Promoting sustainability management
through enhanced
monitoring function
Daizo Nishimura Outside Director
Shofu has now entered its 100th year since its founding. Throughout this century, we have continued to contribute to global dental care through constant innovation and dedicated effort. Building on this legacy, we believe that business activities conducted in accordance with our corporate philosophy--rooted in our founding spirit--constitute the very core of our sustainability initiatives. In turn, sustainable management is what directly enhances Shofu's corporate value.
In June 2022, Shofu established its Basic Sustainability Policy to address contemporary social challenges and to contribute to shaping a future grounded in truth, goodness, and beauty--a future filled with smiles and aligned with global progress. This policy embodies the Company's longstanding culture of valuing people.
The Shofu Group Code of Conduct, refined over many years, already articulates principles such as conducting procurement activities based on corporate ethics, maintaining equitable and fair business relationships, respecting human dignity, and embracing diverse individual values. These elements reflect the essence of the "cultural spirit of the common people" that emerged in early modern Kyoto, drawing inspiration from teachings such as Ishida Baigan's merchant ethics and Itō Jinsai's philosophy of benevolence toward everyday people--ideas that resonate strongly with modern concepts of diversity.
Within this cultural foundation, Shofu has cultivated a form of collective, maintenance-oriented leadership that supports directive leadership and enables the Company to advance the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle as a unified organization--one of Shofu's enduring strengths.
The newly formulated Basic Sustainability Policy and Materiality declarations further reinforce this "human and organizational foundation," making it even more flexible and resilient.
Of our Outside Directors, three serve as fully independent members and play a central role in promoting sustainability management, primarily through monitoring functions. Some materiality items are inherently difficult to translate into key performance indicators (KPIs) and are challenging to evaluate in terms of outcomes. In such cases, we draw on both internal and external expertise through our advisory function, working collectively to help resolve these issues.
Recorded June 2022
