Three Strategic Pillars

Even today, approximately two billion people around the world live without access to basic sanitation. Therefore, LIXIL is addressing the global sanitation and hygiene challenge, an area related to Goal 6 of United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which aims to ensure access to water and sanitation for all by 2030. We continue to create a range of solutions, including our commercialized SATO Toilet Systems for developing countries, while facilitating the development of local production/sales structures to ensure they become locally rooted businesses. In FYE2019, we also signed a global partnership, “Make a Splash! Toilets for All,” with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which aims to help establish a sanitation economy in developing countries by leveraging each other’s areas of expertise. Expansion of our social business in partnership with UNICEF is a significant achievement and has also played a part in developing a sense of pride among our employees.

LIXIL has also recognized environmental issues related to SDG 13, which calls for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, as one of our key management challenges. Having identified the opportunities and risks associated with social concerns such as climate change, we are executing on an environmental strategy consistent with our business strategy. With the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015, which set a clear direction towards global de-carbonization, LIXIL is pursuing innovation in low-carbon and water-efficient technologies. Furthermore, we are working on updating our environmental vision to contribute to a sustainable global environment on a longer-term basis.

Relating to SDG 5, which aims to achieve gender equality, we announced the LIXIL Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Declaration in FYE2018 in order to help foster a corporate culture that recognizes and values diversity at a more global and extensive scale. In a market where customer needs continue to expand, it is vital that we support a diverse workforce and maximize their individuality and potential to achieve sustainable growth. By supporting diversity as well as a culture of inclusion that enables all employees to actively contribute as themselves, we will create new value for our stakeholders, which will lead to strengthening longer-term competitiveness.

As part of our D&I initiatives, we are also focusing our efforts to improve the lives of all individuals through Universal Design (UD). To accelerate our UD strategy, we created advanced UD concepts and established a framework for future progress in FYE2018. Going forward, we hope to assist people in various states of physical ability around the world by sharing the technology we have developed in Japan, where the population is aging, helping them to lead comfortable lives.

In addition to the three strategic pillars, LIXIL also continues to tackle material CR issues, including employee health and safety, procurement, and compliance, for which we have gained high external recognition.

At LIXIL, we remain committed to contributing to the various challenges affecting our world. We will continue to enrich the quality of people’s lives and homes by leveraging our global network and accumulated expertise in living solutions.