Sustainability Philosophy
We contribute to bringing about a sustainable and prosperous society"Together with our global partners, we bring innovation to everyone everywhere." Based on this mission, Socionext Group recognizes sustainability as a significant management challenge. We aim to bring new value to our customers and, through them, to people everywhere, and contribute to achieving a prosperous society. We will do this by serving as a partner to customers seeking to differentiate new services and products through the development of their own leading-edge SoCs, and as a partner to foundries, OSATs*1, and suppliers providing the latest technologies, including IP*2, EDA tools*3 and software, in the evolving semiconductor ecosystem.
The environment in which companies operate is undergoing major change amid rising global concern about social problems, such as diversity and respect for human rights, as well as attention to environmental problems that include global warming and climate change. The Group, we are working to fully understand the risks posed by the diverse issues facing the world and intend to pursue initiatives that will lead to their resolution.
In pursuing these activities, we are striving to understand the issues involved while also building relationships of trust, engaging in dialogue and collaborative activity with our many stakeholders, who include customers, partners, employees, local communities, and shareholders, with our goal being to create a sustainable society.
Approach to Sustainability Information Disclosure
Our disclosure of sustainability information is done in accordance with the TCFD*1 declaration, the ISSB*2 sustainability disclosure standards (IFRS*3 S1/S2) and the SSBJ*4 sustainability disclosure standards, and will address the four topics of governance, strategy, risk management, and indicators and targets.
Action on Sustainability
The Group identifies materiality to be addressed with a sense of priority and promotes sustainability activities.
Specifically among materiality, as part of our efforts to address environmental issues and climate change, we are working to achieve a decarbonized society by reducing our GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions, with such measures including the introduction of renewable energy from April 2024, and contributing to the reduction of GHG emissions by our customers through the Group's advanced SoC that can reduce the consumption of energy and the use of space.
In terms of human capital, we are working to maximize the human capital of the Group by enhancing systems related to human rights, diversity, health and safety, and health promotion, and by formulating educational programs related to the training of engineers.
At the Group, we will continue to work with our partners in the semiconductor ecosystem to enhance the effectiveness of our efforts to address materiality throughout the supply chain, and strive to achieve a sustainable society by solving social issues and further growing our business.
The Group is committed to fulfilling its social responsibility as a global corporation and continuing to be an entity that can earn the trust and support of all stakeholders. The Group will provide new value to the world with its cutting-edge SoC technology, and continue to strive to improve corporate value over the medium to long term.
Governance
Socionext Group is putting measures in place for acting on sustainability in ways that are coordinated across relevant internal divisions, including the establishment of an ESG Promotion Office to facilitate ongoing management-level discussion of medium- to long-term challenges. This organizational structure provides a framework for action under the direction of the Management Committee. The Board of Directors debates and approves policies and action plans for important sustainability challenges while also acting in a supervisory role, including by monitoring progress.
●Board of Directors
The board has responsibility for making decisions on sustainability activities. It debates and approves the associated policies, strategies and actions. It also supervises the progress of these actions semi-annually and issues instructions etc. as necessary.
●Management Committee
The committee drafts sustainability policies, strategies, actions, and other plans for subsequent consideration by the board. It is also responsible for ensuring that actions are carried out, issues instructions for doing so to the operational divisions with the board's approval and promotes initiatives. To implement these actions, the ESG Promotion Office, under the direction of the Management Committee, provides support for drafting policies, strategies, actions, and other plans and for putting these into practice. It also tracks the progress of this work and reports back to the Management Committee.
Risk Management
To mitigate and reduce management and business risks, the Group conducts a semi-annual, company-wide risk management review. Sustainability risks such as climate change, human resources, and diversity are treated as important elements in this framework, which involves assessing risk, formulating and implementing actions, and assessing outcomes on a regular basis. Please refer to "Risk Management (P.100)" below for our basic approach and system for risk management.
ISO and External Evaluation
Socionext is certified under the following ISO standards
●ISO9001 Quality management system
ISO9001 is an international standard for quality management systems.
