Sustainability Management

• Sustainability Initiatives
• Promotion System
• Material Sustainability Issues
• Awareness Raising

Sustainability Initiatives

The Yamaha Group is advancing initiatives for contributing to the realization of a sustainable society in accordance with the Yamaha Group Sustainability Policy. This policy was formulated based on the Group’s material sustainability issues, which were shaped by the relationship between its business activities and the environment and society as well as on stakeholder expectations and social demands. We thereby aim to contribute to the well-being of people around the world.

Promotion System

Under the guidance of the Board of Directors, Yamaha Corporation established the Sustainability Committee as an advisory body to the president. This committee is tasked with discussing directives for Groupwide sustainability initiatives, monitoring Group initiatives, and reporting to the president on these matters.

Five working groups—the Working Group for Climate Change, Working Group for Resource Circulation, Working Group for Procurement, Working Group for Human Rights, DE&I, and Working Group for Social and Cultural Contributions—have been formed under the Sustainability Committee. The working groups establish frameworks for advancing initiatives based on the following important Group themes; formulate policies, targets, measures, and activity plans; advance and monitor activities; and submit reports on these matters to the Sustainability Committee.

Working Group for Climate Change: Decarbonization, disclosure based on Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations, water risk response measures, etc.

Working Group for Resource Circulation: Circular value chains, eco-friendly product designs and packaging, etc.

Working Group for Procurement: Timber due diligence, sustainable timber procurement, Tone Forest activities, supply chain human rights due diligence, response to conflict minerals, etc.

Working Group for Human Rights, DE&I: Human rights due diligence, promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), etc.

Working Group for Social and Cultural Contributions: Popularization of music, community outreach, etc.

Reports on discussions by the Sustainability Committee and relevant initiatives within the Group are regularly submitted to the Board of Directors for review.

Fiscal 2023 Sustainability Committee Meetings

Meetings: 6
Major agenda items:

• Review of sustainability initiatives under the previous medium-term management plan
• Disclosure based on TCFD recommendations
• Progress and challenges of sustainability initiatives under the current medium-term management plan
• Discussion session with an external expert

Hidemi Tomita, representative director of LRQA Sustainability Co., Ltd., was invited to take part in a discussion session with members of the Sustainability Committee and the associated working groups, which featured a lecture by Mr. Tomita as well as a Q&A session and an exchange of opinions regarding the challenges faced in Yamaha’s sustainability initiatives.

Connection between Officer Compensation

In conjunction with the start of the Make Waves 2.0 medium-term management plan in April 2022, non-financial targets centered on sustainability-related indicators were introduced among the evaluation indicators for the performance-linked bonuses paid to officers in order to strengthen motivation to pursue ongoing improvements in social value.

Material Sustainability Issues

The Yamaha Group has defined material sustainability issues for contributing to sustainable development and medium- to long-term improvements in corporate value based on the relationship between its business activities and the environment and society as well as on stakeholder expectations and social demands. Initiatives for addressing these issues are currently underway.

Identified Material Sustainability Issues

Environment

• Response to climate change
• Reduction of CO₂ emissions from business sites (Scope 1 + Scope 2)
• Reduction of CO₂ emissions from procurement, logistics, and product use (Scope 3)
• Sustainable use of timber
• Sustainable sourcing and utilization of timber
• Promotion of forest cultivation
• Resource savings, reduction of waste and hazardous substances
• Resource savings and improved resource recycling of products and packaging
• Reduction of hazardous chemical substances (VOCs, etc.)

Society

• Contribution to an equal society and comfortable lives
• Mental and physical safety and health
• Remote communication
• Consideration for universal design and accessibility

• Respect for human rights in the value chain
• Increase the level of supplier human rights due diligence

Culture

• Spread and development of music culture
• Products, services, and activities that contribute to the promotion and development of music culture
• Contribution to the development of the next generation

Human Resources

• Increase job satisfaction
• Human resource development, etc.

• Respect for human rights and DE&I (diversity, equity, and inclusion)
• Initiatives to respect the human rights of people who work with Yamaha (Human rights education and due diligence)
• DE&I promotion (gender, nationality, etc.)

• Foster open organizational culture where people can proactively take on challenges
• Employee engagement surveys; creation of opportunities for dialogue; promotion of work-life balance, safety, and health; etc.

For more details, please refer to the following website.

Material Issue Identification Process

Sustainability issues pertaining to the Yamaha Group’s value chain were identified with reference to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The level of priority of these issues was then assessed based on input from customers, employees, and community members; environmental, social, and governance (ESG) evaluation criteria; opinions and requests from NGOs; advice from external experts; our corporate philosophy and vision; and medium- to long-term management policies. We thereby identified the material issues requiring an enhanced approach. In fiscal 2022, we revised our material sustainability issues.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) for gauging the progress of measures related to the identified material sustainability issues by the Sustainability Committee working groups and relative divisions was established along with related targets and action plans. The Sustainability Committee is responsible for monitoring the progress of initiatives pertaining to material issues.

Details regarding the identification process are as follows.

Awareness Raising

At the Yamaha Group, new employees are promoting sustainability in their respective roles and jobs in order to contribute to the realization of a sustainable society. In addition, sustainability education and awareness-raising elements are being incorporated into the rank- and field-based training and seminars, intranet postings, internal events, and Company newsletters. We also provide a range of content for learning about external trends, including sustainability quizzes that offer an easy way to study sustainability and the SDGs as well as case studies designed to help employees learn from examples of companies on the forefront of sustainability. Furthermore, seeking to foster a more fundamental understanding of sustainability among employees, Dr. Naoki Adachi, CEO of Response Ability, Inc., was invited to hold an online seminar for all employees in March 2023. At this seminar, Dr. Adachi spoke about important sustainability subjects such as climate change, biodiversity, and resource issues.