CDP Japan 500 Climate Change Report 2019 - On behalf of 525 investors with assets of US$96 trilllion

 
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CDP Japan 500 Climate Change Report 2019 - On behalf of 525 investors with assets of US trilllion
CDP Japan 500 Climate Change Report 2019
On behalf of 525 investors with assets of US$96 trilllion

CDP Report 2019 | January 2020                      Report writer
CDP Japan 500 Climate Change Report 2019 - On behalf of 525 investors with assets of US trilllion
Contents

                                                                      CEO Foreword                                                                                                                           3

                                                                      Forewords from Report Writers                                                                                                          4

                                                                      The Climate A List 2019                                                                                                                6

                                                                      CDP Scoring                                                                                                                            9

                                                                      Stories of Change                                                                                                                    10
                                                                      - Kao Corporation
                                                                      - Japan Tobacco

                                                                      Investor Case Study                                                                                                                  14

                                                                      Japanese Company response to CDP 2019                                                                                                16

                                                                      Message from Non-State Actor                                                                                                         24

                                                                      Message from Ministries                                                                                                              25
                                                                      - SUZUKI Keisuke, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Japan

                                                                      Appendix                                                                                                                             27
                                                                      CDP Climate Change 2019 - Japanese Company

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02
CDP Japan 500 Climate Change Report 2019 - On behalf of 525 investors with assets of US trilllion
CDP CEO Foreword

                            Climate change is not a distant, potential   And we are already seeing great examples
                         threat. It is here right now, and already       of environmental leadership, with forward-
                         affecting millions of lives across the globe.   thinking companies proactively taking
                         The Australian bushfires, which started         action. The Science Based Targets initiative
                         raging in late 2019, have affected nearly 10    has snowballed into a global phenomenon,
                         million people, including at least 28 human     with more than 750 of the world’s biggest
                         lives that have been lost. This is just         companies setting emissions reduction
                         one example of recent extreme weather           targets that are grounded in climate
                         events made more likely by climate change.      science. Likewise, corporate demand for
                         The most devastating impact of climate          renewable power is rapidly growing with
                         change and extreme weather is always            220+ companies now working towards
                         going to be loss of human life, but its         100% renewable electricity.
                         impact on ecosystems, communities               T r an s p ar en c y i s t h e f o u n d at i o n f o r
                         and the global economy can be dire too.         meaningful climate action. In 2019,
                         In 2019, CDP analysis found that 215 of         more companies than ever before –
                         the biggest global companies estimate           8,400+ representing over 50% of global
                         the financial implications of climate risks     market capitalization – disclosed
 Those who act           to be close to US$1trillion , including         through CDP, enabling them to comply
 first on climate will   US$250 billion worth of ‘stranded               with the Task Force on Climate-related
 seize the benefits      assets’, at potential risk of being             Financial Disclosures (TCFD). Disclosure
                         made economically unviable.                     of quality data leads to smarter decisions
 of the transition.
                                                                         and informs investors, companies and
 CDP will play its       The cost of exceeding a temperature rise of
                                                                         governments of the actions they need
                         1.5 degrees Celsius – the proposed “guard
 part by continuing      rail” of safety by the Intergovernmental        to take. It’s encouraging to see more
 to set the standard,    Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – could          companies setting longer-term targets;
 and providing the       be catastrophic. It would have grave            our data will be key to seeing how they are
                                                                         performing against these over time.
 tools to help us        implications on water and food security,
                         living standards, the economy and human
 achieve it together.    health for our generation, and generations
                                                                         But growing corporate action is not
                                                                         enough. Governments must urgently step
 2020 must be the        to come. In economic terms the difference       up their ambition to give business the
 year we all play our    between 1.5 and 2 degrees is estimated at       clarity and confidence they need to invest
 part to ramp up         $15 trillion in damage. We cannot afford        in the zero-carbon future. Those who act
                         to dither and delay substantive action any
 worldwide ambition      longer.
                                                                         first on climate will seize the benefits
                                                                         of the transition. CDP will play its part
  on climate without                                                     by continuing to set the standard, and
 delay.                  2020 is a critical year. Five years on from
                         the Paris Agreement, the time has come          providing the tools to help us achieve it
                         for national governments to upgrade their       together. 2020 must be the year we all play
                         ambition to reduce emissions through their      our part to ramp up worldwide ambition on
                         national plans. This year needs to herald       climate without delay.
                         the start of a super decade of climate
                         action, cutting emissions in half, to give
                         any chance of limiting global warming to        Paul Simpson
                         1.5°C.                                          CEO, CDP

