As a specialized touchscreen manufacturer, we are a company with global operations in Europe, North America, and Asia. The manufacturing of touchscreens, our main product, consumes a large amount of electricity. In order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, we are working to change to manufacturing processes with lower environmental impacts that can be expected to reduce CO² emissions. The wet etching process in particular, which uses solvents to form circuits on glass and film, requires large amounts of electricity and water, so we are working to switch to laser etching, which has a lower environmental impact. After much trial and error, we were able to start full-scale operations in FY2023, and have begun shipping some products manufactured using this process.

In addition, a major event occurred in FY2023 with the merger of Seedsware, a Group company, which has had a positive impact on the promotion of sustainability.

In touchscreen manufacturing, there are some processes that require a high level of skill from workers. This necessitated that some work be left to specific individuals, creating a barrier to the standardization of quality. In some aspects, however, Seedsware had been a step ahead of the former DMC in terms of production management standardization. By incorporating Seedsware’s quality control methods into the work processes that are dependent on individual worker skill, we expect to be able to establish a manufacturing method that balances quality and environmental friendliness. On the other hand, in the field of touchscreen application products, which Seedsware had previously been in charge of, we have been able to establish new targets for CO² reduction. We are also making efforts to further focus on environmentally friendly product manufacturing, such as developing recycling techniques.

We will continue to promote environmental initiatives in our manufacturing processes, but we recognize that this will require the understanding and cooperation of our customers. In the industrial equipment field, stable operation is of utmost importance, and in turn reliability with minimal risk tends to be valued over advanced innovation. As the machines make the component parts for other products, industrial equipment has a significant impact on our society, and ensuring their stable operation is vital. Sometimes, however, what is needed is innovation and a change in one's thinking that results in significant reductions in CO² emissions, and gaining the understanding of customers therein is also essential. We see it as our mission is to respond to the needs of society by seeking cooperation through steady dialogue.

Another issue is the inevitable temporary increase in workload on actual employees when work content is changed. The only way to get employees to understand that such change has meaning to them is to motivate them by helping them recognize that the work they are doing is contributing to society. For this reason, I speak directly to employees at various meetings to tell them that the work we do today will reduce our environmental impact and help us meet what society demands of us.

Their work may simply be to do as they are instructed, but their job is to be aware that what they do directly ties into protecting the environment and contributing to society, and to try to find better ways to do it. Being aware of this leads to fresh motivation. Employees play the most important role in a company, and the awareness of each and every one serves as the driving force behind the promotion of sustainability. We share information about the sustainability initiatives of each of our businesses through our internal newsletter, and the messages from our employees published in it convey the strength of their enthusiasm.

There must be no gap between a company's message of promoting sustainability and the reality on the ground. With great determination, we will push forward to fulfill our corporate responsibility and promote sustainability while minimizing the burden on the employees actually doing the work.

Our sustainability efforts fully got underway starting in 2017 with the revision of our quality and environmental policies, as well as the review of our management policy. In the beginning, this initiative was launched in response to requests by customers in Europe, but as a result of our slow but steady efforts, we were honored by one of our customers in 2023 as a company that takes a proactive approach in the area of sustainability. The fact that our company, which is by no means a large one, was acclaimed for its efforts will serve as encouragement for the further promotion of sustainability.

In recent years, we frequently receive inquiries and requests from customers in Japan as well as in Europe and the United States regarding our CO² reduction plans and initiatives to achieve carbon neutrality. I take pride in the fact that our early start in environmental initiatives is now producing results that are satisfactory to our customers in Japan. Corporations are also now coming under severe scrutiny as to whether they are doing business with companies that may be infringing on human rights. Naturally, we have established a policy of not doing business with suppliers that have issues with regard to respect for human rights. As we have a factory located in Indonesia, where there is a relatively high risk of human rights violations, we recognize the need to further strengthen our efforts to respect human rights, and we will continue to take action to address this issue.