Toshiba TEC

Toshiba discloses that it designs its communication devices with various auxiliary functions for people with disabilities.

No evidence was found of the company having leading practices in this area.

Toshiba makes a high-level commitment to cybersecurity and has an incident response team as well as information security certifications aligned with international standards. Furthermore, the company considers data privacy a material topic.

Toshiba supports the tech start-up ecosystem through venture capital investment.

There is an opportunity for the company to show how it supports universal and affordable access to digital technologies for vulnerable groups, digital inclusivity for women and girls, and digital accessibility for people with disabilities. Toshiba can also demonstrate how it distributes the wealth it creates among its stakeholders and its employment and income taxes it pays in its main markets of operation.

No evidence was found that Toshiba undertakes initiatives contributing to the development of digital skills or to increasing school connectivity. There are opportunities for the company to contribute to these areas.

Toshiba can describe its high-level responsibility for cybersecurity. The company also has the opportunity to disclose the data breaches it experiences and make a commitment to child online safety.

Toshiba can demonstrate support for open innovation. It also has an opportunity to further contribute to the tech innovation ecosystem by supporting start-ups in other ways besides venture capital investment. The company can also expand its existing disclosure of the total number of employees in its research and development (R&D) team by providing a gender breakdown to show how many women work in its R&D teams. Furthermore, it can disclose the ethical principles it follows in its R&D activities.

Toshiba makes a public commitment to respect human rights. However, there is no public evidence of the company committing to respect the ILO core labour rights, nor does the company disclose a process to identify, assess and mitigate the salient human rights risks associated with its own operations and with its business relationships. The company can also provide grievance mechanisms for employees and external shareholders to raise human rights concerns, as well as provide examples on how it identifies and engages with the different stakeholders whose rights could be at risk due to the company’s operations.

The company has a public statement requiring its business relationships to respect the health and safety of their workers. However, the company could make the same commitment for its own operations. The company can also disclose its approach to other relevant labour topics, such as living wages, working hours, and collective bargaining agreements. Although the company provides time-bound targets to achieve gender equality, there is no public commitment from the company regarding this topic. Furthermore, Toshiba could show its support for diversity by providing a breakdown of its workforce in different employee categories by age, gender and other relevant diversity indicators.

Toshiba has a public policy prohibiting bribery and corruption. However, the company could disclose the steps it takes to identify and mitigate bribery and corruption in its own operations as well as in its business relationships. Furthermore, the company could increase its transparency by making its global tax strategy public and providing information about the income taxes it pays in individual tax jurisdictions.