- Home
- Sustainability
- Foster Group Sustainability
Foster Group Sustainability
Message from the Sustainability Officer
We established our ESG Management Statement and announced Foster's basic stance on implementing management focused on Environment (E), Social (S), and Governance (G) initiatives, both internally and externally. Above all, we position the realization of a decarbonized society as one of the most important business challenges we face and engage in initiatives accordingly. Specifically, we have set a long-term goal, “Aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050”, with a milestone of “50% reduction from a 2018 base-year by 2030” and are further accelerating our efforts. We will strive to build a sustainable society with all of the technological capabilities of the Foster Group, thus improving them to the source of a differentiating competitive advantage.
Further, in addition to “Environment”, there have been growing social concerns about and requirements related to “Human Rights”, for the realization of a sustainable society. At the Foster Group, which operates globally in Japan, the rest of Asia, the Americas, and Europe, we have newly set the Foster Group Human Rights Policy to clearly indicate our intention to advance initiatives to increase the respect for human rights within the Group and its supply chain, aiming to build workplaces and a society where people with diverse attributes, such as age, gender, nationality, and creed, respect and accept each other as they are.
Regarding our engagement with society, we have begun to co-sponsor the Japan Goalball Association, a parasports association, as a Gold Partner, aiming to establish an inclusive society and respect diversity as stated in the SDGs. We are working together with the Japan Goalball Association because its basic philosophy, “Value the sense of hearing even more in the absence of vision,” and our mission of “To make contributions for future society through acoustics” are aligned.
As a result of these activities, the Foster Group's sustainability initiatives have received high evaluations from various external rating agencies.
Moving forward, the Foster Group and all of us employees will integrate the financial value and trust that we have accumulated over many years of history with the non-financial value that is our strength, including intellectual capital, human capital, manufactured capital, social and relationship capital, and natural capital. In doing so, we will live up to our stakeholders' expectations and fulfill their requests. Thus, we will continue to enhance our corporate value and increase our contribution to the sustainability of both our company and society.
ESG Management Statement
In 2021, we established our ESG Management Statement along with the formulation of medium-term business plan, thus announcing Foster's commitment to management focused on E (Environmental), S (Social), and G (Governance) initiatives, both internally and externally.
It expresses in specific terms our commitment to working on ESG management in the medium to long term and what we want to be like, toward the realization of the sustainability of both the Group and society, by positioning the well-being of our employees, who are at the root of all corporate activities, as the base of our activities.
Foster Group ESG Management Statement
Our ESG initiatives stem from our corporate creed of “Sincerity”. The “Sincerity”, is defined in Foster Rhythm* as “Always tell the truth, be kind to others as well as the planet, and serve with all your heart”.
At Foster, employees play the central role in ESG activities. A company cannot promote ESG if it cannot make its employees, who are at the root of all corporate activities, happy. Based on this idea, we have positioned “Be Happy 80%” for employees as the base point of our ESG activities. We would like to contribute to a future society to fulfill the expectations of all the stakeholders We believe that 80%, not 100%, is the benchmark for happiness. We have left room to consider the satisfaction of other stakeholders as well as that of our company and ourselves.
* Foster Rhythm:Corporate philosophies including the corporate creed of “Sincerity” which were expressed in plain words by our employees, so they will be understood by our global employees
Foster is strongly committed to ESG and aims to achieve the following from a long-term perspective.
- 1. Initiatives to promote “Decarbonized Society”, “Resource Recycling”, and “Harmony with Nature” and tireless efforts to achieve “Zero Emissions”
- 2. Exciting, unrestricted work styles appropriate for each life stage and goal in life
- 3. A society where people with diverse attributes, such as age, gender, nationality, and creed, respect each other and accept each other as they are
- 4. A true expert trusted by customers and business partners
- 5. Having “Zero Defects” established in various aspects, including product quality and business quality
- 6. Improving the quality of people’s lives by providing solutions through sound and vibration technologies
- 7. Implementing strict risk management and enhancing the compliance structure, which contributes to strengthening corporate governance
- → Enriching people’s lives with the power of sound and vibration and delivering happiness and sustainable future to all stakeholders -- this is what we desire to do at Foster.
Promotion of Sustainability
Foster Electric's activities are under the corporate creed of “Sincerity”, and mission of “To make contributions for future society through acoustics” and its vision “Through acoustic products and solutions, we aim to create rich and comfortable spaces and bring amusement, joy, safety, and security to the world”
The philosophy of sustainability is deeply rooted in the foundation of the company, and we have consistently aimed since our founding to become a sustainable company that is indispensable to society and that continues to develop.
