About The Nikkei CSR Project

Nikkei launched a new initiative designed to familiarize Japanese companies with the concept of corporate social responsibility. A well-attended symposium on the subject indicated the high level of interest in CSR as the next stage of corporate development.

As a project to support companies that are moving ahead with CSR, from March 2004 Nikkei began a CSR Partnership Program with the help of Shiseido Co., Ltd; Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd; The Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance Co., Ltd: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Co... This is a year-long program designed to develop the kind of business environment in which CSR will be easy to implement.

CSR is often perceived as a cost---and it's true that if a company, acting on its own, introduces environmentally friendly policies and takes into account the concerns of the local community, then this will often have a negative impact on its profits. But if the corporate world as a whole takes up CSR, then the only companies to suffer will be those that buck the trend. The Nikkei CSR Project aims at seeing CSR take root by showing that its introduction makes management sense from the viewpoint of economic rationalization.