Management Message

Since our founding in 1922, the Asahi Kasei Group has been directly facing the world’s challenges for more than a century. Throughout each era, we have continued to evolve our businesses by creating a wide range of products and services that address the changing needs of society.
I believe that continuity and change go hand in hand. The Asahi Kasei Group has always maintained a consistent philosophy even as we transformed our business along with changes in society. Although the current wording of our Group Mission, “Contributing to life and living for people around the world,” was adopted in 2011, it expresses the same spirit that inspired our founding. We have always endeavored to help people live better lives, and this has never wavered. But we can’t contribute to people’s lives in a time of rapid change clinging to past traditions. Rather, we must continually transform ourselves and take on challenges to create new traditions. This is how we forge the Asahi Kasei Group’s path to the future.

Two mutually reinforcing aspects of sustainability

In April 2025, we launched a new medium-term management plan (MTP) “Trailblaze Together” for fiscal 2025–2027. To achieve our goals, we retain the fundamental management premise of a virtuous cycle between two mutually reinforcing aspects of sustainability—“contributing to sustainable society” and “sustainable growth of corporate value”—that we have held since previously. By contributing to solutions to issues in society, we enhance our corporate value, which in turn enables us to create more value for society. This continuous cycle is not only our growth strategy but also our commitment to society.
One of the world's most significant challenges is tackling climate change, including global warming. The seriousness of this challenge deepens with each passing year. To address this issue, the Asahi Kasei Group is taking a two-pronged approach, which is to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from our own business activities, and to contribute to reducing GHG emissions in society.
Given the nature of our businesses, our GHG emissions are by no means small. That is precisely why we are wholeheartedly committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. We are steadily advancing a multifaceted approach, including reducing energy use, decarbonizing energy sources, innovating production processes, and reviewing our business portfolio. In the new MTP, in addition to our existing targets, we set a new interim target of reducing our own GHG emissions by more than 40% by 2035 compared to fiscal 2013.
To contribute to reducing GHG emissions in society, we promote our Environmental Contribution Products. These are products and services that reduce GHG emissions and mitigate other environmental impacts throughout their overall lifecycle when compared to conventional products. We are targeting a GHG reduction contribution from such products by 2035 at least 2.5 times the level of fiscal 2020.
In fiscal 2024 we established a new framework for Next Environmental Contribution Products Candidates. From the R&D stage, this initiative evaluates and visualizes the potential GHG reduction contribution of new technologies and product ideas that could become future Environmental Contribution Products. This framework is one of the ways in which we are strengthening our ability to create environmental value.

Driving green transformation through our businesses

At the core of our sustainability initiatives is the promotion of green transformation (GX) through our businesses. GX is a strategic effort to achieve both business growth and the resolution of social challenges on the path toward realizing a decarbonized society.
The Asahi Kasei Group is advancing new technology development and business expansion to drive GX. In hydrogen production technology, we are developing systems that utilize alkaline water electrolysis, including equipment and membranes. This enables the production of green hydrogen using renewable energy, and the project has been selected for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s GX Supply Chain Development Support Program, with preparations underway for early commercialization.
In the field of CO₂ chemistry, we are working on developing chemicals derived from bioethanol and new materials that use CO₂ as a raw material. These initiatives reduce dependence on fossil resources and contribute to building a circular economy.
In our lithium-ion battery separator business, we are developing products that enhance battery yield and extend battery lifespan, while also advancing environmental responsiveness—initiatives that are highly meaningful from a sustainability perspective. The large-scale investment currently underway in North America is being carried out with an eye to environmental changes, but always with a medium- to long-term perspective. Our commitment to continually honing our technological capabilities and customer responsiveness remains unchanged.

Caring for the future of people and the Earth

We are living in a time of major transformation in social structures and industrial structures. Climate change, geopolitical risks, and fluctuations in interest rates, currencies, and resource prices are all increasing the complexity of the business environment, making it ever more difficult to foresee the future.
Looking ahead to 2050, the Asahi Kasei Group has set forth “Care for People, Care for Earth” as our direction, and we are pursuing sustainability under this guiding principle. We remain committed to caring for human life and living while fulfilling our responsibility to the global environment. This attitude of nurturing and cherishing the future of people and the earth together is something we have long upheld and will continue to pass on unchanged into the future.
Since our founding, the Asahi Kasei Group has launched a wide range of businesses, achieving growth by combining the diversity created through the accumulation of intangible assets such as human resources, intellectual property, and management expertise with the specialty that comes from establishing a unique position distinct from that of a dedicated single-sector manufacturer—realizing high added value and high profitability.
Going forward, we will continue to confront social issues with sincerity, not only uniting the collective strength of the entire Asahi Kasei Group as one team, but also working together with customers, business partners, local communities, and other stakeholders. Through these efforts, we aim to achieve sustainable growth of corporate value while continuing to provide value to society.

Koshiro Kudo
President