Giving Tangible Form to an Employee’s Idea
In May 2024, which is her third year with NYK, Ruka Higaki, a member of the Car Carrier Group’s Asia-Oceania Team, visited India. The purpose of her visit was to have discussions with NYK Group company NYK INDIA PVT. LTD. about exports from India to Southeast Asia she was in charge of and to attend a ceremony to present a donation worth approximately $10,000, which had been accumulated through NYK’s Shipping AID project in fiscal 2023.
Undertaken independently by NYK’s Automotive Business Headquarters, Shipping AID is an ESG activity whereby a certain amount of money is donated for every vehicle transported on a particular shipping route. Donations are made through organizations working to address social issues in the countries and regions related to the shipping route. This initiative was conceived in fiscal 2021 and structured in fiscal 2022. Presentation ceremonies were held in India in fiscal 2023 and in India and Argentina in fiscal 2024 to present goods purchased with the previous year’s donations.
Why did the Automotive Business Headquarters begin this original ESG activity? Yuichiro Shiroyama, who is the Manager of the Car Carrier Group’s Europe Team, explains.
“The idea for Shipping AID originated from a competition planned and implemented by the ESG Navigator* of the Automotive Business Headquarters in 2021. Keigo Nakao (currently on temporary assignment to an overseas Group company) submitted a proposal to the competition, which solicits ideas for ESG activities. He felt that it was difficult to gain a real sense of how his work was contributing to society. He wondered if donations could give tangible form to the fact that we contribute to the people of the regions in which we transport goods.”
The idea of a logistics company, which is part of society’s infrastructure, returning profits to communities was widely supported by officers and other members of the headquaters and adopted. Soon after, ESG Navigators and other volunteers centered on Nakao, the originator of the idea, formed a group. Through the cooperation of many coworkers, the project moved toward realization. Shiroyama recalls the initial stages of the project.
“Rather than just collecting and donating money, we began by creating a concept of what to donate, in what form, and to whom. As for specific operations, we worked with local personnel and examined in detail the selection of support organizations and how the donations would be used.”
Creating a System for Delivering Donations and Connecting Ideas
While carrying out their normal work duties, Nakao and other secretariat members established a system for Shipping AID activities and made a donation in the year following the idea competition. Currently, the secretariat has been taken over by personnel who share the Shipping AID vision. The secretariat’s operations have been divided into three roles: communication with local communities, contract management, and public relations. Led by Shiroyama, the secretariat is staffed by Higaki, who is a newly appointed ESG Navigator, and Takahiro Ariyama, who is a member of the Automotive Quality Control Group’s Fleet Quality Control Team.
Higaki, who is mainly in charge of communication with local communities, explains the selection of the shipping route.
“In fiscal 2022, the first year of the project, we began our efforts in India, where the Company has a base. India continues to grow steadily. The number of automobiles transported to India is also growing continuously. Nevertheless, despite rapid economic growth, many people still live in poverty, which is a social issue. We selected India as our first choice for giving back to the regions in which we provide transportation services. My predecessor had already established a framework through the preparation of contracts and other measures. So, adhering to that framework, I proceeded with the second donation to India and the donation to Argentina. However, even though there was a precedent, I still faced some challenges in communicating with local organizations due to such factors as time differences and not necessarily receiving the expected responses.”
In her report on the donation ceremony in India, Higaki wrote the following.
“Allow me to explain my background. When I was a student, I visited a community in the Philippines facing a similar situation and worked on a project to improve the standard of living there. Following my involvement in the project, I wanted to engage in work that would support society in some manner. Therefore, I decided to work for an infrastructure and logistics company and joined NYK. Shipping AID recalled the aspirations of those days. I became engrossed in day-to-day preparations. Further, I was encouraged by the many smiles I received from the members of local support groups and community members. In this way, the project was an extremely valuable opportunity for me. Personally, I will consider ways of utilizing daily work to give something back to society, just as Keigo Nakao did. At the same time, while thinking about the actual people and situations that I encountered during the project, I will continue to work conscientiously.”
Shipping AID, which has given shape to an idea originating from an employee, does not only deliver donations but is also a system that connects the various experiences and ideas of the employees and others involved.
Gaining Endorsement and Developing Further
In fiscal 2023, the second year of Shipping AID, Argentina was added as a target shipping route. Shiroyama explains the reason for selecting the country.
“When we presented our efforts in India at an overseas conference, the first to express interest was our Group company’s Argentine agency.”
Higaki continues the narrative.