                                                                                                                               03
Forewords from Report Writers
     SGS Japan

                          In recent years, the words ‘ESG’,            One of the crucial actions we must
                          ‘sustainability’ and ‘climate change’        take in Japan is to up investment
                          have     become      ubiquitous,  an         in renewable energy. Although 30
                          unimaginable scenario in the year            Japanese companies are currently
                          2000, when CDP was launched, and             committed to the RE100, renewable
                          Japanese companies are increasingly          energy generation in Japan currently
                          demonstrating an awareness of                remains low, at just 15%, half that
                          their environmental impacts, and the         of coals 30% energy share. Japan,
                          associated risks.                            being surrounded by the sea and
                                                                       blessed with geothermal resources,
                          While a few years ago the response           has good conditions for producing
                          rate of Japanese companies lagged far        renewable energy. However, investing
                          behind their European counterparts, in       in renewable energy is difficult on an
                          2019 we saw the response rate in Japan       individual company basis, and so it’s
                          grow to 63%. For Japanese companies,         critical investors and policymakers
                          reporting on ESG has become a                take steps to encourage the funding of
      Climate action      fundamental practice, and those who          technologies and make the choice of
                          fail to report are increasingly seeing       switching to renewable energy an easy
      represents a huge   themselves at a major disadvantage.          one for companies.
      opportunity to
      businesse, and      At SGS Japan, we’ve watched these            The role of non-state actors as a part
      we hope to see      changes play out over the past decade.       of the climate solution has never
                          We’ve seen the number of companies           been clearer than at COP25, where
      Japanese            seeking GHG emissions verification           the number of delegates from US
      companies making    increase from just a few, to dozens,         corporations and local governments
      the most of it.     and sustainability initiatives being         outweighed the number of delegates
                          implemented from the top down, as            from the federal government. It is clear,
                          C-suite managers demonstrate an              then, that the companies reporting to
                          increasing awareness of environmental        CDP have as much a role to play as
                          issues. As our ability to calculate          policymakers in the climate fight.
                          scope 3 emissions grows, we’re seeing
                          companies engage with their suppliers        UNEP analysis shows that achieving
                          to catalyze climate action across the        the 1.5°C target requires a $1.6 to $3.8
                          value chain.                                 trillion investment annually from 2020
                                                                       to 2050. Climate action represents a
                          That said, we still have a long way to       huge opportunity to businesses, and
                          go – companies and policymakers and          we hope to see Japanese companies
                          still failing to take the drastic measures   making the most of it.
                          necessary to tackle the climate crisis
                          and hold warming at 1.5°C. According
                          to the United Nations Environment            Yuji Takeuchi
                          Programme (UNEP)’s annual report,            CBE Director, SGS Japan Inc.
                          global GHG emissions must be reduced
                          by 7.6% annually by 2030 to hold global
                          average temperature rise at 1.5°C. The
                          report also states that even if emissions
                          reduction measures announced by
                          countries under the Paris Agreement
                          are implemented, global average
                          temperatures may still rise by 3.2°C.

