Sustainability
Social Contribution Activities
The NGK Group establishes herein the NGK Group Social Contribution Activities Policy and will actively engage in various activities to realize a sustainable society.
Basic Approach
We will help to solve social issues through our business activities in various regions across the globe. In addition, as a member of society, with the aim of being a corporate citizen trusted by local communities, we will strive to cooperate and collaborate with diverse partners and undertake social contribution activities in response to needs in each region.
NGK Group Social Contribution Activities Policy
The NGK Group’s social contribution activities are promoted by the General Affairs Department under the leadership of the ESG Management Committee. NGK collects reports from Group companies in and outside Japan on the social contribution activities they have conducted in various places. In FY2023, a total of 59 reports were received.
Social contribution expenditures
Number of social contribution programs
Number of collaborations with NPOs/NGOs
Breakdown of Activities
NGK’s Social Contribution Activities
Providing Scholarships and Assistance to International Students [People, Education, and Community Relations]
In 1998, NGK established the NGK Foundation for International Students to facilitate the cultivation of individuals who will contribute to the development of the international community. Through the Foundation, NGK continues to provide assistance with housing and scholarships to overseas students visiting Japan.
The impetus for the Foundation’s establishment stems from gratitude for the warm community support and hospitality shown to NGK’s first employees and families posted overseas at the time of its initial overseas expansion back in the 1930s. Our activities are conducted in the hope that the students will feel glad that they came to Japan and develop a fondness for the country.
On April 1, 2022, this Foundation became a Public Interest Incorporated Foundation. In FY2023, we provided housing to 33 students from five countries, and scholarships (non-repayable) to 22 students from 11 countries.
The NGK Foundation for International Students
Exchange Between Supported Students, Local Residents, and Employees
To advance international relations between supported students, local residents, and employees, since the year 2000, we have held annual exchange meetings where international students introduce their native languages and cultures. In FY2023 we held seven exchange meetings at our dormitory and Ishiki Cosmos Futaebori Class (a Japanese class for foreign children living in Komaki, Aichi Prefecture and housed in one of the rooms of the NGK company dormitory). A total of 30 people participated, including residents living near the dormitory, and students and teachers from our Ishiki Cosmos Futaebori Class. Chinese language classes were held six times at our dormitory, and participants in the Ishiki Cosmos Futaebori Class were introduced to Indonesian culture. As of FY2023 a cumulative total of 1,083 people have participated in such exchange meetings.
Communication After Support Ends
In FY2023, we distributed NGK International Friendship Club Members Cards to international students whose support had ended. In addition, to maintain relationships with international students after support ends, we sent New Year’s cards with updates on the Foundation and NGK to around 300 exchange students and alumni who have received support in the past.
Japanese Language Learning Support for Foreign Children Living in Japan [People, Education, and Community Relations]
In FY2022, NGK began providing support for foreign children living in Komaki, Aichi Prefecture to learn Japanese. We are working in coordination with the private organization Ishiki Cosmos Support Study Group, which is based in the city.
In addition, we dispatched teaching assistants to local Japanese classes sponsored by the Aichi Employers' Association, Central Japan Economic Federation, and other organizations (6 organizations). And NGK employees who have been stationed overseas leveraged their knowledge and skills in the Japanese language classes held in NGK’s employee dormitory and one of the rooms in our facilities to help boost children’s language learning proficiency to that necessary for studying the subjects taught in Japanese schools.
FY2023 Results
| Classroom | Location | Activity Time | No. of Children | No. of NGK Registered Assistants | No. of Times Held | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ishiki Cosmos Futaebori Class | NGK Komaki Dormitory | Every Wednesday and Friday, 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm | 18 | 24 | 90 | |
| Local Japanese Classes | MIRAI Project | NGK Chita Kosei Hall | Every Thursday, 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm | 9 | 8 | 18 |
| Aiueoguchi in Oguchi-town, Aichi Minato Japanese School in Nagoya-city, Aichi Children’s Japanese in Nagakute-city, Aichi Kodomo nihongo hiroba in Higashiura-town, Aichi |
Differs for each class | Differs for each class | Differs for each class | 5 | - | |
Support for Wheelchair Tennis [Community Relations]
NGK supports wheelchair tennis as part of our support for persons with disabilities and for local sports.
We assist talented wheelchair tennis athletes based in Aichi Prefecture in various ways, such as helping to fund their travel inside Japan and overseas. From 2020 to 2022, we established a new hard court and clay court and renovated the clubhouse and outdoor restrooms at the NGK Group company-operated Moronoki Tennis Club (located in Midori-ku in Nagoya City) to make them wheelchair-friendly, since the facilities are open to wheelchair tennis athletes and aficionados alike. NGK has also signed an official partnership agreement with the Japan Wheelchair Tennis Association (JWTA), with whom we work to sponsor annual events, competitions, and other opportunities for expanding and developing the sport of wheelchair tennis. In FY2023, we held a pep rally for wheelchair tennis athletes, cooperated in the Wheelchair Tennis Experience Program organized by the Social Welfare Corporation Nagoya City Rehabilitation Agency, and held an exchange event for “new mixed doubles*” athletes, and talk events for the athletes we support.
A game style which pairs a wheelchair athlete with an able-bodied athlete
Reforestation Activities “NGK Minnano Mori Mizunami” [Environment, Community Relations]
NGK carries out reforestation activities promoted by the Western Tono Beekeeping and Forestry Cooperation Promotion Roundtable in forest owned by NGK in Hiyoshi-cho, Mizunami City, Gifu Prefecture (17 ha). We carry out these reforestation activities with the aim of contributing to regional development. Through them, we hope to create a rich natural environment, promote beekeeping which is one of the local industries in the Tono region, and create opportunities to interact with local residents and learn about the natural environment. In FY2023, we conducted wildlife surveys (plants and animals), and felled hazardous trees and maintained major roads to preserve biodiversity, and create rich and healthy forest resources.
Also, we partnered with beekeeping operations to promote local industry, and aimed to raise environmental awareness through contact with the natural environment. To these ends, we conducted activities in cooperation with the Gifu Prefecture program “Creating forests in collaboration with companies” which included forest workshops, forest cleanups by NGK employees, and the like.
In March 2024, part of the “NGK Minnano Mori Mizunami” —an area of approximately 5.6 ha which includes spring-fed wetlands and hardwood forests of local origin—was designated a Nationally Certified Sustainably Managed Natural Site by the Ministry of the Environment.
