Essential “Communication Reform”
![[image]Peter D. Pedersen Chief Executive, E-Square Incorporated](/csr/csr_images/comment_img_01.jpg)
Peter D. Pedersen
Chief Executive, E-Square Incorporated
Chief Executive of E-Square Incorporated, a CSR and environmental consulting firm, known for his pioneering role in bringing the Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) movement to Japan.
Born in Denmark, since graduating from the University of Copenhagen with a degree in cultural anthropology he has worked as a corporate consultant specializing in environmental and management consulting and international symposia aimed at small- and medium-sized businesses. He became president and CEO of E-Square in 2000.
First, as part of Hitachi's promotion of CSR communication, I appreciate the idea of dividing the information provided between the printed medium with a limited number of pages and the electronic medium, where more detailed information is provided. Furthermore, I enjoyed the organization of the printed report, which is simple and easy to understand and contains many officers' and stakeholders' opinions. While I also appreciate the description of how Hitachi is tackling its most important CSR tasks, I would like to know more about the actual investigation process and what role the opinions of stakeholders play in the identification of issues.
I think Hitachi is required to show clearly how it views our greatly changing world, avoiding risks and turning them into business opportunities. I understand that this year's report is in the process of change, but I think more essential “communication reform” may be needed. If Hitachi adopts the approach of determining its methods based on each target, I believe the quality of its CSR communication will improve.
![[image]Masahiro Hayashi Executive Vice President and Executive Officer, and Chair of the CSR Promotion Committee, Hitachi, Ltd.](/csr/csr_images/comment_img_02.jpg)
Masahiro Hayashi
Executive Vice President and Executive Officer,
and Chair of the CSR Promotion Committee, Hitachi, Ltd.
For last year's CSR Report we received various opinions from readers, saying that there were too many pages, that the important message was difficult to understand, or that the information disclosed was not enough.
Based on this feedback, in addition to reducing the number of pages by half and making the report easier to understand, we produced this digest featuring the global environmental problems that Hitachi is particularly focusing on, while providing more detailed information in a PDF file. We are developing new systems that address these issues: the process for investigating important issues reflecting the opinions of stakeholders, as well as the risk avoidance and converting risk into business opportunities pointed out by Peter D. Pedersen. We hope to report the results from next year onwards. For example, we are promoting dialogues with society on a global level and investigating important issues that have a deep impact on society and management. We are also striving to have this information reflected in management decision making and to disclose related information.
Detailed data and the activity report are here. Search category index.
![[image]Hitachi Group CSR Report 2008(PDF)](/csr/csr_images/common/sf_download.gif){kind=small}