Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Sustainable Development Goals are an action agenda to address and overcome the world's
problems. They should not only deal with the environment but also with objectives that include
problems of gender equality, hunger and harmony. The goals were set at New York's 2015
United Nations Sustainable Development Summit. They are a collective endeavor and every
country in the UN has dedicated itself to achieving its objectives by the fixed year–2030. The
High Level Political Conference on Sustainable Growth offers a follow-up periodically. The
SDGs are intended to cover the following subjects that are deemed important to humanity and
People: Seek to eliminate hunger, poverty, and inequality while maintaining a stable
environment.
Prosperity: Ensure that we all maintain fulfilled lives and that development is done in a
Peace: Societies that are free of violence and terror are known as peaceful societies.
There are 17 SDGs to change the world, they balance the social, environmental and economic
aspects of sustainable growth and for the first time sustainable development and combating
poverty were placed on the very same agenda. (17 sustainable development goals. 2020, January
28).
Out of these 17 SDGs, the description of selected three SDGs is given below:
1
“SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities”
More than half of the world's population lives in cities. Two-thirds of humans, or 6.5 billion
inhabitants, will live in urban areas by 2050. Without a drastic change in the way we design and
maintain our urban spaces, we will not be able to accomplish sustainable growth. Rapid
megacities, particularly in developing countries, and slums are becoming a more prominent
feature of urban life. Creating job and industry opportunities, healthy and affordable homes, and
resilient communities and economies are all way of developing cities sustainable. It includes
investing in public transit, building green public spaces, and enhancing participatory and
equitable urban planning and management. (UNDP. 2021, Goal 11: Sustainable cities and
communities)
Infrastructure investment and innovation are critical factors of economic development and
growth. With over half of the world's population now living in cities, urban transportation and
renewable energies, as well as the rise of emerging businesses and information and
is also important for seeking long-term solutions to both economic and environmental problems,
such as creating new employment and increasing energy usage. Sustainable growth will be
innovation. There is currently no internet connection for more than 4 billion people and 90 % are
from developing countries. It is important to overcome this digital gap in order to guarantee fair
access and promote creativity and entrepreneurship. (UNDP. 2021, Goal 9: Industrial innovation
and infrastructure)
2
“SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation”
More than 40% of people are affected by water shortages, a troubling number that is expected to
increase as temperatures rise. While water sanitation has increased since 1990 by 2.1 billion
people, there are declining supplies of drinking water on each continent. So many more countries
are under water stress and these patterns are now escalating with rising drought and
desertification. At least one in four individuals is expected to suffer from recurrent water
deficiencies by 2050. To ensure equitable access to clean and accessible drinking water, more
than 800 million people who lack essential facilities must be reached, and the accessibility and
protection of services for over two billion people must be improved. In 2015, there had been 4.5
billion people lacking safe sanitation services and 2.3 billion lacked even basic sanitation.
Hitachi Company:
According to Hitachi, the SDGs are an essential goal for achieving a sustainable society and
enhancing people's quality of life by addressing global environmental and social issues. Hitachi's
Social Innovation Business, which also serves as a driver of long-term growth for the company,
has made a major contribution to achieving the SDGs. Hitachi would also aim to develop a
social, environmental and economic impact as part of its management plan by offering creative
ideas and goods in its Social Innovation Business. Hitachi will also work on reducing the
negative social and environmental effects of their businesses and a better awareness of the
challenge of industry emerging from social and environmental developments in order to make
3
Hitachi via its Social Innovation Business and its responsible corporate behavior contributes to
the achievement of all SDGs by proactively contributing to social issues. The 17 SDGs, as well
as the benefits and risks they pose, were discussed at Executive Sustainability Committee
sessions. Following that, they established 5 Goals on which their core companies will have an
especially important impact, as well as 6 Goals to which they can contribute across their entire
corporate activities. The last six goals, according to Hitachi, are essential to their entire market
and management strategy, and have an effect on corporate sustainability. Since they operate in a
number of sectors, they feel they will make a substantial contribution to the accomplishment of
the SDGs beyond the 11 defined targets. (Contribution to SDGs: Sustainability: Hitachi. 2020).
Developing a sustainable society, as described by the SDGs, would also contribute to Hitachi's
long-term prosperity. They feel they are bringing value to society as a whole, not just to the
businesses and clients that are their immediate buyers. This is what their Social Engineering
Business is all about. They have goods and services that are all tied to social sustainability.
Through their work to help accomplish the SDGs, they hope to become a world pioneer in
Hitachi identified social impacts in relation to goals to which business activities can contribute.
