Materiality

Identification and Prioritization of Material Issues

Materiality in CSR activities guides our CSR-based management. Astellas has identified material issues to be addressed based on the issues regarded as prerequisites of its business activities. These include global issues related to medical care and health and other broader social issues.
Making reference to expectations and requests from a broad range of stakeholders, we classified and prioritized the material issues into three categories by evaluating their societal significance and relevance to our business (CSR Materiality Matrix.) In order to tackle these material issues, we are executing a concrete action plan.

Updating of the CSR Materiality Matrix

In fiscal 2017, we reviewed the CSR Materiality Matrix in full in order to respond to the changing needs of society. In conducting the review, we spoke with diverse stakeholders (investors, patient groups, doctors, employees, consultants, and academics) in Japan and overseas; examined their feedbacks from a variety of perspectives; deliberated on and approved matters at the CSR Committee, Executive Committee (EC) and Board of Directors; and decided to update the CSR Materiality Matrix.

In this update, we have newly added “tax compliance” and “environmental impacts of pharmaceuticals” in order to respond to the needs of society. Moreover, based on their growing importance, we have moved “customer satisfaction” and “protection of personal and confidential information” to the upper-right quadrant. We have also renamed or combined material issues in order to properly express each material issue.

Materiality Determination Process

Step 1

Identify Issues
Astellas' material issues are identified with reference to various principles and guidelines (such as ISO 26000, the UN Global Compact's ten principles and the SASB^* Materiality Map), communications with stakeholders, and evaluation items for Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) indices, etc.
* SASB: Sustainability Accounting Standards Board.
A U.S. non-profit organization exploring industry-specific standards for corporate sustainability disclosure. SASB has prepared industry-specific materiality maps by evaluating the materiality of sustainability topics.

Step 2

Prioritize
We will prioritize Astellas' material issues from the dual perspectives of societal significance and relevance to our business.

Step 3

Review
 ● Dialogue with Stakeholders
 ● Deliberating on and approving matters at the CSR Committee, EC and Board of Directors

Astellas’ material issues will be reviewed and verified. They will be modified depending on the attainment level of initiatives implemented and/or any changes in the needs of society. In conducting this review, we spoke with stakeholders in Japan and overseas, examined the review, and decided to update the CSR Materiality Matrix after deliberating on and approving matters at the CSR Committee, EC and Board of Directors.

CSR Materiality Matrix