Social Contribution Activities
- Social Contribution Activities
- Basic Policy on Social Contribution Activities
- Structure of Social Contribution Activities
- Total Expenditure and its Constituent Parts
- Social Contribution Award
- Toshiba Group Volunteer Days
- Science Technology Education
- Protection of the Natural Environment
- Contribution to Local Communities
- International Exchanges with Friendship, and Promotion of Sports and Culture
- Disaster Relief
To realize a sustainable society, Toshiba Group actively promotes social contribution activities as well as business activities, thereby contributing to solving various societal issues. We will continue to provide more information and to make opportunities to Toshiba Group employees, so that many of them can get involved in activities voluntarily that contribute to society, while also contributing to their regions and achieving self-growth.
FY2022 Achievements
- Number of social contribution programs 968 programs
Basic Policy on Social Contribution Activities
Toshiba Group has set the Basic Policy on Social Contribution Activities which embodies Toshiba Group’s Basic Commitment “Committed to People, Committed to the Future.”
The five key areas of activities stated in the Toshiba Group Basic Policy on Social Contribution Activities are all related to social issues that Toshiba Group regards as important. Toshiba Group will contribute to solving societal issues, attainment of the SDGs and creating a sustainable society through business activities as well as social contribution activities by using knowledge and resources acquired through business.
In these endeavors, we keep track of the results and impact on business through regular dialogues with stakeholders including NPOs and NGOs, and reevaluate and decide on our course of action accordingly.
Toshiba Group Basic Policy on Social Contribution Activities
- In accordance with the Basic Commitment of the Toshiba Group and Standards of Conduct for Toshiba Group, we make vigorous efforts to contribute to society.
- In contribution to society, we focus on the following fields: protection of the natural environment, science and technology education, promotion of sports and culture, social welfare, and international exchange and friendship.
- We support employees' voluntary activities.
Positioning of Social Contribution Activities in Toshiba Group
Structure of Social Contribution Activities
In the Toshiba Group, the Sustainability Management Group carries out social contribution activities in cooperation with corporate staff divisions, key Group companies, etc. based on the Basic Policy on Social Contribution Activities.
With regard to donations to disaster relief and to NPOs and NGOs, we assess the legality and appropriateness of such donations before doing so, based on our in-house regulations.
Structure of Toshiba Group’s Social Contribution Activities
Social Contribution Activities by Employees and Support for their Activities
The total number of Toshiba Group employees that participated in the social contribution activities during FY2022 was 149,145.
We have a system in place to support employees in their social contribution activities so that more employees can be part of the society through their contribution activities and help solve social issues. Employees are able to take long-term leave by accumulating annual leave for the purpose of participating in volunteer activities.
Social Contribution Activities: Total Expenditure and its Constituent Parts
Total expenditure and its constituent parts (FY2022)
Social Contribution Award: Toshiba ASHITA Award
In order to invigorate our social contribution activities, Toshiba Group has been evaluating and giving awards to domestic and overseas activities. Every year we evaluate the previous fiscal year’s activities from 9 perspectives—goals, the extent of employee involvement, originality, continuity, social impact, collaboration with external organizations, and so on—and the President and CEO’s awards those activities that have achieved excellent results.
In FY2022, the following three programs out of the 751 programs that were carried out in FY2021 were awarded.
FY2022 Toshiba ASHITA Award-winning programs
- "For the Future of the Children - Interaction with Children in Orphanages and Donation Activities" (Singapore Toshiba Group)
- "Holding On-site Environmental Classes at Elementary Schools - Energy Conservation, Solving Environmental Issues, and the Role of Semiconductors -" (Buzen Toshiba Electronics Corporation)
- Support High School for Students from Low Income Community (Toshiba Africa (Pty) Ltd)
Toshiba Group Volunteer Days
Toshiba Group has held the Toshiba Group Volunteer Days since FY2014 around December 5, the International Volunteer Day set by the United Nations. The aim of this initiative was to make a significant social contribution that cannot be achieved by individuals, through the simultaneous participation of all Toshiba Group employees.
In FY2022, approximately 70,000 employees participated in 168 activities globally. They carried out unique social contribution activities in each region, such as cleanup activities, food drives, and special menus at the company cafeteria to support reconstruction in disaster areas. Many employees also took part in voluntary social contribution activities during this period, such as donating blood and making donations.
Held food drives at all sites
(Toshiba Industrial Products and Systems Corporation)
Since 2010, we have held fund-raising activities every year (twice a year, in July and December) and donated to the Ashinaga Foundation.
(Toshiba IT & Control Systems Corporation)
Science Technology Education
Toshiba Science Museum: Where You Can Enjoy Experiencing the Wonder and Excitement of Science
Toshiba Science Museum serves as one of Toshiba’s social contribution activities and is a location for the support of science-technology education.