Hitachi encouraged business units and Group businesses to encourage the visualization of social
and environmental impacts in fiscal 2019 in order to achieve the social, environmental, and
economic benefit envisioned in the 2021 Mid-Term Management Plan. Following the selection
of their main companies, each corporate unit and Group organization grouped the products on
the "List of Social and Environmental Impacts" into positive and negative categories. The
stakeholders involved in each effect were then described and summarized in a reasoning model.
This allowed Hitachi and its consumers to imagine the effect they have on society, allowing them
4
to optimize positive impacts while eliminating negative ones. They are encouraging attempts to
build social and environmental benefit in fiscal 2020 by extending the use of qualitative and
quantitative impact assessments visualized using these reasoning models. (Toshiaki Higashihara.
Sustainability is the way of the future, and establishing a sustainability policy in the company's
supply chain is more critical than ever. This framework will assist companies in assessing their
suppliers' and consumers' societal, environmental, and economic effect and feasibility. State
pressure to promote recycling does not exist, but business pressure on manufacturers and vendors
does. Going green and being environmentally conscious aren't the only aspects of sustainability.
It also has an effect on the overall production chain, from obtaining raw materials to plant
operations to product or service usage and future recyclability. (Tom K. 2019, June 14)
Innovation: The supply chain is the first element of inventory manufacturing that can
contribute to a more profitable future for the business. Manufacturers must devise new
methods for managing and tracking their supply chain, production operation, and sales
and marketing activities. Customers are now getting more vocal about their enthusiasm
sustainability will also enhance consumer ties. When it comes to manufacturing material,
focusing only on expense would not suffice. Customers feel faithful to companies that
share their ideals, which is why businesses should engage in environmentally friendly
5
activities that avoid waste and use products that are ethically sourced. Consumers are
more conscious of the products they purchase, and many want to support companies that
Controlling costs: It can be costly at first to switch to a sustainable supply chain model,
but it has proved to be more efficient in the long run. Over time, companies enjoy a
substantial reduction in costs, which is appealing to both suppliers and consumers. When
they turn to a sustainable business model, all profits. (Tom K. 2019, June 14)
The majority of a company's environmental and social effects are distributed out through its
supply chain, rather than occurring within its own activities. This is especially important in the
IT (Information technology) industry, where businesses have limited direct workforces and
environmental footprints but have a much larger effect over the long supply chain used to
interest in triple bottom line management (people, planet, profit). The supply chain for
technology is long and complicated. From the mines that manufacture important minerals, such
as wolframite and cassiterite, to the delivery of smart phones and servers, goods move through
several hands. In this industry, a company's vendors will also be its clients and rivals. There are
technology industries that need special consideration. (Thöni, A., & Tjoa, A. M. 2015)
In its 2021 Mid-term Management Plan which ends in fiscal year 2021 Hitachi practices
sustainable management, places sustainable development at the core of its strategy for industry,
and is committed to helping achieve a sustainable world as a global leader of social development.
6
To this end, the Hitachi’s Mid-Term Management Plan of 2021 defines five areas in which they
will concurrently enhance social, environmental, economic and corporate value as well as
improve the quality of life of their customers: Information technology, energy , smart life,
industry and mobility. Additionally, they will extend their Social Innovation Business by joint
development with their collaborators around the world by delivering Lumada, a solution that
accelerates digital innovation, as a cyber-physical structure that allows the cyber and physical
spaces to connect, in order to maximize the three types of value at the same time. Three types of
values are Social values, Environmental values and economical values. Via programs such as
Society 5.0 and the Sustainable Development Goals, they will strive to follow the 2021 Mid-
Term Management Plan, further integrating sustainability and industry to lead to the settlement
Hitachi sustainable activity includes its value chain. When the world of industry gets more
globalized, there is a greater chance of sourcing risks in the supply chain causing management
issues. Hitachi aims to recognize and manage these risks as early as possible as a company that
does business in several different regions around the world. In compliance with the Hitachi
Group's Global procurement code, Hitachi focuses sustainable development of the value chain,
and suppliers are strictly chosen. In addition, they distributing the CSR Guidance to some 30,000
suppliers worldwide not only to their CSR procurement policy, but also to perform CSR (Self-
checking) and CSR inspections to help reduce the risk of procurement. To ensure understanding
of the CSR policies. Hitachi has developed a policy to encourage responsible procurement in
accordance with international guidelines to resolve the dispute mineral problem. Moreover,
Hitachi stick to basics and principles, putting right and wrong before benefit and losses, with all
workers sharing their strategy of keeping consistency and efficiency their highest priority, thus
7
enhancing their quality improvement efforts, and they embrace the Hitachi Founding Spirit of
"Harmony, Sincerity, and Pioneering Spirit". (Value chain management: Sustainability: Hitachi.
