Social equity, environmental protection and economic viability are three pillars of sustainability that are making great strides today. More than ever before, awareness of the importance of social, environmental and economic value is significantly increasing. This is reflected in people’s daily lives, trickling down even to the smallest of purchasing habits.
In fostering this long-term change, corporations are poised to take a leading role. What can corporations do to genuinely set a precedent for fostering real impact for societies?
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Forward-looking corporations are adopting Sustainability to drive business success and bring about Social Equity, Environmental Protection and Economic Viability
Before setting out to create societal change, corporations must first embody sustainability throughout their own organisations. For instance, this can be done by having a workable internal infrastructure for integrating sustainability across every facet of the organisation’s core operations.
With over a century’s track record of powering good, Hitachi today is responding to the call to make a real impact on society. With a Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer and a Chief Environmental Officer in our ranks, as well as a dedicated Executive Sustainability Committee that meets biannually, we have put measures in place to ensure we do not lose sight of our sustainability goals and are accountable for the veracity of our initiatives. This impactful internal structure has birthed various collaborative projects and social innovation insights that are enabling significantly positive changes for societies, especially throughout emerging regions such as Southeast Asia.
Biannual meetups between Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Chief Environmental Officer, and Executive Sustainability Committee
Discussing collaborative projects and social innovation insights
As part of the Thailand 4.0 socio-economic roadmap, Thailand is harnessing the potential of advanced technologies in its pursuit of being an innovation-led nation. It is facilitating larger investments into new sectors such as the digital economy, automation, robotics, and medical technology, all in hopes of raising the quality of life for its people.
Hitachi has been an important partner in this plan through the Lumada Center. Launched in the Chonburi province, the Center seeks to not only catalyse development in Thailand but to also be a launchpad of innovation across Southeast Asia. Through it, Thai industrial sites can enhance their productivity for optimal results, namely by leveraging Hitachi’s data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The Center’s launch has since been augmented with the establishment of its Bangkok Annex, which was introduced to further expand the Center’s capabilities across a wide range of fields such as energy, finance, and smart city development.
Today, the Lumada Center boasts an additional co-creation room that can facilitate “NEXPERIENCE”, a process developed by Hitachi to cultivate value creation from collaborative discussions backed by insights from multiple perspectives, as well as cutting-edge information and communication technology (ICT). With all these tools present in the Center, it now stands ready to provide Thai enterprises equitable access to cutting-edge technologies – ensuring an elevated and modernised quality of solutions that can be multiplied across the nation’s economy and society.
Investing in new and promising sectors to boost economy and peoples' Quality of LifeHitachi Lumada Center to support the national push towards "Thailand 4.0"NEXPERIENCE, Hitachi's process for value creation, to provide equitable access to new technologies
Cancer remains the number one cause of death amongst SingaporeansHitachi’s Proton Beam Therapy (PBT) system has treated 10,000+ patients with a 98% clinical availability rate PBT is globally renowned for its high reliability and spot-scanning technologyAlong with elevating education, healthcare is a key factor that sustains any society. Even economically developed countries experience their fair share of persistent health concerns, which are further complicated due to the aging populations many of these countries have. Through close collaboration with national health bodies, corporations are well-placed to make real change in this area.
In Singapore, cancer is the number one cause of death. To help address this social issue, Hitachi has developed and supplied a cutting-edge proton beam therapy (PBT) system to the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS). Proton beam therapy integrates spot-scanning technology, an advanced cancer treatment method that reduces side effects commonly found in conventional radiotherapy.
To date, Hitachi’s proton beam therapy systems have treated over 10,000 patients with a 98 percent clinical availability rate, proving that this advancement is also accessible. By developing medical-based innovations available to relevant centres nationwide, Singapore can not only maintain, but also improve its healthcare excellence for its people.
With Southeast Asia’s economies still well-positioned for rapid development, we must actively seek to address long-term socio-economic inequalities that may arise as a result of this growth. If left unchecked, this inequality can adversely impact a nation’s progress, resiliency and continuity.
While governmental policies help set the direction on tackling such negative impacts, private sector corporations must also step in to catalyse transformative and impactful change by providing their relevant industry knowledge and expertise. Now is the time for us to do our part in powering good for societies.
Date of Release: March 2022
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