Environment
- TOP
- Sustainability
- Environment
Basic Policy
We will actively promote sound business activities that consider the preservation of the local and global environment, contributing to the sustainable development of society and the economy. We will establish environmental goals for our business activities and strive to continuously reduce our environmental impact.
Principles for Action
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1.
We will raise awareness of how e-commercrce can contribute to eco-friendliness and promote paperless operations and CO2 reduction through the advancement of business-to-business (BtoB) e-commerce platforms. -
2.
We will create environmental goals and action plans to address the environmental impact of our business activities, focusing on reducing CO2 emissions, waste generation, and total water discharge. -
3.
We will conduct environmental education and awareness activities, including implementing environmental education and participating in community-based environmental events. -
4.
We will comply with environmental laws, regulations, and agreements. -
5.
We will communicate our environmental policy to all employees to enhance awareness of environmental conservation.
Initiatives
ECO Mart activities to promote reduction of our environmental impact
To promote the reduction of our environmental impact, we are engaged in activities focused on energy conservation, resource savings, and waste reduction.
Examples of major activities
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Announcement of ecological achievements
We will convey the significance of digitalization to society and promote its adoption by announcing eco achievements from the BtoB platform (CO2 reduction through paperless initiatives).
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FY2023 results
Number of paper slips reduced: 534.14 million
Reduction in CO2 emissions: 4,578,509 kg
Cedar tree equivalent: 520,285 trees
Trends in ecological achievements
Cedar tree equivalent
Reduced number of sheets
* From FY2022 results, survey by CARBON FREE CONSULTING CORPORATION.
Disclosure on TCFD
Recognizing the threat posed by climate change to global sustainable development, our Group will actively engage in climate change measures, including information disclosure in line with TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) recommendations.
1. Governance
(i) Monitoring system led by the Board of Directors regarding climate-related risks and opportunities
The Sustainability Committee discusses and determines policies and specific measures regarding climate-related
risks and opportunities. The Board of Directors and the Executive Committee receive timely reports from the
Sustainability Committee and monitor and control its activities.
The Group has also established a Risk Management Committee to properly manage risks in the organization. The
Risk Management Committee works to establish systems to prevent risks, identify and evaluate factors that could
hinder operations or lead to losses, and monitor progress. The activities of the Risk Management Committee are
managed and overseen by the Board of Directors and are appropriately reflected in the overall strategy of the
Group.
(ii) Role of management in assessing and managing climate-related risks and opportunities
The Group's Board of Directors and Executive Committee oversee the Sustainability Committee and the Risk Management Committee, managing climate-related risks and opportunities comprehensively. The President and CEO of the Company serves as the Chair of the Sustainability Committee, playing a leading role in evaluating climate-related risks and opportunities and in discussing and deciding on specific countermeasures. Additionally, as the Chair of the Risk Management Committee, the President and CEO leads policy formulation on climate-related risks and establishes a task force to take command in the event of a risk occurrence.
2.Strategy
The RCP8.5 scenario published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which predicts an average
temperature increase of around 4.0°C compared to pre-industrial levels without mitigation measures, as well as
the NZE2050 scenario from the International Energy Agency (IEA), which calls for net-zero emissions by 2050 and
keeps temperature rise below 1.5°C were used as references. This allows us to understand the impacts of
climate-related risks and opportunities on our organization’s business, strategy, and financial planning.
In recognizing climate-related risks and opportunities, we categorize risks into transition risks and physical
risks, further subdividing them into ongoing and new regulatory risks, legal risks, technological risks, market
risks, and reputational risks. Opportunities are classified into categories such as market, resilience, resource
efficiency, energy sources, and products/services. For each of these categories, we analyzed the projected
impact on the Group's procurement and sales over short-term (0–1 years), medium-term (1–3 years), and long-term
(3–10 years) time frames. The risks recognized as a result of this analysis are as follows:
(i) Short-, Medium-, and long-term climate change risks and opportunities, and their implications for the organization's business, strategy, and financial planning
Under the NZE2050 scenario, we recognize that the introduction and expansion of carbon pricing, new policies and stricter GHG emissions regulations, and the introduction of new technology and changes in consumer preferences will have Medium- to long-term effects, posing financial risks through increased procurement costs and decreased customer purchasing power. At the same time, we recognize that suppliers and customers adopting new technologies and energy solutions tailored to climate changes present opportunities that can positively impact our finances. Under the RCP8.5 scenario, we recognize that the long-term effects of natural disasters and rising temperatures will primarily pose long-term risks to sales.
