The CSR Management Committee regularly evaluates the materiality of a wide range of social, environmental, and economic issues through a structured process. In the most recent materiality assessment, climate change was recognized as a critical risk and endorsed by the Board of Directors as a materiality for “Create a decarbonized society,” identifying management oversight and actions for this materiality as an important management issue.
Link: Identifying material issues
On a strategic level, the Climate Change Committee provides oversight on Murata’s climate change agenda, including the continuous monitoring of evolving climate-related risks.
To evaluate the potential risks and opportunities posed by future climate change and the resilience of our business strategy, we have been continuously conducting in-depth analyses of physical scenarios and transition scenarios since fiscal 2021. Other efforts include a full-scale introduction of the sustainability investment promotion system in fiscal 2022, and decarbonization initiatives with the perspective of unprecedented discontinuous challenges, including the adoption of the internal carbon pricing system. Aiming to refine and reduce Scope3 initiatives, we have continuously given briefings for decarbonization targeting more than 250 companies in Japan and interviews with suppliers. As a result, we were able to increase the primary data percentage of Category 1 CO2 emissions up to 16.7%.
On the operational level, ISO 14001 is enforced in our production facilities to drive continuous improvement while assessing environmental and climate change risks. Since 2018, Murata has also been capturing the latest information on global climate change in a timely manner through its regular membership with Japan Climate Leaders' Partnership (JCLP) and has applied it to corporate efforts and actions.
Risks arising from climate change are incorporated into company-wide enterprise risk register under the supervision of the Risk Management Committee. For example, guidelines for responding to severe weather conditions are provided in our Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to minimize business disruption.
Link: Reinforcing risk management
Our participation in industry associations, such as JCLP and JEITA, and global alliances, such as RE100, can help us gather insights into emerging risks and opportunities related to climate change.
For the participation in an industry association or the review thereof, in line with its commitment to the Paris Agreement, Murata periodically checks for any significant discrepancies or deviations from the missions of the industry association in light of conformity with Murata’s aims and business activities. Withdrawal will be considered if conformity with their mission became difficult.