HITACHI’S SUSTAINABILITY JOURNEY & SOCIAL INNOVATION BUSINESS

Hitachi’s sustainability journey began over a century ago and is rooted in founder Namihei Odaira’s determination to “contribute to society through the development of superior, original technology and products”.

Today, that journey continues through Hitachi’s Social Innovation Business which integrates the power of OT (operational technology), IT (information technology), and product development with the aim to addressing pressing social issues and realizing a sustainable society with improved quality of life.

With our 2021 Mid-Term Management Plan announced in May 2019, Hitachi’s Social Innovation Business strives to create positive economic, social and environmental impact by focusing on five business domains: IT, Energy, Industry, Mobility and Smart Life. For the purpose, Hitachi’s Lumada will function as a platform that creates value throughout our Social Innovation Business by connecting customer value chains and resolving business issues.

HITACHI’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE SDGs

With the overall goal to contribute to a sustainable society, Hitachi used the SDGs as a basis for defining social issues to be addressed under our Social Innovation Business. In 2017, we analyzed all 17 SDGs, through the lens of identifying business opportunities and minimizing risks. We identified 11 Goals that represent our most important social challenges. We then divided these 11 SDGs into two categories: the first one consists of six SDGs that are particularly relevant to Hitachi’s corporate commitment to society; the second one comprises five Goals which are aligned with our five focus sectors and where Hitachi can have the greatest impact through our business strategy.

On the one side, Hitachi contributes to the SDGs through our core products and services in various fields and sectors (business strategy). On the other side, we have realized that we can have an impact on other SDG areas – positively or negatively – even our business model changes, particularly through the way we do business. Therefore, we need to continuously consider our corporate commitments taking into our corporate culture when doing business across our various – and changing – operations and portfolios.

TACKLING THE SDGs THROUGH OUR CORPORATE COMMITMMENT TO SOCIETY

We identified six SDGs that relate to the social and environmental commitments made by Hitachi across all levels of management and business strategy. Even though these goals may not be directly linked to our commercial activities, we believe that contributing to their achievement is critical for all our Group companies because of the impact they generate on our long-term sustainability and operational success.

The sustainability initiatives linked to these SDGs have been developed in cooperation with divisions closely connected to sustainability issues, like the human resources division and procurement division while ensuring compliance with management policies such as the Hitachi Group Codes of Conduct, the Hitachi Group Human Rights Policy and Hitachi Environmental Innovation 2050. We will make steady progress by setting specific targets for each initiative.

Example: Goal 8 – Corporate Commitment to respect Human Rights

As Hitachi’s value chain expands on a global scale, we find diverse working environments, business norms, and trade practices in countries and regions around the world, and this has highlighted the need to ensure respect for human rights in our operations and business relationships across our supply chain.

Based on the Hitachi Group Human Rights Policy, we respect and promote human rights through trainings targeted at all our executives and employees. We are also engaged in awareness raising and capacity-building activities, strengthening human rights due diligence and expanding the scope of other human-rights-related activities. We believe our efforts will particularly contribute to the achievement of SDG 4, 5, 8 and 12.

For more examples, please visit Hitachi’s SDGs and Corporate Commitment website.

TACKLING THE SDGs THROUGH OUR BUSINESS STRATEGY

Throughout 2017, all business units and key Group companies reviewed the 17 SDGs and 169 targets in order to identify where we can most significantly contribute to through our core business. In conclusion, the Executive Sustainability Committee was advised to consider the SDGs that are most aligned with our business strategy across all five focus business domains of our Social Innovation Business. We believe that working toward these goals will not only provide commercial growth opportunities but also the chance to create social value through our business activities.

Example: Goal 11 – Providing safe, comfortable transportation systems and services

A case study for SDGs 11 illustrates the role of social innovation in progressing toward this Goal and how our products and services can contribute.

Mobility and transportation build a fundamental element and plays an integral role in city development. The rail sector is closely connected to everyday life, putting it in a unique position to offer business solutions to social issues.

As a total railway system supplier, Hitachi uses information and operational technologies to deliver safe, reliable, and innovative railway solutions that help people, communities, and cities thrive through improved connectivity. These solutions include high-speed and driverless technologies, predictive maintenance, and dynamic headway. To realize comprehensive integrated mobility, we are also developing electric vehicle technologies that will increase passenger comfort, eliminate traffic accidents, and reduce the burden on the environment. We tap this potential through collaborative and innovative creation with customers and partners.

For more examples, please visit Hitachi’s SDGs and Business Strategy website.