Stakeholder Engagement
System
In order to reflect the opinions of the stakeholders in our business activities, points of contact suited to each stakeholder have been established, and we maintain a system to feed the valuable opinions which are received back to our management.
In addition to assessing the results of stakeholder engagement of the company and the group including the opinions received through various points of contact, the feedback is used to improve daily business activities under a promotion system which is the responsibility of the sustainability officer in charge. In order to reliably deliver everyone’s opinions to top management, the information is compiled by each department in charge and shared on a regular basis with managerial meetings, Board of Directors meetings, and other top-level managerial bodies and executives. Moreover, the results of stakeholder engagement are also shared as reports with the relevant stakeholders as needed.
When it comes to maintaining and strengthening the engagement with each individual stakeholder, we focus not only on the business and business opportunity creation but also plan and draft ideas while considering the risks. Moreover, because various factors such as different levels of participation and different opinions between stakeholders may have an impact on engagement, the appropriate remedial action is executed for highly risky cases with the goal of leading to more effective means of engagement.
In addition, we strive to enable all stakeholders to sufficiently participate in engagement capabilities through the publication by providing English language support and posting complete information on the web site to have enough capacity for preventing language barriers and a lack of specialized knowledge from hindering the engagement process.
Relationship with stakeholders
Various individuals and organizations are involved in the company and the group diverse range of businesses. When it comes to effective stakeholders and implementing engagement, The Group has identified “customers,” “shareholders,” “Suppliers,” “employees,” “members of the local community,” “national government, government agencies and industry associations” as particularly important stakeholders. We verify and prioritize the stakeholders’ level of dependence, responsibility, and impact, etc. on our business activities.
The method of engagement with stakeholders is determined from the perspective of timeliness of information and ease of participation by each stakeholder.
Customers
| Relationship with the group company |
In order to increase customer satisfaction, we strive to improve the shop crew and contact center level of service and the network environment quality on a daily basis. |
|---|---|
| Engagement methods | Customer inquiry counter, website, SNS, store, smartphone class. |
Employees
| Relationship with the group company |
By creating a workplace environment where employees can work in a lively manner and supporting social contribution activities by employees, we value employee satisfaction and pride. |
|---|---|
| Engagement Methods | Exchange of opinions with labor unions, diversity week, various training and seminars, employee satisfaction survey, pulse survey, compliance infiltration month, internal and external consultation services, intranet/internal newsletter. |
Suppliers
| Relationship with the group company |
We build fair and positive relationships with Suppliers and respond to CSR issues together with the goal of mutually increasing enterprise value and growth. |
|---|---|
| Engagement methods | Supplier briefings, website, integrated report/sustainability report. |
Shareholders
| Relationship with the group company |
In an aim to become a trustworthy company, we endeavor to implement corporate management that meets the expectations of shareholders, and disclose accurate information. |
|---|---|
| Engagement methods | General meetings of shareholders, IR briefings (financial results briefings, briefings for individual investors, business briefings), integrated reports/sustainability reports, shareholder newsletters, individual interviews in IR/SR activities, website. |
Local residents
| Relationship with the group company | We strive to provide the appropriate explanations and engage in a dialog with local residents regarding the construction of base station facilities, etc. |
|---|---|
| Engagement Methods |
Providing information on radio wave safety on our website, conduct briefings for local residents, visit/brief local governments. |
National government, government agencies, industry associations
| Relationship with the group company | Comply with relevant laws and regulations and achieve growth as a company under fair competition. |
|---|---|
| Engagement Methods | Participation in various policy councils, participation in councils and round-table discussions with government agencies, exchange of human resources including secondment to local governments, and activities through industry associations. |
List of stakeholder dialogue events
We regularly hold dialogues with outside experts to bring the concerns of many stakeholders into our business and corporate activities.
| Affiliation | Presenter | Date | Discussion content |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Tokyo Future Vision Research Center | Hiroshi Naka | July 14, 2020 |
|
| Part-time lecturer, Tohoku University Graduate School | Keiichi Ushijima | August 24, 2020 | Roles expected of communications carriers in protecting privacy |
| Attorney, Shinwa Sohgoh Law Offices | Daisuke Takahashi | August 31, 2020 | Human-rights issues raised by technological development |
| Representative Director, SDG Partners, Inc. | Kazuo Tase | October 16, 2020 | SDGs and ESG |
| Distinguished Professor of Technology and Policy and the Director of the Urban Institute at Kyushu University |
Shunsuke Manag | From May 2021 | Social impact of ESG |
| Deputy General Manager, Corporate Planning Dept. and Principal Sustainability Strategist, Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Co., Ltd. |
Mari Yoshidaka | July 27, 2021 | Second SDGs Committee Expert Review of FY2021 |
| Representative Director and CEO, Neural Inc. | Kenji Fuma | August 4, 2021 | Lecture to all employees: “What does it mean for companies to tackle the SDGs? A reading from an ESG perspective” |
Major initiatives
Dialogue with regional residents
When building these base stations, we feel that it is SoftBankʼs responsibility to place top priority on the safety, security and environment of the people of that regional community. We engage in dialogue and provide appropriate explanations to the people in specified communities in accordance with relevant laws and in-house rules, and begin construction only after ensuring a full understanding of the roles of the stations and the safety of radio waves. During the construction phase, we place top priority on the safety of people in the regional community and provide detailed explanations in response to inquiries and comments received through the Company contact points.
To ensure that children can use the internet safely
As the use of smartphones becomes commonplace even among young people, there is a growing risk that children will access inappropriate websites through the Internet, leading to potentially harmful situations. To prevent problems and provide a safe Internet environment for children, SoftBank offers free filtering services that contribute to customer satisfaction and peace of mind.
Agreements with municipalities
SoftBank has completed agreements with 76* municipalities nationwide to promote regional revitalization. By building collaborative relationships with municipalities and regions, we will contribute to regional revitalization in response to social issues and the unique needs of each region.
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As of March 31,2022
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Partnerships with NPOs
SoftBankʼs target for partnerships on CSR activities with NPOs is to engage in partnerships with 1,000 organizations in FY2023. In FY2020, the Company partnered with 688 NPOs, including the Japan Foundation, the Ashinaga Foundation, the Japanese Red Cross Society, the Japan Platform, the Medecins Sans Frontières Japan Association and NPO Florence.
External initiatives
SoftBank supports and participates in worldwide initiatives aimed at building a sustainable society, and shares a wide range of information related to these initiatives.