Integrated Report 2020

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8LINTEC Integrated Report 2020commuting times, etc. In these ways, we are taking thorough steps to reduce the risk of infection. We have also paid an across-the-board special allowance to employees. Looking ahead, we will not return to pre-COVID-19 working styles. Rather, as needed, we will further advance and establish these initiatives as one part of our working-style reforms, and we will strive to link them to more-comfortable workplace environments and to enhanced employee productivity.In addition, each employee will need to individually take the lead in assimilating new lifestyle patterns. In this way, we will strive to visualize the products and services that people truly need in an era of change, and link that under-standing to new developments and proposals. Following the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the Great East Japan Earthquake, there were irreversible changes throughout of society, such as in people’s values and lifestyles. It is not possible to turn back the clock, and even if it was turned back, there would be no business opportunities. Acting in accordance with the concept of “going back” will lead to withdrawal from markets, and, accordingly, I believe that this concept poses business management risks. Further Strengthening Product Development and Proposal CapabilitiesI do not believe that the LINTEC Group should target giant markets in which the winners are decided by the volume supplied under conditions of thin profit margins on large amounts of sales. Traditionally, LINTEC’s approach to manu-facturing involved the pursuit of functionality that meets the needs of customers in niche markets, and the provision of high-value-added products. Moving forward, to continue to implement manufacturing that leverages our unique char-acteristics, we will need to further strengthen our product development and proposal capabilities. We are confident that our Research and Development Division has technical capa-bilities that make it extremely difficult for other companies to enter our fields of business, and that we have strengths in R&D equipment and the R&D environment. To further enhance these strengths, we plan to make bold investments, such as in bolstering human resources and in the introduc-tion of AI to enhance development efficiency.Large-scale pilot coater installed in the Advanced Technology Building at the Research Center Necessity of Strengthening Initiatives to Address Environmental ProblemsMeasures to help prevent global warming and the develop-ment and expanded sales of environmentally friendly products could be said to be the highest priority issues for manufacturers. We are taking steps to reduce CO2 emis-sions by 30% or more by fiscal 2030, in comparison with fiscal 2013. To that end, at each plant we are introducing co-generation systems, which recover heat generated in the production of electricity and use it in such forms as hot water and steam. We are also advancing a modal shift in the transportation of products by using transportation methods that have lower burdens on the environments than the methods used previously. Furthermore, LINTEC uses organic solvents in the coating process for adhesives and release agents, and the move away from the use of organic solvents is also a major theme for the Company. Going forward, we will continue to aggressively promote this move from the perspectives of both product develop-ment and capital expenditure.CO2 emissions reduction target (FY2030 targets)Reduce by 30% or more from FY2013A Message from the President