We have positioned the NAGASE Group’s Sustainability Basic Policy as a way of thinking shared throughout out value system, which comprises our management philosophy, vision, and the “Ideal NAGASE” for 2032.

Our corporate strategy now emphasizes strategies based on a long-term view that takes into consideration the natural environment and people in addition to the conventional perspectives of economic development and pursuit of profit. This is also evident in our medium-term management plan, ACE 2.0, which started in FY2021 and requires us to pursue “quality” in both economic and social value.

Back in around 2005, the Company had a department called the Eco-Materials Department, which handled various environmentally considerate materials, such as environmental products made by combining artificial wood and resin. Although our business partners showed some interest in these at the time, economic rationality was still the highest priority in those days, making it difficult to grow the business. Today, over 15 years later, one can sense that the world has clearly changed. Particularly in these past few years, there have been obvious changes in our business partners’ social policies and purchasing policies, and demand has increased for materials and products with high environmental value. Looking ahead, I am certain that this trend is going to accelerate.

The NAGASE Group recognizes the following as important social issues: technological innovation, climate change and resource shortages, demographic changes, and industrial reorganization. We consider climate change and resource shortages in particular to be the most important of these, and we view it as both a risk and a significant opportunity. Assuming that the traditional pattern of mass production, mass consumption, and mass disposal is now coming to an end, then by changing from a linear economic model of make, use, and discard to a cyclical model of make, use, and reuse, I feel that new business opportunities will open up for us in areas such as recyclable materials.