Social Initiatives

Initiatives to Address Sustainability

Materiality Topics KPI Targets
Healthcare
Innovation
Number of new patent applications -
Number of registered patents -
Number of new products and services launched -
Revenue from the “Growth Areas” (Advanced Therapy Development, Digital Health, Personalized Testing and Diagnostics) 86.0 bn/JPY by 2025
Product Excellence Number of warning letters issued (e.g., FDA warning letter) 0
Number of recalls issued -
Supply Chain Percentage of response rate to PHC Group supplier survey 95%
Expanded Access Consolidated sales in emerging and developing markets -
People & Culture Ratio of gender diversity at manager level or above Non-male ratio: 30% or higher by 2030
Employee Engagement Score: increase from the previous year 1 point+ improvement vs. PY
Enhanced employee learning and skill development -

Social Initiatives

The social materiality topics that PHC Group has defined in our ESG strategy express how we seek to achieve our mission of “contributing to the health of society through our diligent efforts to create healthcare solutions that have a positive impact and improve the lives of people” and help advance Value-Based Healthcare through our business.
As we create new value through healthcare innovation, we recognize the magnitude of our potential impact on people’s health as a healthcare company. First and foremost, it is of the utmost importance to fulfill our responsibility for product safety and quality. We contribute to improving the quality of healthcare by providing high-quality, cutting-edge products and contributing to the development of new treatments. We also believe that expanding our sales in emerging and developing markets will enable us to help offer health technology and therapies to more people, thereby leading to improved access to healthcare.

We also view strengthening our supply chain as an important social issue to ensure that we are providing products and services that our customers can use with confidence. As a group, we will work together to fulfill our supply responsibilities as a manufacturer and to ensure responsible procurement practices.
Employees play a leading role in business activities that deliver value to society. It is vital to create a workplace where people with diverse backgrounds and experiences, one of our strengths, can work together collaboratively. We will continue to pursue the development of a vibrant organization and culture for our employees.

Healthcare Innovation

Vision

As stated in our mission, creating new healthcare solutions is the source of our value to society. PHC Group possesses unique technologies that we have developed and accumulated over the years. However, our commitment to innovation means we will continue to advance digital and precision technologies in the pursuit of better health. Furthermore, if we can create new value by combining our technologies with others, we will actively collaborate with universities, research institutes, and business partners to realize these synergies.
By developing and combining healthcare technologies in this way, we will seek to create innovative new products and services.

Initiative Example (1)

Ultra-low temperature freezer: VIP ECO® SMART

The PHCbi brand VIP ECO SMART series of ultra-low temperature freezers is capable of achieving industry-leading energy-saving performance and improved convenience.
PHCbi has developed a wide range of life science equipment, including class-leading ultra-low temperature freezers. The VIP ECO SMART series pushes the limit of energy-saving performance, reducing power consumption approximately 30% compared to current models and putting the VIP ECO SMART series (the North American models) in the top position*1 among ultra-low temperature freezers as ranked by ENERGY STAR®.
Regarding new functions that improve convenience, the VIP ECO SMART series offers enhanced security through password authentication, facial recognition, or an optional near-field communication (NFC) authentication*2, to accommodate a variety of facility and customer needs. Furthermore, sensors are installed for more accurate monitoring of equipment status, enabling centralized management of the equipment’s condition. Also, the cloud-connectable monitoring device allows updating of the software in the main unit. These features are designed to reduce the burden on users in terms of operation monitoring and maintenance management, while also supporting safer and more secure operations*3.

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Furthermore, by developing a new platform with a shared design, we have reduced man-hours and easily expanded the platform to develop a global scale and to support various life science equipment.

  • *1 Global Assessment of Life Science Equipment Market 2022 (Frost & Sullivan) 
  • *2 Applicable only to models for Japan, North America, and Europe
  • *3 The products are currently available only in the U.S.

