Management Framework

Sustainability at the Sumitomo Metal Mining Group

GRI 2-6 / 2-22 / 3-1

Our Group carries forward the mine operation and the smelting and refining that have been Sumitomo’s original businesses since 1590, placing the Sumitomo Business Spirit at the center of our corporate conduct. Article 1 of the Sumitomo Business Spirit states that we value the trust of society and mutual relationships, and that we will address all matters with integrity. As mining must be conducted where the targeted natural resources are present, typically in projects that span years or even decades, mine operation in particular demands that we build and maintain relationships of trust with varied stakeholders in areas of operations as a prerequisite for the continuity of our business.
Based on the Sumitomo Business Spirit, our Group’s Corporate Philosophy calls for co-existence with the global environment and society. It sets out ways of building and maintaining the relationships of trust indicated in the Sumitomo Business Spirit, and advocates respect for all individuals to achieve a forward-minded and vibrant company.
The Sumitomo Metal Mining Group Sustainability Policy describes our stance in working toward the sustainability that we are pursuing through co-existence with the global environment and society and respect for all individuals. The policy clearly positions contribution to the sustainable development of society as an issue for our management, and further defines the aim of our sustainable growth as enhancing the degree of our contribution and ensuring its sustainability. This is in accordance with “Benefit self and benefit others, private and public interests are one and the same,” the spirit that Sumitomo has inherited, meaning that Sumitomo’s business must benefit the nation and society, and emphasize harmony with the public interest.
Toward the realization of this Sustainability Policy, we have identified material issues, and we have formulated our Vision for 2030 for each of these material issues. In this way, our Group’s stance toward sustainability takes co-existence with the global environment and society and respect for all individuals as its philosophy. Placing value on social trust and mutual relationships, we seek to balance the sustainable development of society with sustainable growth for our company.

Sustainability Issues in the Value Chain

GRI 2-6 / 3-1

Within the value chains of our Group’s businesses, we mapped out sustainability issues in terms of their potential impacts on society. In mapping sustainability issues, we made reference to matters concerning material issues described in the “Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sector Standard for Mining”.*

• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sector Standard for Mining

Sumitomo Metal Mining Group Sustainability Policy

GRI 2-22 / 2-23

The SMM Group will tackle management issues that contribute to society’s sustainable development, and will strive to achieve continuous growth in our business and improve our corporate value.

Sustainability Management Framework

GRI 2-12 / 2-13 / 2-14 / 2-24

Our Group, based on the Sumitomo Business Spirit, has consistently worked to address social issues through its business activities for many years. In 2008, we defined our Vision for 2020, established the precursor to the current CSR Committee, identified the material issues we needed to address to bring about our vision, set KPIs, and worked towards these targets.
In 2020, we defined our Vision for 2030. In 2022, seeking greater alignment between management and sustainability, we reorganized the CSR management framework into a sustainability management framework. In March 2025, we revised the material issues outlined in our Vision for 2030 and implemented structural changes, including restructuring the Sustainability Subcommittees and establishing the Supply Chain Management Working Group.

Sustainability Management Framework

Each subcommittee develops a roadmap for each material issue toward 2030 and manages the progress of KPIs.

We have established various working groups to promote our Group’s major management systems across the organization and strengthen our management foundations. Each working group monitors the progress of its activity plans.