In 2014, the Yokohama Rubber Group, in accordance with the fourth edition of the GRI Guidelines (G4), an international guideline for sustainability reporting, identified themes of great impact and interest to both the company and its stakeholders as materiality, which have since been reviewed on a regular basis.
In 2024, in line with our new medium-term management plan “YX2026,” we reviewed our materiality in light of changes in the business environment and social issues surrounding our group.
New materiality was identified in consideration of both the impact of our business activities on society and the environment and the impact of society and the environment on our business activities.
For each materiality, specific indicators to be achieved from a medium- to long-term perspective were set as non-financial targets.

Materiality is identified and reviewed through the following Step 1 to Step 3 process. We plan to conduct periodic reviews based on changes in the environment and other factors.

＜Step1＞Recognizing and arranging issues

Recognize issues from the perspective of external factors and internal factors (business activities), and organize them into a list.

＜Step2＞Impact assessment, risk and opportunity analysis

For each issue organized as a list, we assessed the impact of the business on society and the environment, and the impact of social and environmental issues on the business, for each stakeholder, based on the concept of double materiality, and identified where the impact is occurring in the value chain and business processes.
Next, based on the impact assessment, we analyze the risks and opportunities for each issue and consider countermeasures.
Analyze the impact of issues, risks and opportunities, and assess their importance and rank them in terms of priority

＜Step3＞Identify (revise) materiality

Issues ranked in priority are discussed and approved internally by hearing the opinions of each internal department and external experts

Masayoshi Miyanaga

Specially Appointed Professor, Chuo Graduate School of Strategic Management, Chuo University
Executive Director, WICI Japan
Masayoshi Miyanaga specializes in areas including business valuation, corporate finance, M&A, corporate governance, and corporate information disclosure.

In regard to the social responsibility that companies have in as they carry out corporate management in the 21st century, companies are moving away from looking at the four areas of human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption as separate areas and viewing them from the broader perspective of sustainability, including the sustainability of the company itself. While there is a trend to think about materiality from the global concept of double materiality, an increasing number of companies in Japan have started to adopt integrated materiality as a management issue where both co-creation of their own sustainability and social value are considered, replacing conventional CSR materiality. This trend is in line with the evolution toward 21st century style integrated thinking-based management, I assess Yokohama Rubber's redefinition and revision of materiality as an attempt to stay at the forefront of the times. I expect that this materiality will spread from management strategy to business development and lead to creating economic value for the company and making a positive impact on society and the environment.

Toshimune Yamaguchi

Director, Caux Round Table Japan
Leveraging his expertise in finance and risk management, Toshimune Yamaguchi advises companies on non-financial information disclosure and improving ESG evaluations.

The formulation of international disclosure standards, such as the ESRS (European Sustainability Reporting Standards) and the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, has accelerated the integration of non-financial and financial information also from a legal standpoint. Since each materiality is not a management “theme” but rather an “issue” directly linked to financial performance, it is necessary to set clear indicators/targets and evaluate performance in a measurable manner. I expect that putting the recently reviewed materiality into practice and understanding/responding to the impact of business activities on stakeholders will enable the company to improve management transparency and resilience.

Category	Materiality	What we aim to do
Products	Provision of products and services that contribute to a sustainable society	Achieve a safe and comfortable mobility society through improved quality and performance based on proprietary technologies Contribute to economic and social development by providing tires for industrial vehicles in agriculture, forestry, construction, etc. Improve customer convenience and efficiency through DX-based services
The Earth	Contribution to a decarbonized society and circular economy	Contribute to a decarbonized society through our products Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption Contribute to the circular economy by increasing the use of renewable and recycled raw materials
	Coexistence with nature	Promote nature positive-oriented initiatives Strengthen environmental management
Community	Coexistence with local communities	Help solve local community problems
People	Development of human capital capabilities for sustainable corporate value enhancement	Foster diversity and inclusion Create innovation and increase productivity through employee development Develop safe and healthy work environments Respect the human rights of employees
Supply chain	Establishment of a sustainable supply chain	Procure sustainable natural rubber Respect human rights in the supply chain
Corporate Governance	Improvement of management resilience by strengthening corporate governance	Strengthen stakeholder engagement Strengthen governance of sustainability issues

Please refer to the links below for details on each materiality.