Sustainable Management: The Vision Behind SCREEN’s Sustainability Strategy

Goto: SCREEN got its start as a printing venture 158 years ago, in 1868. Our people have taken the technology created by this venture, refined it, and used it to build new connections and broaden our thoughts and horizons for innovation—what we call “Shi Ko Ten Kai”—to find real-world applications. In this way, we have developed a wide range of businesses. SCREEN is perhaps first and foremost known for its technology, but it is our people who support that technology. The good and the bad in our business management rest with our people. As such, I believe that training people and carefully preparing for a variety of possible futures will keep SCREEN on the path to success. Today’s business environment is increasingly difficult to predict. We therefore need to train people who can anticipate changes and respond flexibly. I believe that such people will carry forward our technology and corporate culture and rejuvenate our company.

Onozuka: Even as the external environment changes constantly, SCREEN believes that people and technology will continue to provide the foundation of sustainable growth. However, given today’s unpredictable environment, when you look to the future, what do you think will be important?

Goto: The key is to see changes coming and respond flexibly. This is another reason we need to anticipate change, make effective use of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation (DX), and prepare for the unexpected.

Onozuka: It is important to communicate your thinking and initiatives and engage in dialogue as you respond to change. Today’s discussion is an example of this. 
However, sustainability and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) performance, being non-financial, involves considerable information asymmetry between companies and external stakeholders. For that reason, investors and other stakeholders are increasingly demanding disclosure of non-financial information. What is SCREEN’s approach to such disclosure?

Goto: As you said, we are seeing growing interest in non-financial information in our dialogue with investors. Moves toward the statutory disclosure of non-financial information have recently gotten under way, reflecting the growing importance investors place on such information as a way of evaluating corporate value. We of course appropriately disclose information as required by law, but I do not believe that this alone is enough.
A longer-term perspective is crucial to understand corporate value, and in that context, I think value is the cumulative sum of achievements over time. We want to communicate our long-term vision through effective storytelling that helps stakeholders understand what we are aiming for and gets them excited about the Company’s direction.
 

Shiraishi: Human capital management is handled by the Human Resources Strategy Division, which I oversee, while employee health, a prerequisite for such management, is handled by the Sustainability Strategy Division in the form of health and productivity management. We believe that employee health is essential to the success of human capital management initiatives and to the Company’s sustainable growth. This perspective allows us to develop strategies for engagement and well-being.

Onozuka: I served on the committee that revised the Health and Productivity Management Guidebook issued by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), so I strongly agree with this view. The key, of course, is leadership from the top. Health and productivity management is not simply a matter for HR; the involvement of top management is essential. How are you involved in these areas, President Goto?

Goto: I serve as the SCREEN Group’s chief officer for health and productivity management. Since a company’s performance is the product of its employees’ work, I believe that it is extremely important for corporate management to create an environment in which employees can always perform at their best.
For example, under METI’s KENKO* Investment for Health program, we have been selected as a Health and Productivity Management Outstanding Organization for four consecutive years and included in the KENKO Investment for Health Stock Selection for three consecutive years. Furthermore, in 2025 we launched the Sustainable Action Challenge program. This initiative is intended to deepen all employees’ understanding of sustainability and encourage them to act independently. This initiative also targets health promotion. I host an in-house radio program where I encourage all employees to take their own health seriously and participate in health promotion initiatives.
* Meaning "health" in Japanese

Ito: As we just heard from Mr. Goto, SCREEN is currently promoting the Sustainable Action Challenge to encourage all employees to recognize their role in solving social issues and enhancing corporate value and take action accordingly. In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, the initiative’s first year, there were 285 action entries that led to improvements to SCREEN’s social value. We will continue working to spread this awareness and these efforts throughout the SCREEN Group.

Shiraishi: I feel that it is crucial to figure out how to draw out and leverage the motivation that employees naturally have, including through the Sustainable Action Challenge.

Onozuka: Taking a somewhat more external perspective, as society changes rapidly, the semiconductor industry, in which SCREEN has its core business, is likely to be particularly strongly affected. In this environment, a company that fails to evolve is easily left behind and forced out of the market. Given this, what kind of people and organizations do you need to develop? 

Goto: It is important to take ownership of the awareness and insights we gain through work and daily life and turn them into action. The Human Resources Strategy Division has been developing a variety of programs to connect awareness with action in this way. As part of these efforts, we promote the vision of “Be a Solution Creator.” As this expresses, we want our organizations to comprise people who, regardless of their individual positions, can work independently to find the next solution.

Shiraishi: SCREEN has a corporate culture where employees think and take on challenges on their own. Many of our employees are brimming with curiosity and eager to implement solutions that they have come up with themselves. Crucially, they are able to get approval from their bosses and actually implement their ideas. With that culture as the foundation, employees now develop their own assignments through our management by objectives (MBO) system.
​​​​​​​We have also defined the five attitudes required of a solution creator and incorporated them into our personnel evaluation standards. Based on these, expected levels are designated for each position. However, we also allow our highly motivated younger employes to set targets to, for example, perform at two solution creator levels above the standard expectation for their position.

Onozuka: In our discussion so far, keywords such as “achievements over time,” “flexibility,” and “excitement”  have come up. I have also sometimes heard President Goto use the word “proactive.” How do you view the importance of being “proactive” within the mechanisms of value creation at SCREEN?

