-MATERIAL ISSUE 2- TRANSITION TO A MANAGEMENT SYSTEM THAT CREATES SOCIAL VALUE

KOKUYO Materiality Expand Business Fields through the Forest-Like Management Model

Basic policy

Over the years, we’ve offered solutions for new ways of working, learning, and living through a process of first-hand experimentation in which we design experiences for customers through products and services. Amid today’s mounting environmental and social issues, many people are unsure of how to take the next step. We want to transform management systems to lead the way to a sustainable future with the support of all employees and businesses. As more partners and customers engage with us, the circle of empathy will expand, sparking more innovation and solving more social issues.

Outcome	2030 challenge goals		2024 commitment goal
Outcome		KPI	2024 commitment goal
Organization-wide collaboration contributes positively to the environment and society, increasing organizational empathy and leading the way in addressing social issues.	Our new and existing businesses address the problems society faces.	100% of sales have balanced social value and economic value	30 visionary idea (Mirai Yokoku) experiments
	Our employees make the world a better place in many ways.	100% of employees are addressing social issues	100% participation in sustainability initiatives

2022 result	2023 plan
7 future Mirai Yokoku experiments Carry Campus, Future School Festival, KOKUYO Open Lab (testing new workstyles by combining space with DX), launch wellness program with Euphoria, Kaunet’s launch of Loopa service, launch of oVice pilot, Zaitaku Hyakka 37.4% participation in sustainability initiatives 1,228 out of 3,284 people, counting only those who responded to survey (65% response rate)	We aim for nine Mirai Yokoku experiments (bringing the cumulative total to 16). To that end, we will keep allocating resources to experiments and entrepreneurial efforts aimed at contributing to society and the environment, expanding empathy, and leading the way in addressing social issues. We aim to have 80% of our staff engaging in sustainability efforts. This primarily involves employees integrating into their everyday work the initiatives developed by members of subcommittee taskforces in 2022. To keep employees’ motivation high, we will organize awareness-raising events for employees and the public.

2022 result

2023 plan

7 future Mirai Yokoku experiments
Carry Campus, Future School Festival, KOKUYO Open Lab (testing new workstyles by combining space with DX), launch wellness program with Euphoria, Kaunet’s launch of Loopa service, launch of oVice pilot, Zaitaku Hyakka
37.4% participation in sustainability initiatives
1,228 out of 3,284 people, counting only those who responded to survey (65% response rate)

We aim for nine Mirai Yokoku experiments (bringing the cumulative total to 16).
To that end, we will keep allocating resources to experiments and entrepreneurial efforts aimed at contributing to society and the environment, expanding empathy, and leading the way in addressing social issues.
We aim to have 80% of our staff engaging in sustainability efforts.
This primarily involves employees integrating into their everyday work the initiatives developed by members of subcommittee taskforces in 2022. To keep employees’ motivation high, we will organize awareness-raising events for employees and the public.

Mirai Yokoku experiments

Hello! Family.

Hello! Family is a new brand that supports communication in modern families and is tailored to diversified workstyles and lifestyles. Combining a smartphone app and four IoT devices, Hello! Family provides a fun way for users to check where their family members are and what they are doing.

Link:https://www.kokuyo.co.jp/newsroom/news/product/20230329cs1.html

Reopening of KOKUYO Open Lab.

In November 2022, we reopened KOKUYO Open Lab in The Campus, the location of our Shinagawa, Tokyo, office. KOKUYO Open Lab is a place for experimenting with social initiatives that use the latest technologies and techniques to enrich work and life. The lab is running a series of experiments on the theme of the digitally oriented workplace—a workplace where anyone can connect with colleagues whenever and wherever. It also has a booth for showcasing these initiatives.

Link:https://www.kokuyo.co.jp/newsroom/news/category_other/20221104cs7.html

The Campus serving as the venue for Kamiyama Marugoto’s future school festival

In 2021, we joined Kamiyama Marugoto technical college in a partnership to explore new ways of learning. In March 2022, we endorsed the college’s plan to organize the “future school festival,” an event for showcasing a diverse array of education and career options. We provided The Campus as a venue for the event. During the event, one of our engineers delivered a lecture. Similarly, other KOKUYO employees organized and delivered classes, including a practical training event on inclusive design. In this way, they gave attendees an opportunity to think about how non-disabled people and people with disabilities can work together in reducing social barriers and making life better.

Link:https://www.kokuyo.co.jp/newsroom/news/category/20220203cs.html

voice

Organizational measures to turn social value into economic value

Thinking a few steps beyond our existing businesses, we try to turn emerging needs into new business opportunities.

To get a picture of the highly uncertain demand landscape of the future, we use backcasting (working backward from a future scenario) to explore possible needs that will emerge in the future and combine this with forecasting to identify the challenges to address now.

When evaluating the needs, we need to keep the cycle short and to pivot when necessary in order to minimize risks and maximize the success rate. To that end, we listen to experts from inside and outside our organization and manage the stage-gate process for new projects in a way that enhances the social and economic value. For future projects, we’ll further strengthen our collaboration with external companies to enable more open innovation.

Yosuke Miura
Head of Innovation Center,
Corporate Planning Division