Materiality (Material Issues)

Taiho Pharmaceutical has identified four material issues. We will work as a unified team across the company to address these issues. By engaging in transparent and responsible information disclosure and dialogue with our stakeholders, including patients and their families, healthcare professionals, business partners, and other people, we will work to solve social issues and contribute to our own sustained growth while helping to build a healthy, sustainable society.

Taiho Pharmaceutical’s Materiality (Material Issues)

  • Research and Development to Address Unmet Medical Needs, Strengthening Corporate Governance, Instilling Corporate Philosophy and Fostering Organizational Culture, Achieving Carbon Neutrality

Strategies and 2028 Targets for Material Issues

Material Issues Strategies 2028 Targets
Research and Development to Address Unmet Medical Needs
  • 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
  • 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
  • 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
We will contribute in addressing unmet medical needs, primarily in oncology, delivering new drugs and smiles to patients worldwide. To this end, we will drive forward research and development based principally on Taiho’s unique drug discovery technologies, while leveraging investments in biotech ventures and collaborations with academia. This approach allows us to create innovation by incorporating modalities and cutting-edge ideas and technologies that are difficult to be accessed in house.
Taiho Pharmaceutical will continue to provide innovative new drugs and solutions.
  • Disclose the progress of clinical trials for significant pipeline candidates​
  • Disclose the number of new in-licensed products in the Taiho Group,1 information on research and development partners, and investment targets​1 Including Taiho Ventures and Taiho Innovations
  • Disclose initiatives related to the development of research and development personnel
Strengthening Corporate Governance
  • 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
  • 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
  • 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Amid significant changes in the global business environment, we will reduce operational risks such as reliability, quality, and stable supply by deepening cooperation and connections along each functional axis. We will establish a system in which critical risks are shared and managed across functional axes through risk management.
Taiho Pharmaceutical will continuously review and strengthen its corporate governance system.​​
  • Operate and continuously improve the risk management system (once a year)
  • Establish a stable supply system and ensure zero instances of limited shipments or supply stoppages caused by the company
  • Conduct sustainable procurement briefings and CSR assessments for all direct material suppliers and ascertain the status of initiatives related to human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption by 2028
Instilling Corporate Philosophy and Fostering Organizational Culture
  • 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
  • 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
  • 8. Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
To remain a company closely involved with human life that innovates by integrating diverse values, opinions, and experiences, we will instill and pass on the Taiho mindset and code of conduct, while encouraging dialogue with stakeholders, thinking about what we should do, and then taking action.
Taiho Pharmaceutical will develop human resources who can harness social changes to fuel growth and respect each individual’s human rights and differences, including culture, race, gender, and illness.
  • Disclose initiatives related to instilling our corporate philosophy
  • Conduct an employee satisfaction survey and analyze the results of items associated with the instillation of the corporate philosophy (once a year)
Achieving Carbon Neutrality
  • 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
  • 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
  • 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
To reduce the risks of natural disasters and social issues associated with climate change, we will implement measures that lead to decarbonization and introduce environmentally friendly materials.
Taiho Pharmaceutical aims to achieve the Otsuka group’s 2050 Environmental Vision, “Net Zero.” Based on international targets and indicators set forth in the Paris Agreement, this vision seeks to reduce all environmental impacts of our business activities to zero.
  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 + 2) by 50% by 2028 compared to 2017
  • Introduce 100% environmentally friendly materials for new products and significant package updates of consumer healthcare products

Taiho Pharmaceutical’s Social Issue ESG & SDGs Matrix

We have organized the 24 social issues Taiho Pharmaceutical addresses by ESG categories and the SDG targets they contribute to.
These social issues are evaluated on a materiality map with two axes: stakeholder perspective and management perspective.

PDF: Matrix of Social Issues Addressed by Taiho Pharmaceutical

Note: This matrix table was organized using the methodology of Hidemitsu Sasaya, a consultant with expertise in ESG and the SDGs.

Materiality Map of Social Issues Addressed by Taiho Pharmaceutical

Materiality (Material Issue) Identification Process

  1. STEP 1

    Analyzing current status and future challenges in contributing to the SDGs

    We established a cross-organizational Sustainability Promotion Committee. We visualized the present situation by linking Taiho Pharmaceutical’s current initiatives and future challenges across its entire value chain to the 169 targets of the SDGs, looking at how our initiatives can contribute. Using various guidelines and frameworks (ISO 26000, GRI Standards, SASB, SDGs, etc.) as references, we listed the social issues Taiho Pharmaceutical should address.

  2. STEP 2

    Narrowing down the social issues to be addressed by Taiho Pharmaceutical and evaluating them on a materiality map

    The Sustainability Promotion Committee discussed the possible social issues from the viewpoint of contributing to the SDGs and solving social issues over the medium- to long-term, narrowing down the candidates. These were then evaluated for their long-term importance on two axes, management perspective and stakeholder perspective, and plotted on a materiality map.

  3. STEP 3

    Conducting interviews with stakeholders such as industry peers and business partners and exchanging opinions with an external expert to examine objectivity and validity

    We interviewed stakeholders such as Otsuka Holdings, group companies, industry peers, business partners, and suppliers regarding the material issues, seeking order to incorporate their expectations and opinions of Taiho Pharmaceutical. Furthermore, to include a more specialized third-party opinion, we invited ESG/SDGs consultant Hidemitsu Sasaya, an external expert, to exchange views with top management.

  4. STEP 4

    Identifying material issues

    After discussing the proposed material issues with top management, we ultimately identified four.

At meetings of the Sustainability Promotion Committee, each department in charge reports on the progress of goals and KPIs related to material issues and works to achieve the targets.