We are committed to management focused on Environmental (E), Social (S), and corporate Governance (G) initiatives, aiming to achieve the sustainability for both the company and society.
Foster Group Sustainability Charter
The Company issued the first version of its CSR Charter in 2006, and updated it to pursue global versatility and universality in 2010, by incorporating the EICC* Code of Conduct, the CSR standards established by U.S. Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition, as our basic policy.
Further, in 2022, we established the Sustainability Charter as a revision of the CSR Charter to clearly state that we will pursue sustainability of both the Group and society, in addition to continuing to work on corporate social responsibility (CSR). The Charter is aimed at making it known that all officers and employees regard corporate sustainability (medium- to long-term sustainability including ESG elements) to be an important issue and ensuring that they will be conscious of and achieve sustainability in their daily activities.
*Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (renamed Responsible Business Alliance in 2017)
Sustainability Promotion Structure
At its headquarters, the Foster Group has established the Sustainability Committee chaired by the president. The core members of the committee are representatives of related sections. The Sustainability Committee, including the sustainability representatives and staff from the headquarters and each site, meets every month with the sustainability officer who is the executive chairman of the committee in attendance. They monitor the activities of the Group as a whole for the promotion of sustainability and engage in collaborative activities. Important matters about which the Sustainability Committee is consulted are deliberated and approved during Board of Directors meetings which are attended by directors and outside directors. In addition, we have established the Environment Committee under the Sustainability Committee. The Environment Committee sets goals for each topic and action plans for achieving the goals and discusses and takes specific actions, including measures to address climate change issues.
Sustainability Promotion System
Major topics that were reported to and deliberated by the Sustainability Committee in FY2023
- ・Revision of material issues (based on thedouble materiality principle)*
- ・Progress and review of KPIs for the material issues
- ・Establishment of the Foster Group Human
- ・Disclosure of sustainability information (conforming to CSRD, TCFD, and TNFD)
- ・Key ESG issues based on surveys by external ESG rating agencies and customer survey
- ・Formulation of and progress in the FY2023 CO2 Reduction Action Program
- ・Results of internal environmental audits, management reviews, and ISO 14001 audits
- ・Progress in customer CSR audits
- ・Publication of Integrated Report*
- *Deliberated and approved by the Board of Directors
Material issues
Revision of Material (Priority) Issues and New Material Issues
We revised our material issues in 2024 to respond to changes in the business environment and the increasing demand for transparency of information disclosure in recent years. Specifically, we analyzed and evaluated the financial, social and environmental aspects of our material issues in and updated our previous ESG material issues. In addition, to ensure alignment with our management strategies, we incorporated our management policies and the development process and the direction of the next mid-term business plan, which is currently under development.
The methods we used to identify these issues included referencing the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), which are the sustainability reporting standards under Europe's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and the GRI standards. We adopted the double materiality concept to identify priority issues from two perspectives: “the impact of the company on society and the environment” and “the impact of social and environmental issues on financial performance.” The process is as follows.
（1）We identified actual and potential issues related to management and sustainability through the following four analysis processes.
- ① Identifying issues by clarifying the relationships between business, society, and the environment throughout the value chain
- ② Identifying issues by analyzing the issues, concerns, and expectations by major stakeholders
- ③ Identifying issues by analyzing megatrends that will cause great change in the future business environment (in the period up to 2040)
- ④ Identifying issues involved in our future plans by analyzing internal documents including management policies and the current and new mid-term business plans
（2）We organized and consolidated the identified issues and then had team members from different departments evaluate the degree of “impact of the company on society and the environ-ment (impact)” and “the impact of social and environmental issues on financial performance (Risks and Opportunities)” from the perspectives of scale, probability of occurrence, and other factors. Finally, we formulated new materiality proposals in the area of Business (B), Environment (E), Social (S) and Governance (G).
（3）The proposed new material issues were reviewed by the Sustainability Committee, which consists of staff and managers in each ESG field, and then the Board of Directors deliberated and approved them.
In this identification process, we clarified our priority issues based on the reasons identified during the analyses. We will continue to review our material issues by evaluating their impact on our stakeholders and their degree of importance on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changes in the business environment and our business policies. We will also actively address ESG issues while strengthening our financial position and simultaneously pursue the sustainability for both our company and society. Thus, we will create value while also fulfilling the expectations of our stakeholders.