We build quality products that meet the varying QCD (Quality, Cost, and Delivery) needs of our customers. Additionally, through comprehensive management systems for the planning and design stages, we as a fabless company choose perfect partners (contract manufacturers) in Japan and overseas according to the characteristics, functionality, and quality of products to be manufactured. Moreover, by leveraging our high-quality and reliable technology that has been developed in the global market and through strong cooperation with our partners (contract manufacturers), we provide optimum quality to our customers in a timely manner.
●ISO14001 Environmental management system
We together with our customers, contributes to the protection of a rich global environment through the design, development, and sale of SoCs with outstanding environmental performance based on advanced technologies and solution businesses and services based on them.
●ISO/IEC27001 Information security (certification acquired for some business units)
ISO/IEC 27001 is an international standard for information security management systems (ISMSs). SocioNext has organizational structures that enables the effective utilization of information while maintaining a careful balance of confidentiality, integrity, and availability requirements. In addition to obtaining ISO/IEC 27001 certification, we strive to maintain and enhance security, and implement practical corrective measures to address these risks.
●ISO26262 Functional Safety (certification acquired for some business units)
ISO26262 is an international standard for functional safety of electric and electronic devices that are becoming increasingly sophisticated in the automotive industry.
With the acquisition of certification, our automotive SoC development process can meet the highest safety standards in ISO26262, ASIL-D, and allow us to deal with the high safety requirements of autonomous driving and other technologies from device level.
Participation in External initiatives
●United Nations Global Compact
On April 15, 2025, our group signed the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), an initiative of the United Nations. The UNGC is the world's largest sustainability initiative in which the United Nations and the private sector (companies/organizations) join forces to build a healthy global society. It is a global framework for companies and organizations to act as good members of society and achieve sustainable growth by exercising responsible and creative leadership. Based on the commitment of the top management of the organization, our group will work to realize a sustainable society based on its 10 principles in 4 areas (human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption).
Response to External Evaluation Organizations
As part of its sustainability-related risk management activities, our group actively responds to external assessments by S & P Global CSA, MSCI, EcoVadis and Nikkei Sustainability. By objectively evaluating our group's sustainability efforts, we correctly recognize its strengths and weaknesses and use them as indicators for improvement.
We believe that these activities will build relationships of trust with investors and other stakeholders and enhance corporate value.
External Evaluation of Sustainability Activities
Since its listing on the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in October 2022, our group has been actively promoting sustainability activities integrated with management. In the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) this year, we received a B rank in the first suevey. In addition, we received 3 stars in the overall ranking of the 6th Nikkei Business Survey on SDGs sponsored by Nikkei Inc., and were selected as one of the top 500 companies in the GX500 Decarbonization Management Ranking.
Our company has recently been selected for inclusion in the Sompo Sustainability Index for fiscal year 2025, as well as the FTSE Blossom Japan Index and FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index, both of which are used by the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) and other sustainable investment funds.
Based on these evaluation results, we are working to further advance our sustainability activities.
●Socionext Selected for Inclusion in FTSE Blossom Japan Index and in FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index
Our group has been newly included in both the "FTSE Blossom Japan Index" and the "FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index" prominent ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investment indices recognized by sustainable investment funds, such as the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF).
About the FTSE Blossom Japan Index
Developed by FTSE Russell, a global index and data provider of the London Stock Exchange Group, the FTSE Blossom Japan Index serves as an industry-neutral benchmark focused on Japanese companies. It highlights the performance of firms demonstrating strong Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices. FTSE Russell evaluations are based on performance in areas such as Corporate Governance, Health & Safety, Anti-Corruption and Climate Change. Businesses included in the FTSE Blossom Japan Index meet a variety of environmental, social and governance criteria.
About the FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index
The FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index is designed, focusing on Japanese companies, as a sector neutral benchmark that reflects the performance of companies demonstrating strong Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices in Japan.