Initiative Example (2)

Accelerating R&D activities by establishing the Pathology Innovation Incubator with 3DHISTECH Ltd.

The Pathology Innovation Incubator was established in March 2023 through a joint investment between Epredia and 3DHSITECH Ltd., our partner in the digital pathology business. By sharing knowledge and technology accumulated over many years, the two companies will seek to drive research and development forward mainly in immunohistochemical staining (IHC) with the aim of turning today’s ideas into tomorrow’s diagnostic solutions.

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Cancer diagnostics requires precision and is becoming more complex. Diagnosis is normally performed by staining tissues and observing the morphology of cells and tissues. IHC is a process that allows proteins in living tissues to be stained and visualized individually with markers. By examining the types of protein expression, pathologists can determine the stage of cancer diagnosis, detect the organ from which cancer has metastasized, and assess the effectiveness of drugs. These capabilities make IHC an extremely important diagnostic method.
Previously, tissue suspected of being a tumor was diagnosed by observation under a microscope. However, in recent years, digital pathology, which is a method for scanning tissue and viewing digital images on computers, has become more popular. 3DHISTECH is a leading global provider of high-quality devices in the field of digital pathology. Epredia is a global leader in the equipment, reagents, and microscope slides necessary to process and stain biological tissue for diagnosis. Together, the two companies have formed a partnership in digital pathology to contribute to the advancement of healthcare by improving the accuracy of cancer diagnosis. This partnership seeks to advance research into IHC solutions and promote other new innovations in precision cancer diagnostics.

Product Excellence

Vision

PHC Group promotes effective quality management by reflecting customer needs, legal and licensing requirements, and other product needs in the creation of our products and services. We particularly focus on the following three points.

  • Customer-centric manufacturing and service
  • Driving effective and efficient quality management
  • Quality-first approach

Initiative Example

Promoting an effective quality management system based on a quality-first philosophy

Each of our businesses has acquired international quality certifications, such as ISO 9001 and ISO 13485. Our business operates by incorporating the important elements of the ISO quality management system into our systems. For instance, each business holds meetings such as quality management reviews with participation from management to reinforce quality as a top priority. We value the voices of customers and on-site employees and seek to create systems and environments that facilitate corrective and preventive action (CAPA) if needed, such as a commitment to voluntary recall at the earliest sign of a problem.

“Customer-centric” manufacturing and service

In each of our businesses, we collect data reflecting the voice of customers (VOC) using a range of mechanisms. We reflect the feedback we receive in the development of our products and services.

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Supply Chain

Vision

When it comes to our supply chain, PHC Group believes that our supplier companies are partners in creating products and services that deliver value to our customers. We work to ensure that our suppliers understand our group’s management philosophy and to advance supply chain quality initiatives together.

Initiative Examples

CSR procurement guidelines

Reflecting the demands of the international community, clarified CSR items outlined supply chain priorities such as human rights and labor, health and safety, the environment, corporate ethics and compliance, information security, quality and safety, social contribution, and quality management systems. By working together with supplier companies to promote business activities that comply with these CSR priorities, we seek to ensure that our core principles related to human rights, environmental protection, and fair business dealings are reflected throughout our supply chain.
These guidelines seek to promote responsible and transparent corporate activities in PHC Group’s supply chain, and are designed to inform and improve our collaboration with supplier companies.

Supplier survey (CSR Procurement Self-Assessment Questionnaire)

Based on the results of a supplier survey, we work with our supplier companies to identify any potential social and environmental issues and monitor the progress of efforts by suppliers.

Supplier Meeting (in Japan)

We invite our direct suppliers in Japan to an annual meeting held to share updates about activities across PHC Group and topics related to each business. We work to increase opportunities for improved inter-business unit communication.

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Supplier Meeting (fiscal 2023 results) Number of companies attending: 138 Number of attendees: 207

Supplier meeting (in Indonesia)

PHC Indonesia invites its major supplier companies to an annual meeting to share PHC Group updates and procurement activities in Indonesia. The meetings are attended by both local and Japanese suppliers. In this way, we strive to provide opportunities for information gathering and communication across borders.

