Congrès Inc., IAPCO member headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, has identified 4 materiality themes (priority issues or key challenges) to achieve the United Nation’s Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) for resolving issues in society through its business.
As a part of the priority issue, “Creating a sustainable work environment in which the company and employees can grow together,” Congrès held a hybrid meeting on August 24, 2022 between new graduates who joined the company from 2020 to 2022 and the President, TAKEUCHI Noriko. The main venue was one of our Tokyo headquarters’ conference rooms, connected online with employees participating from their respective locations, including Knowledge Capital – Congrès Convention Center in Osaka, owned and operated by Congrès, as well as our Nagoya and Fukuoka branch offices.
The president and employees engaging at the meeting. As the world transitions toward post-COVID while the virus still impacts us, face-to-face meetings like these are now unremarkable, yet masks are commonly worn to ensure safety and peace of mind.
While remote work has become widespread due to COVID-19 in our industry as in many others, various issues have arisen regarding internal communication. Good internal communication in a corporation is said to be one of the keys to sustaining productivity, and Congrès is undertaking activities in this regard, one of which is this interactive session with top management.
Not only headquarters and branch office employees participated, but also those stationed at facilities, such as the convention venues, science museums and cultural facilities, etc. that Congrès operates as part of its business.
First, as an “ice breaker,” the attendees formed pairs and asked about each other’s work, recent activities, hobbies and how they spend their days off, and then were tasked with introducing their pair to the president and others. After that, they had a two-way Q&A session, where participants took advantage of the opportunity to quiz the president! The meeting also enabled them to renew friendships among colleagues and think about future goals and growth together.
As another initiative, new graduates up to their 3rd year in the company are invited to participate in the international drone exhibition “Japan Drone” organized by the Japan UAS Industrial Development Association (JUIDA) and Congrès every year. The employees attend a study session geared for them on the exhibition business and then can personally see how the organizers and PCO event management personnel operate the exhibition on site. During the event, there is also a networking event for these young employees to connect with the president.
At the 2020 exhibition, which was the first one held after COVID-19 emerged, a “Drone x SDGs” booth was set up as a special organizer’s project, and new graduates who joined Congrès in 2020 were in charge of creating the concept and planning the decoration. We continue to make best use of that opportunity and update the “Drone x SDGs” booth contents every year.
Sustainability in particular is a field in which young employees, also known as Generation Z, proactively contribute their opinions and plans, and play an active role in various ways. Their involvement will surely become a driving force in our industry to enhance its sustainability going forward.
Congrès will continue to tackle “Creating a sustainable work environment in which the company and employees can grow together,” one of our priority sustainability issues, as part of our larger commitment to integrate our corporate philosophy with the SDGs philosophy and keep on contributing toward realizing a sustainable society.
