NTT Group CSR > Third party opinion

Professor Hiroji Tanaka, a member of the ISO/SR Japanese Compliance Committee organized jointly by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Japanese Standards Association, provided the following opinion on the draft of this report from his perspective as an expert on corporate social responsibility.
We did our utmost to reflect his views in the final version of this report, and we plan to incorporate many more of his ideas in future activities and next year's report.

Third party opinion statement

The establishment of the NTT Group CSR Charter and concomitant consensus regarding CSR activities among group companies means that the NTT Group is now ready to promote specific initiatives. This marks the beginning of a new era for NTT, and one in which it will need to clarify principles and policies as well as create an organization for putting plans into action. In this sense, the existence of the CSR Charter, together with the creation of an organization for its implementation, is a welcome development that lends credence to CEO Miura's characterization of NTT as a customer-oriented enterprise, while at the same time creating anticipation for future achievements. It is an accomplishment worthy of admiration.

The NTT Group CSR Report 2007 provides a clear explanation of NTT's principles, policies, and organization for CSR as well as provides a glimpse into NTT's accomplishments during fiscal 2007, providing an easy-to-understand framework for each of the four CSR goals specified in the CSR Charter. It also directly addresses the issue of communication with stakeholders, which is a crucial element in the promotion of CSR activities. Compared with last year's report, this year we have a clear description of the aforementioned principles, policies, and organization as well as an easy-to-understand description of security and disaster prevention measures that affect the reliability and security of NTT Group services. The report also provides full coverage of issues critical to CSR activities, including a list of NTT's ongoing social contribution initiatives, and even touches on timely issues such as biodiversity. Many of the CSR reports issued these days are full of text and difficult to understand, but the editors of this report have clearly put a lot of effort, including the use of numerous easy-to-understand diagrams that clarify the meaning of the text, into enhancing its design and readability and other means.

If there were any particular area that might be improved, I might suggest that more concrete descriptions of quantitative targets and achievement levels for each CSR goal would help illustrate whether or not these activities are producing immediate results or should be reexamined for feasibility and effectiveness. In cases where numerical data is an effective means of reporting on a particular goal, the editors should provide as much data as possible. For example, rather than just showing raw data, I believe that more information in an easier-to-understand format about the cost effectiveness of environmental accounting would be an improvement. Another point worth reconsidering is the extensive use of technical terminology when discussing the research and development of cutting edge technology, as in the section on environmental technology development. Although it is nice that explanations of these terms are provided, it would be even nicer if the text were in ordinary language that does not require explanation.

The further development of NTT Group CSR activities requires careful consideration of and conformity with worldwide trends in GRI standards, and noting such trends in this report will help convey their importance to the general public as well as provide feedback to each NTT Group company. The complexities of corporate social responsibility span economic, environmental, and social issues, but I am certain that an awareness of these issues within each NTT Group company as well as by each and every NTT employee will lead to even greater success in these areas, both next year and beyond.

Reader feedback

We would like to thank all those who responded to our questionnaire regarding the NTT Group CSR Report 2006 issued last October. We received a number of invaluable comments from readers worldwide, both by post or fax, and via our website. We have done our best to incorporate your ideas into this year's CSR report, and will make use of them also in the planning and implementation of future CSR activities.

1. Overall

These are the results of the questionnaire regarding the NTT Group CSR Report 2006. The report was rated overall as "Good" by 72%, and "Average" by the remaining 28% of respondents.

2. Understandability

The understandability of the report was rated as "Good" by 42%, "Average" by 37%, and "Poor" by 21% of respondents.

3. Amount of information

The amount of information provided was rated as "Too much" by 33%, and "Average" by 67% of respondents.

4. Readability
( design, font size, graphs, etc. )