As part of our Philosophy and Principles, we uphold "Shoki Hoko," a commitment to contribute to society through our business, and I believe that promoting sustainability and CSR is at the heart of realizing our Philosophy and Principles. I feel that creating business value (economic value, environmental value, social value) useful for society is essential for sustainable growth, and our company has identified "key issues for sustainability" (materiality) as management themes.
Various issues facing society — such as growing wealth disparities and poverty, human rights issues, environmental pollution, more frequent disasters due to climate change, lack of water resources and food, and loss of biodiversity—can be regarded as the negative side of economic growth and globalization. Expectations on companies have also risen. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a shared goal for the world, and our company too is working to achieve those goals. My hope is that we can integrate CSR with our management and business, meet the expectations of business partners and society through the business of mineral resources trading, and contribute to the realization of a more affluent society.