Six Priority Areas for Sustainability
Six Priority Areas for Sustainability
Identification Process for the Six Priority Areas for Sustainability
Previously, the SUBARU Group had promoted initiatives in the Six Priority Areas for CSR: People-oriented Car Culture, Resonance and Coexistence, Peace of Mind, Diversity, Environment, and Compliance.
To select the priority areas, the SUBARU Group first identified 41 priority topics for which social needs were high and then conducted a questionnaire among experts and investors in North America and Japan. The responses and opinions we received were used in an assessment and exploration of these areas from two perspectives: areas in which we can engage the community by leveraging our business strengths, and areas related to the demands of society. As a result, the SUBARU Group selected People-oriented Car Culture, Resonance and Coexistence, Peace of Mind, and Diversity as the four areas where SUBARU could engage our communities by leveraging our business strengths, and Peace of Mind, Diversity, Environment, and Compliance as the four areas where the SUBARU Group could work to meet the demands of society.
Now, we have evolved these Six Priority Areas for CSR into the Six Priority Areas for Sustainability in response to the changing social environment and shifting mindsets toward sustainability. To contribute to the sustainability of the SUBARU Group and society, we will go beyond CSR perspectives to further leverage SUBARU’s values and strengths.
This evolution also updates our People-oriented Car Culture to a People-oriented Mobility Culture, while Diversity is updated to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I).
In our People-oriented Mobility Culture, we aim to become a company whose presence and appeal differentiate from its competitors by expressing the diversity of products as the SUBARU Group, including the aerospace business. Also, we will provide a means of transportation based on SUBARU’s DNA in response to the changing times. In terms of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), we will develop our organization to maximize the diverse individuality of our workforce and create comfortable workplace environments. These efforts to create an environment of equity where everyone can access fair opportunities will lead to innovation, allowing diverse individuals to collaborate to create SUBARU’s unique sustainable value.
In addition, we will further deepen our efforts by setting new visions, priority themes, goals and KPIs for each area. Within this, the vision will not include a time frame so as to express the SUBARU Group’s unchanging direction from a longer-term perspective. Meanwhile, the priority themes will be items to be addressed with a focus on the SUBARU Group’s strengths, and goals and KPIs will be set to promote medium- to long-term initiatives.
The SUBARU Group will share its commitment to sustainability with all employees in the Group and globally based on the SUBARU Global Sustainability Policy. We will pursue value creation for “Delivering Happiness to All ” through initiatives based on the Six Priority Areas for Sustainability.
Six Priority Areas for Sustainability
Activities in the Six Priority Areas for Sustainability
The SUBARU Group seeks to become an organization that is trusted by society by fulfilling its social responsibility as a corporate group, aiming for sustainable growth and contributing to the creation of an enjoyable and sustainable society.
To achieve our vision of being a company “Delivering Happiness to All,” we will incorporate the Six Priority Areas for Sustainability and work toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that the international community is pursuing for 2030. One example of this is our efforts connected to the SUBARU Group’s target of aiming for zero fatal traffic accidents* in 2030, which contribute to Target 3.6 of the SDGs: “By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents.”
We will continue to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs by leveraging our business strengths and responding to the demands of society while pursuing value creation unique to the SUBARU Group.
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- Aim for zero fatal traffic accidents among occupants of SUBARU vehicles and people involved in collisions with SUBARU vehicles, including pedestrians and cyclists.
