Sumitomo Chemical's Executive Officer Receives Outstanding Women's Activity Award from Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan

Mar. 8, 2021

Kanako Fukuda, Executive Officer of Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd., has received a 2020 SCEJ Award for Outstanding Women’s Activity from the Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan (SCEJ).

The SCEJ is an academic association that plays a central role as an academic society supporting the advancement of academic standards in chemical engineering, the development of human resources, and giving back the fruits of these efforts to contribute to society. The SCEJ Award for Outstanding Women’s Activity, established in 2011, honors individuals who have accomplished outstanding technical achievements in chemical engineering or chemistry-related industries, or who have delivered excellent performance in chemical engineering research, and contributed to building systems and an environment for the promotion of gender equality.

Kanako Fukuda was engaged in applied research and domestic and international sales of polymer additives before becoming the General Manager of Sumitomo Chemical’s CSR Department (current Sustainability Department) in 2013. Following the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, she embarked on innovative and pioneering activities for sustainability by mobilizing more than 30,000 employees in the Sumitomo Chemical Group, with a strong conviction that “it is precisely chemical companies like us who can contribute to the SDGs.” She also led SDG-related initiatives in the Group, including the “Sustainable Tree”^*1, and contributed to the spread of the SDGs in and outside the Group through speaking engagements and other means of communication. As a member of the SDG Committee of the SCEJ, she contributed to the formulation of its “Sapporo Declaration” ^*2 by proposing a gender-equal viewpoint, using the wealth of her experience and knowledge, which she cultivated through events such as committee meetings about the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs).^*3 She was awarded the honor in recognition of these achievements. Fukuda, currently serving as Executive Vice President of Sumitomo Chemical Europe NV/SA in Belgium, will become President on April 1, 2021.

Sumitomo Chemical has identified "promotion of diversity and inclusion" as one of the material issues to be addressed by management, and set key performance indicators (KPIs) for its initiatives related to the issue. In honor of the International Women's Day celebrated across the world today, an awareness-raising campaign is now underway in the entire Group. Going forward, the Sumitomo Chemical Group will continue to make a group-wide effort to achieve its goals while checking on its progress through its KPIs.

*1　An initiative to promote posting on a dedicated intranet site about examples of and commitment to the SDGs

*2　"Declaration on the United Nations SDGs - Chemical Engineering for Human Well-Being -," jointly announced by the SCEJ and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in 2019

*3　The Women's Empowerment Principles: A set of action principles for companies offering guidance on how to empower women, jointly prepared by the United Nations Global Compact and UN Women in March 2010

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