should showcase its CSR
efforts a bit more.
[Male employee, joined 2007]
- ♦ Are CO2 emission reduction effects not considered when calculating the economic viability of capital investments?
[Male employee, joined 2001]
- ♦ For me, mention of CSR tends to conjure
an image of something rather difficult to grasp. But management clarified CSR for me as "moving forward in doing something that you know is right to do." Getting the concepts in my head by reading the booklet alone is tough for me, but taking part in CSR Talk Live really gave me a better understanding of things. By all means, I hope that NGK continues to hold these sessions.
[Female employee, joined 2008]
- ♦ I was unfamiliar with the term CSR.
Because the NGK Group's CSR efforts aren't communicated well to those on the outside or to employees, I think embedding this knowledge among employees is a good thing. I learned that the Group is involved in a variety of social contribution activities.
[Female employee, joined 1998]
- ♦ I think incorporating current problems
that have emerged in-house and future objectives will make things more concrete. [Male employee, joined 2004]
Chita Site Komaki Site Tokyo Main Office
- ♦ Are there any CSR activities that the
NGK Group is particularly focused on compared to other companies?
[Male employee, joined 1985]
- ♦ I think having opportunities like this
outside of regular training to deepen understanding of CSR is great. I am looking forward to what "CSR-Web" has to offer.
[Female employee, joined 1993]
- ♦ Methods for sorting and separating trash
differ based on the local governmental jurisdiction where a particular business site is located. Are you considering creating standards, including for Group companies, which will make these methods more consistent?
[Male employee, joined 1999]
- ♦ My impression is that CSR Talk Live is a
good way to reaffirm that CSR initiatives are the responsibility of all employees, not just management.
[Male employee, joined 1988]
- ♦ The "5S" activities are not rigorously
enacted at the Tokyo Main Office. How will these be implemented going forward?
[Female temp employee]
- ♦ The topics discussed focused mainly on
issues in and around the headquarters, but I would also like to know about any unique energy conservation or social contribution activities happening at sales bases and other sites.
[Female employee, joined 1980]
Group Companies
- ♦ The information in the CSR Report was
over my head, but I spent three hours reading through it. The thoughtful explanations given at CSR Talk Live helped me to better understand it. I am glad I chose to attend.
[Female employee, joined 1983]
- ♦ I was reminded again of the steps NGK is taking to be a company that is considerate of both our society and the environment.
[Female employee, joined 1992]
- ♦ I am not really clear on what NGK is trying to say with its current batch of TV commercials. Who are these ads for, and what message are they attempting to convey?
[Female contract employee]
- ♦ I think that giving more specific
examples of the fields that the NGK Group is most focused on, as well as the part that it hopes Group employees will play, will facilitate understanding and more decisive action.
[Male employee, joined 2009]
- ♦ What steps should be taken to raise the level of worker awareness regarding safety?
[Male employee, joined 1992]
- ♦ I suspect that most employees are
usually not aware of themselves as part of a larger NGK Group. That's why I think that CSR Talk Live is a good opportunity to consider the meaning of being a group and related measures. Explanations were also broken down into smaller chunks, making things very easy to understand.
[Male employee, joined 2005]
- ♦ What is the situation like in terms of
hiring foreign nationals? Also, there are very few female managers. What changes do you expect in this area?
[Male employee, joined 1991]
- ♦ Without an opportunity of this kind, I
would probably never have properly read the CSR Report. I learned at length that our activities are connected to CSR in a variety of different ways.
[Male employee, joined 2003]