●Selected for inclusion in the Sompo Sustainability Index in Fiscal Year 2025
The group was selected for inclusion in the Sompo Sustainability Index for fiscal year 2025 compiled by Sompo Risk Management Inc. The Sompo Sustainability Index is made up of approximately 300 stocks that demonstrate excellent ESG initiatives, based on ESG evaluations conducted by the Environmental Management Survey and the ESG Management Survey conducted by Sompo Risk Management Co., Ltd., and has been adopted by pension funds and other institutional investors as an index for Sompo's Sustainable Management* index.
●Gained Top 11% score in Semiconductor Sector in S&P Global CSA 2024
S&P Global, a U.S.-based leading global research and evaluation company in the field of ESG investment, conducts a Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) of companies around the world from three aspects, economic, environmental and social, and annually selects companies with outstanding accomplishments in sustainability.
The Group received a CSA score of 53. This is among the top 11% evaluation in the semiconductor sector. Among the evaluation areas, responses to "Product quality," "Supply chain management," and "Maximizing human capital" were highly evaluated.
●Acquired a B rating in 2 areas of CDP 2024: Climate Change and Water Security
The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is the world’s only independent non-profit organization to manage an environmental information disclosure system. It collects and analyzes climate change and other environmental information from major companies around the world and rates the results on a nine-point scale (A, A-, B, B-, C, C-, D, D-, F). The CDP database is regarded as the global standard for environmental information disclosure, and the number of institutional investors seeking information disclosure through CDP is increasing year by year.
More than 24,800 companies worldwide responded to CDP 2024 and were evaluated. Participating in the survey for the first time, the Group received a "B" rating in the areas of "climate change" and "water security." This is the third-highest rating.
●Rated three stars in the Nikkei Inc.'s 6th Nikkei SDGs Management Survey
We received three stars in the overall ranking of the 6th Nikkei SDGs Management Survey sponsored by Nikkei Inc. The Nikkei SDGs Management Survey assesses companies' efforts toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by rating overall scores in four areas: SDGs strategy/economic value, social value, environmental value, and governance.
The Group received high marks for its "governance policy and effectiveness" and "shareholder engagement and shareholding" among the surveyed subjects.
●Selected for 2024 GX500 Decarbonization Management Ranking by Nikkei Inc.
Management Ranking,
GX500
We were selected as one of the top 500 companies in the GX500 Decarbonization Management Ranking sponsored by Nikkei Inc. The GX500 Decarbonization Management Ranking is a comprehensive evaluation of corporate decarbonization efforts and ranks 500 leading companies in the era of green transformation (GX). A total of 887 companies, including listed companies in Japan, that responded to the survey are ranked and rated based on their overall scores in five areas: information disclosure, emission management and reduction performance, energy conservation and renewable energy use, specific measures to reduce greenhouse gases, and reduction target setting.
The Group received high marks for its response to information disclosure, among the surveyed subjects.
●Rated three stars in the 8th Nikkei Smart Work Management Survey sponsored
by Nikkei, Inc
We were rated three stars in the overall ranking of the 8th Nikkei Smart Work Management Survey sponsored by Nikkei, Inc. This survey selects advanced companies that aim to generate new innovation, improve productivity, and maximize corporate value by maximizing the use of human resources and accelerating investment in human resources. Listed companies and leading unlisted companies nationwide are evaluated by a five-star rating based on three elements: Human resource utilization, Human resource investment, and Technology utilization.
Among the evaluation areas, the Group was highly evaluated for its response to "Human Resource Strategy and KPI" and "Diverse and Flexible Working Style."
Dialogue with Environmental Stakeholders
Through dialogue with stakeholders, our group hopes to strengthen its efforts to address environmental issues and contribute to the realization of a sustainable society. We actively engage in dialogue with various stakeholders, including shareholders, investors, and partners, on climate change and other environmental issues to reduce environmental impact and promote environmental conservation activities.
As part of these efforts, in fiscal year 2024 we began holding sustainability meetings with shareholders and investors, as well as holding hearings with our partners, mainly manufacturing contractors, on the setting of targets/progress to cope with climate change.