Material Issues
With the formulation of Casio's Basic Policies for 2030 and medium-term management plan, we have augmented existing material issues for corporate social responsibility (CSR) with additional issues aimed at achieving sustainable corporate growth. This has resulted in eight material issues organized into three groups: value creation through business, enhancement of management capital, and strengthening of management foundation.
* For information regarding the conventional materiality (including last year's goals and KPI performance reports), please refer to this
Objective and process in identifying new material issues
In response to the release of the 4th edition of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Guidelines, Casio identified in 2015 a series of material issues requiring its attention, and has been utilizing the PDCA cycle within sustainable management to make progress in these areas. Now, in an environment undergoing dramatic changes, Casio believes that the best course of action is to return to its tradition and essence of value creation as a foundation for generating innovation. To this end, Casio has redefined its material issues to be more in line with its management strategy, identifying new issues to better drive actionable initiatives.
These material issues are divided into three groups: value creation through business, enhancement of management capital, and strengthening of management foundation. Within value creation through business, we aim to create new innovations that meet and exceed consumer needs, in line with the core concept of our Basic Policies for 2030 Goal Achievement. Enhancement of management capital and strengthening of management foundation are designed to support achievement of value creation through business. With particular emphasis on three kinds of management capital—human capital, intellectual capital, and manufactured capital—we have selected issues under four themes to achieve strengthening of management foundation.
New material issues
To identify its material issues, Casio first created an issue list using a political, economic, social, and technological (PEST) analysis of environmental changes and social conditions with importance for the Company. We then prepared a list of key environmental and social issues based on various guidelines, and identified risks and opportunities for each. Each issue was then evaluated for its importance level, taking into account the state of its countermeasures. Issues important to Casio and important with respect to the environment and society were integrated, forming three groups and our hypothetical material issue set. This hypothesis was then tested for validity in sessions with our top management and external experts, after which material issues were finalized by approval of the Board of Directors.
Identification process
Setting concrete goals and KPIs
To address the material issues we have identified, ensure awareness throughout the organization, and promote action, we set related targets and KPIs in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025. We will use these targets and KPIs to monitor our performance in each fiscal year and successively disclose the results of our review.
When setting the targets and KPIs, we hold repeated discussions with the managers of the relevant departments, the president, the Corporate Planning Department, and departments engaged in investor relations, and gain approval from the Management Meeting and through subsequent follow-up.
Material Issue Group 01 Value creation through business
Material issue |
Outline goal Continue to address social issues through business model reform in line with social changes to create new value focuses |
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| Core business | Focus area | Main activities | Targets for FYE 3/2025 and FYE 3/2026 | Target for FYE 3/2031 |
| Timepieces | ● Providing products and services to realize diverse lifestyles | ●Proposing ethical lifestyles | ● Rate of adoption of environment-friendly solutions such as biomass plastics in new G-SHOCK product models (plastic): 60% or more (FYE 3/2026) | ● Rate of adoption of environment-friendly solutions such as biomass plastics in new product models (plastic): 90% or more |
| Education | ●Providing superior educational tools together with frontline educational support ●Providing products and services that use ICT to improve learning efficiency |
● Stimulating and expanding demand in emerging countries ● Supporting the learning environment by strengthening digital transformation (DX) |
● GAKUHAN focus countries: Rate of increase of scientific calculator unit sales vs. FYE 3/2024: 1.4 times (FYE 3/2025) 2.0 times (FYE 3/2026) ●Rate of growth in registered teacher network vs. FYE 3/2024: 1.2 times (FYE 3/2025) 1.4 times (FYE 3/2026) ● Number of schools adopting education app package vs. FYE 3/2024: 130% (FYE 3/2025) 250% (FYE 3/2026) |
● Providing products, services, and teaching materials that boost learner curiosity |
| Sound | ● Creating new sound experiences to bring joy to people’s lives | ●Research and development of products and services that enable hobby and casual users to enjoy music | ● Net sales ratio of highvalue- added genres (distinctive categories utilizing Slim & Smart technology): 70% (FYE 3/2026) |
●Providing products and services that offer new experiences related to sound |
Material Issue Group 02 Enhancement of management capital
Human capital
| Material issue Building trust and resonance with employees |
Outline goal Develop human resources who think and act on their own initiative and foster a culture where all employees are motivated to perform |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Focus area | Main activities | Targets for FYE 3/2025 and FYE 3/2026 | Target for FYE 3/2031 |
| Promoting health and productivity management | ● Measures to maintain White 500 certification | ● Maintaining White 500 certification | |
| ● Range of measures to promote health and productivity management | ● Take-up rate of childcare leave and annual leave among male employees: 85.1%/87.6% ●Health check follow-up implementation rate 84.3%/86.9% ● Proportion of employees with healthy body weight: 70.8%/72.4% ● Smoking rate 13.0%/12.5% |