Process of Identifying Material Issues
New material issues (from fiscal 2024)
Our Approach to Material Issues (Priority Issues) (Achievements until FY2023)
| Materiality | Target (KPI) | Achievements until FY2022 |
Correspon-ding SDGs |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enviro-nment （E） |
Decarbonized Society | ・Absolute Scope 1, 2 emissions | ・FY2025 Target: Reduce by 30% from a FY2018 base-year ・FY2030 Target: Reduce by 50% from a FY2018 base-year |
35% reduction from a FY2018 base-year |    |
| ・Absolute Scope 3 emissions | ・FY2025 Target: Reduce by 3% from a FY2018 base-year ・FY2030 Target: Reduce by 15% from a FY2018 base-year |
10% reduction from a FY2018 base-year | |||
| Resource Recycling | ・Weight reduction → Develop element technologies to achieve further weight reduction from conventional Automotive Audio Speakers. |
FY2025 Target: Production of self-developed products incorporating elemental technologies for speakers weighing less than 100g. 2023 target ・Weight reduction to less than 110g ・Production of self-developed products that incorporates weight reduction technology |
Completed production of a 108g self-developed product that incorporates the frame and CFRTP*1 diaphragm material as a lightweight technology. | ||
| ・Increase the ratio of environmentally friendly speakers*2 | •Increase the ratio of environmentally friendly speakers*2 → The ratio of Environmentally Friendly Automotive Audio Speakers (per sales): FY2025 target: 22% ・FY2023：18% ・FY2024：20% ・FY2025：22% |
FY2023: 22.1% | |||
| Harmony with Nature | ・Reduce the use of VOCs*3 | The ratio of toluene-free new mobile audio products: FY2024 target: 100% ・FY2023：80% ・FY2024：100% |
FY2023: 100% Achieved for all of the 8 newly launched models |
||
| Social (S) | Product Quality and Safety | ・The number of failures with a serious social impact (human life, property, environment, etc.) | Maintain 0 failures | 0 failures | |
| Supply Chain Management | Response rate of CSR self-assessments distributed to suppliers | ・Percent of key suppliers*4 who conduct CSR self-assessments: 100% | 100% | 
 |
|
| ・Percent of key suppliers who conform to our CSR standards:*5 94% or higher | 100% | ||||
| Response rate from suppliers in the responsible minerals survey | ・Existing suppliers: 99% or higher | 99% | |||
| ・New suppliers: 100% | 100% | ||||
| Creation of Exciting Workplace | ・Percentage of employees who gave positive answers in the employee engagement survey (headquarters) | 71.8% (FY2022 result) or higher | 75.0% |   |
|
| ・Total working hours per employee (headquarters) | Average monthly total working hours of 153 hours or less | 159.9 hours | |||
| ・Rate of specific health guidance/post-health checkup follow-up interviews (headquarters) | 80% | 79.7% | |||
| ・Rate of periodic health examinations taken (headquarters) | Maintain 100% | 100% | |||
| ・Ratio of care-related resignations (headquarters) | Maintain 100% | 0% | |||
| Diversity and Inclusion | ・Female manager ratio (headquarters) | FY2025: 30% | 13.9% (as of March 31, 2024) |
 |
|
| ・Ratio of overseas human resources (headquarters) | FY2025: 30% | 12.2% (as of March 31, 2024) | |||
| ・Employment rate of persons with disabilities (headquarters) | Exceed the statutory employment rate of 2.3% | 2.0% (FY2023 average) | |||
| ・Ratio of males taking leave for spouse's childbirth and childcare leave (headquarters) | 100% | Ratio of males taking leave for spouse's childbirth: 100% Ratio of male employees taking childcare leave 60.0% | |||
| ・Provide training to encourage the development of an organization where diverse people can demonstrate their capabilities (headquarters). | Provide training to eliminate unconscious biases which hamper the active participation of women and overseas human resources, and deepen understanding of SOGI and LGBTQ+ issues. |
|
|||
| Gover-nance (G) | Governance Enhancement | Enhancement of corporate governance | ・Compliance with the Corporate Governance Code: 100% | 100% | |
| ・Promote the governance cycle (Improve management systems and operation based on governance assessments). | 100% Improved management system based on the governance assessment sheet, business management assessment sheet, etc. |
||||
| Reinforcement of compliance | ・Maintain a response rate of 100% for the compliance test and the compliance survey. | 100% | |||
| ・Awareness rate of the internal whistleblowing system: 100% | 100% | ||||
| ・Provide compliance training and maintain an average satisfaction rating of 4 or higher out of 5. | Maintained 4 or higher on average. | ||||
| Enhancement of risk and crisis management | ・Improve the system and operation of risk and crisis management based on risk assessment. | Improved risk and crisis management systems and operations by sharing top risks and risk topics and thereby examining predictable risks and identifying responsible departments and the status of implemented countermeasures. | |||
| ・Completion rate of measures for key items*6 within the fiscal year, which are identified through the monitoring of the items | 100% | ||||
- *1 CFRTP: Carbon Fiber Reinforced Thermo Plastics
- *2 Environmentally friendly speaker: A speaker with any environmentally friendly element, such as light weight, reduced applications of VOC or solder, and application of dry process
- *3 VOC: Volatile Organic Compounds
- *4 Key suppliers: Approx. 50 corporate suppliers that account for 80% of our total procurement value
- *5 Rate of conformity to our CSR standards: Suppliers who have achieved CSR self-assessment scores of 66% or higher are deemed conformant to our CSR standards (those with 65% or lower are deemed non-conforming).