The museum has the following three missions: To introduce cutting-edge science and technology, and business initiatives; To conserve industrial heritage and to ensure that history is passed down; To promote education in science and technology for children, who will lead the next generation. This is a place where you can experience and learn the wonder and excitement of science and technology through the exhibition on the achievements of our two founders who have contributed to enriching the lives of people and on the history of the electrical industry; the introduction of the state-of-the-art technologies and businesses of the Toshiba Group, which creates a safe and secure society, including the quantum key distribution system and heavy ion therapy equipment; and a variety of demonstrations, experiments, and events. The ideal location of the museum, just in front of JR Kawasaki Station, means this is a place easy to come to visit and tour. We are also promoting online events and video distribution to meet the needs of the era so that we can have more visitors enjoying what this museum has to offer.
In May 2021, the museum was certified as a “Kawasaki SDGs Partner” under a program through which Kawasaki City registers and certifies companies and organizations committed to achieving SDGs.
Exhibition Hall at
Toshiba Science Museum
Science and Technology Competition for Children in the U.S. and Canada
Since 1992, Toshiba Group has worked with the National Science Teachers Association to host the ExploraVision Awards (EVA), a science and technology competition for k-1 to k-12 students in the United States and Canada.
EVA is a science and technology competition aiming to encourage dreams in which children, who will lead the next generation, predict new technology that will exist more than ten years from now, based on current science and technology. The program celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2022, commemorating its long history as a Japanese company’s science education support program in North America. The number of participants totals approximately 420,000 to date. In 2022, we received applications from about 1,900 groups around the United States and Canada, and held the awards event in June in person for the first time in two years. We received comments from the prizewinners such as, “After working on the EVA project, I began to think seriously about going in the direction of biotech. I gained confidence as a female student in the field of STEM*.”
* STEM is an acronym for the four educational areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
【2022 Prizewinners】
- GRADES K1-3 (Kindergarten to 3rd year elementary school students)
Nightmare-No-More Pajamas
Greenfield Elementary - Philadelphia, PA
- GRADES K4-6 (4th to 6th year elementary school students)
Fungi Plastivore Purifier
Queen of Peace - Salem, OR
- GRADES K7-9 (1st to 3rd year junior high school students)
CC Bot (Coronary Cure Bot)
Seattle Preparatory School and Holy Names - Seattle, WA
- GRADES K10-12 (1st to 3rd year high school students)
iSpyStroke
University of Illinois Laboratory High School - Urbana, IL
30th EVA Prizewinners
The children show their prizewinning ideas
Teaching Competition in China
Seeking to contribute to the future development of scientific and technical human resources in China, in 2008 we established the Contest of Math and Science Teaching Program for the Normal University Students in China in cooperation with China’s Ministry of Education. This is a contest for students studying at four-year Chinese teacher training universities which are equivalent to universities of education in Japan and aspiring to become a teacher in science including physics, chemistry, or mathematics, to compete their skills in teaching a class. Winners and their instructors are invited to Japan for the opportunities to have experience of Japanese science, technology and culture, and exchange with teachers and students of Japanese teacher training university.
The contest has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic since FY2020.
Mr. Chen Decheng of South China Normal University (left) received the Toshiba Innovation Award in FY2019.
Environmental Education Program for Children
Since 2017, we have held science education programs for elementary school children in collaboration with the Association of Corporation and Education at elementary schools in areas around Tokyo and areas where we have manufacturing sites, in addition to event venues throughout Japan.
Cyber Security Teaching Materials for Elementary School Students
As part of awareness-raising activities related to the threat of cyber risks that lurk in our everyday lives and the importance of cyber security to prevent such risks, we collaborated with Bunkyosha Co., Ltd. to produce “The Poop Workbook Cyber Security supported by TOSHIBA,” a workbook that teaches students about cyber security in a fun way.
- Released "The Poop Workbook Cyber Security supported by TOSHIBA" produced in collaboration with Bunkyosha (Japanese)
- The Poop Workbook Cyber Security (scheduled to be available until February 14, 2024) (Japanese)
Scholarships
Toshiba Group awards scholarships to students and laboratories in different countries to help support development of a new generation. Furthermore Toshiba factories are receptive to local requests for tours, and some even accept internships of a few weeks.
Toshiba granted 100,000 yen every month to 230 university students in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures, which were hit hard by the Great East Japan Earthquake, until graduation.
In Vietnam, we have given a total of around 3 million yen every year since 2005 in subsidies to around 30 students at the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City campus of Vietnam National University. Toshiba and the university also conduct joint research on software. Some graduates of the university have entered Toshiba Software Development (Vietnam) Co., Ltd. and continue to work there.
Toshiba Information Equipment (Philippines), Inc. established a scholarship system in 2008 to provide education at universities or vocational educational institutes to economically disadvantaged high school students. Toshiba supported 90 students with scholarships until 2018 when the program ended.
