Management

Approach to Sustainability

Interest toward realizing a sustainable environment, society and economy has been growing, as is illustrated by such initiatives as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations, the Paris Agreement going into effect and growing ESG investment. In recent years, corporate initiatives have also placed a growing emphasis on these areas.
In particular, on the environmental front, climate change and energy problems are becoming more serious worldwide, and the automotive industry is seeing changes on a scale said to occur only once in 100 years. These changes include new technologies, such as connectedness and autonomous driving, as well as car sharing and other new business models.
MITSUBISHI MOTORS recognizes that various challenges in the environmental, social, and governance fields pose risks to the Company’s sustainable growth.
At the same time, the Company views tackling societal issues as an opportunity for new business and strives to mitigate risks such as reducing greenhouse gases from its business activities.

Framework for Promoting Sustainability

We have established the Sustainability Committee, which is chaired by the executive officer, president & CEO, to promote sustainability initiatives throughout the MITSUBISHI MOTORS Group. MITSUBISHI MOTORS has identified material issues as important issues that we should wrestle from various problems in the environmental, social, and governance fields. The Sustainability Committee confirms the risks and opportunities identified from a long-term perspective by those responsible for each materiality initiative.
At the same time, the Sustainability Committee deliberates and decides on initiative targets based on the external environment and stakeholder needs and expectations from a medium-term perspective, and uses the PDCA cycle by checking progress.
We have a structure in which important matters such as reviewing material issues and the overall status of sustainability activities are deliberated and reported by the Board of Directors.

Proceedings

On the environmental front, the Sustainability Committee discusses our efforts to achieve carbon neutrality, which is a global issue, and to enhance disclosure in line with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Recommendations. On the social front, we discuss initiatives involving human rights, which are an area companies are increasingly being called upon to address.
We provide timely disclosure of the Sustainability Committee’s proceedings on our website. Please refer to the following.

Overview of Sustainability Committee

FY2022 Achievements of the Sustainability Committee

Meetings convened 3 times
Principal matters for deliberation and reporting
  • Review of material issues
  • Review of FY2021 initiatives on the material
  • issues and activity plans for FY2022
  • Initiatives to achieve carbon neutrality
  • Response to the TCFD recommendations
  • Human rights initiatives
  • FY2022 disclosure policy
  • Initiatives to foster a sustainability mindset, etc.

Sustainability Committee members

Instilling Sustainability Awareness within the Company

MITSUBISHI MOTORS conducts penetration activities throughout the year so that executives and employees can deepen their understanding of sustainability and practice sustainability initiatives through their daily work. At the end of each fiscal year, we conduct an employee awareness survey to confirm the degree of penetration. We use the survey results to strengthen and improve each measure and reflect them in activities in the following fiscal year.

Examples of Activities in FY2022

  • Online training related to sustainability in general 6,927 participants
  • Training on overall sustainability tailored to each job rank Conducted 19 times (Entry-level employees, mid-career employees, manufacturing staff candidates, newly appointed M2 employees <Managers>, newly appointed M1 employees ≤General Managers>)
  • Distribution of messages from management related to sustainability Distributed three times
  • Distribution of a newsletter related to sustainability Distributed six times

Participation in the United Nations Global Compact

In May 2019, MITSUBISHI MOTORS announced its support for the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the universal principle regarding human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption advocated by the United Nations. The UNGC are voluntary behavioral principles for companies and organizations that were proposed by then-Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the World Economic Forum (Davos Conference) in 1999. As a global company, we believe that respect for human rights and anti-corruption initiatives are very important. Accordingly, that same year we partially revised the MITSUBISHI MOTORS Global Code of Conduct, clarifying our efforts related to respect for human rights and anti-corruption. In addition, we have established a Human Rights Policy that commits us to promoting business activities that emphasize human rights.
Based on the 10 principles of the UNGC, as a good corporate citizen we will continue our activities toward the realization of the sustainable growth of society.

Please see the following for specific activities in the four areas stipulated in the Global Compact.

Participation in External Organizations
  • Japan Business Federation (Keidanren)
  • Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, Inc.
  • Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Inc.
  • Global Compact Network Japan (GCNJ)
External Initiatives Supported or Referred to
  • United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
  • United Nations Global Compact (UNGC)
  • Core Labor Standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO)
  • Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
  • ISO 26000 Guidance to Social Responsibility
  • Keidanren Charter of Corporate Behavior