NEC Announces Progress on Environmental, Social and governance initiatives to support sustainable growth for the company and society

Sep 30, 2022 14:48 JST

Source: NEC Corporation

TOKYO, Sep 30, 2022 - (JCN Newswire) - NEC Corporation (TSE: 6701) is promoting initiatives to support sustainability in accordance with policies that aim to "Contribute to Solving Social Issues through Our Business Activities," "Strengthen Risk Management and Enforce Compliance," and "Promote Communication with Stakeholders." Under the Mid-term Management Plan 2025(1), NEC is committed to reinforcing non-financial measurement methodologies to underpin sustainable growth for the company and society.

The progress made thus far is outlined in the NEC Sustainability Report 2022 posted on the NEC Global website.

1. Started correlation analysis using financial and non-financial data to practice integrated thinking

In order to identify non-financial initiatives that will lead to greater corporate value, NEC has initiated measures to visualize how non-financial efforts affect financial performance in cooperation with ABeam Consulting Ltd. According to this analysis, NEC has confirmed that there is a strong correlation between Price-to-Book Ratio (P/B) and non-financial indicators, such as "the number of women serving as department heads or higher" and "training days per employee."

2. Strengthened commitment to climate change and launched scenario analysis on a business-by-business basis in line with TCFD recommendations

In 2021, NEC announced its aim for net zero greenhouse gas emissions, not only from its direct business operations, but also throughout its supply chain, aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050. In line with this enhanced target, NEC was validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and has joined RE100, which strives to significantly expand the adoption of renewable energy(2). Furthermore, NEC has launched a new project to conduct "climate scenario analysis" to anticipate risks and opportunities for each business due to climate change in light of visions of society for 2030 and 2050.

3. Continue to strengthen materiality initiatives in the social sector

NEC's business is highly public so that information security and cyber security are material issues for the company in the social field. In order to be properly evaluated, NEC discloses the status of security measures to its customers, investors and other stakeholders through the "Information Security Report 2022."

NEC is accelerating diversity and reforming work styles in order to achieve a 50% employee engagement score under the Mid-term Management Plan 2025. In 2021, town hall meetings, in which NEC's CEO spoke directly to approximately 170 thousand employees in total and engaged in two-way dialogues, were held 10 times in Japan and 26 times in other areas. As a result of such activities, the employee engagement score improved by 10 points from the previous year to 35% in 2021.

4. Strengthen corporate governance

In an era of increasing uncertainty and rapid change, NEC believes that a system that regularly incorporates external opinions is essential for confirming the company's direction and improving its initiatives. Therefore, NEC established the Sustainability Advisory Committee, whose members include the CFO, the officer in charge of promoting sustainability.

The "NEC Group Human Rights Policy"(3) was revised in accordance with the "UN Guiding Principles" (UNGP) to provide precise guidelines for maintaining "Respect for Human Rights" as set forth by the NEC Way's Principles to realize a sustainable society that enables each individual to achieve their full potential.

In recognition of NEC's ESG initiatives, the company has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices World Index (DJSI World) and the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices Asia Pacific Index(4) for the second year in a row. Furthermore, NEC has been continuously included in the FTSE4Good Index Series(5) and the MSCI ESG Leaders Indexes(6).

In the environmental field, NEC has been recognized for leadership in corporate sustainability by global environmental non-profit CDP, securing a place on its prestigious "A List" three years in a row for tackling climate change, as well as acting to protect water security(7). NEC has also been listed as a "Supplier Engagement Leader" within the Supplier Engagement Rating on climate issues for two consecutive years. In 2020 and 2021, NEC was awarded with a "Platinum" sustainability ranking as part of the top 1% of companies worldwide from EcoVadis(8), which assesses suppliers.

NEC aims to create the social values of safety, security, fairness and efficiency to promote a more sustainable world where everyone has the chance to reach their full potential. Moreover, NEC contributes to all 17 SDGs by actively engaging with various stakeholders and leveraging the power of ICT to address social challenges.

(1) Mid-term Management Plan 2025
www.nec.com/en/global/ir/library/plan2025.html
(2) NEC upgrades its greenhouse gas reduction target to SBT1.5℃ and joins RE100, a global renewable energy initiative
www.nec.com/en/press/202106/global_20210611_01.html
(3) NEC Group Human Rights Policy
www.nec.com/en/global/csr/pdf/human_rights_en.pdf
(4) NEC Listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI)
www.nec.com/en/press/202111/global_20211122_02.html
(5) An ESG index created by FTSE Russell (UK), a wholly owned subsidiary of London Stock Exchange Group. NEC has been included in the FTSE4Good Index Series since September 2002.
(6) An ESG index created by MSCI (US). NEC has been included in the MSCI ESG Leaders Indexes since 2015.
(7) NEC named to the CDP "A List" for advanced Climate Change and Water Security initiatives three years in a row
www.nec.com/en/press/202112/global_20211208_01.html
(8) EcoVadis assesses suppliers with a methodology built on international sustainability standards, covering 190 spend categories and 160+ countries.

Its Sustainability Scorecard illustrates performance across 21 indicators in four themes: Environment, Labor & Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement.

From 2012 NEC was awarded with the "Gold" sustainability ranking in the top 5% of companies, and in 2020 and 2021 NEC was awarded the "Platinum" ranking.

NEC Sustainability Report 2022
www.nec.com/en/global/csr/report/index.html

Information Security Report 2022
www.nec.com/en/global/csr/security/index.html

About NEC Corporation

NEC Corporation has established itself as a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies while promoting the brand statement of "Orchestrating a brighter world." NEC enables businesses and communities to adapt to rapid changes taking place in both society and the market as it provides for the social values of safety, security, fairness and efficiency to promote a more sustainable world where everyone has the chance to reach their full potential. For more information, visit NEC at https://www.nec.com.

Source: NEC Corporation
Sectors: Cloud & Enterprise