Nikkei Research has been conducting various surveys to evaluate the efforts related to SDGs of companies and local governments. Such as the Nikkei SDGs Management Survey and the nationwide Cities & Counties SDGs Advancement Survey, to name a few. We will introduce what outcomes can be obtained by SDGs management and advanced case studies toward combating climate change and achieving carbon-zero, which has become an urgent issue nowadays.
We interviewed Sumitomo Life Insurance Company and asked about their continuous data-driven practices and internal penetration.
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Sumitomo Life aims to become an “indispensable” life insurance company that contributes to “well-being for all”. They have been collaborating with Nikkei Research to promote the SDGs in align with its corporate philosophy, “Management Policy”, for internal penetration. We interviewed Mr. Takashi Tange, Senior Assistant General Manager, and Ms. Miki Nakahira, Assistant General Manager of the Brand Communication Department of Sumitomo Life Insurance, to find out how they make use of the survey results.
Q. First, could you tell us about the “Brand Communication Department”?
Mr. Tange: The Brand Communication Department is responsible for the corporate branding. I am on the team in charge of internal branding. Our company's corporate philosophy, “Management Policy”, states that we should “Contribute to the advancement of social and public welfare”, so my team is also promoting the internal penetration of the SDGs, which roots to the same purpose.
Ms. Nakahira: I belong to the team in charge of CSR and external branding, and I am particularly in charge of the SDGs. I am also involved in the preparation of integrated reports and other documents in terms of SDGs.
Q. Why did you need Nikkei Research's service on SDGs and how did you make use of it?
Ms. Nakahira: We needed the service because the survey results are published in the Nikkei newspaper. Businesspeople, executives, and university students seeking for a career would be most likely to be reading it, so I thought it was important.
Mr. Tange: The results of ourselves in the first survey were not as good as we had expected, so we used the benchmark report to analyze the reasons. Since it gives us a bird’s eye view of our strengths and weaknesses, we especially pay attention to our weaknesses compared to other companies in the four areas assessed -- “SDGs Strategy and Economic Value”, “Social Value”, “Environmental Value”, and “Governance”.
For example, in the first survey, the score for "Governance" was slightly low, but we found that this was caused because we did not sufficiently answer the questions that were difficult for a mutual company to answer. Our score improved significantly in the second survey, as we were able to respond to the questions by using the benchmark report as our reference.
Ms. Nakahira: We run a comparison analysis with the top ranked companies in the finance industry and leading companies that are proactively practicing SDGs. We choose the same industry when comparing results because we believe that strengths and weaknesses as well as the way they are evaluated in terms of SDGs differ by industry and types of company. We are also targeting the efforts of these companies.
Mr. Tange: When sharing the information internally, we need to move quick, so our department analyzes the benchmark report and send out the summary of areas that improved and areas that still need improvement by e-mail to executives and heads of relevant departments. From the results, each department would consider how to improve them.
Ms. Nakahira: The benchmark report is very useful for us in sharing with each department, the current status and the understandings of what we are doing well and what we are lagging compared to other companies. The charts are very easy to understand and the way they are presented is also very insightful.
Q. Please tell us about your efforts to promote the SDGs within the company.
Mr. Tange: For example, we hand out SDG lapel pins to those who wish, and at the same time we explain the company's initiatives using videos and documents. We also work with the HR department to add SDGs to the training materials for the new employees. We believe that it is important for each and every employee to understand how their work is related to the SDGs and how they contribute to society, to be empathized and to perform their duties by taking it as their own matter.
Ms. Nakahira: In July 2021, our department hosted an online event for executives and employees to discuss "well-being for all”. The event was open to all employees and attracted over 10,000 participants across Japan, with over 6,000 comments in the chat. Under the COVID situation making us difficult to get together, I think new methods like the online events are effective.
Q. Please tell us about your future plans.
Mr. Tange: We are planning to add a part on SDGs in the employee survey to see how much they understand, sympathize, and take it as their own matter. Based on the results, we would like to consider our next actions. The SDGs are attracting more and more attention and are expected to expand further toward 2030. We would like to take in more of the Nikkei Research's services to drive further internal understanding and progress, so we can contribute and achieve the goals set in the SDGs.
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