Materiality Topics:Fusion
Based on its technology platform, SEKISUI CHEMICAL Group is making efforts to fuse together its various internal and external stakeholders and companies while accelerating innovation to support the basis of LIFE and continue to create peace of mind for the future in a bid to realize a sustainable society.
Positioning of This Materiality
In order to realize its Long-term Vision, SEKISUI CHEMICAL Group positions fusion as a driver to accelerate and enhance innovation. Amid the mountain of extremely difficult and pressing social issues including climate change, we will work to accelerate innovation at an unprecedented pace by focusing more than ever on the fusion of various internal and external stakeholders as well as companies from the perspectives of technology and business opportunities. Under the current Medium-term Management Plan, we are endeavoring to shift away from a self-reliant culture and approach by promoting projects that extend horizontally across internal companies, collaborating with external institutions and other outside parties, and engaging in open innovation.
Our Philosophy
Based on its Long-term Vision, Vision 2030, SEKISUI CHEMICAL Group is advancing the expansion of its existing businesses and the creation of new businesses using ESG management as its main strategy. With fusion as an important issue for ESG, we will not limit ourselves to the inter-Group initiatives conducted up until now in cooperation with divisional companies, instead aiming to achieve wider-ranging and more effective fusion, including technological development, human resources development, cooperation with external organizations, and open innovation.
System and Goals for Promoting Fusion
In order to realize its Long-term Vision, in each of its business domains, SEKISUI CHEMICAL Group has defined enhancement areas as those in which it will target further growth in existing businesses and innovation areas as those in which it will create a new business base. While the efforts of each divisional company will play the leading role in enhancement areas, the Business Strategy Department and R&D Center are responsible for long-term business creation activities in collaboration with each divisional company in innovation areas. The promotion of activities will be undertaken with the Group working together as a whole.
In the previous fiscal year, the number of new products and projects was set as a KPI. In the fiscal year under review, efforts to promote fusion progressed smoothly with targets achieved. The status of business creation in innovative areas is regularly monitored by the R&D Committee, and discussions held with top management to promote further fusion.
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Roles of the R&D Committee
- Determine Group-wide R&D basic policies regarding next-generation business creation
- Determine Group-wide R&D themes and action plans regarding next-generation business creation
Technological Development Fusion
Technological development is the source from which new businesses are created, and it is extremely important for fusion as well. At the SEKISUI CHEMICAL R&D Center, the mission of the organization is strengthening fusion with divisional companies. This facility promotes fusion with each divisional company from three perspectives: core technology fusion, planning fusion, and development fusion.
As far as the fusion of core technologies is concerned, SEKISUI CHEMICAL Group holds several Group-wide seminars on information science, a fundamental technology integrated into the R&D Center last fiscal year. By supporting divisional company development themes that employ materials informatics, we were also able to raise the level of data science.
From a planning fusion perspective, successful steps are being taken to create new development themes through collaboration between the planning department of divisional companies and planning staff at the R&D Center. Here, we are beginning to see enhanced fusion effects emerge.
Regarding development fusion, in addition to the fusion with divisional companies, we are actively promoting fusion with external parties. The perovskite solar cell that SEKISUI CHEMICAL Group is developing has been selected as a national development project in collaboration with the University of Tokyo and Ritsumeikan University. Plans are in place to further accelerate development toward practical application. We have also entered into a partnership with ArcelorMittal, S.A., one of the world’s largest steel companies, to pursue a carbon recycling technology project. We plan to use our innovative technologies to reduce CO2 emissions during steelmaking.