Community Involvement and Development

Local Communities

KPI

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Item FY 2020 results FY 2021 results
Implementation rate of community activities and dialogs (Consolidated) 100% (Consolidated) 100%
Businesses with a negative impact on the local community (Consolidated) 0% (Consolidated) 0%

Responsible Departments

Each business location
  • The Corporate Social Responsibility Planning Department and Environmental Protection Promotion Department serves as a secretariat for the deployment of policies and sharing information.

Stance and Target

Why is “Engagement with Local Communities” a critical issue to be addressed?
Explanation of the reason and background

The Yokohama Rubber Group currently conducts production activities in 13 countries. If the Group commenced operations or withdrawals from any region, it will have a social impact on the community in terms of the environmental impact, employment, etc. Because that impact varies depending on the circumstance of each region, we believe that it is extremely important for the Group's sustainable management to consider how to expand the positive impact and reduce the negative impact while engaging with local communities, and to then take action accordingly.

Vision (attainment goal) / target

As a globally active business, we relate to local communities in a number of domains - the natural environment, law, culture, customs and the economy. We will strive to build a healthy relationship for various local communities together with our both domestic and overseas offices. The following three points are aimed for as the vision for 2023.
  • Building a trusted identity together with local communities
    To achieve this, we will use various forms of engagement and focus on issues and development in the local communities.
  • A worldwide system is in place to apply what stake holders have to say.
  • We aim to plant and provide a total of 1.15 million trees and saplings in FY2023 and to be planted a total of 1.3 million trees and saplings by FY2030.

Measures for vision achievement

The following approaches will be considered from various perspective to achieve our vision.
  • Social gatherings with local residents as a form of communication in local communities will be held twice a year as a general rule.
  • We are conducting activities in cooperation with local NGOs at production and R&D bases in Japan* where biodiversity conservation activities are being commenced. We conduct biological monitoring while receiving instructions on matters such as the names and ecology of wild birds and aquatic organisms from chapters of the Wild Bird Society of Japan and nature conservation organizations.
    ・・・Review of FY 2021 activities (1)
  • At ThinkEco Hiratsuka, an environmental event held at Hiratsuka Factory, we held a panel discussion on biodiversity and discussed together with local residents how Yokohama Rubber can protect and improve area waterways.
    ・・・Review of FY 2021 activities (2)
  • Seedlings raised as part of the YOKOHAMA Forever Forest Project activities are provided to schools, social welfare facilities, NPOs, etc. that conduct tree planting activities in the region.
    ・・・Review of FY 2021 activities (3)
  • As the disaster area reconstruction support in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake, we have conducted tree planting activities in an embankment called the “Heisei Forest” from 2012 to 2015, in order to support the creation of a “Forest That Protect Lives”, which is one of reconstruction plans of Otsuchi Town, Shimohei County, Iwate Prefecture. Since 2014, we have also supported forest development and afforestation activities as part of the Furusato Class programed at Otsuchi Gakuen (including the former Otsuchi Elementary School).
    ・・・Review of FY 2021 activities (4)
  • The Social Contribution Support Program and Volunteer Leave Program have been established to support volunteer activities by employees. Employees from various business locations use these programs to participate in a variety of volunteer activities that contribute to local communities.
    ・・・Review of FY 2021 activities (5)
  • The Yokohama Magokoro Fund launched in May 2016 enables employees to put aside funds from their monthly salary which can be donated to organizations including NPOs, NGOs, or social welfare corporations in support of their efforts in social welfare, educational support in poverty regions, and environmental conservation activities; or to disaster relief funds in the event of a natural disaster. Yokohama Rubber provides support through matching gifts contributing the same amount of the money done by the fund.
  • Mie Plant, Shinshiro Plant, Mishima Plant, Onomichi Plant, Ibaraki Plant, Nagano Plant, Hiratsuka Factory, Yokohama Tire Retread Hokkaido Office, Saitama Office, and Nagoya Office, D-PARC, Aichi Tire

Review of FY 2021 Activities

The following measures were conducted during FY 2021.
(1) Biodiversity conservation activities were conducted at 13 domestic and 9 overseas production sites. Due to the spread of the COVID-19, we reduced the number of times and the number of participants in surveys of living creatures (monitoring), removal of invasive alien species (uprooting, etc.), beach clean-ups compared to previous years.
(2) The 8th Biodiversity Panel Discussion was held online under the theme of "Biodiversity Conservation for Watershed Protection.
Taking advantage of the merits of holding the event online, this time many stakeholders, including governments, local residents, environmental NPOs, and other groups related to production sites in Japan, participated in the discussion.
Mr. Masato Ohno, Director of the Conservation Department of the Nature Conservation Society of Japan, gave a keynote speech on the theme of "What is the 'linkage' to consider biodiversity in a watershed? He introduced the initiatives through the Miyagawa River watershed at the Mie Plant, and panelists discussed the significance of companies protecting nature.
(3) In the YOKOHAMA Forever Forest Project, 40,816 seedlings were provided during 2021, for a cumulative total of 472,628 seedlings.
(4) Tree planting has been postponed for two years due to the spread of COVID-19 infection.
On April 28, together with 79 children from Otsuchi Gakuen (4th grade elementary school) in Otsuchi Town, Kamihei District, Iwate Prefecture, we planted approximately 530 seedlings in the "Heisei no Mori" mound at the Otsuchi Sewage Treatment Center after learning the meaning of tree planting.
This was the final tree planting at the Heisei-no-Mori mound, which began in 2012.
(5) We supported five volunteer activities by our employees through the "Social Contribution Activity Support Program".
The main activities included support for activities to send clothing and school supplies collected by employees to a non-profit organization that delivers clothing and school supplies to impoverished areas in the Philippines.