● 100% ● 100% ● 80% ● 10% |
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| Developing autonomous human resources | ● Strategy for continued implementation of career training program | ● Proportion of regular employees covered by career training program: 45.0%/59.8% | ● 100% |
| ● Ongoing implementation of “job challenge” internal transfer program | ● Cumulative number of “job challenge” internal transfer program participants: 150/188 | ● 300 | |
| Strengthening management | ● Cultivating executive candidates | ● Number of participants in future executive candidate cultivation program: 15/21 | ● 50 |
| ● Promoting diversity and inclusion ● Ongoing unconscious bias training |
● Number of participants in future female manager candidate cultivation program: 27/38 ● Ratio of female managers: 6.8%/7.4% ● Regular employee gender wage disparity 76.3%/76.9% |
● 90 ● 10％ ● 80％ |
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Intellectual capital
| Material issue Deepening and innovating technologies and expertise |
Outline goal Continue contribution to enriched lifestyles and development of a sustainable society by providing services and products backed by technology that benefit people and society |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Focus area | Main activities | Targets for FYE 3/2025 and FYE 3/2026 | 2Target for FYE 3/2031 |
| Developing new business domains that link products and services | ● Specific measures to launch new businesses in designated new domains | ● Launching new businesses/new genres (FYE 3/2026) | ● Identifying the needs of people and society to build an ecosystem linking products and services in parallel with technology development |
| ● Energizing open innovation | ● Strategic business alliances with other companies (FYE 3/2026) | ||
| ● Planning for all developers to acquire marketing skills | ● Participation rate of developers in customer focus/ design focus training: 50% or more (FYE 3/2026) | ||
| Creating new value through integrated development from materials to products and services and technology evolution | ●Developing AI utilization technology and applying to new value creation | ● Integrating AI utilization technology into products and services (FYE 3/2026) | |
| ●Developing new technology components | ● Net sales contribution of 15% or more (FYE 3/2026) | ||
| Developing environmentfriendly technology | ● Executing a “green recovery” | ● Reducing virgin plastic use, mainly in compact products such as timepieces, calculators, etc. FYE 3/2026 target vs. FYE 3/2021: Products -10%; packaging -70% | |
Manufactured capital
| Material issue Building a resilient global supply chain |
Outline goal Build a sustainable supply chain responsive to business risk and social responsibility |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Focus area | Main activities | Targets for FYE 3/2025 and FYE 3/2026 | Target for FYE 3/2031 |
| Strengthening business continuity system throughout supply chain | ● Formulating business continuity plan (BCP) for production operations in the event of a disaster or geopolitical risk | ●Enhancing preparedness through timely review of BCP issues in coordination with management priority issues (China risk and priority areas of portfolio) | |
| Realizing a responsible supply chain | ● Monitoring and improving supply chain in terms of respect for human rights and environmental protection | ●Continuing audit of conditions at primary suppliers (100%) and establishing improvement cycle ● Continuing on-site audits in China and Thailand (total of 12 sites visited in FYE 3/2020) |
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| ● Providing corporate social responsibility (CSR) training to business partners to build sustainable partnerships | ● Conducting CSR training once a year (every fiscal year) | ||
Material Issue Group 03 Strengthening of management foundation
| Material issue Strengthening the corporate governance system |
Outline goals ・Gain genuine public trust by firmly embedding a sound corporate culture with high levels of integrity ・Achieve sustainable improvement in corporate value through appropriate and efficient business operation |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Focus area | Main activities | Targets for FYE 3/2025 and FYE 3/2026 | Target for FYE 3/2031 |
| Instilling integrity awareness and maintaining and improving compliance awareness | ●Creating organization with integrity | ● Promoting awareness among senior executives and managerial staff ● Providing training in Casio Business Conduct Guidelines and holding study sessions ● Conducting employee survey and assessing and improving knowledge of guidelines |
● Continuing to be a company trusted by the public based on sound corporate activities |
| ● Strengthening compliance | ●Building compliance structure at global bases ● Conducting compliance education and training ● Promoting use of whistleblower system |
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| Improving effectiveness of Board of Directors as well as upgrading, expanding, and improving internal control | ● Improving effectiveness of the Board of Directors | ● Promoting a more diverse composition for the Board of Directors including outside directors ● Responding to recommendations based on the results of the evaluation of the effectiveness of the Board of Directors |
● Achieving sustainable improvement of corporate value based on highly effective supervision of management combined with ensuring of appropriate and efficient business execution |
| ● Strengthening internal control system | ● Establishing internal control system at Group companies and a Group company support system at the Head Office ● Carrying out review to improve internal control system at global bases |
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| ● Upgrading director compensation system | ● Introducing director compensation system to promote management with emphasis on market value and identification with investor interests | ||