Vision / Priority Themes / Goals / KPIs in the Six Priority Areas for Sustainability
| Six Priority Areas | Vision | Priority Theme | Target | KPI | Target/KPI-related Initiatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| People-oriented Mobility Culture | Offer unfading emotional value from spending time with SUBARU and become a company that enriches people’s lives and minds as a partner | Offer mobility services and experiences that provide “Enjoyment and Peace of Mind” | - | - | - |
| Resonance and Coexistence | Broaden the circle of person-to-person communication and become a company that widely resonates and coexists with society | Offer mobility services and experiences that provide “Enjoyment and Peace of Mind” | - | - | - |
| Promotion of activities that lead to solutions to issues faced by local communities | |||||
| Peace of Mind | Become a company that provides the utmost peace of mind to all stakeholders | Be close to customers and pursue activities that always offer peace of mind | Aim for zero fatal traffic accidents*1 in 2030 | Ratio of fatal traffic accidents*2 avoidable with SUBARU’s latest technologies introduced into the market | |
| Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) | Continuously create innovation and values through spontaneous networking of the individual with the organization | Develop an organization where diverse individuals can demonstrate their abilities and work together respecting each other | Achieve 70% of engagement score by FYE March 2029 | Employee attitudes survey (SUBARU) Engagement score | |
| Achieve 100 number of female managers by FYE March 2031 | Number of Female Managers (SUBARU) |
Social > Human Resources: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) |
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| Achieve 3.0% of employees with disabilities by FYE March 2031 | Employment rate of people with disabilities (SUBARU, SUBARU Living Service Co., Ltd., and SUBARU BLOOM Co., Ltd.) | ||||
| Environment | Cherish and protect the environment –the earth, the sky and nature– through Group-wide activities | Mitigating climate change (Achieve carbon neutrality in the entire life cycle) | Reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 60% by FYE March 2036, compared with FYE March 2017 (total volume basis) | CO2 emissions versus the base year | |
| Realizing a circular economy (Aim for zero environmental impact from resource extraction and disposal) | Reduce the total amount of waste by 1% annually versus BAU*3 emissions | Amount of waste generated | |||
| Achieve zero emissions*5 at production plants in Japan and overseas*4 | Amount of final disposal | ||||
| Aim for a 25% use rate of recycled plastics by FYE March 2031 | Use rate of sustainable materials | ||||
| Coexistence with nature (Aim for net zero impact on the natural environment) | Proper management of environmental impacts on the natural environment | Violations of regulation values/voluntary standard values | |||
| Expansion of protected areas aimed at reducing environmental impact | Number of protected areas aligned with management levels | ||||
| Compliance | Act in good faith and become a company that is trusted by and resonates with society | Permeating “Insightful Compliance” | Maintain zero serious compliance violations*6 | Employee ethics | |
| Supplier CSR survey |
- *1
- Aim for zero fatal traffic accidents among occupants of SUBARU vehicles and people involved in collisions with SUBARU vehicles, including pedestrians and cyclists.
- *2
- Excluding accidents involving violation of traffic rules or significant dangerous behavior by the other party, etc.
- *3
- Emissions under the current policy without further action (business-as-usual).
- *4
- SUBARU: Gunma Plant, Tokyo Office, Utsunomiya Plant; Group companies in Japan: Fuji Machinery Co., Ltd., Kiryu Kogyo Co.,Ltd., Ichitan Co., Ltd., Subaru Logistics Co., Ltd., Yusoki Kogyo K.K.; and Group companies overseas: Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc.
- *5
- Final disposal amount (total amount of direct landfill waste + landfill waste after intermediate processing) less than 0.5% of the total amount of waste (total amount of valuable resources + industrial waste + specially controlled industrial waste + general business-related waste).
- *6
- Compliance violations that could shake the foundations of SUBARU’s business.
The SUBARU Group’s Initiatives Connected to Priority Themes in the Six Priority Areas / Relevant SDGs / Why It Is Important to Us
Priority Area: People-oriented Mobility Culture| Priority Theme | The SUBARU Group’s Initiatives | Relevant SDGs |
|---|---|---|
| Offer mobility services and experiences that provide “Enjoyment and Peace of Mind” | Development of technology to enhance predictability of vehicle behavior through the driver’s five senses |
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| Development of products in accordance with market needs and changing times | ||
| Research and development of air mobility technology | ||
| Development of high-quality accessories integrated with new models | ||
| Design of parts that can be used in multiple vehicle models | ||
| Provision of digital services (MySubaru, SUBAROAD, etc.) | ||
| Planning of customer services using vehicle data | ||
| Why It Is Important to Us | ||
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The SUBARU Group has contributed to increasing customers’ options by respecting people’s diverse values and offering distinctive products tailored to diverse forms of market value. We believe that a car is more than just a means of transport, but rather a partner that enriches people’s lives by understanding and meeting their expectations. |
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| Priority Theme | The SUBARU Group’s Initiatives | Relevant SDGs |
|---|---|---|
| Offer mobility services and experiences that provide “Enjoyment and Peace of Mind” | Promotion of Monozukuri through plant tours and exhibitions |
