Kobe Steel : Announcement on organizational changes

Taking on the challenge of realizing carbon neutrality, one of the Kobelco Group's priority issues, we have been conducting companywide activities centered on the CO₂ Reduction Promotion Subcommittee within the Sustainability Management Committee and carrying out various activities such as developing and releasing our carbon neutrality roadmaps.

As we are entering the phase in which we will further strengthen our strategy and make it more concrete, we will rename the CO₂ Reduction Promotion Subcommittee as the GX Strategy Committee, with the aim of fortifying its structure as an auxiliary body to the Executive Council so that it can discuss and implement important strategies together with the Business Portfolio Management Committee.

Kobelco TQM activities, which aim to improve the quality of the company and its operations, are steadily spreading throughout the Group, mainly in the business divisions. Meanwhile, we recognize the need to spread it to the head office divisions and Group companies, as well as to strengthen the earnings base by promoting the implementation of activities in combination with key performance indicator (KPI) management to improve the effectiveness of ROIC-KPI management.

Based on this recognition, we will reorganize the Kobelco TQM Promotion Meetings, which is part of the Trust Improvement Project, into the Kobelco TQM Promotion Committee as an auxiliary body to the Executive Council, thereby boosting and implementing Kobelco TQM activities throughout the Group.

In order to strengthen our human capital management efforts, we will rename the working group that has been promoting efforts for diversity and inclusion (D&I) and work style reform as the Human Resources Strategy Subcommittee, thereby consolidating and strengthening the implementation structure for companywide human resources strategies, including addressing the risk of human resource shortages.

We will establish a Technology Strategy & Planning Department to formulate technology strategies for medium- to long-term companywide issues, including response to carbon neutrality toward 2050 and future human resource shortage risks (e.g., labor-saving in factories).

The department will take over the companywide technology development functions from the current Business Development Department and the functions to enhance monozukuri (manufacturing) capabilities from the Quality Management Department. In addition, it will also take on the steering function of the R&D Committee and the Monozukuri Reform WG, as well as the Carbon Neutrality Technology Study Group, which will be formed within the GX Strategy Committee.

The Business Development Department will transfer its companywide technology development functions to the Technology Strategy Planning Department and concentrate on further strengthening the promotion of new businesses and broaden the search for business opportunities.

In addition, the department will promote the creation of new businesses that target specific business domains (markets) by taking on cross-sectoral functions across business divisions, such as the management and steering of the Hydrogen WG, a key driver of proactive carbon neutrality strategies, and the planning and steering of the Customer Experience Reform Project, which promotes information sharing about our customers, products, and technologies.

We will form a Monozukuri Reform working group (WG) to promote and lead companywide monozukuri (manufacturing) reform, including creating smart factories to address staff shortages and solving production issues.