2020).
Hitachi is doing following activities in its value chain for sustainable supply chain:
practices, CSR acquisition should be implemented, Keep CSR procurement seminars and
discuss the problem of conflict minerals. Hitachi's goals and key performance indicators
(KPIs) include conducting supplier audits with the assistance of third-party auditing
firms. In the fiscal year 2019, the following milestones were made: Created the Hitachi
Group Global Procurement Code, conducted CSR audits at 19 vendors, and hosted their
Product Safety and Quality Management: Among the most important initiatives are:
common principles of ethics, and prioritizing right and wrong over benefit and loss.
Improving quality efficiency and customer loyalty are goals and KPIs. Accomplishments
activities promoted, Compliant with the technical legislation and Quality and Reliability
8
appliances, and promotional activities. Objectives and KPIs consist of CS enhancement
and proper product and service disclosure material. Continuously incorporated CS and
This section focuses on the three SDGs that are selected in this first part and Hitachi has defined
as the most closely associated with its corporate strategy. These SDGs provide Hitachi with both
substantial commercial opportunities and the ability to contribute to society through business
activities. Hitachi outlined the global sustainability challenges for each SDG, as well as the role
social innovation can play in achieving that aim and how their goods and services can help.
Building communities: Hitachi is driven by a passion to make communities more hospitable and
to have the best possible living and working conditions for residents. Smart city policies will
help alleviate the effects of rapid urbanization by lowering prices and easing resource demand.
They have not only economic and environmental benefits, but also social ones, such as major
enhancements in safety, convenience, and leisure time and stress levels. As a core component in
every city's growth, Hitachi believes that transportation plays an important role in this scheme.
People will now take advantage of more resources and advantages due to changes in
transportation and networking. This opportunity will be realized by joint production with
Hitachi, as a complete railway system provider, employs cutting-edge information and operating
technology to provide stable, reliable, and creative railway solutions that enable individuals,
9
communities, and cities prosper through better connectivity. High-speed and driverless systems,
automated maintenance, and innovative headway are some of the options available. They are
also developing electric car technology that can boost passenger convenience, make roads safer
and less congested, and reduce environmental effects in order to achieve genuinely inclusive
Hitachi’s concern. Hitachi is supplying 866 new vehicles to the UK's IEP (Intercity Express
Programme), which will represent a step shift in capability, reliability, maintainability, and
environmental friendliness on any journey. Travel times will be shortened, enhancing city
accessibility throughout the United Kingdom. The impacts of Hitachi project connect towns and
transportation and maintainability. Through Hitachi’s sustainable supply chain, they are able to
provide high-quality, long-term expertise and jobs to people all over the UK. (Hitachi SDGs
Report. 2020)
1. Patterning with innovation: Hitachi believes that progress is being made in many sectors
on this issue, and that its future beneficial effect on the environment is growing at a rising
rate. Industries are evolving into more productive and competitive ways by using the IOT
(Internet of Things), AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Big Data. Hitachi believes that technical
advancements can help bind and empower OT and IT processes, resulting in increased
productivity and cost savings. This type of innovation has the potential to improve global
10
quality of life by reforming and scaling any possible operation. Any system could be
Hitachi is one of the few multinational businesses with both OT and IT expertise. They will
cross-industry knowledge and guiding technology innovations that foster market growth.
They collaborate with their colleagues to make smart action on big data. Their IoT platform
Lumada delivers today the most sophisticated functionality. (Hitachi SDGs Report. 2020)
Hitachi’s business in practice: Smart IoT manufacturing, Daikin is a world's leading air
conditioning manufacturer with key barriers to skills transfer and continuous improvement in
efficiency and quality through various countries and regions. It is concerned, because of the
many facets of bracing that cannot be properly clarified in writing or in experience alone, that
brazing abilities have not been effectively passed. In response, Hitachi created the
"Individual, machinery and material" development factors Brazing Skills Training Support
capturing and recognizing places where trainees can develop knowledge on the expert
abilities. Require easy and successful training even in historically problematic areas. (Hitachi
2. Transforming Financial Services: People and businesses must have access to financial
markets that are fit for the purpose and tailored to their climate in order to ensure long-term
and inclusive economic development. Many people in developing countries do not have
other hand, have the ability to provide more people access to financial services than ever
before. This new model requires innovative systems that combine universal usability with the
11
versatility to adapt to new problems and technical advances. Hitachi believes that rapid
developments continue to generate new financial prospects throughout the world economy.
