Advantest's CSR
A Message from Advantest's Director of CSR
All Advantest stakeholders expect us to reconcile the requirements of a sustainable society with the imperatives of our own corporate development.
Based on a long-term perspective, we consider our business and CSR activities to be the natural starting point for us to contribute to the various challenges of modern society through our measurement technologies. While bearing our origins in mind, we will fulfill our dual responsibility to improve corporate value by generating profit, and contribute to the development of a sustainable society, throughout all our corporate activities, including our supply chain.
In fiscal 2015, we launched a project to formulate materialities, staffed by our in-house CSR working group, the managers of relevant departments, and executive officers with related responsibilities. The project discussed which topics to emphasize and identified 24 materialities. This initiative also prompted a review of our business development process from the perspectives of supply chain complexity and delegation of responsibilities.
In fiscal 2016, we established KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) for each materiality identified, and have started activities targeted for completion in fiscal 2018.
In the dramatically changing business environment, we have rapidly advanced preparations of the internal systems required by the market. We have produced regular results from a broad perspective incorporating the promotion of environmental management, the protection and respect of human rights as well as a focus on diversity by utilizing target values and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) related to each materiality since we began in fiscal 2016.
We have released a ground design and medium-term management plan (FY2018-FY2020) as medium to long-term policies announced at the beginning of 2018 which define our direction for ten years (FY2018-FY2027) while illustrating our efforts at Advantest toward ESG subjects.
In fiscal 2018, we have penetrated CSR activities at sites worldwide to produce specific results through our locations expanding in North America, Europe, Asia and 16 other countries worldwide by encouraging an ongoing commitment to achieving these goals.
Managing Executive Officer
Yasuo Mihashi
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Policy
We will aim to achieve sustainable growth and increase our corporate value over the medium and long term by promoting ESG management under our corporate mission. We will also respect our stakeholders, promote harmony with society, and contribute to SDGs in order to achieve a sustainable society.
- We will work towards environmental conservation and the reduction of environmental impacts.
- We will fulfill our social responsibilities as a global company to create a rich society.
- We will respect customers and provide high-quality products and services that meet their needs stably.
- We will respect shareholders and investors, return corporate profits to them, and disclose information.
- We will respect our employees, provide fair treatment, and strive to create employee-friendly workplaces that are conducive to effective working.
- We will respect our business partners and build cooperative relationships emphasizing mutual development.
- We will create a fair, effective, and highly transparent governance system to achieve sustainable growth and increase our corporate value over the medium and long term.
CSR Policy Initiatives
Based on the Advantest Group's corporate mission of delivering "Enabling the Leading-Edge Technology," our purpose as a Group is to use our "measurement and testing technologies" to support the development of society and to help to ensure that people throughout the world can live safely and securely. We provide our customers in many countries around the world with a wide range of products and services, and we are contributing to society through our business activities in our core competence field of "measurement and testing technologies." In addition, we are using our business activities to meet the needs of our stakeholders and of society, and to fulfill our social responsibilities as a group with a presence throughout the world.
Materiality for the Advantest Group
Organization for Promoting CSR
We established the CSR & Environmental Affairs Promotion Center, which is headed by the President and CEO, in order to clarify the objectives and responsibilities of the executives within the Advantest Group. The Center reports its CSR activities to the Managing Executive Officers Committee twice a year. Once the Managing Executive Officers Committee has received the report from the Center, it approves the CSR activities and sets objectives.
The CSR & Environmental Affairs Promotion Office is responsible for implementing social and environmental contribution activities. In addition, the CSR & Environmental Affairs Promotion Office exchanges information with other divisions and departments throughout the company, supports the CSR activities that they are implementing on a daily basis, reports these activities to the director responsible for supervising CSR activities as appropriate, and requests the Managing Executive Officers Committee to approve key issues (materiality).
To facilitate the development of a company-wide CSR framework, a CSR Working Group has been established with members appointed from the company's units responsible for general affairs, human resources, PR, IR, sales, quality assurance, production, etc.; the CSR Working Group implements activities on a worldwide basis.
Advantest's Organization for Promoting CSR
Commitment to External Initiatives
Advantest is supporting measures aimed at the realization of a sustainable society through its sponsorship for and participation in various domestic and international statements and guidelines.
Advantest Joins UN Global Compact
In May 2019, Advantest announced its participation in the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), a global sustainability initiative.
The UNGC is a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General which encourages companies and organizations to exert responsible and creative social leadership and to participate in creating a global framework for sustainable growth. Companies and organizations that join the UNGC are required to make a commitment to ten universal principles in the four areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Our corporate mission is to enable leading-edge technologies.
We aim to contribute to a sustainable future and to the safety, security, and comfort of the general public, while striving to resolve social issues by achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are common issues for all humanity specified by the United Nations in 2015.
The Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact
○ Human Rights
Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and
Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
○ Labour
Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour;
Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labour; and
Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
○ Environment
Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;
Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and
Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
○ Anti-Corruption
Principle 10: Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.
RBA Code of Conduct
In its business operations, Advantest follows the stipulations of the Responsible Business Alliance Code of Conduct drawn up by the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), a leading electronics industry supply chain CSR alliance.
Response to the Conflict Minerals Issue
Advantest participates in the Responsible Minerals Trade Working Group established by JEITA*, and is implementing various measures, in collaboration with industry bodies, to help tackle the conflict minerals issue.
*JEITA: Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association
Main Activities in Fiscal 2018
We have reached a stage in specific activities for accomplishing these goals in accordance with the materialities and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) identified by the Advantest Group. Going forward, we will promote activities throughout the entire Group which will clearly connect to results based on trends of ESG investments and other factors.