TDK’s CSR
Activities

Study Meeting Convened to Enhance
the Grasp of Nonfinancial Information
Disclosure
The question is emerging of how to interpret recent moves concerning the disclosureof nonfinancial information, an area in which importance is mounting on a global
scale, and what responses the TDK Group needs to take. A study meeting was held
this March at the TDK Head Office, to which two experts were specially invited to address this very topic. On hand for the gathering were 14 TDK Directors, Corporate Officers and other Group-level management staff members. The meeting commencedwith talks from the two experts followed up with brisk discussions including the TDKparticipants.

Opinions and Proposals from the Experts
Eiichiro Adachi

George IguchiCounselor
The Japan Research Institute, Limited

Corporate Governace Officer
General Manager of Equity Investment
Depertment
Nissay Asset Management Corporation

The scale of responsible investment has charted steady expansion,

The premise for long-term investment grounded in the Stewardshipwith worldwide outlays by institutional investors accounting for

Code is multidimensional understanding of corporate activity. In myaround 30% of the total of such investment at the end of 2013. It hasview, incorporating ESG evaluations into the management process

become imperative to grasp the essence of this trend, while moving

in implementing corporate assessments serves to accelerate theto actively disclose nonfinancial information and reflect that intel-grasp of such multidimensional activity, thereby contributing toligence in corporate management and IR activities. Against such

improved investment performance over the long term. Within thisa backdrop, there is considerable significance in the fact that theprocess, harboring greater importance than short-term sales, earn-Financial Service Agency is using the Stewardship Code to demandings and other financial data, is a solid grasp of corporate ideology,

institutional investors to form a greater grasp of the responses tomanagement strategies, responses to environmental regulations,social and environmental issues at the companies in which they

relationships between management and employees and other suchinvest. The formulation of the Corporate Governance Code also

nonfinancial information. Of particular importance is the “S” forrepresents a landmark move in that vein, in terms of its recognition“Society” in “ESG,” which is tantamount to corporate DNA and theof the structural elements of corporate governance in addressing

wellspring of any company’s inherent value. In the eyes of investors,social and environmental problems.

this area holds the highest priority of all. Investor activities chan-For investors, it is not only important to examine the overall flowof CSR, but also to discern the ESG factors, which comprise parThe meeting was held on March 31, 2015.

Defining the Importance of Nonfinancial Information, an Area Marked byRising Expectations for Disclosure
The study meeting featured presentations by SRI and CSR expert Mr. Eiichiro Adachi of The Japan Research Institute, Limitedand Mr. George Iguchi of Nissay Asset Management Corporation, an institutional investment firm. Both gentlemen delivered
thought-provoking talks on recent trends surrounding disclosureof nonfinancial information.
In the EU, amendments have been passed that call for additional disclosure of nonfinancial information, as that region
gears up for long-term economic growth and improvements inemployment, In place in Japan since last year as dual measuresserving the same basic end are the Corporate Governance
Code (documenting guidelines for raising corporate value overthe medium to long term) and the Stewardship Code (positionedto encourage responsible outlays by institutional investors).

During the first half of the meeting, the two experts particularly focused their explanations on the so-called “ESGfactors” (referring to the Environment, Society, and Governance), which are drawing increasing interest and attention.
The second half evolved into a Q&A session with TDK participants. The exchanges were instrumental in confirming areasthat included the following themes:

13TDK CSR REPORT 2015

• “Vigorous debates are emerging on the proper approaches
to corporate conduct for the purpose of creating corporate
value, prompting the need to promote dialogue between
investors and companies,”

neled through this caliber of ESG analysis will lead to constructive
dialogue with target companies.

ticularly important elements in both risk and opportunity, linking theAnnual reports compiled from medium- to long-term perspec-

businesses at each company. The majority of investors are startingtives rank as an extremely major presence. This is because theto take greater notice of the strengths and distinguishing character-inclusion of ESG standpoints in the preparation of such reports

istics of each company, rooted in the various different backgrounds

positioned to integrate financial and nonfinancial information isthat define those companies. It is precisely for this reason that thedestined to become an indispensable element in illustrating theneed has emerged to consider the disclosure of such information

process used to create corporate value. The dissemination of infor-

on a management basis. In that sense, it has become tremendously

mation regarding TDK’s business and products is truly top caliber.

important to not merely consign such work to the divisions in charge

I have high hopes for redoubled progress in that direction goingof CSR, but instead organize moves for promotion on a company-forward, aimed at attaining ample communication of the company’swide scale.

ideology, long-term vision and its other qualities.

• “For the sake of precision ESG evaluations, company-investor
discourse will take on increasing importance over the years
to come,”• “It will be vital to devise disclosure methods that function
to shift investor attention from the short term to medium- tolonger-term perspectives,” andFollowing the Study Meeting
If we equate companies to “people,” financial information can be said to represent scholastic or physical energy• “In the quest to sustain global progress, it will be imperative
to adopt appropriate approaches and information disclosurefor the labor and production systems at overseas bases, aswell as on other key fronts.”
TDK attendees also took the time to note areas in which they
have developed greater awareness. As one case in point: “I feelfrom my daily experiences that greater stress is being placed on
ESG, pointing to the need for TDK to also review our approach to
how information is disseminated.”

capable of being numerically expressed in examinations, while nonfinancial information takes on the image ofcharacter traits, dispositions, or other elements that can only be ascertained through the accumulation of actual
sustained dialogue. In recent years, at Board of Directors’ evaluations of the company and other occasions, wehave faced increasing questions along the lines of, “Just what is the DNA of the TDK Group, and what can be done
to permeate those qualities throughout the Group?” More so than financial information, I am sensing a pronounced

Junji Yoneyama

trend to measure the company in terms of its “character,” whether it offers ample trust over the long term and can be

Director &Senior Vice President,
TDK Corporation

advantage of our outstanding traditions and corporate culture to further evolve ESG initiatives in all divisions, while

expected to deliver a promising future. As we move toward the 80th anniversary of our foundation, I want to take fullproperly conveying and sharing that information in an effort to spearhead the way to even higher corporate value.

TDK CSR REPORT 201514