Core Values of KOBELCO—Next 100 Project

In fiscal 2017, our Group launched the Core Values of KOBELCO—Next 100 Project. This project aims to ensure that everyone in the Group continues to act in line with the Group Corporate Philosophy.

A key focus of this initiative is to further instill the Group Corporate Philosophy, as well as to prevent us from forgetting the quality misconduct (namely, passing on the lessons learned to future generations), and to increase a sense of fulfillment as a member of the Group. The project is promoting recognition, empathy, participation, and practice by all employees, hoping that such actions of each individual will grow into our corporate culture and take firm root in the organization.

Main activities

We are working to bring the Group Corporate Philosophy into practice through the activities listed below. As we approach our 120th anniversary in 2025, we will increase our efforts to promote understanding of our Group and its efforts to live in harmony with the local community, along with our ongoing activities.

Kobelco 120th Anniversary Project

Participation and Practice

Declaration of pledges by senior executives and employees	An initiative in which senior executives and employees declare their pledges. The video of declaration of pledges by all executives has been made available to the entire Group.
Dialogue Platforms	Has been held every year since fiscal 2018 with the participation of all individuals engaged in the business operations of Kobe Steel and its Group companies for the following purposes: (1) Instilling the Group Corporate Philosophy (2) Preventing the quality misconduct from being forgotten (3) Promoting two-way communication in the organization Each year, we conduct group training for about 600 line managers who facilitate the Dialogue Platforms.
Kobelco Core Values Awards	Launched in fiscal 2019 as an initiative to commend activities that implement the Group Corporate Philosophy and contribute to building a new corporate culture and to promote the practice of the Group Corporate Philosophy.

Recognition and Empathy

Dialogues between senior executives and employees	An activity to promote dialogues between senior executives (including the president and CEO) and employees, where executives answer questions from employees. Dialogues are held on various occasions such as president's visits to business sites, dialogues with executives at respective business divisions, and Kobelco Gatherings, which are large-scale online dialogues. → Kobelco Gathering: Around 4,000 cumulative participants as of fiscal 2023
Kobelco Core Values Place	Established in 2019 within the Kobelco HRD Center in Kobe as a facility to share the lessons learned from the quality misconduct and pass them onto future generations. We are promoting visits in a variety of ways, including in-person visits to the facility in Kobe and to satellite facilities, as well as virtual visits to the online Kobelco Core Values Place. → About 29,000 employees have visited so far (as of March 31, 2024).
Kobelco Core Values Day	We have designated March 6, the day we announced the final report on the misconduct, as Kobelco Core Values Day to remind ourselves every year of our pledge to society to prevent recurrence and to ensure that the lessons learned are not forgotten. We share a message from the president and CEO, as part of commemorative events of the day.

The 5th Kobelco Core Values Awards

Of the 86 entries submitted from domestic and overseas business locations of the Group, 12 were awarded, including the Grand Prix and Semi Grand Prix awards. The Grand Prix winner was "Kobelco Barrier-Free Map," which was recognized for the
creation of a barrier-free map that helps people with disabilities visit Kobe Steel. The map shows the way from the nearest station to the Kobe Head Office and has been made available on the Kobe Steel corporate website. We hope that the award-winning projects will promote the realization of the Group Corporate Philosophy.