4 min read / June 10, 2021 / Komatsu Staff Writer
One hundred years ago, when the largest employer in Komatsu City, a copper mine, was depleted, our founder Meitaro Takeuchi started Komatsu to create a new source of jobs and support the local economy. To build a new skilled workforce, Takeuchi offered training to his fellow residents to provide sustainable growth for his area of Japan. As we celebrate our centenary, that founding spirit lives on in our commitments to growing with society, developing people and enhancing quality of life.
We remain dedicated to our founding principles of quality first, technology and manufacturing innovation, global reach and people development. Through the years, we’ve continued to invest in core capabilities, and our strategic acquisitions have connected smart, diverse people and cutting-edge technologies with a shared belief that partnerships are the best way to solve challenges and meet society’s needs.
Corporate social responsibility
Defining corporate social responsibility (CSR) as activities to respond to social demands through core business, Komatsu works for sustainable growth with society by looking for ways to solve environmental, societal and governance (ESG) issues. Remaining true to our founding spirit of helping an entire community thrive, we continue to actively support local communities with a specific emphasis on sustainability.
In addition to our main business, we believe it is the responsibility of a business to engage in social contribution activities in the local communities where we conduct business. Our goal is to make the most of the know-how we’ve developed in our main business and engage in ways that contribute to the greater social good.
By working alongside our customers, we can better understand and provide sustainable solutions to help address the changing needs of our various industries. Our commitment to creating a sustainable future together is reflected in our actions internally and externally, and something we seek to strengthen with each opportunity to do more.
Our commitment to communities and the environment
Working to embody our brand promise of “creating value together,” we are increasingly looking for environmentally focused ways to encourage employees to take individual actions toward a more sustainable future. Our Komatsu group employees are committing more hours to sustainability efforts than ever before by planting trees, picking up trash and supporting company and customer initiatives to reduce carbon emissions.
On April 22, 2021, Komatsu employees around the world took part in a 24-hours of Earth Day challenge, completing environmental actions, including:
The Earth Day efforts included a tree planting in West Virginia, U.S., with one of the company’s global reforestation partners, the nonprofit organization Green Forests Work. Komatsu also works with the nonprofit Tree Nation, in addition to collaborating with customers, including Anglo American on reforestation work, which it plans to continue investing in annually.
Our employee volunteer challenge was coordinated through our One World One Komatsu online platform, where employees are encouraged to take part in sustainability-focused competitions and activities designed to help individuals see how their actions can become part of a collective global movement. From the efforts our employees make through the platform, we hope to further nurture a worldwide sense of unity and community as we all work toward the common goal of creating a more sustainable future — both individually, and collectively.
The One World One Komatsu platform tracks the totals of carbon offset, energy saved, waste reduced, and water conserved through Komatsu employee efforts. Those metrics support our company’s focus on UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 11 and 13. We also focus on SDGs 8, 9 and 17.
In addition to our focus on these SDGs, we have set a goal of reducing our CO2 emissions by 50 percent by 2030 (when compared to 2010 figures). That goal comprises our twin aims of reducing CO2 emissions from production by 50 percent and reducing emissions from product use by 50 percent. Beyond that, we’ve also set the goal of sourcing 50 percent of the electricity used at major production sites worldwide from renewable energy.
Creating value together
We have more work to do, but, together with our customers, community partners, suppliers and employees, Komatsu is intent on continuing to grow our sustainability efforts. We are committed to environmental action and to supporting societal growth.
Our hope is that you’ll join us in supporting and enhancing environmental action at all levels – from individual actions to corporate initiatives. Maintaining high environmental standards is more than a good business practice — it is a fundamental responsibility owed to our employees, customers, communities and the environment we all share.
As we celebrate 100 years of business, we acknowledge now, more than ever, our responsibility to creating value together through manufacturing and technology innovation, and to empower a sustainable future where people, businesses and our planet thrive together.
For the opportunity to view a video highlighting some of Komatsu’s global sustainable volunteerism this year, go to youtube.com/watch?v=rrf7QzwtyZQ.