Yokohama Magokoro(Sincere Heart) Fund

The Foundation and the company made donations as matching gifts to organizations in Japan and abroad that provide assistance in times of disaster, environmental conservation, and child welfare support.
In 2021, the foundation and the company made 13 donations.
The total amount of donations was approximately 49.02 million yen.
This year, for the first time, we collaborated with a regional plant and Yokohama Tire Japan to donate tires for the COVID-19 medical support vehicle.
Under the Yokohama Magokoro Fund, contributions (from 100 yen to the desired amount per month) are collected from employees (members) who support the fund, members recommend an organization they would like to support, and a Fund Steering Committee composed of member representatives then screens the recommended organizations and decides whether to make a donation.
The fund is a mechanism in which Yokohama Rubber makes a donation of the same amount as the fund when donations are made to the organization decided on.
Currently, about 43.7% of the employees are participating in the fund, and each employee feels it is important for the company as a whole to contribute to society through the fund.
(Major Supporting Organizations)
Authorized NPO : Japan Hair Donation & Charity
Authorized NPO: Shine on Kids
Authorized NPO: Katariba

(Major disaster relief efforts)
Continuous support for the Great East Japan Earthquake (including the Fukushima earthquake)
July 2021 Mt. Izu landslide disaster (direct support to Atami City)
Medical support for COVID-19 countermeasures (Tokyo, Komitama City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Nagano, Aichi, Mie, and Hiroshima prefectures)

Introduction of Initiatives

Hiratsuka Factory Opens "Think Eco Hiratsuka" Special Site

Think Eco Hiratsuka is held as an experience-based event with an environmental theme that encourages families of the employees to interact with local residents based on the concept of "Learn, Play, and Have Fun Together". In FY2020, in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection, a special website was set up so that people can experience "Think Eco Hiratsuka" from the comfort of their homes.
"Think Eco Hiratsuka " Special Site

COVID-19 countermeasure medical support

We continued our "COVID-19 Countermeasure Medical Support" program in 2021, donating a total of 3.2 million yen (1.6 million yen from Yokohama Rubber and 1.6 million yen from the YOKOHAMA Magokoro Fund) to medical support activities in the eight prefectures and cities where our headquarters and plants are located.
Through the donation recipients, the funds were used to support medical professionals and healthcare professionals who are making efforts on the frontlines of medical care.

Mie Plant: Donation of tires for COVID-19 government vehicles for transportation

As part of its community contribution activities and medical support for the spread of COVID-19 infection, the Mie Plant donated 40 tires for passenger cars to Mie Prefecture.
The donated tires will be installed on official vehicles used to transport COVID-19 vaccines to hospitals, health centers, and other vaccination sites in Mie Prefecture.

Y.T. Rubber Co, Ltd (Thailand)

In December 2021, Y.T. Rubber Co., Ltd. a natural rubber processing company of Yokohama Rubber, donated relief supplies to households in the Surat Thani district of Thailand, where the company is located, that were affected by flooding following two consecutive years of heavy rain.
The relief supplies were hand-delivered to all 383 affected households in two villages adjacent to the company, each receiving 5 kg of rice and 12 bottles of 500 mL PET bottled water.
The village chief of one of the supported villages commented, "Y.T. Rubber has always cared about the residents of the village. They have provided support again this year as they did last year. We really appreciate it. We are very grateful for your support.

Yokohama Tire Manufacturing (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

The following activities for local communities were carried out.
  • Environmental response activities, including tree planting, biodiversity education, and fish stocking
  • Activities to strengthen relations with local communities, including participation in local events
  • Cultural preservation activities, including the protection of temples
  • Social contribution activities such as volunteer activities and donations
In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, we focus on donating or supporting local hospitals with supplies such as drinking water, surgical masks, and hand sanitizers.

Yokohama Tire Philippines, Inc. (Philippines)

Support for Victims of Typhoon No. 24
YTPI donated 1,00,000 pesos of rice bags to the Department of Social Contribution (CDC) of Clark Development Corporation.
This project was in response to a government request for donations and post-disaster relief efforts to assist families affected by Typhoon Odette.

Suzhou Yokohama Tire Co., Ltd. (China)

We held an environmental protection winter camp. Elementary school children and their families participated in the camp, which included "Protecting Forests, Saving Paper" lessons, seed picking, and bird watching. The goal is to help children acquire environmental knowledge and raise environmental awareness.

Yokohama Tyre Vietnam Inc. (Vietnam)

We donated tires for ambulances to a local hospital.

LLC Yokohama R.P.Z. (Russia)

YRPZ participated in the Russian environmental and charitable project "Dobrye Kryshechki" ("Kind caps"). This project to collect plastic bottle caps aims to reduce plastic waste and to provide donation support to children with disabilities. In 2021, 30 kg of caps were collected and sent to buy wheelchairs.

Issues and Future
Improvement Measures

As for environmental impact assessments through biological monitoring, the framework for the PDCA cycle including communication with local residents was completed, and biodiversity conservation activities have begun. We have developed guidelines for conducting activities while taking precautions against infection by COVID-19, and we will consider how to apply the results of our activities to the local communication.
In addition, in order to solve social issues in the community, we will promote volunteer activities that can be carried out at Corona Perfection and activities through the YOKOHAMA Magokoro (Sincere Heart) Fund.