Factory Tours and Internship
At the request of local communities, operational sites throughout Japan accept visitors for facility tours, and participants for on-the-job training programs and internship programs.
Cyber-Physical Systems x Design Division, Toshiba:
We offer an internship to students several times a year as an opportunity to acquire experience that will help them seek their potential or think about their future career. In the summer of 2022, we hosted a hands-on type internship program at the office for the first time in three years, where participants were able to gain hands-on experience of actual work while interacting with employees and students from other universities. Those experiences included carrying out a project as a team, communicating with clients, and coordinating with marketing and planning teams.
The internship program
(Cyber-Physical Systems x Design Division, Toshiba)
Protection of the Natural Environment
Conservation of Biodiversity
Toshiba Group has set 5 activity themes for the conservation of biodiversity*, and promotes activities with employees participation in and outside the sites.
- (1) Building of ecosystem networks, (2) Conservation of rare species, promotion of ex situ conservation, (3) Response to marine plastics issues, (4) Response to climate change (mitigation, adaptation), and (5) Conservation of water.
Contribution to Local Communities
Toshiba Group expands its business around the world, and contributes to the development of local communities through a variety of business activities, primarily in the regions where the business hubs are located. Our contributions include job creation, tax payment, and the promotion of optimal procurement, including local procurement. We also participate in activities, such as welfare and cleaning, to contribute to communities through interactions with the surrounding communities.
Contributing to Health Care in Areas around the Toshiba Factory in the Philippines
Since 2006, Toshiba Information Equipment (Philippines), Inc. has been dispatching a team of doctors, dentists, nurses, and many volunteer employees to impoverished areas nearby to provide medical and dental examination services as well as medical supplies to the residents free of charge. In 2020, these activities could not be performed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in 2021, instead of the medical and dental care activities, we provided COVID-19 prevention kits to frontliners of the local barangays as part of our efforts to bolster supplies. In 2022, we resumed the dispatch of doctors and dentists, and a medical team of 85 people, including nurses and many employee volunteers, performed examinations and tooth extractions for 854 local residents.
Medical treatment is provided free of charge.
(February 2020, Toshiba Information
Equipment (Philippines), Inc.)
Contributing to Local Communities through In-House Sales Events
Toshiba Group has been running in-house sales events during lunchtimes since 2004 with the aim of supporting the economic independence and participation in society of persons with disabilities.
At Komukai Complex, in FY2022, we continued with the sale of products made at a neighboring community activity support center through an advance-order system, as face-to-face sales proved difficult due to the spread of COVID-19. We also sold specialty products of different regions as part of our efforts to help disaster-affected areas to recover.
Eyeglass holders for sale
Improving the Environment of Surrounding Communities
Toshiba Group companies strive to improve the environment around their business sites. In FY2022, the Group companies’ employees in and outside Japan cleaned areas around their business sites approximately 225 times. In addition, we are building a positive relationship with local communities through interactions with neighboring communities and also through cooperation with local governments, including engaging in improvement works on green space areas and participating in local events.
International Exchanges with Friendship, and Promotion of Sports and Culture
Program to Develop Next-Generation Leaders of Asia
Since FY2014, the Toshiba International Foundation (TIFO), along with Asia Japan Alumni (ASJA) International, has held Toshiba Youth Club Asia (TYCA), a program to develop next-generation human resources targeting high school students of Japan and ASEAN countries. In FY2020 and FY2021, we could not invite new participants due to the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore asked a total of 100 participants from our past six programs (alumni) to participate in an online program. However, in FY2022, TYCA was held in an online format, recruiting participants from among ASEAN and Japanese high school students for the first time in two years. For a total of five days between December 2022 and March 2023, we held events that included a webinar hosted by two entrepreneurs who are engaged in business in collaboration with Asian countries, and a workshop in which participants were divided into four teams and discussed how they could contribute to making a better 2030. In addition, 10 alumini volunteers acted as the workshop facilitators and were the driving force behind the program's success. On the final day, a results presentation was held in the presence of representatives of ambassadors from ASEAN countries and other guests. Each team proposed a joint project for 2030 to address social issues, such as quality education, gender equality, climate change, poverty, and food issues, which are the main themes of the SDGs, and each participant expressed their aspirations for the future.
Promoting Sports
Toshiba promotes sports not only to help children to grow up healthy but also to inspire and encourage everyone through the impressive performances of top athletes. Amateur sports teams of Toshiba employees play an active role in making a difference in society.
Disaster Relief
As a company that conducts business worldwide, Toshiba Group wishes to contribute to restoring areas affected by natural disasters. To that end, we review what is most appropriate in consideration of local characteristics and damage situations, and donate money, provide our company products, and collaborate with NGOs. In addition, employees also engage in fund raising and volunteer activities.
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