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Supplier Meeting (fiscal 2023 results) Number of companies attending: 52

Expanded Access

Vision

Disparities in healthcare access are a top challenge facing the healthcare industry. In addition to disparities in the quality of medical care available from country to country, there are also differences within developed countries between urban areas and rural or less populated areas.
By expanding sales of a range of products to emerging and developing markets, PHC Group will seek to contribute to creating a society in which health technologies and therapies can reach more people. We are also working to address disparities in healthcare access by promoting telemedicine initiatives that allow people in rural or less-populated areas to connect with doctors through digital devices. This makes it possible for people to receive diagnoses and medical treatment regardless of where they live.

Initiative Example

Teladoc HEALTH is a real-time telemedicine system that can be remotely controlled by a physician. Based on the concept of providing peace of mind by easily connecting with physicians at any time in any setting, the system provides online connection for healthcare institutions that have few specialists and with specialists in remote areas. Teladoc HEALTH is used in a variety of telemedicine situations such as the following:

  • Remote area healthcare
  • Emergency/intensive care
  • Infectious disease control
  • Perinatal/neonatal care
  • Disaster medical care
  • Home care

Examples of uses include online diagnosis to provide D to P with N*1 in areas with challenges such as an aging population of residents or physicians and a lack of medical resources. Benefits include reducing the burden of travel on patients and creating a backup system in the absence of physicians.
The limited healthcare resources in rural or remote areas can mean lack of access to a wide range of specialties, and the burden of travel on patients in order to visit a physician can be significant. To address these healthcare issues in remote areas, we are conducting a pilot program of online diagnosis using the healthcare Mobility as a Service (MaaS) vehicle MEDICAL MOVER*2, which is equipped with a telemedicine system.

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We expect MEDICAL MOVER to contribute to an evolution in the ways physicians can work, adding flexibility without diminishing the quality of healthcare.
As for future developments in telemedicine technology, we will expand our collaboration with healthcare institutions and also work on collaborations with other companies where we identify synergistic effects.

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  • *1 D to P with N: Abbreviation for “Doctor to Patient with Nurse.” This refers to online healthcare treatment conducted by a doctor for a patient in a remote location via a local nurse.
  • *2 A medical MaaS vehicle produced by Toyota Auto Body Co., Ltd. This vehicle helps maintain and improve the health of people who are unable to travel to medical examinations or health checkups.

People & Culture

Vision

We believe that the growth of individual employees is the driving force behind the development of our group. To encourage such growth, we aim to create a vibrant and inclusive workplace environment where people with diverse backgrounds and experiences can learn new skills and technologies, create new innovations, solve problems as part of a team, and experience personal growth on a global scale. To realize this goal, we have established three pillars of our activity policy: “respect for diversity,” “creation of a foundation for collaboration,” and “activation of human resources.”

Initiative examples

Respect for diversity

  • To support the creation of synergies among businesses, we are implementing talent exchanges both in-country and internationally, as well as between different companies and business divisions.
  • We will strengthen global recruitment, increase the number of employees with diverse abilities and experiences, and further enhance our working environment to ensure that a diverse workforce can thrive.

Creation of a foundation for collaboration

  • By introducing a global human resources management system, we will build a structure that supports collaboration of teams across countries and businesses, including the professional development of future managers and executives.

Employee engagement

  • We conduct groupwide employee engagement surveys and regular global town hall meetings hosted by executives, and are working to strengthen job satisfaction through ongoing two-way communication with employees around the world.
  • Through a mentorship system, we support the development and growth of individuals who are interested in building and shaping unique career paths at PHC Group.
  • In addition to in-house training programs, we support self-directed challenges and growth and provide opportunities for skill development through subsidies for external training and certifications.