Dialogue with Stakeholders

Policy and approach

Based on its corporate philosophy Jun-Ri-Soku-Yu (adhering to reason leads to prosperity), the TOYOBO Group Charter of Corporate Behavior states “Communication with stakeholders: We will carry out fair and appropriate information disclosure and enhance corporate value through communication with our stakeholders.” In accordance with this basic approach, Toyobo group actively disseminates information and engages in communication activities. The content of activities are also regularly reported to the management team. The group strives to disseminate information in a timely, appropriate, and accurate manner to society as a whole, including our stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, shareholders and investors, employees, and local communities.

In our communication activities, we aim to promote an accurate understanding of Toyobo group and continuously enhance the Toyobo brand and corporate value while building relationships of trust by striving for two-way communication with stakeholders and the wider society as a whole.

Basic approach to information disclosure

Toyobo group endeavors to provide timely and appropriate information disclosure with consideration given to fairness and impartiality in order to continue to be a trusted company. The group also communicates actively with stakeholders, including shareholders and investors, to enhance its corporate value. These activities are based on the following approaches.

1. Information disclosure as a social responsibility (accountability)
2. Communication to enhance corporate value
3. Communication to prevent damage to corporate value

< Targets >

As a member of society, Toyobo group will meet the expectations of stakeholders and contribute to the sustainable development of communities through collaboration with partners and cooperation in the regions where the group operates with the aim of solving social issues.

< KPIs and results >

• Target covers the period from August 2022 to July 2023

Dialogue with stakeholders and investors

Financial results

Every fiscal year, our company holds financial results briefings for financial institutions, including for institutional investors and analysts. The President personally provides briefings for full-year and second quarter financial results, explaining the details of the results and future management policy.

For first quarter and third quarter results, the Executive Officer controlling IR operations conducts online briefings of results.

IR information

Toyobo is enhancing and expediting information disclosure in Japanese and English on the company's investor relations website.

Toyobo also provides its "Business Result Presentation", "Annual Securities Report", "Flash Report", "Integrated Report", "Fact Book" , ”Investors Guide” on its investor relations website together with archives. Timely disclosure materials (financial results, etc.) are posted on the investor relations website at the same time as public announcements are made.

In addition, Toyobo provides on-demand streaming of presentation videos for a certain period after the date of the financial results presentations. In FY2021, we began disclosing briefing scripts in addition to the Q&A summaries. In FY2021, we extended the posting period of on-demand distribution, Q&A summaries, and briefing scripts from three months to one year, to promote fair information disclosure.

Going forward, Toyobo will endeavor to enhance the materials and functions it provides to facilitate ease-of-use for all shareholders and investors.

Annual general meetings of shareholders

The Annual General Meeting of Shareholders is held each year in late June at Toyobo's Head Office in Osaka.

Number of shares and shareholders (As of March 31, 2023)

Composition of shareholders (Based on number of shares held) (As of March 31, 2023)

Employees

Toyobo group communicates with employees by introducing the company's management policies and activities through various media such as the group newsletter in the booklet, the intranet, and the company-wide bulletin board.

The group has started an "organizational culture and job satisfaction survey" for all employees from 2021.

• Human Resource Management＞Employee engagement

● Dialogue between management and labor

Meetings of the Central Management Council, attended by representatives of the labor union headquarters and of company management, are held once a year, and meetings of the Branch Management Councils are held once a year at each of the nine branches in Japan.

The labor union is represented at meetings of the Central Management Council by staff from the union headquarters, and is represented at Branch Management Council meetings by staff from the relevant union branch, while the company is represented by the President at meetings of the Central Management Council, and by the business site manager or plant manager at Branch Management Council meetings.

● KAERU activities

In April 2018, with the support of a majority of its employees, Toyobo group started the KAERU activities (kaeru means “to change”) throughout the company with the participation of all officers and employees. Within this activity, we hold presentations, talk sessions, dialogue, and exchange workshops to deepen communication between officers and employees.