(ii) Resilience of the organization's strategy
In response to the various risks and opportunities associated with climate change, the Group has established systems and processes to flexibly review and adapt our organizational strategy to reduce climate-related risks and maximize opportunities. As previously mentioned, our Sustainability Committee collaborates with the Risk Management Committee to identify climate-related risks and opportunities, evaluate their financial impact, and discuss and determine activity plans that incorporate organizational goals and specific measures. In particular, given the significant impact rapid changes in regulations, new technologies, products, and market needs related to climate change would have on the Group’s finances, we are focusing on integrating these new technologies and key equipment into our organizational strategy while reallocating internal resources to ensure resilience.
3. Risk Management
(i) Processes for identifying, assessing, and managing climate-related risks
Climate-related risks and opportunities are identified and evaluated by the Sustainability Committee. First, the Sustainability Committee secretariat gathers information from each department to understand the current status of climate-related risks and opportunities. The Sustainability Committee identifies risks and opportunities under the NZE2050 and RCP8.5 scenarios based on the information compiled by the secretariat. Additionally, in evaluating these risks and opportunities, we first analyze their financial impact on our procurement and sales, assessing the degree of said impact. Next, we discuss and determine activity plans that incorporate goals and specific measures to reduce risks and maximize opportunities based on the evaluation results. Decisions made by the Sustainability Committee are reported to the Board of Directors and communicated to various departments within the Company for implementation.
(ii) Integration of climate-related risks in the organization's overall risk management
Climate-related risks are managed and integrated under the risk management system, alongside other organizational risks. The risk management system promotes the identification and forecasting of organizational risks across the Company. Reports are made to the risk management officers (department heads) through designated risk management personnel (Department Manager or other representative within each department), and risk management officers then report to the Risk Management Committee. The Risk Management Committee discusses and makes decisions on critical matters related to risk management and establishes a task force as needed. The task force examines countermeasures and instructs the relevant actions to the on-site teams through the risk management officers and personnel of each department. In this process, the Risk Management Committee shares information with the Sustainability Committee, and coordinates with the Committee to ensure that risk management is integrated into the overall management processes of the Group.
4. Indicators and Targets
(i) Indicators used in assessing climate-related risks and opportunities
As previously mentioned in "Summary of Scenario Analysis Results", the Group sets indicators for each risk and
opportunity and analyzes and evaluates their impacts. For example, regarding policy and legal risks, we have
established indicators to measure the impact of changes in tax policy or the introduction of new regulations by
the Japanese government on our procurement costs and sales revenue. We recognize that climate change-related
technologies and products present both risks and opportunities. We identify technologies and products closely
related to our offerings and set indicators to assess their impact on our financial performance.
Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG emissions) are an important indicator for measuring the financial impact of
climate-related risks and opportunities. We also convert these emissions into monetary value using carbon
pricing to analyze and understand their impact on our Group’s finances. While carbon prices vary among
companies, since tax and trading systems have not yet been implemented in Japan, we refer to auction and sales
prices of J-Credits and carbon trading prices from the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) to
implement internal carbon pricing (ICP) and analyze the financial impact of CO2 emissions.
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(ii) Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by Scope
We calculate GHG emissions by Scope, referencing the GHG Protocol methodology to determine the quantities involved. The Company’s GHG emissions results by Scope are shown on the right. Although GHG emissions in the Group's business areas are not significantly large compared to other industries, we recognize the risks associated with potential future tax implementation and regulatory tightening, and we will strive to reduce emissions as much as possible. Additionally, in our calculations, we use publicly available emission intensity databases to ensure an objective interpretation of the figures. We believe we will be able to conduct trend analysis in the future using the same methods.
(iii) Objectives and performance used by the organization to manage climate-related risks and opportunities
In this way, the Group is focused on managing climate-related risks and opportunities by using the indicators clarified through scenario analysis and GHG emissions as benchmarks, aiming to reduce risks and maximize opportunities. We are working to reduce our GHG emissions through the adoption of renewable energy, in-sourcing outsourced work, and engaging with suppliers regarding Scope 3 emissions, all with the goal of achieving carbon neutrality. Furthermore, for FY2022, we achieved a complete reduction of Scope 2 emissions by purchasing J-Credits derived from renewable energy. In this context, since the GHG calculation method using emission intensity results in automatic increases in emissions as business scale expands, we will work on improving our calculation methods by referencing carbon intensity and conducting objective analyses of GHG emissions trends relative to sales. We will also consider initiatives such as afforestation, which, while outside our supply chain, contribute to global GHG emissions reduction, as we continue to address climate-related risks and opportunities.