CSR Activity Report (CSR Guideline Activity Reports) - Communication

Communication with Employees

Internal Branding

In preparation for its 100th anniversary in 2026, Toray Group adopted an initiative for “creating opportunities and momentum for challenge- taking” in fiscal 2023. The Group engages mechanisms that encourage employees to focus on creating new value through their work and promotes activities aimed at fostering a dynamic and open corporate culture by creating opportunities for dialogue between employees and the company president.

1. Real Talk – Everyone’s Voice
Since January 2023, the Group has held regular video live stream events called, “Real Talk – Everyone’s Voice,” to provide opportunities for open, two-way communication between the management team and employees. In fiscal 2023, there were a total of six events, including some hosted at plants. The average number of participants each time was 898, with an average participant satisfaction rate of 90%.

2. First Steps Award
As a way to encourage individual employees to take on new challenges, the First Steps Award was launched in fiscal 2023. The Group invited employees to submit examples of workplace challenges that have been undertaken, regardless of scale, completion status, or success level. Submissions were welcomed from individual challenge-takers or their co-workers and did not require any supervisor approval. With 190 submissions received, the response surpassed initial expectations. To ensure review of the submissions by a wide range of employees, the winners were decided by an employee vote, and more than 9,000 votes were cast. The awards were presented at the Toray Employee Forum, which helped to boost employee interest and engagement.
This award program will continue as an annual activity.

3. Toray Employee Forum
The Toray Employee Forum was held in December 2023 to foster a sense of group-wide unity with employees sharing best practices in terms of approaches and activities based on the Toray Philosophy and gaining first-hand exposure to Toray’s core principles and DNA. Under the banner of “Let’s Think About Taking on Challenges Together,” the event featured a conversation between Tadashi Yanai, the Chairman, President & CEO of Uniqlo Co., Ltd., and Mitsuo Ohya, President of Toray Industries, Inc. The presentation ceremony for the First Steps Award was also held at the same event. Through a live web conference covering 16 Toray sites in Japan, including the headquarters and various other offices and plants, 3,112 employees participated in the Toray Employee Forum in real time. Based on feedback received afterward, 90% of participants expressed satisfaction with the forum, while 97% indicated an interest in attending future events. Overall, it proved to be a highly engaging initiative for employees.
Going forward, Toray Group will continue to implement various internal branding initiatives aimed at fostering a dynamic corporate culture with open communication and a pioneering spirit, ensuring that Toray remains a corporate group employees can take pride in.
The next forum is scheduled for November 2024.

  • Sixth Real Talk event at the Nagoya siteSixth Real Talk event at the Nagoya site
  • Eighth Real Talk event at the Mishima PlantEighth Real Talk event at the Mishima Plant
  • Announcement for the First Steps Award programAnnouncement for the First Steps Award program
  • First Steps Award winners together with Chairman Nikkaku (far right) and President Ohya (far left)First Steps Award winners together with Chairman Nikkaku (far right) and President Ohya (far left)
  • Conversation between Uniqlo Chairman Yanai (right) and Toray President Ohya (left) at the Toray Employee ForumConversation between Uniqlo Chairman Yanai (right) and Toray President Ohya (left) at the Toray Employee Forum
  • Toray Employee Forum venue at the Toray Industries, Inc. Head OfficeToray Employee Forum venue at the Toray Industries, Inc. Head Office

Financial Results Briefings for Employees

Every six months, Toray Industries holds Financial Results Briefings for employees at its business sites and plants, which are hosted by the president and other executives. In addition to questions submitted in advance, the senior managers also answer questions posed at the meeting. These briefings are great opportunities for employees to hear directly from the management team and engage in dialogue with them.

  • Financial Results Briefing at the head office in TokyoFinancial Results Briefing at the head office in Tokyo
  • An employee asks an executive a question at a Financial Results Briefing at the Okazaki PlantAn employee asks an executive a question at a Financial Results Briefing at the Okazaki Plant

Communication via In-house Magazines and Intranet

Toray Group employs various internal media such as printed in-house magazines and an intranet to provide information on the Group’s management policies and issues. This helps promote communication that fosters both a sense of belonging among Group employees and a shared understanding of the Toray brand. Messages from the president appear in all of these media. The printed in-house magazine is published in two languages (Japanese and English) to keep employees informed about management and business topics as well as corporate projects.
The Group has launched an intranet called TORAYNAVI in Japanese and English for group companies both in and outside Japan to share timely information.
In fiscal 2023, initiatives such as Real Talk – Everyone’s Voice, First Steps Award, and the Toray Employee Forum were implemented under the banner of “creating opportunities and momentum for challenge-taking.” These initiatives were announced in the in-house newsletter and related information was shared through video streaming on the Group’s intranet. Also, during the Noto Peninsula Earthquake in January 2024, the intranet became the primary means of distributing the latest disaster-related information, and updates on Toray's response efforts were promptly shared group-wide.

Toray Group's publications

Toray Group's publications
Circulation of Toray Group's publications

Japanese edition of People in-house magazine :
Around 16,000 copies per issue (published six times per year)
English edition of People in-house magazine :
Around 3,000 copies per issue (published four times per year)
Toray Management magazine for managers :
About 7,000 copies per issue (published four times per year)

Employee Survey

Toray Industries, Inc. regularly conducts an employee attitude survey of Toray Group employees in and outside Japan. The survey is designed to assess employee engagement, motivation, and sense of belonging, and to gauge the level of progress in implementing the long-term vision and medium-term management program. In fiscal 2023, the survey content was revised to capture both expectations and actual experiences, instead of just job satisfaction. The survey frequency was increased from every two years to annually, and the feedback process was accelerated, allowing results to be viewed the day after the survey. Moreover, the system was revised to enable detailed assessments of each organization's and individual's situation, ensuring swift implementation of improvement activities.
The EX Score®1 metric was adopted for releasing the survey results, and in fiscal 2023 the Group’s score was 64.8. Various initiatives are now being implemented with the aim of improving each year and ultimately exceeding a score of 70. Examples of these initiatives include sharing information on the intranet, holding discussions at each workplace, and sharing successful examples of improvement across the Group.