| Strengthening global risk management | ● Building centralized management system for important risks | ● Identifying important risks and carrying out thorough risk management activity at global bases ● Identifying local risk and carrying out thorough risk management activity in each department and Group company ● Conducting information security-related training |
● Achieving sustainable corporate value enhancement based on identification of various risks in Casio’s business environment and rigorous risk management |
| Material issue Advancing DX and strengthening information security |
Outline goal Build a user-centered value chain |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Focus area | Main activities | Targets for FYE 3/2025 and FYE 3/2026 | Targets for FYE 3/2031 |
| Upgrading business activity and improving business efficiency | ● Strengthening one-toone communication | Direct e-commerce ● Proportion of countries within our global operations with directto- consumer (D2C) service available: 90%/100% ● Rate of increase in D2C traffic vs. FYE 3/2024: 120%/120% |
● Using data obtained through D2C business in a user-centered value chain to provide new customer experiences ● Utilizing AI in a wide range of operations to promote work process optimization |
| ● Optimizing B2B sales activity | B2B sales activity ● Rate of introduction of sales activity system for products covered: 80%/100% |
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| ● Promoting AI utilization | ● Rate of operational efficiency increase through generative AI*1: 15%/20% | ||
| Cultivating DX human resources | ● Cultivating human resources capable of driving DX | ●Rate of employee participation in basic DX training*1: 100%/100% ● Rate of employee participation in basic AI utilization training*1: 25%/50% ● Number of participants in core staff DX training*1: 2 or more/3 or more in each department |
● Enabling each employee to make maximum use of digital tools and data for efficient execution of creative and advanced operations |
| Strengthening information security management | ● Maintaining certification by third-party institutions ● Strengthening global security measures ● Continuing conduct of global information security training and enhancing content |
●Maintaining Information Security Management System (ISMS) certification*1 ●Rate of introduction of zero trust networks at Group companies: 60%/90% ● Rate of participation in basic security training by employees in Japan and overseas: 100%/100% ● Rate of participation of system managers in specialist security training: 100%/100% ● Holding of cybersecurity drills*1: Once or more |
●Visualizing security threats at all Group companies and putting automatic cyberattack detection and response structures in place that realize risk reduction and rapid emergency response |
*1 Targets for parent company only (Casio Computer Co., Ltd.)
| Material issue Strengthening environmental management |
Outline goal Drive efforts to reduce environmental impact across the range of business activities with the aim of realizing a healthy and sustainable global society for the future |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Focus area | Main activities | Targets for FYE 3/2025 and FYE 3/2026 | Targets for FYE 3/2031 |
| Responding to climate change | ● Reducing greenhouse gas emissions Groupwide | ● (Scope 1 and 2) Reduction of 19%/22% or more vs. FYE 3/2019 ●(Scope 3) Reduction of 15%/17% or more vs. FYE 3/2019 |
● (Scope 1 and 2) Reduction of 38% vs. FYE 3/2019 ● (Scope 3) Reduction of 30% vs. FYE 3/2019 Notes: 1. Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)-certified target (2021 Well Below [WB] 2°C) Reset target to meet revised standard 2. Set long-term internal target aiming for net zero by FYE 3/2051 |
| Supporting a recycling society | ●Reducing waste emissions from products and business activity | ● Target of 90% net sales ratio for Casio Green Star products*2 by FYE 3/2026 ● Reducing 5%/6% or more in business base waste emissions vs. FYE 3/2020 ● Reducing 5%/6% or more in water consumption vs. FYE 3/2020 |
● Realizing business activities with inbuilt design that suppresses waste emissions by standardizing a range of initiatives for waste emissions reduction |
| Living in harmony with nature | ● Providing opportunities to learn about biodiversity through outdoor activities | ●Providing outdoor activity experience to around 250 people a year in Japan | ● Promoting a deeper understanding and awareness of biodiversity among many people including employees and family members |
*2 Casio Green Star products (excluding software net sales): Products meeting a fixed in-house standard of environment-consciousness over the whole product lifecycle.
| Material issue Respecting human rights |
Outline goals Put in place rigorous initiatives based on international human rights standards |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Focus area | Main activities | Targets for FYE 3/2025 and FYE 3/2026 | Target for FYE 3/2031 |
| Minimizing human rights risk and fostering a corporate culture that respects human rights | ●Continuing implementation of human rights due diligence ●Continuing implementation of human rights education |
FYE 3/2025 ● Implementing checks and feedback on human rights issues All Group sales companies ● Providing training in Casio Business Conduct Guidelines and holding study sessions FYE 3/2026 ● Implementing checks and feedback on human rights issues All Group production companies ●Conducting human rights education for employees once a year or more |
● Reducing human rights risk by strengthening human rights due diligence at all Group company bases in Japan and overseas ●Instilling in the organization the mindset of respect for human rights so that human rights violations are not tolerated or tacitly accepted and a culture that excludes violations is nurtured |
Material Issues and SDGs
Initiatives for each material issue contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and we will proactively advance each with the aim of resolving issues and providing this contribution.
