Technical Development for Realizing a Sustainable Society

Technical Development for Realizing a Sustainable Society

Policies and Basic Approach

As one of fundamental management policies in [TAISEI VISION 2030] Achievement Plan, we are promoting technical development with clarifying timeline and possible return as goals by focusing on four technological areas to be addressed: social and environmental issues, to strengthen social infrastructure, regional revitalization, and new frontier business.

Risks and Opportunities

If we do not sufficiently engage in technological development for the realization of a sustainable society, there is a risk of not being able to provide our clients with high-quality, high-performance construction products and associated services that meet their needs.
Conversely, pursuing innovation through the development and societal integration of technologies—whether to establish new businesses and markets, address diverse sustainability challenges, or enhance quality, productivity, and safety—bolsters the Group’s competitive advantage. It not only contributes to enhancing our corporate value but also elevating our reputation among our stakeholders.

Policies / Commitments

• Action Guidelines for Taisei: Action Guidelines for Taisei: Striving to create value, fulfilling social responsibilities
• Policy on Intellectual Property
• Technology Development Policy
• Digital Transformation (DX) Policy
• [TAISEI VISION 2030] Achievement Plan / Fundamental Management Policy: Technology Development

Goals

KPIs

• As to KPIs, please refer to Materiality.

Performance

Number of patent applications filed

• The number of patent applications filed in FY2022 was 283 cases.
• To contribute to the development of industry, we are promoting management that emphasizes intellectual property. We are implementing strategic management and utilization of intellectual property in general, including copyrights and construction and business knowhow in addition to patent rights.
• Based on our strategy for intellectual property, our proactive efforts in rights establishment and utilization have resulted in a patent assessment rate of 87.7%. This figure is notably high when compared to the average rate of 74.7% for all industry sectors over the past three years, as reported in the 2022 edition of the Annual Report of Patent Administration.
• By creating intellectual properties with new value, we will contribute to society through the development of new technologies, technical support for workplaces, and the utilization of intellectual property through the tripartite integration of our business strategy, research and development strategy, and intellectual property strategy.

Number of ZEB construction

• We are making every effort to evolve and popularize ZEB/ZEF as an area where we can expect growth in the future. Thanks to our client’s appreciation and understanding of our initiatives in renewable energy and other decarbonization measures, we secured orders for 10 net Zero Energy Buildings (ZEBs) in FY2022.

Initiatives

• The Japan Intellectual Property Association

Sustainability Governance and Oversight

Toward Realization of Innovation

Initiatives for ground-breaking value creation (innovation) are essential for corporate value to grow in the medium- to long- term. The mission of the Taisei Group is to contribute to the development of a resilient society where people can live affluent and cultural lives.
Four technological areas: social and environmental issues, to strengthen social infrastructure, regional revitalization, and new frontier business are identified as the areas to be addressed in [TAISEI VISION 2030] Achievement Plan / Fundamental Management Policy: Technology Development. Furthermore, focusing on not only addressing individual projects, but improving productivity and innovating the production process are stipulated. We contribute to "creating added value over customer expectations" and "enhancing all employee engagement by realizing workstyle innovation" and strongly support the Ever-Evolving CDE³(cubed) Company, and aim to realize a resilient society.

Regarding the innovation activities on which we need to focus on over the next three years in the Medium-Term Business Plan, we are making efforts towards an investment plan which includes business-related investments, technical development, information, facilities, and human resources, which are decided at the Board of Directors. The investment plans for each category are formulated with a detailed implementation plan for each fiscal year, and the progression of the plans is monitored by the Management Committee and the Board to enhance their efficiency.

Additionally, the Advanced Center of Technology takes the leading role in research and development as well as the implementation of research results in “technical development,” which is the source of the Group’s competitive edge. For the consideration and planning of various measures to promote innovative technical development, deliberations are made by the division chiefs of civil engineering, construction, and other areas of focus along with sales and other related divisions at the Technical Committee. This operations committee is an advisory body to the Management Committee that has the President as the chairman and the Advanced Center of Technology as the coordinator. Reports from the Technical Committee are submitted to the Management Committee and Board for approval and promotion.

Furthermore, in addition to our Group’s own technical development, we also step outside of our existing value chains and promote joint research with different industries and collaborations with local communities. A special department within the Advanced Center of Technology takes on the lead role for joint research with different industries, and another special department within the Sustainability Division (Integrated) handles collaborations with local communities. With our sights set on future innovation of the value chain, we will continue to deepen productive relationships with our stakeholders, who share and empathize with our aspirations, in order to reinforce our foundations for the long-term and sustainable creation of value.

Intellectual Property Strategy

Taisei Corporation has formulated the Policy on Intellectual Property, based on which we practice our Intellectual Property Strategy.
We strategically manage and utilize all intellectual property including patents, copyright, construction and business know-how to promote management that is focused on intellectual property. Regarding management of intellectual property, we intend to improve operational efficiency through building a search function for our own patents and preparing a database for managing patents.
We implement thorough risk management in all business processes to prevent and mitigate intellectual property-related risks that may cause a material impact on business management, such as infringement of our rights or rights of others, and technology leakage. We have established the Rules for Handling Intellectual Property Information to ensure the management of classified information. We also take measures to reduce the risk of infringing the intellectual property rights of third parties, such as making the technical departments and business departments thoroughly aware of other companies' patent information.

