 Hiroshi Ishida
Executive Director, Caux Round Table-Japan Associate Professor, Institute of Business and Accounting, Kwansei Gakuin University |
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In looking at Nomura Group's CSR activities, the most captivating aspect is how successfully President & CEO Watanabe's management vision is being realized. Nomura Group's management vision is "to be a financial services group with world class competitiveness", "to create change to contribute to the development of capital markets and generate growth opportunities", and "to act as a bridge between Japan and U.S./Europe." The markets are focusing their attention on how Nomura Group will, from a management perspective, build its CSR platform based on the three keywords: "create change", "world class" and "speed." President & CEO Watanabe's message, as he writes in his message at the beginning of this report, was clear: Nomura is committed to sustaining a high degree of public service as it contributes to society through its core business and offers products and services of world class quality. There is no problem with this policy.
With respect to Nomura Group's corporate governance and compliance systems essential for sustainable business development, I believe they have been addressed with a high sense of accountability having learned from the mistakes of the past. Nonetheless, the recent case of insider trading has made it clear that the conventional systems and mechanisms had their limits. What is required is not just compliance with applicable laws and regulations but a commitment by every employee to develop a spirit of accountability beyond compliance. This I believe will make employees stronger in the field, and will lead to winning the public's trust.
From a management perspective, CSR activities should be made a greater part of business strategy in order to identify potential risks. In this sense, the CSR Committee, comprised of officers, established in fiscal 2008 was a step forward. Moreover, the materiality measurement initiative begun in fiscal 2007 deserves commendation for including sixteen highly-important issues following a Group-wide assessment of key areas by many departments working together. The next step will be for individual departments to seriously address the issues revealed through the materiality measurement in their management processes and by developing PDCA cycles. In addition, Nomura Group is to be commended for several CSR initiatives made in fiscal 2007 in line with its core business. Its contribution to the environment through its cleantech venture investment, its financial education programs to improve financial and economics literacy, as well as the Happy Career & Life Project are all praiseworthy.
To further improve the management system going forward, CSR must extend beyond the front lines. Management must check whether or not its business strategies are in line with the public's expectations by establishing a mechanism for collecting and analyzing information and for making decisions about the right course of action.
Lastly, as Nomura Group aims to be a world class company as a leader in the finance industry, it must be fully aware of the impact its activities will have on both society and the future, and always be thinking about what kind of unique added value it can offer society. Nomura Group has a big responsibility and an extremely important role to play in building a better society and a brighter future.
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