• Presentations and talk sessions: FY2023: Conducted 3 times (total number of times conducted since FY2019: 25, with 1,470 participants)
  * Number of participants is not noted for FY2023 due to video streaming.
• Dialogue and exchange workshops: FY2023: Conducted 142 times, with 2,439 participants (total number of times conducted since FY2019: 284, with 4,561 participants)

● Evening Learning

Lunchtime Learning, a program initiated in June 2022, was renewed as Evening Learning from FY2024, a program for employees of our group held every month during after-work hours.

Changing the time of the program from lunch breaks to after work has enabled participation by a wider range of persons in the group.

It is intended to provide an opportunity for employees to communicate with each other while learning about what kind of work is being done at the group company. In addition to participation at the venue, we also offer webcasts, which are attended by teleworkers and employees outside the head office. The events have been great successes, with many participants each time.

In FY2023, we conducted sessions 10 times, with attendance by 1,100 persons (including online sessions).

First "Evening Learning"session

● In-house dissemination and awareness-raising activities related to sustainability

As a means of enhancing employees' awareness of sustainability and putting sustainability into practice, our company regularly publishes "Sustainability News" to share up-to-date information on internal and external initiatives and other news concerning sustainability.

Every year in January and February, we hold a "Sustainability Week" to raise awareness among employees through events, distribution of educational content, and more.

Overseas business sites

In response to the globalization of its business activities, Toyobo group engages in communication with overseas business sites.

Each year, local staff of overseas business sites visit Japan for training. The curriculum is available in English and Japanese and has the three following objectives.

1. Deepening understanding of Toyobo;
2. Deepening interaction with Japanese employees;
3. Applying what learned in the home countries of trainees.

Toyobo also has an overseas business training system for selected young employees to spend six months out of a one-year program at an overseas business site learning the basics of language, culture, and overseas business while interacting with local staff.

As cross-border mobility had been sharply restricted by the COVID-19 pandemic through the previous year, we took care to shorten the distance between ourselves and contacts overseas as much as possible using web conferencing and other digital technologies. This year, the pandemic is finally subsiding, and travel restrictions have been eased. We have resumed on-site visits, and, using these in conjunction with web conferencing, are making efforts to communicate more closely than ever with our overseas sites.

Our President is also resuming overseas site visits, with plans to visit several group companies each year to directly encourage local staff and staff stationed overseas.

Stakeholders

Toyobo carried out six cases of communication in FY2023 ‐ FY2021 ( Position at that time ) :

• In October 2020, " ESG as a demand of the times "
  Mr. Megumi Sakuramoto, Chief ESG Analyst, Investment Div. Responsible Investment Group, Asset Management One Co., Ltd.
• In January 2021, " Corporate sustainability initiatives at Mitsubishi Corporation "
  Mr. Takehiro Fujimura, General Manager, Corporate Sustainability & CSR Department, Mitsubishi Corporation
• In December 2021, "Mitsui Chemicals Group's approach to ESG promotion"
  Mr. Ken Migita, General Manager, Corporate Sustainability Division, Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.
• In June 2022, "Business and human rights ー Human rights initiatives in the Corporate Sector"
  Ms. Akiko Sato, Business and Human Rights Liaison Officer, United Nations Development Programme
• In September 2022,"BASF initiatives to accelerate sustainability management"
  Mr. Hiroki Ishida, Representative Director and President, BASF Japan Ltd.
• In February 2023, “Practice of sustainability and information disclosure - Initiatives based on the ISSB disclosure draft-”
  Mr. Katsuya Kikuchi, Head of Responsible Investment Department,Tokio Marine Asset Management Co.,Ltd.
• In April 2024, “The outline of sustainability disclosure standards”
  Mr. Katsuya Kikuchi, ESG specialist, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co.,Ltd.

Local communities

Please see the Social Contribution page for more details.

• Social Contribution