Why social responsibility and sustainability are the new drivers for growth

People, processes and planet: these three words drive my work as Director of corporate social responsibility at Epson.

The first – people – is critical to our very nature as a company; even more so as a society. People are both the drivers of innovation and the recipients of it. At Epson, we have a mind-set of “produced by Epson” meaning that the quality of our products comes from a sense of ownership, and security, of our employees around the world. Why? Because we believe that with happy and motivated employees across our global teams, our products are created in a sustainable way (planet) and, along with our manufacturing processes (process), are continuously improved. This is what we know as monozukuri – the art and science of manufacturing.

It may sound like common sense, but in today’s world, the importance of maintaining responsible business practices across a global supply chain can sometimes get lost. With this culture, we can provide our customers with innovative products that they can feel confident about buying.

In fact, we take our commitment to the standards of the EICC (Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition) very seriously; our printhead installation factories in China, Indonesia and the Philippines are all managed under the same Japanese processes that you would find in our manufacturing facilities in Japan, with a minimum full-time working age of 18 and a regularised approach to overtime.

My view is that social responsibility and sustainability should both be seen not as an obligation, but an opportunity to innovate. It is important to be aware of the serious issues facing our planet and the responsibility we have as a manufacturing corporation to contribute to a more socially and environmentally conscious society. I am proud to say that we are currently working to reduce CO2 emissions by 90% across the lifecycle of all products and services by the year 2050.

By remaining steadfast in our commitment to socially responsible business practices we aim to demonstrate to business decision makers that their IT hardware choices can have an impact, and that with Epson they can trust that their printers, inks, scanners and projectors have been produced with integrity and sustainability in mind. This is most certainly a driver for growth, and when it comes from the inside out - with people, processes and the planet in mind - I’d say that’s a win-win.

This was a topic of focus in my recent interview with Manager Magazine. To read the full article (in German) visit here.