- *6 1. Continuation of the examination and global expansion of the BCP structure 2. Development of a global logistics system 3. Management of suppliers’ business continuity 4. Enhancement of the global information security management system 5. Other risks predicted based on events which occur during the fiscal year
Initiatives to ensure respect for human rights
In recent years, the importance of human rights initiatives in business is growing in international society. Guided by the corporate creed of “Sincerity,” we position human rights as an important task for society and take initiatives to respect human rights throughout the processes in our entire value chain. In January 2017, we joined the United Nations Global Compact and expressed our commitment to the Ten Principles including respect for human rights and protection of labor-related human rights. We are promoting activities accordingly.
Governance related to human rights
In 2003, we established the Foster Group Corporate Action Guideline and the Foster Group Code of Conduct for Staff. They define our respect for human rights in compliance with all laws and regulations, international rules, and their spirit and intent, regarding aspects such as forced labor, child labor, discrimination, harassment, the protection of personal information, safety and health and responsible minerals sourcing. We have also established the Foster Group Supplier Sustainability Code of Conduct, under which we ensure respect for human rights throughout the entire supply chain with cooperation from suppliers.
Further, in 2024, we established the Foster Group Human Rights Policy as our top-level human right policy, aiming to ensure that the Foster Group respects human rights in its business activities and prevents, mitigates and corrects any infringement on human rights. This policy applies to all employees and suppliers and it clarifies our responsibilities regarding human rights and our commitment to human rights. In addition, under this policy, we will manage internal and external human rights risks, make improvements, and promote sustainable business activities.
- Foster Group Corporate Action Guideline
(PDF：143KB) - Foster Group Code of Conduct for Staff(PDF：248KB)
- Foster Group Supplier Sustainability Code of Conduct(PDF：453KB)
- Foster Group Human Rights Policy(PDF：206KB)
Respect for employees’ human rights and increasing employees’ awareness
We value employees’ well-being and work to ensure that their human rights are respected, from the perspectives of respect for employees’ human rights, the prohibition of discrimination, the prevention of harassment, the protection of personal information and privacy, workplace safety and health, compliance with labor laws, and other perspectives. Further, we provide harassment training for all employees, which is aimed at increasing their awareness of the issue, and provide e-learning programs to enable them to increase their understanding of LGBTQ+ issues as part of our activities promoting diversity. We inform employees of our internal whistleblowing system using a compliance questionnaire, and the percentage of employees informed of the internal whistleblowing system has been kept at 100%.
Respecting human rights throughout the supply chain
We have our suppliers sign a letter of intent to comply with the Foster Group Supplier Sustainability Code of Conduct, conduct surveys on the status of initiatives taken including items related to human rights infringements (CSR self-assessments), and request that our suppliers take corrective actions as necessary. Further, in the sourcing of minerals, we conduct due diligence (a survey on responsible minerals sourcing) to confirm that the minerals we procure do not provide funding to armed forces/groups engaging in serious human rights violations, and procure minerals only from certified smelters.
Consultation Contacts / Hotline
We have established contacts for consultation and reporting such as the Compliance Hotline and the Harassment Helpline, our internal whistleblowing system and advise various stakeholders (including employees and officers of the Foster Group, their families, and employees of our business associates). When a vigorous investigation confirms a violation of human rights, we take corrective and punitive actions ensuring that the whistleblower will not be retaliated against or treated disadvantageously.
