Strengthening the governance system for sustainable growth
For the Kuraray Group to achieve sustainable growth, an essential requirement is to create value that improves the natural and living environments and contributes to the development of society. As chairman of the Board of Directors, my mission is to promote and enhance this kind of value creation by involving all Board members in active discussion. To do this, I work to encourage active contributions from outside directors and outside members of the Audit & Supervisory Board with their diverse points of view and do my best to encourage free and open exchange of opinion among all participants. For example, when addressing the themes of market growth and the environmental technology required by society, I obtain expert opinion in order to promote decision-making based on a more multifaceted and nuanced perspective.
Meanwhile, to raise the effectiveness of the Board of Directors, we regularly conduct a thirdparty questionnaire survey to promote the smooth operation of the Board of Directors, swift decision-making, and improvement of the quality of discussion.
At the same time, the Kuraray Group continues working to reorganize and strengthen its corporate governance and risk management systems. To strengthen the governance system, we reviewed the composition of the Corporate Advisory Committee in March 2024 and appointed Outside Director Satoshi Tanaka as committee chairman to create a structure that provides advice from a more objective standpoint. Furthermore, in line with the committee’s recommendation, we have decided to incorporate sustainability-related indicators in executive remuneration from 2025. By thus increasing our executives’ commitment to sustainability, we are working to promote the realization of a sustainable society.
In the area of risk management, we are taking steps to strengthen safety audits on a global scale and improve safety in plant operations. By additionally strengthening systems to prevent confidential information leaks, we are also focusing on the protection of corporate, customer, and personal information.
The Kuraray Group believes that contributing to the sustainable development of society leads in turn to sustainable corporate growth. We value dialogue with stakeholders as one way of incorporating external perspectives in our efforts to enhance corporate value by combining social value with economic value.
