MOL President & CEO Hashimoto Addresses Company's Entrance Ceremony
- Responding to Changing Social Needs -
October 05, 2021
TOKYO-Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Takeshi Hashimoto) today announced that the company welcomed 33 new employees (new graduates working at sea: 9; career recruits working on land: 24) on October 1. President & CEO Hashimoto delivered the following message at the entrance ceremony on the same day.
To prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the company took measures to ensure safe social distancing among new and current employees during the ceremony.
"Everyone, congratulations on joining the company. I am delighted to be speaking with you today.
"In April, our company revised the MOL Group corporate mission (Note 1) for the first time in about 20 years. It sets out an important concept for the company in these words: 'From the blue oceans, we sustain people's lives and ensure a prosperous future.'
"The fact remains that the ocean shipping industry will continue to play an important part in our future, but our business activities have been spreading into surrounding fields, such as offshore business, port and harbor logistics, and real estate. This reflects changes underway in our company as well as a shifting business environment.
"In addition, responding to environmental issues is key to our future, as you can see in media reports every day. Ocean shipping is responsible for high levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the vessels we operate. We set a target of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050-in the MOL Group Environmental Vision 2.1 (Note 2), announced in June. So you can see that we are at a critical point in focusing on the environment and sustainability while responding to changing social needs.
"Currently, the ocean shipping industry has remained favorable. A disruption in logistics caused by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and national governments' measures to revitalize their economies generated new demand for logistics services, and unprecedented conditions continue, especially in the containership business. However, taking a long-term view, 10 years from now, or even 30 years from now, it is conceivable that the world will undergo drastic changes and our company must make new investments and implement ongoing reforms. Under such circumstances, you will be involved in a broad range of business activities, and I am confident that every one of you will play active, essential roles as we take on these challenges.
"Finally, we operate about 800 vessels, and we must not forget that 'safety' is our top priority. I hope you will have a high awareness of 'safety.'
"Our company has a relatively small number of employees, and distances among executives and employees are closer. I am eager to talk to you again in various settings, and I look forward to working with you."
(Note 1) For details, please refer to the April 1, 2021, press release:
MOL Revises Corporate Mission, Group Vision, and Group Values (MOL CHART"S")
(Note 2) For details, please refer to June 18, 2021, press release:
- Aiming at Net Zero GHG Emissions by 2050 - Introducing 'MOL Group Environmental Vision 2.1'