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| Promotion of activities that lead to solutions to issues faced by local communities | Planning and promotion of plans to realize sustainable local communities | |
| Continued Love Promise activities in the U.S. | ||
| Proactive engagement in the Cherishing Every Life Project in Japan | ||
| Review of work assignments to reduce the burden on logistics workers | ||
| Road traffic safety awareness activities | ||
| Conducting community support activities during disasters and pandemics | ||
| Planned delivery of disaster prevention and rescue helicopters, etc. | ||
| Why It Is Important to Us | ||
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At SUBARU Group, when it comes to our business activities, we regard customers and local communities as some of our most important stakeholders. |
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| Priority Theme | The SUBARU Group’s Initiatives | Relevant SDGs |
|---|---|---|
| Be close to customers and pursue activities that always offer peace of mind | Instilling a customer-centric and quality-first mindset among employees |
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| Further provision of customer-oriented quality | ||
| Development of technologies aimed at zero fatal traffic accidents and integration of these technologies into vehicles | ||
| Sale and popularization of EyeSight-equipped vehicles | ||
| Provision of high-quality maintenance and service by dealerships | ||
| Provision of peace of mind from being watched over by connected technology | ||
| Pursuit of flight safety through autonomous technology | ||
| Why It Is Important to Us | ||
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SUBARU will deliver the peace of mind that cars must offer by manufacturing vehicles and providing associated services. |
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| Priority Theme | The SUBARU Group’s Initiatives | Relevant SDGs |
|---|---|---|
| Develop an organization where diverse individuals can demonstrate their abilities and work together respecting each other | Promoting women’s empowerment |
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| Promoting employment of people with disabilities | ||
| Support for senior employees to take on more active roles | ||
| Promotion of DEIB in the U.S. | ||
| Examination and promotion of creating workplaces where female employees in production departments can play an active role | ||
| Examination and promotion of a workplace environment that pays due consideration to non-Japanese human resources | ||
| Examination and promotion of a workplace environment that pays due consideration to LGBTQ+ persons | ||
| Fostering employee resonance and acceptance of management direction and initiatives | ||
| Construction and implementation of flexible work styles and systems | ||
| Why It Is Important to Us | ||
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Most companies today face social demand for diversity among their employees and diverse ways of working. SUBARU believes that continuing to offer products that contribute to increasing options for our customers and respecting diverse forms of market value will lead to sustainable growth for the company. |
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| Priority Theme | The SUBARU Group’s Initiatives | Relevant SDGs |
|---|---|---|
| Mitigating climate change (Achieve carbon neutrality in the entire life cycle) | Expansion of electric vehicle models, especially BEV development |
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| Improvement of fuel/power efficiency | ||
| Initiatives for the popularization of low-carbon fuel | ||
| Energy conservation through facility upgrades | ||
| Generation of renewable energy (on-site/off-site) | ||
| Purchase of carbon-neutral electricity (use of certificates, etc.) | ||
| Realizing a circular economy (Aim for zero environmental impact from resource extraction and disposal) | Design for recycling | |
| Effective use of resources (recycled resins/biomass/recycled materials) | ||
| Recycling and achieving zero emissions | ||
| Proper treatment processing of end-of-life vehicles | ||
| Coexistence with nature (Aim for net zero impact on the natural environment) | Compliance with environmental laws and regulations | |
| Water discharge quality management | ||
| Utilization of the Landscaping Guidelines | ||
| Promoting green space conservation activities | ||
| Why It Is Important to Us | ||
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In its Environmental Policies, SUBARU states that our fields of business are “the earth, the sky and nature” and focuses on efforts aimed at coexistence with nature. |
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| Priority Theme | The SUBARU Group’s Initiatives | Relevant SDGs |
|---|---|---|
| Permeating “Insightful Compliance” | Updating regulations and rules, and strengthening compliance with them |
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| Continued activities to promote autonomous employee behavior | ||
| Promoting proper business practices | ||
| Promoting initiatives to respect human rights | ||
| Conducting CSR surveys and awareness-raising activities for suppliers | ||
| Responsible raw material procurement | ||
| Compliance with various laws and regulations | ||
| Enhancing employee cybersecurity literacy | ||
| Strengthening cybersecurity measures in systems | ||
| Why It Is Important to Us | ||
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Having reflected on the previous lack of awareness of social norms in the execution of our duties, flaws in our internal rules, and the inadequate understanding of laws and regulations relevant to our operations, SUBARU is keenly aware of the need to change ways of thinking and completely change the culture. SUBARU will dedicate the whole of the SUBARU Group to promoting initiatives focused on compliance as a priority, with the aim of ensuring that SUBARU resonates with and inspires trust in our customers and all other stakeholders. |
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