Sustainability Management

Based on our corporate mission of “uplifting the world with ‘memory,’” the Kioxia Group pursues sustainability management aiming to enrich people’s lives through our products and services and to broaden society’s possibilities. Through communication and collaboration with a range of stakeholders including customers, suppliers, employees and their families, we aspire to gain an understanding of issues that affect them and build relationships with them founded on trust.

Sustainability Management Structure

To strengthen and further advance company-wide sustainability management, we have created two conferencing bodies. The Sustainability Committee, with the executive officer in charge of sustainability as chair, comprises the heads of each of the business units and corporate divisions at Kioxia Corporation, who come together to discuss sustainability issues. The Sustainability Strategy Meeting, chaired by the President and CEO, is where executive officers deliberate and decide on measures to address those issues. The status of our sustainability promotion efforts is reported regularly to the Board of Directors, who review any key issues. The Sustainability Division serves as the secretariat for these meetings and is responsible for operating them.

We have set up appropriate task forces under these conferencing bodies as necessary to debate key sustainability issues, to implement measures to address these, and manage progress.

Kioxia Group’s Sustainability Management Structure

KIOXIA Group’s Sustainability Management Structure KIOXIA Group’s Sustainability Management Structure

In FY2022, we continued discussions on KPIs that will be key in terms of addressing our sustainability issues (Sustainability Materiality) and in addition to the 11 existing indicators, we defined 18 new indicators. We have also incorporated these non-financial indicators into our medium-term management plan, which is integrated into our financial indicators and overall business plan.

Third-party Sustainability Certification

Kioxia Group has acquired certification by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in the categories of Quality, Environment and Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems, and we work to retain these certifications on an ongoing basis.

In July 2021, Kioxia Holdings Corporation joined the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA). We accordingly fulfil the responsibilities specified in the RBA Code of Conduct, undertaking our own CSR activities and requiring our suppliers to do the same. Kioxia Corporation's headquarters and manufacturing sites, Yokkaichi Plant, Kioxia Iwate Corporation and Solid State Storage Technology Corporation, conduct self-assessments based on the questionnaire published annually by the RBA to ensure that internal controls in the areas of workforce, safety, environment, ethics, and management systems are appropriate. In addition to this, our manufacturing sites voluntarily undergo third-party audits by the RBA once every two years to assess the soundness of their business activities.

In the most recent audits, all manufacturing sites (Yokkaichi Plant, Kioxia Iwate Corporation and Solid State Storage Technology Corporation) secured Platinum Status (maximum rating) certifying their labor and safety standards as well as their environmental protection measures; this additionally confirmed that the management and operation of these facilities observe the highest ethical standards.

Encouraging Employees to Adopt a Sustainability Mindset

To raise sustainability awareness across the entire Kioxia Group, President and CEO, and other senior executives of each company communicate our management vision and emphasize the importance of good sustainability management practices in corporate strategy meetings at the beginning of each half semester.

In addition, sustainability-related education is provided for new graduates and those newly appointed to managerial positions, as well as in role-specific training for employees in sales, procurement and other departments. 

In April 2022, the “KIOXIA Group Sustainability Handbook” was published, aiming to help educate employees and encourage active dialogue with stakeholders, and was distributed widely amongst Group employees. In addition, our internal newsletters proactively pick up on sustainability-related topics—everything from women's career advancement to the installation of solar panels—to keep employees informed about these topics.

KIOXIA Group Sustainability Handbook (Japanese / English)

In May 2022, we conducted a survey for employees of Kioxia Group in Japan to assess their understanding of the contents of the Sustainability Handbook and their level of interest in our sustainability initiatives. We are using the results of the survey to inform the measures we take to raise employee awareness of our sustainability activities.

In addition, in FY2022 we provided an e-learning program for our executives and employees to deepen their understanding of our sustainability management.