Initiatives・External evaluation

The UN Global Compact is the world's largest sustainability initiative, bringing together the United Nations and the private sector (companies and other organizations) to build a healthy global society.

In September 2015, we joined this initiative and expressed our support for its 10 principles in four areas.

The Japan Clean Ocean Material Alliance (CLOMA) is an initiative that aims to promote sustainable development through materials by bringing together the public and private sectors, beyond industry boundaries, to solve the ocean plastic pollution problem, a new challenge for the global environment.

We joined this initiative in October 2020 with the aim of further strengthening our 4R activities for plastic products.

The TCFD is a taskforce established by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) at the request of the G20 to examine how climate-related information should be disclosed and how financial institutions should respond to such information. The TCFD recommends that companies and other organizations disclose their governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets related to risks and opportunities presented by climate change.

In June 2022, we expressed our agreement with TCFD's recommendations and joined the TCFD Consortium.

In response to a pressing global call for environmentally friendly, sustainably produced palm oil, the RSPO was formed in 2004 by seven organizations, including the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

We joined the RSPO in March 2018. In March 2021, we obtained the RSPO Supply Chain Certification Standard (SCCS) at our head office and Fukusaki Factory, and we will work to promote the active procurement of RSPO-certified palm oil toward our long-term goals for the future.

JaSPON is a network of retailers, consumer goods manufacturers, NGOs and other organizations established to accelerate the procurement and consumption of sustainable palm oil in the Japanese market, with the aim of addressing various social and environmental issues related to palm oil production. We joined JaSPON in July 2021.

The Certified Health and Productivity Management Organization Recognition Program commends large enterprises and SMEs that practice particularly excellent health and productivity management by tackling local health issues and by taking vigorous action to promote employee health under the initiative launched by the Nippon Kenko Kaigi (“Japan Health Council").

We have been recognized as a “2024 Certified Health and Productivity Management Organization" in the large enterprise category (for the fourth consecutive years since 2021).

Under Osaka City's Leading Company in Women's Advancement certification program, the Osaka City Government grants public recognition to companies that make vigorous efforts to create a comfortable work environment for women, such as promoting women's career advancement and supporting employees' work-life balance. We received the highest ranking three-star certification on June 1, 2022.

The“Kurumin" certification is granted to companies recognized as supporting employees with childcare. Among the companies that have established their General Employer Action Plan based on the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children, those that have achieved goals set forth in their plan and have met certain criteria may apply to receive the “Kurumin" certification from the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Recognized as a company supporting employees with childcare, we received the “Kurumin" certification in February 2019.

The FTSE Blossom Japan Index was designed by FTSE Russel for ESG investments. We have been included in the index since we were included for the first time in 2021 (as of July 2023).