Stakeholder Dialogues
The Ajinomoto Group is well aware of the importance of holding dialogues with society, and makes sure to reflect the feedback it receives from stakeholders in future corporate activities and CSR initiatives.
Preliminary questionnaire
Before holding the session, Ajinomoto distributed a questionnaire to the stakeholders scheduled to participate, after which it collected their responses.
The questionnaire included a list of 50 CSR-related items compiled by the Ajinomoto Group. The stakeholders were requested to select three items that they considered essential matters that should be given the highest priority by the Ajinomoto Group, and seven preferable items that they felt the group should also address.
The essential items representing the highest priority were counted as three points each, while preferable items were counted as one point each. Finally, the top ten items with the most points were extracted as topics (see the table below) and among those, six were discussed in the session.
| Category | Main area | Specific area | Question / issue | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business | Procurement | Stable procurement | Are efforts being made to secure a stable supply of raw materials (also in the context of competition with biofuels)? | 13 |
| Are efforts being made to support sustainable agriculture, livestock, and fisheries industries (in consideration of sustainability of the food industry overall)? | 50 | |||
| Are efforts being made to effectively utilize raw materials? | 5 | |||
| Are initiatives being taken to nurture primary industry in Japan (and helping improve food self-sufficiency)? | 18 | |||
| Fair procurement | Are fair transactions being completed with business partners such as raw material suppliers and subcontractors? | 15 | ||
| Are steps being taken to ensure that child labor, forced labor, and other human rights violations due not occur during the production of raw materials? | 27 | |||
| Are steps being taken to ensure that economic problems that could impact the subsistence of producers do not occur during the production of raw materials? | 10 | |||
| Is assistance being provided to eradicate poverty in developing countries (especially through “Bottom of the Pyramid” [BoP] measures) in connection to procurement? | 19 | |||
| Quality (in relation to safety) | Quality assurance of raw materials | How are audits of raw material suppliers performed? | 10 | |
| Are efforts being made to ensure the traceability of raw materials? | 24 | |||
| Quality assurance of products | How are quality audits performed? | 7 | ||
| Are employees provided with education regarding quality assurance? | 6 | |||
| Environment | Reducing environmental impact | Emissions of greenhouse gases | 30 | |
| Water (use of water resources, waste water at sites, etc.) | 9 | |||
| Reducing environmental impact during distribution | 2 | |||
| Waste | Containers and packaging and 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) initiatives | 5 | ||
| Reducing waste in the manufacturing process | 10 | |||
| Biodiversity | Are specific initiatives being undertaken to conserve biodiversity? | 18 | ||
| Others | Environmental management system | 2 | ||
| Practice of green purchasing | 7 | |||
| Relation with stakeholders and other parties | Relation with stakeholders and other parties | Are efforts being taken to solve global environmental issues through the sale of products? | 18 | |
| Are efforts being taken to assist developing countries through the sale of products? | 12 | |||
| Are efforts being taken to support patients with intractable diseases through the sale of products? | 1 | |||
| Are plants taking initiatives for effectively co-existing with the local communities where they are located? | 16 | |||
| Are corporate citizenship activities being actively undertaken outside the business realm? | 10 | |||
| Does the company cooperate with NPOs and other similar organizations? | 10 | |||
| Information communication | Labeling and disclosure (in relation to offering peace of mind) | Information disclosure | Are efforts being made to disclose information about manufacturing processes (including the provision of plant tours)? | 6 |
| Descriptive labeling | Is proper descriptive labeling being used on packaging? | 19 | ||
| Is the use and labeling of food additives sufficiently explained? | 14 | |||
| Is the use and labeling of GMO sufficiently explained? | 16 | |||
| Food and nutrition education | Food and nutrition education | Are steps being taken to educate people about knowledge and customs relating to their dietary lives? | 6 | |
| Are efforts being made to pass along dietary cultures to the next generation? | 9 | |||
| Are efforts being made to disseminate information about the importance of appreciating great taste? | 6 | |||
| Are efforts being made to raise awareness of preventing food waste? | 11 | |||
| Communications with society | Communications with society | Is the company’s vision and corporate message being effectively communicated? | 9 | |
| Are steps being taken to actively listen to the opinions of customers (such as through a customer service center)? | 12 | |||
| Are efforts being made to provide food product and nutritional information (such as on the functions of amino acids)? | 4 | |||
| Is the company effectively communicating its concepts of food miles and virtual water? | 12 | |||
| Management | Management | Governance | Corporate governance | 4 |
| Risk management, including a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) | 6 | |||
| Prevention of information leaks | 1 | |||
| Compliance | Compliance structure | 7 | ||
| Corporate ethics | 7 | |||
| Employees (Labor) | Are steps being taken to realize diversity in employment and working styles (including the protection of human rights)? | 19 | ||
| Are employees evaluated fairly? | 5 | |||
| Have appropriate systems, including personnel affairs and employee education, been established to improve the effectiveness of work? | 1 | |||
| Are steps being taken to develop the abilities of employees? | 4 | |||
| Are steps being taken to provide mental health care? | 3 |
