- 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.
FY2023 Achievements
- Number of social contribution programs 972 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, sustainability management staff members carry 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 FY2023 was 127,901.
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 (FY2023)
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 FY2023, the following four programs out of the 968 programs that were carried out in FY2022 were awarded.
FY2023 Toshiba ASHITA Award-winning programs
- “Social Contribution Activities by Running (TIP Fun Run)” (Toshiba Information Equipment (Philippines), Inc.)
- “Program to Support Schools Attended by Economically Disadvantaged Children” (Toshiba International Corporation)
- “Cleanup for Customers and Communities to Protect Social Infrastructure Together” (Tohoku Branch, Toshiba Infrastructure Systems & Solutions Corporation)
- “Activities for Holding Programming Workshops for Elementary School Students” (Hirotaka Kitahara, Toshiba Digital Solutions Corporation)
Toshiba Group Volunteer Days
Toshiba Group promotes volunteer activities at each company, and since FY2014, Toshiba Group companies have held the Toshiba Group Volunteer Days around December 5, the International Volunteer Day set by the United Nations, as a Group-wide initiative.
In FY2023, approximately 69,000 employees participated in 193 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
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, imagine new technology that will exist more than ten years from now, based on current science and technology. The program celebrated its 31th anniversary in 2023, commemorating its long history as a Japanese company’s science education support program in North America. The number of participants totals approximately 430,000 to date. In 2023, we received applications from more than 2,000 groups around the United States and Canada, and held the awards event in June. We received comments from the prizewinners such as, “After working on the EVA project, I find science even more enjoyable. I now think I can use science to help my family and friends.”
【2023 Prizewinners】
- GRADES K1-3 (Kindergarten to 3rd year elementary school students)
MasterPack (Lightweight, affordable bulletproof backpack)
St. Joseph’s School – Seattle, Washington - GRADES K4-6 (4th to 6th year elementary school students)
PetConnect (Pet thought translator)
Open Window School – Bellevue, Washington - GRADES K7-9 (1st to 3rd year junior high school students)
Fungi fabrics (Mushroom mycelium fabrics)
W. I. Dick Middle School – Milton, Ontario (Canada) - GRADES K10-12 (1st to 3rd year high school students)
Martian Mycrops (Farm management platform for the surface of Mars)
The Bronx High School of Science – The Bronx, New York
31st EVA Prizewinners
The children show their prizewinning ideas
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 January 14, 2025) (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.
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.
Since 2023, we have also given approximately 1.5 million yen each year in subsidies to around 15 students at Hanoi University of Science and Technology. Some graduates of the universities have entered Toshiba Software Development (Vietnam) Co., Ltd. and continue to work there.
Internship
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 2023, we hosted a hands-on type internship program at the office, where participants were able to gain hands-on experience of actual work while interacting with employees and students who participated from other universities. Those experiences included carrying out a project as a team, communicating with clients, and coordinating with marketing and planning teams.
Photo from Toshiba Design Summer Internship 2023
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, the dispatch of doctors and dentists resumed, and in 2023, an 86 people medical team, including nurses and many volunteer employees, provided medical examinations and tooth extractions to 517 local residents.
Medical treatment is provided free of charge.
(February 2024, 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.
As in previous years, in FY2023, we also held the sale of products made at a neighboring community activity support center through an advance-order system at Komukai Complex. We also sold specialty products of different regions as part of our efforts to help disaster-affected areas to recover.
The tissue case for sale
Improving the Environment of Surrounding Communities
Toshiba Group companies strive to improve the environment around their business sites. In FY2023, the Group companies’ employees in and outside Japan cleaned areas around their business sites approximately 264 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.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, special online programs were held from FY2020 to FY2022, but in FY2023, face-to-face programs were reinstated for the first time in four years. From March 23 to 30, 2024, TYCA Vol. 8 was held. We also updated the program content, and the event provided an opportunity for young people to develop their conceptual and practical skills to realize a sustainable future for the planet, with lectures on the latest SDG trends by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Japan, and a workshop by Professor Taikan Oki of the University of Tokyo, an international authority on the topic of the global water cycle. On the final day, in the presence of guests of honor, including representatives from ASEAN embassies, the teams presented their results and proposed joint projects for 2030 to address Asia-centric social issues, including some key themes of the SDGs, namely quality education, building resilient infrastructure to support society, and fundamentally solving the problem of poverty.
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.
In FY2023, we donated and made other contributions to help those affected by the Noto Peninsula earthquake that struck Japan in 2024.