All About the JAL Group - CSR Report 2005

"Corporate Policy of the JAL Group" is reproduced at the beginning of this report. The CEO clearly declares: "The practice of our corporate policy must be the core of our CSR. This is our primary challenge. We must struggle, doing whatever it takes to succeed. "
I would like to discuss, from a "PDCA" perspective, the following three things the JAL Group should be able to establish by conscientiously implementing the Corporate Policy as stated in the declaration. "PDCA" means that the Corporate Policy is expressed so that it is easy to understand (Plan), practiced responsibly (Do), evaluated with integrity by the stakeholders (Check), and reviewed and updated (Act).
1. Trust: Be a business that is trusted through delivering honest and highly transparent business practices.
2. Respect: Be a business that is respected by society (by a diversity of stakeholders).
3. Pride: Be a company that people are proud to work for.

1. Is the company trusted?

This report was prepared amidst unprecedented turmoil for the firm. The Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport had issued a Business Improvement Order Concerning the Ensuring of Safety for Air Transport to the Company (March 2005). The result is a heartfelt report. The Company earnestly reviewed its policy starting with the basics (Act); it established concrete implementation objectives (Plan); and reported on the implementation plan (Do). Fundamentally, CSR activity must begin by reviewing and reaffirming the Corporate Policy. I can say that this is a worthy document that squarely addressed the issue of CSR.
"Statement from the JAL Group CEO" begins with an apology for the series of safety problems that occurred, asserts the Company's resolve to implement its Corporate Policy that is based on flight safety, and commits to it. The text, entitled "Resolution on Flight Safety," details and does not hide the facts about the incidents that led to the issuance of the business improvement order, analyzes the causes and background, expresses regret and explains the reform of business operations (Plan) based on all of these. The most important agenda for becoming a trusted business is to execute this plan responsibly (Do) and to evaluate it with integrity (Check).

2. Is the company respected?

"Our Stakeholders" discusses the initiatives taken to become a business that is respected. It reflects an emphasis on dialogue by showing customer input and improvements implemented based on them; it also includes feedback from employees who use company benefits. "Society" and "Environmental Report" have rich content. I got from them a sense of the history and breadth of the JAL Group's social and environmental activities both domestically and abroad. There are limits to the amount of information that a report can hold. This report helps the reader by including Web addresses where the reader can learn more about specific topics.
To become a respected business, it is important to carefully prioritize the "Plans" and "Dos" in regard to each stakeholder, and it is equally important to "Check" results from stakeholders' points of view, by standing in their shoes and being more aware of their needs than before.

3. Is it a company with pride?

As stated in this report, "Employees are company's most directly involved stakeholders. Their ties to the company are very strong." Employees are the ones who put Corporate Policy into practice. To meet CSR obligations, it is crucial to create a workspace where each and every employee adheres to the policy and can work with pride. To do this, it is important to know what the employees really think about what needs to be done and how they evaluate the actual plans, and then it is important to respond to them.
It is easy to evaluate such measures as top management personally going to work sites and talking with employees and constantly hearing their opinions. We can also see that specific opinions are in the report. But I have questions on whether the diverse workers of the JAL Group share an awareness of CSR, that is, of the concreteness and practicability of "Plan" and "Do." I believe there needs to be a commitment from the middle management to assume specific roles in promoting CSR, and for a personnel evaluation system that emphasizes CSR. To become a workplace employees can be proud of, it is important to create an open corporate culture where all employees, not just some, can practice the Corporate Policy with confidence.
We can say that this document is a CSR Report that reevaluates the JAL Group Corporate Policy and makes the required actions explicit, and that its content is comprehensive and honest. However, I would like to make two suggestions to help get the most out of it.
First, the CSR Report's commitment is not just to shareholders, but to all stakeholders. This commitment should be reinforced by disseminating the Group CSR to the employees of the entire Group. These are the people who have contact with the stakeholders day in and day out.
Second, the company should be aware that this report was created in urgent circumstances, and that it can only be truly evaluated after the "Checks" and "Acts"pertaining to the "Dos" are honestly reported in next year's report.
I am looking forward to seeing the JAL Group, based on its Corporate Policy, achieve the type of CSR goals that only it can achieve, and to continue to be a trusted, respected business group that is full of pride.

Ms. Akiyama is a co-founder and President of Integrex Inc., an independent research company specializing in Socially Responsible Investment. Prior to that, she worked as a foreign bond trader for US investment banks. She received a BA in Economics from Keio University in 1983 and a MS in Finance from Aoyama Gakuin University in 1998. She is a member of the Study Group on Corporate Management and Reporting, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI); Member of the TSE-Listed Company Award Committee; and Board Director of Social Investment Forum Japan (SIF-Japan).

Ms. One Akiyama
Integrex Inc.
President

Publications:

What is Socially Responsible Investment? ;
published by Japan Productivity Center for Socio-Economic Development; and co-authored Basics of Socially Responsible Investment;
Iwanami Active Shinsho

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