Dialog between directors

—— Looking back on the past year since 2022, please tell us about your evaluation of D&I promotion and the challenges we face.

Kado:We have strived over the past year to put our ideas into action. Specifically, we have identified challenges and formulated solutions focusing on gender for diversity. Moreover, we have established our vision for inclusion. We have made steady progress in those areas. In particular, we have achieved remarkable results in terms of men taking childcare leave.

●Male ratio taking childcare leave

Hirano:I think it is a big development that it is no longer seen as something out of the ordinary when men take childcare leave. For example, we can hear this issue naturally come up as a topic in everyday conversation. Our goal now is to further extend the take-up rate to 100%. The challenge to achieve that goal is how to supplement personnel.

Kado:We need to ensure that the benefits are also felt by the employees who cover for those taking leave in the workplace. Initially, we focused on women and started by looking at gender. However, our challenge going forward is how to expand efforts to people with circumstances such as illnesses, nursing care and disabilities. I feel that Idemitsu Kosan moves very fast from proposing various measures to actually implementing them. We are moving well through the cycle from subsequent feedback to further action. Therefore, I sense that we will quickly move to solve challenges.

Hirano:You have a positive evaluation of our efforts. However, conversely, we can say that we are lagging behind the global standard when it comes to D&I. There is still a lot we must do. We will steadily implement measures based on that self-admonition.

—— In June 2023, we added the concept of equity to our D&I policy we have been advocating to evolve it into DE&I. Please tell us the background to that and your thoughts about it.

Kado:We have received a lot of feedback from employees about D&I. Among that feedback, there were those who felt that only women were receiving preferential treatment. We can presume such an opinion will emerge if we place all women uniformly on a pedestal. At the same time, we cannot say it is possible for women to receive sufficient support. There are those who need a higher pedestal and those who would be better off with a lower pedestal. There may also be some who need a ramp or an electric lift. Equity (E) means providing each individual with the tools and resources to suit their situation so that everyone obtains the opportunity to participate and succeed.

Hirano:I agree with what Ms. Kado has just said. In addition, from a management perspective, in the future we must move forward by creating new value while exploring various options in a world of confusion where no correct answer can be seen. Even more people must participate in management to achieve this. In the background to this is the strong recognition of the importance of diversity (D), inclusion (I) and also equity (E) to ensure everyone can participate in management together with management challenges.

—— What is necessary to realize equity (E)?

Kado:It is difficult just to envision what kind of support is actually needed. We need to create an environment where all employees can freely give opinions such as, “It would be helpful to have this kind of support.” It is also necessary for the departments responsible for human resources and the DE&I Committee to listen to the various circumstances of a wide range of employees and to then collect together their opinions and ideas.

—— What point of view does our company need to create further value?

Kado:I believe that marketing and publicity activities taking into account general consumers will be very important in the future. I think Smart Yorozuya, one of the pillars of the Medium-term Management Plan, is a good focus of our attention. Therefore, I would like us to move forward with various measures a little more speedily. Since our DE&I initiatives are proceeding speedily, we can utilize what we have learned from that in company-wide marketing and publicity activities including with Smart Yorozuya.

Hirano:I think you are right. I was able to think about things from the viewpoint of various employees in addition to the management viewpoint in terms of what I had personally learned in promoting DE&I. For instance, the viewpoint of the supplier has always been strongly emphasized in the past in Smart Yorozuya. However, I want us to satisfy needs standing in the shoes of customers more in the future. If we think about things from the standpoint of the recipient, I believe that can produce a big difference when it comes to marketing and publicity activities. I recognize that this is something we really need to learn.Smart Yorozuya,'' we have always had a strong supplier position, but from now on, we would like to think more from the customer's perspective and fulfill their needs. When it comes to marketing and public relations activities, if you think about things from the perspective of the recipient, you can make a big difference. I realize that's something we really need to learn.

Kado:For example, we need strategies such as those in which we communicate in stories easily understood by the recipient instead of promoting one-off measures when appearing in the media for public relations. Since Idemitsu Kosan has a lot of good assets, I feel it is necessary to make the most of them and to talk them up.

Hirano:We have often communicated at the business department level in the past. However, my expectations have increased that it will be possible for people to understand the social significance of our business and initiatives and the world we are aiming to realize with an even broader perspective by presenting them as a corporate- wide story.

Kado:I think that Idemitsu Kosan’s greatest asset is “people.” I have had the opportunity to visit various complexes as part of my onboarding process. Everyone I have met has pride and passion in their work. I want to engage in activities so that all employees and also their families feel the pride of working at a wonderful company and doing significant work in terms of public relations activities and marketing. I believe that will also lead to the promotion of DE&I.

Hirano:I am very happy to hear that you rate our “people.” I will continue to work on developing systems and mechanisms with a firm awareness of the challenges as a part of management in regards to whether we are getting 100% of the potential of our precious human resources. Our aim with DE&I is to make our greatest asset of “people” into an even more valuable asset.

—— Finally, please tell us about your expectations for Idemitsu Kosan.

Kado:We must continue being a sustainable company as is the core of DE&I. The biggest challenge for Idemitsu Kosan now is undoubtably carbon neutrality. However, it is not enough just to be sustainable in environmental terms; it is necessary to continue such efforts while growing as a company. I feel that the elements required to continue to be such a sustainable company are all present in Idemitsu Kosan. The question is how to further develop these elements in the future. For instance, in the case of human resources, we need to ensure all our employees are attached to the company, love the brand, and continue working while performing well over the long term. I think we have the foundations for things to go well with just a little ingenuity. Therefore, I say let’s make our employees blossom to their full potential.