Dentsu Integrated Report 2018

We are approaching an age that demands transformations unlike any that Japanese society has experienced up to now. The changes are required in areas from digitization to the working environment and the realization of a diverse and inclusive society. Amid significant changes in the working environment, there are demands that corporations like ours also embrace this new society.

As a result, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Committee has been holding serious discussions on a broad range of social issues faced inside the Company as well as by external stakeholders. The issues include the environment, social and governance (ESG) criteria emphasized by institutional investors and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In terms of a standard of corporate evaluation, I believe the ESG criteria will become increasingly important. The Dentsu Group’s CSR Committee, the main promoter of the criteria, is committed to proactively disseminating relevant information outside the Company. At the same time, we are increasing our focus on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices and the Carbon Disclosure Project.

To this end and through an employee initiative, we have created Group-wide project teams to engage in such activities as seminars to raise employee awareness, as well as to conduct surveys on consumer awareness of the SDGs. We believe the teams provide each employee an opportunity to consider what their social value is to society, and how they might work for society. We expect this will provide employees with a chance to attain personal growth.

The CSR activities demanded by society are not limited to social contributions, but include those realized through business activities, thus more than anything else, they represent an opportunity for employees to build relationships with society. We will continue to strengthen the efforts directed at our stakeholders and driven by the CSR Promotion Committee members, which promotes CSR activities in each Group department.

Even as times change in the face of progress, the ideas of employees and their gift of visualization remain the core competence of the Group’s marketing and communications business. We thus hope to ensure a freer and more flexible environment to facilitate creativity as we take on new challenges Group-wide.