Message from the President

We are trying to become a sustainable company that can solve problems facing society through our unique ceramic technologies.

In recent years, challenges such as uncertainty in international politics and increasingly serious global environmental problems have dramatically altered the environment in which we operate. Facing such circumstances, we feel a strong sense of crisis and know that we must adapt in order to survive as a company.

In 2021, with an eye toward 2050, we announced our medium- to long-term vision as the NGK Group Vision: Road to 2050. Therein, we envision what we want to be based on our Group philosophy of "enriching human life by adding new value to society." And we have defined five transformations to enact in order to achieve this vision. With these five transformations, our Groups has positioned ESG at the core of our management activities, as evidenced by their immediate embrace of ESG management that emphasizes the environmental, social, and governance.
In April 2023, we formulated the NGK Group Basic Sustainability Policy and identified several material issues to further clarify the direction of the NGK Group.

The NGK Group Basic Sustainability Policy serves as a guideline for future ESG management, and clearly outlines three areas: 1) Basic approach, 2) Identification of material issues (materiality) and promotion of initiatives, and 3) Responsibilities of the Board of Directors. The issues that are material with respect to achieving our vision, are those which are important to both the NGK Group and to our stakeholders, as well as those which have been identified as specific issues facing society which the NGK Group should focus on. If we want to expand our business globally in the future, I believe that we must be able to properly explain to stakeholders what the NGK Group aims to achieve and what we believe is important when conducting business. I also believe that identifying material issues will make it easier for employees to understand and embrace the reasons they take responsibility for this business.

Among the material issues we need to address, one that is particularly important to our stakeholders and has a large impact on our business, is climate change. There is tremendous potential for us to take advantage of NGK Group technologies in products and services that help reduce CO₂ emissions. Any individual or company can reduce their own CO₂ emissions, but only a few companies can develop businesses that contribute to the direct reduction of CO₂ emissions. Toward this end, I want to promote concrete business development to further contribute to emissions reductions.

Another area that I believe we should focus on is respect for human rights. In 2021, we established the NGK Group Human Rights Policy and are accelerating our efforts to promote respect for human rights. This includes conducting human rights due diligence surveys at all Group locations. We recognize that it is necessary for us to further deepen such efforts throughout our entire supply chain as we move forward.

Since our founding, the NGK Group's reason for existing has been to solve the problems facing society through our products and services. So we have engaged in management that had led to our current ESG approach. In light of the changing times, we have further clarified the direction the NGK Group should take by formulating our Basic Sustainability Policy and identifying several materiality issues. But our underlying values and passion remain unchanged. We aim to review and recognize the things we have worked on and built up in the more than 100 years since our founding, then use these to further enhance ESG management.