Sustainability at TOPPANApproach to Sustainability
Fundamental Spirit since Founding
Since its founding, the TOPPAN Group has based its business activities on the fundamental tenets of “respect for human beings” and “a company is its people” and contributed to society by supplying high-quality products and services to customers. Responding sincerely to our customers’ requests and providing satisfaction has enabled us to gain their trust and expand our customer base by continuing to do business with them.
Beginning life as a startup launched by a group of engineers, we always work with a spirit of enterprise to create new value by applying and evolving our “printing technologies” and by fusing and combining the various elements and strengths of our company to drive growth.
Through these activities, the TOPPAN Group strives to build good relationships with all our stakeholders, including customers and business partners, employees, investors, and shareholders, and to be a company that is trusted and respected by society.
Basic Concept for Sustainability Management Set Out in TOPPAN VISION 21
The TOPPAN Group has expanded its business domains by providing diverse products and services in a wide range of fields. When we marked the 100th anniversary of our founding in 2000, we established TOPPAN VISION 21 and clarified our philosophical system in the form of the Corporate Structure and Business Fields. The Corporate Structure comprises the Corporate Philosophy, Corporate Creed, and Conduct Guidelines and clearly expresses our fundamental stance on sustainability management—aiming to be a company that creates social value to shape a sustainable society. At the same time, in terms of the Business Fields, we have indicated our intention to grow the business through the interaction between our Four Growth Fields and our Five Segments.
For the TOPPAN Group, expanding our business also means expanding the impact we have on society as a company. TOPPAN VISION 21 was an important milestone in terms of reconfirming our corporate social responsibilities, taking action to address social issues, and aiming to be a creator of social value.
The Corporate Philosophy, Corporate Creed, and Conduct Guidelines set out the values and approaches that the TOPPAN Group emphasizes, our vision for how employees should conduct themselves, and the direction for our business activities to take. They also clearly demonstrate our intention to address global issues, such as environmental conservation, human rights, and human assets, and to advance our business to help create a sustainable society.
Sustainability Management Focused on Global Goals
Following the establishment of TOPPAN VISION 21, we became a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact in 2006 to introduce more global concepts and guidelines. We support its Ten Principles in the four areas of Human Rights, Labour, Environment, and Anti-Corruption and have advance activities based on them. To further clarify guidelines across all sustainability-focused activities, we adopted the standards set out in ISO 26000 in 2011.
The TOPPAN SDGs STATEMENT was published in 2019 as a proactive response to global social issues. While focusing on contributing to achievement of the SDGs, we defined material issues for our business and for the Company as a whole and reconfirmed the importance of providing solutions to social issues through business. In “TOPPAN Business Action for SDGs,” which was devised in 2020, we identified specific areas of focus for Business Materiality, and in 2021 we set specific target figures and gave shape to activities to achieve them.
Providing Solutions to Social Issues Worldwide through DX and SX
The TOPPAN Group is driving globalization of its business. Roughly 30% of our sales revenue comes from operations outside Japan, and we have more than 150 overseas locations. This means it is imperative that as a company we are proactive in addressing such issues as human rights and the damage caused by climate change. We aim to make a sustainable global society a reality by incorporating perspectives on numerous social issues into our business and driving solutions by creating value through our business.
In the Medium Term Plan published in 2021, we set out the key concept of “Digital & Sustainable Transformation” to accelerate these activities across the entire Group and enhance enterprise value by synchronizing business growth and sustainability. Based on DX and SX, we are transforming the business portfolio and concentrating resources on growth and priority fields. In order to drive that strategy emphatically across the Group, we adopted a holding company structure in October 2023. We will aim to create value by fusing the unique strengths of TOPPAN Group companies to generate synergies and work together with a greater sense of unity to deliver solutions to social issues.
The Essence of Our Approach to Sustainability in TOPPAN’s Purpose & Values
With increasing uncertainty and geopolitical risk in global society and economies, we considered our Purpose & Values based on the questions of what kind of entity we should be and what kind of action we should take as a global company. By clarifying the common “purpose” and fundamental “values” to be shared across the TOPPAN Group as a new philosophy, we will foster a sense of unity and enhance our co-creation capabilities.
The Purpose & Values indicate the enduring role and position that the TOPPAN Group should fulfill in a sustainable society. The essence of our sustainability management is breathing the life of culture into society through our business activities and contributing to people’s spiritual fulfillment, going beyond fulfilment simply in material terms. In global social and economic circumstances clouded by uncertainty, we will be consistent in advancing sustainability based on this universal approach.