Activities / Efforts

Research and Development Activities

The Group has identified as a key issue “To promote the technical development to solve environmental and social issues through open innovation.” We are strategically investing management resources in “technical development contributing to industrial sectors expected to grow, through a virtuous cycle for the economy and environment” as well as “technical development where the Company has a competitive edge.”
Specifically, we are pursuing the development, efficiency, and cost reduction of new technologies in the following fields: offshore wind power; logistics, people flow, and infrastructure; carbon recycling; housing and building, next-generation PV; lifestyle-related industry; hydrogen; nuclear power; foods, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; and resource circulation.
We are also developing special technology for applying to large projects and technology contributing to higher added value and higher quality.

Patents That Contribute to the Resolution of Social Issues

Article 1 of the Patent Act states that the “purpose of this Act is to encourage inventions by promoting the protection and utilization of inventions, and thereby contribute to the development of industry.” Taisei Corporation promotes business management with a focus on intellectual property not only to secure its competitive advantage but also to achieve this original purpose, and strategically manages and utilizes all intellectual property including patents, copyright, construction and business know-how.
In addition, we have been further enhancing the intellectual property capabilities of the entire Group by establishing systems and exchanging information on intellectual property across the Group.
We also conduct training to ensure that employees are fully informed about this policy and utilize intellectual property strategically in order to strengthen our competitiveness and improve our corporate value. In FY2021, we conducted intellectual property courses for Group companies, technical departments in the head office and operations departments in branch offices of Taisei Corporation as well as e-learning for all officers and employees, including the utilization of application rights and a series of awareness raising campaigns about infringement.

For the Enhancement of ZEB Performance

A net zero energy building (ZEB) is a state-of-the-art building that achieves significant energy saving by using solar shading and natural energy through ingenuity in construction planning, high heat insulation, and high efficiency. At the same time, it greatly reduces annual energy consumption by generating energy through photovoltaic and other power generation systems. By achieving ZEBs and making them popular, the energy supply demand structure is expected to fundamentally improve. At the Taisei Group, we have set enhancement of ZEBs as a key issue in the Medium-Term Business Plan, and our ZEB initiative is positioned to lead to the achievement of SDGs. As a promising sector to become a growth market going forward, we will make full efforts to evolve and spread ZEBs.
Specifically, we are focusing on (i) the Message from the President development of ZEB (Zero Energy Building) and ZEF (net Zero Energy Factory), (ii) the promotion of green renewal ZEB initiatives, (iii) research and development for the commercialization of environmentally friendly concrete, including carbon-recycle concrete that fixes CO₂ inside concrete, and (iv) the promotion of “T-ZCB (Zero Carbon Building)” (aiming to conduct Japan's first demonstration at the Group's facility), which will reduce CO₂ emissions throughout the entire lifecycle of a building, from the procurement and construction stages to the operation stage,to net zero emissions in total.

Taisei Corporation's Digital Transformation

Taisei Corporation as a whole, is making effort to implement digital transformation with the aim of improving the Group's corporate value by promptly utilizing information(digital technology and data) in [TAISEI VISION 2030] Achievement Plan / Methodologies for Business Transformation: DX. Since the activity satisfied the certification standards set by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, we obtained DX certification.
We will continue to working to achieve the medium- to long term vision TAISEI VISION 2030 “The Ever-Evolving CDE³ (cubed) Company: A pioneering corporate group contributing to the development of a resilient society where people can live affluent and cultural lives,” and accelerating activities.

Data

Research and Development Expenditure (Consolidation)

Social Data

Sustainability

• Top Commitment
• Sustainability Management
  • Sustainability Management
  • Message from CSuO
  • Sustainability of the Taisei Group
  • Creation of Value and Policies
    • Toward Value Creation and Sustainable Growth
  • Materiality
  • Participation in Initiatives
  • The seven core subjects of ISO 26000
• Environment(E)
  • Environment(E)
  • Information Disclosure of Integrated Environmental Management
  • Realization of a Sustainable and Environmentally Friendly Society
    • TAISEI Green Target 2050
    • Decarbonized Society
      • Avoided Emissions
    • Recycling-Oriented Society
    • Nature Co-Existing Society
    • Forest Resources / Forest Environment
    • Water Resources / Water Environment
    • Compliance with Environment-related Laws and Regulations
  • Environmental Due Diligence
  • Environmental Data
  • Independent Assurance
• Social(S)
  • Social(S)
  • Human Rights
    • Respect for Human Rights
    • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
    • Human Rights Due Diligence
  • Labor Practices
    • Realization of an Attractive Working Environment That Is Good to Work in
    • Human Resource Development
    • Health Management
    • Thorough Management of Occupational Health and Safety
    • Cultivation of Technical Staff and Securing of Human Resources
  • Consumer Issues
    • Ensuring Quality and Improving Technology
    • Technical Development for Realizing a Sustainable Society
  • Fair Operating Practices
    • Promotion of Supply Chain Management
  • Community Involvement and Development
    • Contribution to Local Communities
    • Social and Cultural Contribution Activities
• Governance(G)
  • Governance(G)
  • Corporate Governance
  • Risk Management
  • Fair Operating Practices
    • Thorough Compliance / Restructuring of the Group Governance System
    • Management of Information and Intellectual Property Rights
• External Evaluations/Sustainable Finance
  • External Evaluations/Sustainable Finance
  • External Evaluations
  • Sustainable Finance
    • Sustainable Finance Framework
    • Green Bonds
    • Sustainability Link Linked Loans, etc
• ESG Data and Comparisons
  • ESG Data and Comparisons
  • ESG Data
  • GRI Standards Comparison Chart
  • ISO26000 Comparison Table
  • Information Disclosure of Integrated Environmental Management
• Editorial Policy
• Library