Identifying critical ESG themes (materiality)

In order to strengthen the Group’s ESG efforts under the sustainability promotion system, we have identified our key material issues. We looked at our value chain as a whole and identified our material issues from the perspective of expanding business opportunities and reducing risk in light of situational changes and social movements that impact our business activities.

As we aim to be a health creation enterprise, the Suzuken Group extends its definition of customers to include not only clients such as medical institutions and pharmaceutical companies, but also local communities as a whole, including patients and their families. Based on our business strategies in each field, we regularly review our materiality issues and KPIs, as well as medium- to long-term numerical targets. The numerical targets we have established are indicators relating to CO2 emissions, percentage of female managers, percentage of male employees taking childcare leave, and compliance training participation rate.

We believe the pharmaceutical distribution function that our Group provides as social infrastructure and our businesses and functions that contribute to local society are factors that will contribute to achieving the SDGs that the United Nations selected in 2015. In particular, the third of the SDGs, “health and welfare for all people,” can be seen in the desire reflected in our Group’s corporate philosophy of “continuing to contribute to rich and fulfilling lifestyles that are full of smiling faces.”