The impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake

First and foremost, I would like to reiterate my heartfelt sympathy on behalf of everyone in the Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings (MCHC) Group to the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011. We hope for the earliest possible restoration of the affected area.
Within the MCHC Group, a total of 26 plants and distribution facilities (16 companies) across six prefectures were damaged by the disaster, including Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation’s Kashima Plant. Thanks to subsequent efforts across the Group, we managed to restart our ethylene production facilities at the Kashima Plant by the end of June, and have now successfully restored the majority of our operations. I extend my sincerest gratitude to all those from around the world who provided us with their generous support during this time.

We believe that we and other companies in the chemical industry can contribute greatly to restoration and rebuilding Japan by providing basic materials and diverse products and services.

With society at an important turning point, what needs to be done?

The disaster and the ensuing nuclear crisis have compelled us to change not only our energy policy but also our shared values.
At the same time, we still need to overcome serious challenges such as climate change, the destruction of the environment, the depletion of resources, the uneven distribution of food and water, and threats to biodiversity. In this context, the MCHC Group is examining what it needs to do as a company to ensure sustainable development.

Based on its philosophy “Good Chemistry for Tomorrow – Creating better relationships among people, society, and our planet.,” the Group has outlined its aspiration for the year 2025 in APTSIS 10, the previous mid-term management plan (FY2008-FY2010), and has adopted three decision criteria for its corporate activities: Sustainability, Health, and Comfort to achieve our aspiration. The Group has been restructuring its operations and executing its growth strategy on the basis of these criteria. During this time, however, speculative trends have caused major damage to the real economy, not least in terms of soaring oil prices and the Lehman Brothers crisis, and the challenge of reducing the environmental impact has become a significant priority.
I recognized the importance of incorporating new value into our management practices to ensure sustainable development.

Thus, I have adopted a four-dimensional approach to management to facilitate this. In addition to the existing Business Administration axis and Management of Technology (MOT) axis, we have incorporated a third axis called the Management of SUSTAINABILITY (MOS) axis for resolving environmental and social challenges. With Time an important fourth axis, the MCHC Group has created the basis for its operations.

We refer to the value created through this approach as “KAITEKI value.” My role as CEO is to maximize this value and respond to the demands of the times. To translate our management approach into practical action, we have devised MOS indexes, which visualize and quantify progress in activities based on the MOS axis. The indexes have been introduced as part of our APTSIS 15 mid-term management plan, which came into effect in April 2011.

KAITEKI means a state of true SUSTAINABILITY, and also represents comfort for people, comfort for society, and comfort for the planet as a whole.

• The process of creating MOS indexes

Introducing MOS indexes as part of our new mid-term management plan

Under our APTSIS 15 mid-term management plan – “Grow, Innovate, and Leap Ahead by Orchestrating the Group’s Strengths” – we have set out clear, numerical targets for MOS indexes that are compatible with our financial targets for fiscal 2015.

As part of MOS indexes, the MCHC Group has also adopted specific targets for initiatives relating to "corporate ethics (compliance)," "safety and the environment," "human rights and labor," "corporate governance," and "disclosure," representing the cornerstones of its corporate activities. The Group is committed to consistently reinforcing and improving the quality of its activities, based on the PDCA (plan, do, check, act) cycle.

Putting KAITEKI into practice with our stakeholders

From this year onward, the MCHC Group will be publishing a KAITEKI Report in place of its usual CSR Report. The aim of the KAITEKI Report is to underline our determination to tackle the challenges we face and to embody the concept of KAITEKI. Harnessing our strengths, we will continue to put KAITEKI into practice in partnership with our stakeholders.