“From the first meeting, they enthusiastically explained why they wanted to be involved in Shipping AID and the kind of concept they wanted to pursue. The donation in Argentina was mainly handled by employees of a local Group company. After the donation, they made positive comments, saying that they were highly motivated and that we should continue the project. Thus, we have been able to involve other personnel from the NYK Group, which I feel is a significant development.”
Just before the interview, stuffed toys arrived from Yudai Yamamoto of NYK Group company NYK DO BRASIL (TRANSPORTE MARITIMO) LTDA., who participated in the presentation ceremony in Argentina. The stuffed toys are handmade and sold by local women as part of their vocational training at a support center run by an organization that was the recipient of the donation in Argentina. While holding out the stuffed toys, Higaki explains her thoughts for the future.
“In India, we purchased clothes sewn by women participating in employment support activities and donated the clothes locally. I talked with Yamamoto about the possibility of linking donations and support in a similar way in Argentina in the future. Additionally, by displaying these stuffed toys in our office, I hope to create an in-house conversation piece and thereby spread awareness of Shipping AID’s efforts in India and Argentina throughout the Company.”
In spreading ESG awareness within the Company, putting each person’s experiences and ideas into words and communicating them in a range of ways are important. Higaki supports this approach.
“So that it does not fade from memory, I would like to continue conveying my experience in India to people on a day-to-day basis.”
Eyeing Co-Creation with Automakers
Ariyama, who is mainly responsible for public relations at the secretariat, worked for about seven years as an in-house-trained engineer on board pure car and truck carriers, cruise ships, and LNG carriers. He first learned about Shipping AID when he began working onshore in October 2023.
“When I joined the company, I had never heard of ESG management. Since I began working onshore, I have been surprised by the many changes in the Company. During my offshore work, I visited many different ports, including those in India, Chile in South America, and Africa. I hope to benefit regions with which I have a connection.”
As for the future development of the project in new regions, he has a slightly different viewpoint.
“Personally, we are not thinking about development in new regions just yet. Rather, we are in a phase of preparing for the next initiative by building up strength that will enable us to forge ahead with further development of the project. This involves continuing activities in existing regions and establishing a track record while gaining the endorsement and understanding of Group companies and other companies.”
In India, we are currently explaining Shipping AID to Japanese automakers and inviting them to participate. As companies have their own social contribution activities, whether they support the NYK Group’s proposal remains to be seen. However, Shiroyama feels such support would be meaningful.
“The automotive industry has a significant effect in terms of invigorating national and regional economies. That is precisely why I would like to work together with automakers to develop activities that address social issues.
Passing On Activities to Spread ESG Management
In 2021, the NYK Group announced the NYK Group ESG Story and declared that the Group would place ESG considerations at the center of management strategy. Conceived in the same year as an initiative to spread ESG management, Shipping AID became a reality after gaining endorsement among employees. Since then, the project has been expanding to reach more employees and regions. This expansion indicates that, in the NYK Group, ESG management is now moving from awareness building toward the practical implementation phase.
Shiroyama describes the importance of the project for the Group. “Over the past few years, I feel that more employees are aware of how their work is connected to the Company as a whole and how their work leads to value. The Shipping AID project allows employees to see that what they are doing—transporting goods—is also connected to the invigoration of regions. It is very meaningful that the project’s activities have earned endorsement throughout the Automotive Business Headquarters.”
Also, he says that when he saw the photo of Higaki’s presentation ceremony report he could tell from her expression the accomplishment and fulfillment she felt.
“In particular, I would like young employees to continue joining the secretariat. I want them to have a range of different experiences in the course of communicating with local communities. I am confident that their feelings about these various experiences will be an asset to the Company in the future. I believe that my role going forward is to enable such experiences.”
Ariyama speaks about the future prospects of Shipping AID. “I believe that autonomous development is the best format for Shipping AID. If we can gain the understanding and involvement of automakers and local personnel and ultimately create a system that allows each of them to initiate Shipping AID activities on their own, activities will spread to a wide variety of countries and regions. To this end, I would like to use the know-how we have gained from India and Argentina to tell people about the best ways of establishing activities.”
This type of autonomous development is what ESG management will look like when it has been truly internalized by everyone.
Passing on Shipping AID activities from person to person and from senior personnel to junior personnel will itself be the engine that drives ESG management within the Company, within Group companies, and among the Company’s extensive network of business partners. In this sense, Shipping AID activities have only just begun.
(Interview August 21, 2024)
- * ESG Navigator system
ESG Navigators are responsible for advancing ESG management. They support the advancement of ESG management through both top-down and bottom-up ESG initiatives in each department.