  1. 1 The EX Score® provides an indicator of organizational health. It measures the gap between each individual's expectations and their actual experiences. The score is maximized when both expectations and actual experiences are high and the gap between them is minimal. EX Score® is a registered trademark of HRBrain, Inc. which conducted the employee survey for the Group. The average industry score at the time of the fiscal 2023 survey was approximately 70 out of 100. The survey revealed that Toray Group employees had significantly higher expectations than the average, with actual experiences varying by category.

Promoting CSR Initiatives in Every Workplace

A special characteristic of Toray Group's approach to corporate social responsibility is its “CSR line activities,” an employee participation system that emphasizes putting CSR into practice on the job. Each workplace implements activities suited to its own circumstances, such as holding discussions on CSR issues.

Facilitating Internal Exchange of Opinions on CSR Issues and Enhancing Awareness

Interviews conducted to exchange opinions within the company (rate of progress)

■Reporting scope
Toray Group
■Target in fiscal 2023
(First round) 100% completed

Result in fiscal 2023

100%

A CSR webinar on the topic of CSR procurement, held in March 2024, with an external consultant as the guest speakerA CSR webinar on the topic of CSR procurement, held in March 2024, with an external consultant as the guest speaker

Toray Group strives to ensure that social responsibility awareness is firmly rooted in its culture by providing employees with various opportunities.
Since fiscal 2019, the CSR Operations Department of Toray Industries has visited departments as well as group companies worldwide to conduct interviews to exchange opinions. The aims are to instill CSR awareness and to ascertain the status of CSR initiatives in each workplace. By the end of fiscal 2023, the department achieved its target of 100% completion for the first round of visits. The second round of visits for opinion exchanges began in fiscal 2024. The issues for CSR activity implementation identified during the interviews to exchange opinions will be reflected in Toray Group's CSR promotion activities.
Toray Group communicates CSR information through a variety of internal publications (including the People and Toray Management magazines and an internal CSR newsletter) to help employees understand the necessity of implementing CSR in each workplace. In addition, the Group also strives to increase CSR awareness with an e-learning course covering the fundamentals of CSR, CSR webinars designed to promote understanding and awareness of CSR issues, and other programs.

CSR Webinars

Fiscal Year Topic
2021 Protecting the Global Environment by Tackling River and Ocean Waste
2022 What is the Circular Economy?
2023 What is CSR Procurement?

Activities to Promote Internal Communication

  • Winners of a costume contest posing with the General Manager of the Shiga Plant (center) at the plant’s Halloween party (600 participants) (Toray Industries, Inc. Shiga Plant)Winners of a costume contest posing with the General Manager of the Shiga Plant (center) at the plant’s Halloween party (600 participants) (Toray Industries, Inc. Shiga Plant)
  • Company sports day, held for the first time in five years [Toray Fibers & Textiles Research Laboratories (China) Co., Ltd.]Company sports day, held for the first time in five years [Toray Fibers & Textiles Research Laboratories (China) Co., Ltd.]
  • Exhibition of finished product samples at the Shiga Plant and Gifu Plant for employees that manufacture Ultrasuede<sup>™</sup>products (Toray Industries, Inc.)Exhibition of finished product samples at the Shiga Plant and Gifu Plant for employees that manufacture Ultrasuede products (Toray Industries, Inc.)
  • Web conference held by the Senior Vice President, Engineering Division (bottom right) to interact with new division employees (Toray Industries, Inc.)Web conference held by the Senior Vice President, Engineering Division (bottom right) to interact with new division employees (Toray Industries, Inc.)

Communicating with Employees’ Families

Toray Group organizes workplace tours for employees and their families to help employees’ families get to know more about Toray. Family Days are also held to further deepen connections with family members.

  • Employee family members learning about Toray ABS resin products displayed in a showcase (Toray Industries, Inc. Chiba Plant)Employee family members learning about Toray ABS resin products displayed in a showcase (Toray Industries, Inc. Chiba Plant)
  • Touring the Torayvino Production Section (Toray Industries, Inc. Okazaki Plant)Touring the Torayvino Production Section (Toray Industries, Inc. Okazaki Plant)
  • Visitors getting a view of the entire plant (Toray Industries, Inc. Tokai Plant)Visitors getting a view of the entire plant (Toray Industries, Inc. Tokai Plant)
  • Approximately 1,800 people attended a Family Day event jointly held for all four Toray Group companies in Mexico (Toray Advanced Textile Mexico, S.A. de C.V., Toray Resin Mexico, S.A. de C.V., Zoltek de Mexico S.A. de C.V., and Toray International de Mexico, S.A. de C.V.)Approximately 1,800 people attended a Family Day event jointly held for all four Toray Group companies in Mexico (Toray Advanced Textile Mexico, S.A. de C.V., Toray Resin Mexico, S.A. de C.V., Zoltek de Mexico S.A. de C.V., and Toray International de Mexico, S.A. de C.V.)

Click here for the main initiatives for CSR Guideline 6, “Communication” in CSR Roadmap 2025.