For Communities

Main Activities and Results (Fiscal 2013)

Monitoring and Improvement

Main Activities and Results (Fiscal 2013)

The following sections will examine four programs in greater detail: the NEC "TOMONI" Project (reconstruction support activities); the NEC Social Entrepreneurship School; the NEC Social Entrepreneurship School Business Supporters (NEC’s Pro Bono) and the NEC Make-a-Difference Drive (MDD).

Please refer to the web site below for information on other activities. Related link.

NEC "TOMONI" Project (Reconstruction Support Activities)

In fiscal 2013 as well, the NEC Group acted as One NEC in pursuing togetherness with people in disaster-affected regions under this project, engaging in ongoing efforts toward recovery and reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake.
This project is comprised of two programs, one involving volunteer activities in support of the disaster-affected regions, and the other social contribution initiatives supporting recovery and reconstruction.

(1) Volunteer activities in support of disaster-affected regions

Volunteer activities in support of disaster-affected regions included collaboration by fiscal 2012 graduates of the NEC Social Entrepreneurship School, which develops young social entrepreneurs, in reconstruction initiatives with Lambs, an NPO engaging in restoration in Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi Prefecture.
Support for disaster-affected regions was led by MDD coordinators from various NEC Group companies, who formed a task force and worked together as One NEC. Task force members plan and conduct recovery and reconstruction study sessions and regular volunteer activities in the affected regions.

Since March 2011, we have provided ongoing support for the Fukkoichi reconstruction program, a monthly market in Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi Prefecture. In January 2013, the Minamisanriku Fukkoichi reconstruction program executive committee, which organizes the market, presented NEC with a letter of appreciation for ongoing support efforts.
In November 2012, NEC initiated a herb garden in Hadenya, Minamisanriku Town, to help revive the community and generate employment opportunities.

Some of the responses from employees participating as volunteers included: "I heard and saw for myself the situation the disaster victims and their region are facing, and I think it's important that we all think carefully about what we each should do." "Most of the fishing equipment and other rubble required more than two hands to clean up, which meant we had to be ingenious and work together. This experience really nurtured our teamwork." "I learned to like my company." "Isn't there a way to use the skills of our employees to help deliver information (through Web sites, SNS, even individual blogs) to disaster victims unable to return to Minamisanriku, who've had to relocate outside the prefecture or to other regions?" "I think in the process of developing stronger communications with the disaster-affected regions, there must be ways we can propose implementing LifeTouch (a multi-function mobile device) or the Mimamori-tai (wireless monitor camera) system in temporary housing and other places."

NEC believes that participation in volunteer activities has nurtured employees with a higher degree of social sensitivity and fostered teamwork, along with enhancing the trust of stakeholders, namely those living in the disaster-affected regions.
For example, research laboratory employees participating in volunteer activities conducted an experiment to watch over elderly individuals living in temporary housing and help revitalize communities based on needs in disaster-affected areas.

On March 8, 2013, immediately before the second anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, Katsuyoshi Kuriya, an advisor to the NPO Lambs, held an employee seminar at NEC’s Head Office, titled, “Entering the Third Year of Restoration After the Great East Japan Earthquake; The Situation and Issues in Affected Areas in the Second Year and Expectations Toward NEC.”

(2) Social contribution programs tied to support for restoration and recovery

We implemented 25 programs between April 2012 and March 2013 to support people with disabilities, children, and the elderly.
In the Tokyo metropolitan area with the aim of supporting disaster-hit areas. And in affected areas programs included the NEC Galileo Club, which offers hands-on science classes for children, and the NEC IT Workshop for Mothers.

NEC Social Entrepreneurship School

In fiscal 2013, we collaborated with social entrepreneurs on two projects.

The first of these projects was with Cross Fields, an NPO whose members graduated from the fiscal 2012 NEC Social Entrepreneurship School. Cross Fields provides corporate employees opportunities to use their skills in helping resolve local social issues with local people. The employees are sent for certain periods to NPOs in developing and emerging countries. Cross Fields developed and runs this program.
In fiscal 2013, NEC research laboratories harnessed this Cross Fields program to create new businesses that resolve social issues in developing and emerging countries.

The second collaborative project was with GRA, an NPO that is helping communities to recover from the Great East Japan Earthquake. GRA cultivates strawberries in Yamamoto, Miyagi Prefecture, which was once a major strawberry-producing location.
In fiscal 2013, GRA deployed NEC’s agricultural ICT cloud service and remote conference system. By leveraging advanced agricultural ICT research and innovations, GRA aims to help restore the economy of the Tohoku region by improving the incomes of strawberry farmers.

NEC Social Entrepreneurship School Business Supporters, Pro Bono

The requirements for volunteers in disaster-affected regions have changed from removing debris to restoring communities and industries and creating employment opportunities. People in these regions thus look for corporate volunteers to undertake activities that draw on business-specific skills and resources.
We will continue to foster restoration from the Great East Japan Earthquake by strengthening our program.

NEC Make-a-Difference Drive (MDD)

Based on the motto of "Think Globally, Act Locally," the "NEC Make-a-Difference Drive" is a corporate citizenship program directed at local communities in which all NEC Group employees participate on a global basis.
Based on the slogan "Nature, Education, Community" that uses the letters in the company name for the three key words, NEC MDD has happened every year since 1999.
Through NEC MDD, NEC Group employees around the world volunteer to take part in activities that make a valuable social contribution to local communities. This helps employees to discover something new on a personal level, while helping to cultivate stronger group cohesiveness as "One NEC" and a corporate mindset of high social commitment. In turn this helps NEC to achieve the goal of creating enhanced corporate value.

In fiscal 2013, there were 17 participating countries, with roughly 127,407 participants on a cumulative basis volunteering a total of 124,861 hours of their time. At the same time, the entire NEC Group worked to implement biodiversity preservation programs, resulting in participation by 8,425 individuals.
In fiscal 2014, we will continue to conduct activities centered on providing support for recovery efforts from the Great East Japan Earthquake, as well as implementing biodiversity preservation programs.

Awards are given for particularly outstanding MDD activities, based on criteria such as business relevance, the sustainability of activities, and the plan's novelty. The best activities are recognized through two Grand Awards (social contribution category) as part of the CSR Awards－one for an NEC Group site in Japan and one for an overseas site.

Related link : NEC Make-a-Difference Drive

Monitoring and Improvement

Improvement in Social Contribution Program Evaluation System

Each year, NEC evaluates the effectiveness of its social contribution programs from two points of view, that of society and that of NEC. NEC clarifies any issues for the following year's activities, as part of efforts to improve the programs.
In fiscal 2012, the criteria for evaluating CSR activities from society's and NEC’s points of view were improved to provide a more concrete assessment of the  results. NEC pressed ahead with “selection and concentration” of CSR activities through such means as allocating resources for these activities to the NEC “TOMONI” Project. The new evaluation criteria are as follows:

Basic policy, Four Medium-Term Themes for Social Contribution Activities, Achievements of Social Contribution Activities

Objectives and Achievements

Top of this page