FinTech is moving digital banks and financial services into an adaptive, flexible and
and use available information in order to take smarter decisions and enhance their consumer
experiences. The integration of IoT, machine learning and AI enables predictive insights to
Hitachi is a reliable partner to replace traditional networks, streamline processes and improve
efficiency. Via their IoT platform, Lumada, they will encourage unlimited creativity for
saving time, energy and money. Hitachi was actively responsible for leading the FinTech
movement and continued to pioneer new technology from large data and AI to encryption
and block chain. With Lumada, the financial services sector is progressively becoming more
sustainable in Hitachi. They create more effective, convenient, and stable financial networks
by partnering with customers, which benefits both those customers and their clients.
Simultaneously, they continue to use FinTech to develop creative financial services that
improve the comfort of global financial institution customers. (Hitachi SDGs Report. 2020)
such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data to provide innovative lending services to
corporate clients, improve loan examination services, and conduct proof-of-concept research
for automated market matching services. Hitachi provides cloud resources throughout the
research for blockchain technology in supply chain management. Health big data analysis is
12
supposed to broaden the field of insurance underwriting possibilities. Artificial intelligence is
supposed to increase the performance of securities activities like market monitoring and
Water tension has now become one of the top five global social threats. One in nine citizens may
not have access to clean, regulated water, and continual urbanization and industrialization
reinforces this shortage. Successful water conservation and sanitation is clearly accomplished
only by the concerted effort of all stakeholders. Hitachi believes water is an essential component
of business activities. Plays an important part in transportation, washing, cooling, and other
procedures. Hitachi will increase operating quality, mitigate resource competition, and provide
water protection to everyone by building sustainable water systems in cooperation with their
Hitachi is the leading global water infrastructure for the next decade. In combination with OT
(device control and data monitoring) and IT systems (analytics, IoT), Hitachi will deploy
management system solution. Essential water, wastewater treatment and recycling facilities can
involve that. Every area has specific problems with water, and Hitachi is able to plan, execute
and track the necessary solutions. Their advanced applications can use real-time data to track and
adapt water checks and treatment to meet any problem effectively. (Hitachi SDGs Report. 2020)
Hitachi’s business in practice: Development of the global water footprint with "RemixWater”.
RemixWater has been created by Hitachi to conserve electricity and reduce environmental
impacts by a new integrated desalination and water reusability system. It is ideal for industrial or
13
domestic use, capable of drinking water-quality production. In 2016 RemixWater started
construction as a four-year pilot scheme for eThekwini, the third largest municipality in South
Africa. Project impacts of Hitachi are energy conservation from more effective pumping,
reduced impacts on the environment due to decreased in concentration of brine salt and water
scarcity in the city are planned to be resolved and relocated to other water stressed areas.
that were also described in this paper through IT industry research report and literature review.
These challenges include, the absence of top management dedication, alignment of short-term
and long-term plans is difficult, changing business procedures and strategies is difficult, the high
expenditure demand and the unavailability of rules and legislation concerning the environment.
Customer awareness of scarcity and issues with the development of such awareness are lacking
for suppliers under different categories such as internal and external, social, technology, finance,
government, NGOs and stakeholders, have led companies to undertake initiatives associated with
the SSCM. Weak regulatory checks and balances are a major impediment to sustainability
efforts. Following consumers and legislatures, stakeholders are the most prominent sustainability
community. Stakeholders in developing countries, especially supply chain partners, are unaware
of sustainability and their role in achieving it. They lead to a lack of desire to pay and a lack of
appetite for environmentally friendly goods. Internal barriers have a detrimental effect on the
14
barriers on climate proactive green operating practices and firm results. (Baig, S. A., Abrar, M.,
While the IT industry's supply chain sustainability challenges are similar to those of other
sectors, there are certain concerns that are specific to the industry. Such problems can be
prioritized differently at various points in the value chain. The challenges that a survey by (MSP
management and the environment. External challenges such as labor issues and human
trafficking were cited by 42% of our participants as their key sustainability concern.
Conflict minerals and labor hours are two of the most popular socioeconomic challenges.
Many participants are concerned about conflict minerals and the relevant legislation
working hours and the difficulties in seeking a middle ground between equal hours and
the need for overtime by workers. Child labor, which is a problem in other sectors, was
not stated to be a major issue in the IT industry's supply chain. (MSP 2013)
Regulation of e-waste and technology recovery are common concern for the environment.
