Top Management Message about Sustainability

The Yamato Kogyo Group has supported the foundations of social infrastructure for more than 80 years since its foundation through electric-arc-furnace steelmaking that supports a circular use of resources. Our history of contributing to the development and growth of regional communities through global business development is our pride.
The world is moving into a complex and highly uncertain era, facing the manifestation of geopolitical risks, the acceleration of technological innovation and worsening climate change. We will properly address risks accompanying these changes, see them as an opportunity for the next stage of growth, and pursue growth strategies steadily.

In Vision 2030, the Group sets goals of solidifying its position as the global leader in structural steel and exploring new business areas. I believe that a truly sustainable company should be a company whose business activities themselves contribute to solutions to social issues. In order to promote sustainability management that strives to strike a balance between sustainability across three dimensions— the environment, society and economy—and earnings growth, we have determined policies and challenges for business growth and foundations supporting them as materiality. By incorporating them into management strategies and the Medium-Term Sustainability Plan, we will aim for medium- to long-term improvement of corporate value.

Transition to carbon neutrality is now an important issue that cannot be avoided for all industries. The steel industry is generally seen as an industry with a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions, but the electric furnace business that the Group operates has a structural advantage of a lower environmental impact than the blast-furnace method. The trend of decarbonization is an issue we have to overcome and is also an opportunity to further strengthen our competitiveness. We will continue to earnestly address the difficult challenge of striking a balance between environmental and economic values.

However good a strategy may be, ultimately it is people who make it a reality. I believe that an environment where individual employees can tackle challenges without anxiety and feel their growth is the starting point for creating corporate value. Under the unchangeable value “safety must come first,” we will also work on developing foundations for supporting continued growth, such as securing safe working environments, promoting DX, and creating an organizational climate that encourages employees to tackle challenges.

Under the mission of “our steel, your future,” we will fulfill more responsibilities to solve social issues, such as achieving carbon neutrality and realizing a circular economy, in order to help realize a richer society. With the spirit of challenge we have inherited since our founding, we will continue moving toward the 100-year milestone and the future further ahead, with all of us working together.