“‘If we provide one ship, it will bring more convenience to the world, and the profit will benefit many people.’ These words are attributed to Yataro Iwasaki. I believe that these words teach us that the raison d'être and mission of Nippon Yusen are to benefit all people of the world and contribute to society by supporting society and people’s lives through our business. We established the Group mission, ‘Bringing value to life,’ based on these words. I think this mission will remain unchanged, now and in 2030.”

This is the view of NYK’s Yukihiro Adachi. The NYK Group announced a new vision for 2030, the Medium-Term Management Plan “Sail Green, Drive Transformations 2026—A Passion for Planetary Wellbeing,” in March 2023. In which, the NYK Group has made predictions about the global and business environment in 2050 by analyzing the megatrends of population, globalization, technology, and the environment. After doing so, the NYK Group set out its vision for the future and a four-year action plan spanning April 2023 to March 2027 that aims to realize this vision. This vision and action plan make up the Medium-Term Management Plan.

Specifically, while promoting a growth strategy that has a focus on ESG at its core, the NYK Group will systemically accelerate efforts for decarbonization toward the final goal of net-zero by 2050. In addition, they aim to enhance human capital, which will support these strategies, and strengthen their corporate foundation.

We are said to be in an era where it is difficult to predict the future, with dramatic changes in the corporate environment and an uncertain outlook. Amidst such circumstances, we created the Medium-Term Management Plan following extended discussions which spanned two years. In the summer, we created opportunities for intensive discussions at “Summer Camps.”

“The Medium-Term Management Plan is a compilation of internal and external insights. In particular, regarding the impact that decarbonization will have on our business, we have engaged in online discussions with external experts from Europe, where discussions on the topic of decarbonization are advanced. As a result, we have anticipated future trends for industries deeply related to our business, such as energy, steel, automotive, and power, and have incorporated this into our strategy formulation.” (Mr. Adachi)

We particularly struggled to redefine the mission and vision mentioned earlier. With the world undergoing notable change and us taking on new challenges and promoting various reforms, we believed it was crucial to align employees’ interpretation of these matters.

Therefore, of the various interpretations, we selected those we believed to be important, and we defined our vision for 2030 as “We go beyond the scope of a comprehensive global logistics enterprise to co-create value required for the future by advancing our core business and growing new ones.” Management took the lead in discussions regarding defining the vision, but Adachi reflects on the situation, stating, “We had a lot of challenges reaching a consensus, even when having discussions with a select few people; it took us three to four months.”

As the NYK Group is a place where many diverse people work, we believe it is crucial that employees understand the narrative shown in the Medium-Term Management Plan and that everyone interprets it in the same way. Notably, regarding mission, vision, and value, we created task forces comprised of management, young employees, and mid-level employees. We are discussing how to get employees to understand and agree to these ideals and how to permeate them throughout the organization.

“We are currently delving deeper into our starting point, the words of Yataro Iwasaki, and putting forth policies to enhance sensemaking.” (Adachi)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a sudden increase in demand for logistics as global consumer spending switched from services to goods. At NYK, we fulfilled our social responsibility as a general logistics company. I feel that we were able to increase our global recognition as a vital social infrastructure by supporting people’s lives during the pandemic.

Decarbonization will undoubtedly significantly impact our business over the next 30 years. Decarbonization will change manufacturing methods, leading to a change in what is transported and how it is transported. Some existing industries will decline, and some new industries will rise. This will cause value chains and revenue streams to change. How we overcome this wave of drastic change will be a crucial factor.

“The Medium-Term Management Plan provides us with a general direction. Along this direction, we will formulate specific strategies for each business and reach out to employees. We have set an ambitious goal that we cannot achieve alone. We will progress towards our vision while appealing to society and swiftly implementing a cycle of trial and error.” (Adachi)