There is growing interest in the management of water and greenhouse gas in OEMs and
other suppliers. NGOs including the Institute of Public Environmental Affairs (IPE) in
15
China have called attention to the use of heavy metals in the production of devices and
the related water contamination, even though legislation has been largely inoperative so
far to fix this issue. Another area of the concern for greenhouse gas management across
the supply chain is that many big clients, such as Dell and Intel, require major suppliers
interrelated character of the supply chain. For many companies, several large OEMs
manufactured are sometimes greater than their consumers. At the same time, in various
areas of their business, it is not unprecedented for businesses to compete with their
transparency and sustainability have been frustrated. This challenge is being solved by
Personal Assessment:
It is important worldwide because the pillar of a sustainable and stable company is a healthy
community. There have been substantial gains in the worldwide rise in life expectancy, but more
focus is needed on the eradication of diseases and current and evolving problems in health. In
order to reach universal health coverage, a firm effort is required to guarantee that everyone can
The objective of IT companies should be to increase the quality of life by solving and
recognizing the problems of daily society and the center of a strong society infrastructure is
16
healthcare. They must agree that a change in medical care worldwide is necessary in order to
build a next-generation framework that offers clever universal care for all. Such social progress
and digital healthcare transition are crucial. Medical advancement would deliver a new wave of
economically efficient and value-based patient care by combining emerging technology with IoT
What can IT-companies do? Their products must include medical instruments such as diagnostic
and particulate radiotherapy devices and IT and AI technology, such as operating systems and
electronic medical records in a medical hospital, to improve the efficiency of diagnosis and care.
IT companies may do their best to enhance health care by advancing initiatives in these fields.
The biggest problem of sustainability in all economies remains climate change. It now affects
every continent, undermining domestic markets and transforming lives. If the climate change is
uncontrolled, much advance to date could be undo and future developments prevented. Other
risks such as food and water shortages can also be exacerbated. IT companies must be
committed to help solve global environmental problems by combining superior items with OT
IT companies might minimize CO2 emissions and paper use by way of the EHRs (electronic
health records) and telemedicine. Patients may use EHRs to not only hold digital copies of their
medical records, but also order and share them with their doctors. As a result, digital backups of
patients' health records can be used instead of paper, rendering paper-based health records
redundant. Telemedicine solutions and symptom control systems will decrease the requirement
for outpatient appointments, and a patient with a full electronic medical report would be likely to
17
get more results if trips are less and no needless duplication. Telemedicine will reduce
greenhouse emissions by 40-70 percent as it replaces physical visits. The use of emerging
technology, on the other hand, is not free. Unlike paper, which has a relatively constant carbon
footprint, digital products necessitate equipment and facilities (Data centers) that absorb
electricity and generate electronic waste. As a result, this negative effect must be considered.
When the positive benefits of Telemedicine and EHR solutions are offset by the negative effects
of needed energy consumption and caused electronic waste, the total potential benefit of
Telemedicine and EHR based solutions in the United States is estimated to be around 1.7 million
metric tons of CO2 pollution eliminated. Including the fact that this is just a tiny portion of the
health-care sector's overall greenhouse gas emissions (435 million tonnes each year) (Gerlach,
References:
https://www.eda.admin.ch/agenda2030/en/home/agenda-2030/die-17-ziele-fuer-eine-
nachhaltige-entwicklung.html
adoption of sustainable supply chain management practices: Moderating role of firm size.
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2020.1841525
https://www.hitachi.com/sustainability/sdgs/index.html
18
Gerlach, R. (2020, February 14). 4 ways digital health companies can help achieve the
digital-health-companies-can-can-help-achieve-the-sustainable-development-goals
Global.
https://www.hitachi.com/sustainability/sdgs_report/pdf/HitachiSDGsReport_OnwardTo2
030.pdf
content/uploads/2015/05/MSP-Study-Sustainable-Supply-Chain-Management-in-IT.pdf
https://www.hitachi.com/sustainability/management/index.html
Thöni, A., & Tjoa, A. M. (2015). Information technology for sustainable supply chain
https://doi.org/10.1080/17517575.2015.1091950
Tom K. (2019, June 14). What is supply chain sustainability and why is it important for
https://www.leansupplysolutions.com/blog/supply-chain-sustainability-important-
business/
Toshiaki Higashihara. (2019, May 10). Mid-term management plan : Investor relations :
e/library/presentation/webcast/190510.html
19
UNDP. (2021). Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities.
https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-11-
sustainable-cities-and-communities.html
https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-6-
clean-water-and-sanitation.html
https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-9-
industry-innovation-and-infrastructure.html
United Nations. (2020). #Envision2030: 17 goals to transform the world for persons with
https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/envision2030.html
https://www.hitachi.com/sustainability/social/valuechain/index.html
20