Goto: In a fast-paced industry like ours, if you can’t keep up, you will not survive. Building up as much value as possible is key. In practice, this means you have to be proactive.
We have designated “Innovation for a Sustainable World” as our corporate purpose. This entails unlocking new possibilities through human and technological connections.   However, while connecting technology with technology is relatively simple, connecting people with people and connecting people with technology is extremely difficult. Finding ways to effectively create these connections and thus enhance corporate value is crucial. I believe that being proactive—passionately pursuing your own goals and aspirations—is essential and ultimately creates value for the company. That’s why I want to ask all of our employees to be extra aware of what their own real goals and aspirations are as they go about their work.  

Onozuka: Thank you.
I feel that the word “proactive” also implies speed. Some have commented that Japanese companies move slowly compared to the world’s leading firms. What are your thoughts on the importance of speed?

Goto: Today, society is changing extremely fast. It’s like stepping onto a fast-moving escalator: If you hesitate, a gap quickly opens up between you and the people ahead of you. AI cannot meaningfully decide to take risks on its own, but humans can evaluate a situation to make judgments. I believe it is important to move forward without hesitation in situations where it is clear how to proceed, and to have the courage to take a step even in situations that are harder to judge. That kind of proactiveness and management speed are important, because being even one step ahead of competitors makes a big difference in results.

Onozuka: Some people take sustainable management to mean maintaining stability such that yesterday, today, and tomorrow are all the same. In my view, however, sustainable management means continuously evolving decision making in response to social change.

Goto: When I assumed the position of CEO, I often asked myself what the job of a CEO is. I arrived at the conclusion that it is to create the mechanisms that will sustainably enhance corporate value. For example, given that our main business is in the B-to-B sector, the reduction of environmental impacts and energy management are extremely important. Starting from that idea, I wondered if our corporate activities could support new energy policies in society more broadly. I think the best way we can go about changing the world is by applying our strengths, namely technology. When it comes to human resources, B-to-B companies generally have low brand recognition. As such, we also need to enhance our corporate brand so that people will see the SCREEN Group as a place they want to work.

Onozuka: I think that SCREEN is able to take on new challenges with such proactiveness because of the foundation that you have built over the years. A solid foundation gives employees the confidence to take on new initiatives with a growth mindset.

Goto: You can’t build a house without a solid foundation. 
We have built up our foundation through more than 150 years of working with a sincerity that verges on stubbornness. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing. There have been many difficult times. However, I believe we understand our own strengths and have a culture that encourages taking on challenges that will enhance them further. We will continue building strong foundations and fostering a culture that is encouraging of ambitious and innovative effort on the part of our employees.

Onozuka: It sounds like SCREEN has a corporate culture that is grounded in sober diligence but also values proactiveness and excitement.

Onozuka: I feel that Kyoto, which has many companies with long histories even by global standards, has a brand power that is distinctive even in Japan. Having done business in that environment for more than 150 years, how do you see SCREEN’s uniqueness compared with other Kyoto companies?

Shiraishi: The first thing that comes to mind is the founder’s motto, “Shi Ko Ten Kai”—broadening everyone’s thoughts and horizons for innovation. This is precisely the essence of sustainable management. We take pride in the fact that many of our employees have a mindset of wanting to develop technologies that no one else anywhere has and create world-leading technologies. While respecting the achievements accumulated through the innovations of our predecessors, SCREEN’s employees take the lessons from these achievements and carry them forward to tackle the very different social issues of today. I believe that challenging oneself like this also leads to the sense of ownership needed to become a Solution Creator. This discussion has really brought home for me that applying this mindset to organizational development and manager training can help us realize talent management that supports sustainable management.

Goto: In addition, I think it is important to maintain the traditions and culture that come from being a Kyoto company while also having the perspective of a global company. We need to value the assets we have cultivated to date while also taking new steps forward into hitherto unexplored territory.

Onozuka: I agree. You want to leverage your strengths in technology and work with speed to aggressively take on the world. Even when you have a business that generates stable revenue, you use the resources acquired through that business to plant the seeds for new technologies and businesses in order to continue moving forward. I believe SCREEN can make that happen.

Ito: In the Sustainability Strategy Division, which I oversee, we aim to convey and ingrain, throughout the Group, SCREEN’s stance toward engaging with society and the importance of each employee’s aspirations, as Mr. Goto mentioned. When these ideas have been absorbed by each organization and every person, and striving to contribute to society and addressing the issues facing our stakeholders becomes the norm, ultimately, I believe that the role of my division will fade or evolve into something new.

Onozuka: I see what you mean. Through today’s talk, I got the sense that sustainable management is nothing outside the ordinary for SCREEN, but essentially how the Company operates day-to-day—centered on the people and technologies that have been cultivated since its founding. Even in the present moment of dizzying change, standing on a solid foundation, each and every person at SCREEN thinks, acts, and takes on one challenge after another. I believe this attitude shapes corporate value and enables SCREEN to win society’s trust.
In today’s dialogue, I felt that I could see a future in which such initiatives as “Be a Solution Creator” and the Sustainable Action Challenge are naturally ingrained in daily work, and in which SCREEN continues to be indispensable to society.
Thank you very much for this thought-provoking discussion.