04
Forewords from Report Writers
SOCOTEC Certification Japan

                      On September 22, 2019, The World           These cases also posed significant
                      Meteorological Organization (WMO)          social risks, seriously impacting the
                      issued a report for the United Nations     lives of citizens experiencing them,
                      Climate Action Summit, stating that        while at the same time representing a
                      the gap between climate targets and        significant business threat.
                      the reality of actions being taken is
                      widening.                                  Japan now becomes the country with
                                                                 the largest number of companies in the
                      According to this report, 1) The average   world that have stated their support for
                      global temperature for 2015–2019           the TCFD recommendations. Japanese
                      is on track to be the warmest of any       companies must respond to climate
                      equivalent period on record, and is        change by taking sustainable mitigation
                      currently estimated to be approximately    & adaptation actions in response
                      1.1°Celsius above pre-industrial times;    to identified risks & opportunities,
                      2) Impacts of climate change appear        alongside setting and monitoring long-
                      more severe and are happening earlier      term goals.
 Japanese             than predicted 10 years ago; 3) In 2018,
 companies can        Carbon dioxide emissions grew 2%           CDP provides a platform by which
 positively respond   compared to the previous year and          companies can systematically report
                      reached a record high of 37 billion        and assess their climate impacts, risks
 to climate change    tonnes; 4) Global GHG emissions are        and opportunities in line with the TCFD
 by taking            not estimated to peak by 2030 if current   recommendations.
 sustainable          climate policies are maintained; 5) To
 mitigation &         reduce global warming to 2°C, countries    We at SOCOTEC Certification Japan
                      need to triple their GHG reductions        have been participating as a Climate
 adaptation actions   in their NDCs (Nationally Determined       Change Scoring Partner since 2018,
 in response to       Contributions)To hold warming at           and sincerely thank CDP for giving us
 identified risks     to 1.5 °C, they need to increase their     the opportunity to score, analyze and
 & opportunities,     reductions by about 5 times; and 6) GHG    create reports again this year. I would
                      reductions are essential in all sectors,   like to take this opportunity to express
 alongside setting
                      including energy, food production and      mygratitude on behalf of the SOCOTEC
 and monitoring       land use.                                  Group.
 long-term goals.
                      In 2019, large typhoons hit the Kanto      SOCOTEC Certification Japan hopes
                      region in Japan, and caused heavy          to continue to encourage and assist
                      damage such as river flooding due to       Japanese companies in their journey
                      heavy rain. Countries around the world     to transparency, as we work towards a
                      were also experiencing climate-related     climate-secure future.
                      weather phenomena and natural
                      disasters Venice, known as the city of     Seigo Futaba
                      water, was 85% flooded by storm surges     Managing Director,
                      – it’s Basilica of San Marco experienced   SOCOTEC Certification Japan
                      experiencing flooding for the sixth time
                      in 1,200 years, and the fourth time in
                      the last 20 years. Venetian floods are
                      becoming more severe each year, and
                      are said to be caused by rising sea
                      levels associated with warmer climates,
                      excessive pumping of groundwater, and
                      subsidence due to subduction of plates.

                                                                                                            05
The Climate A List 2019

     { 182 companies have made the Climate Change A List in 2019
     { Japan becomes the country with the most A List companies (38 companies)
     { CDP scored over 8,000 companies from A to D-; only the top 2% made the A List
     { Companies on the climate A List outperform their peers on the stock market by 5.5% per annum according to STOXX

     Number of the A list companies by country (Top 11 countries)                                                        Number of the A list companies by region

                                                                                                                                         2 1
     40
     40    38
                   35
     35                                                                                                                                  4
     30
     30
                                                                                                                                  37
     25                    22
     20
     20                                                                                                                                                87           Europe
     15                                                                                                                                                             Asia
                                   11                                                                                                                               North America
                                          9          9                                                                              51
     10
     10                                                       7          7                6                                                                         Oceania
                                                                                                   5           5
       5                                                                                                                                                            Latin America
      00                                                                                                                                                            Africa
           Japan

                   US

                          France

                                   UK

                                        Germany

                                                  Republic
                                                  of Korea

                                                             Spain

                                                                     Switzerland

                                                                                        Norway

                                                                                                 Finland

                                                                                                           Netherlands

     Company                                                                       Country                               Company                                       Country

     Apparel                                                                                                             Imperial Brands                               UK
     Kering                                                                        France                                Nestlé                                        Switzerland
                                                                                                                         Pernod Ricard                                 France
     Biotech, Health Care & Pharma
     Eisai Co., Ltd.                                                               Japan                                 Philip Morris International                   USA

     Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.                                                  Japan                                 REMA1000                                      Norway

     AstraZeneca                                                                   UK                                    Fossil Fuels
     Baxter International Inc.                                                     USA                                   ENAGAS                                        Spain
     Bayer AG                                                                      Germany
                                                                                                                         Hospitality
     Johnson & Johnson                                                             USA
                                                                                                                         Caesars Entertainment                         USA
     Koninklijke Philips NV                                                        Netherlands
                                                                                                                         Hilton Worldwide, Inc.                        USA
     Lundbeck A/S                                                                  Denmark
                                                                                                                         Las Vegas Sands Corporation                   USA
     Novo Nordisk A/S                                                              Denmark
                                                                                                                         Infrastructure
     Food, Beverage & Agriculture                                                                                        Daito Trust Construction Co., Ltd.            Japan
     Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd.                                                    Japan
                                                                                                                         Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd.                Japan
     Japan Tobacco Inc.                                                            Japan
                                                                                                                         Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.                    Japan
     Kirin Holdings Co Ltd                                                         Japan
                                                                                                                         Sekisui House, Ltd.                           Japan
     Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd.                                                   Japan
                                                                                                                         Toda Corporation                              Japan
     Suntory Beverage & Food                                                       Japan
                                                                                                                         ACCIONA S.A.                                  Spain
     British American Tobacco                                                      UK
                                                                                                                         City Developments Limited                     Singapore
     Coca-Cola European Partners                                                   UK
                                                                                                                         FERROVIAL                                     Spain
     Coca-Cola HBC AG                                                              Switzerland
                                                                                                                         Grupo CCR                                     Brazil
     Danone                                                                        France
                                                                                                                         National Grid PLC                             UK
     General Mills Inc.                                                            USA
                                                                                                                         Republic Services, Inc.                       USA
     Grieg Seafood                                                                 Norway
                                                                                                                         Royal BAM Group nv                            Netherlands
06
Company                               Country             Company                                   Country

Samsung Engineering                   Republic of Korea   Borregaard ASA                            Norway
Suez                                  France              CEMEX                                     Mexico
Veidekke ASA                          Norway              FIRMENICH SA                              Switzerland
Waste Management, Inc.                USA                 Givaudan SA                               Switzerland
                                                          HeidelbergCement AG                       Germany
Manufacturing
Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.               Japan               International Flavors & Fragrances Inc.   USA

FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation         Japan               Kingspan Group PLC                        Ireland

Komatsu Ltd.                          Japan               LANXESS AG                                Germany

Nabtesco Corporation                  Japan               L'Oréal                                   France

Nikon Corporation                     Japan               Owens Corning                             USA

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.                Japan               Saint-Gobain                              France

Panasonic Corporation                 Japan               Sibanye Stillwater                        South Africa

Sony Corporation                      Japan               Stora Enso Oyj                            Finland

Toyota Industries Corporation         Japan               Symrise AG                                Germany

Toyota Motor Corporation              Japan               Unilever plc                              UK

Yokohama Rubber Company, Limited      Japan               UPM-Kymmene Corporation                   Finland

Apple Inc.                            USA                 Vallourec                                 France

Brembo SpA                            Italy               Power generation
Constantia Flexibles                  Austria             Centrica                                  UK
Ford Motor Company                    USA                 EDF                                       France
Groupe PSA                            France              ENEL SpA                                  Italy
HP Inc                                USA                 ENGIE                                     France
Hyundai Motor Co                      Republic of Korea   Ørsted                                    Denmark
INDUS Holding AG                      Germany             Pinnacle West Capital Corporation         USA
Kia Motors Corp                       Republic of Korea   Vattenfall Group                          Sweden
Klabin S/A                            Brazil
                                                          Retail
Kone Oyj                              Finland             Aeon Co., Ltd.                            Japan
Lego Group                            Denmark             Askul                                     Japan
LG Display                            Republic of Korea   Marui Group Co., Ltd.                     Japan
LG Electronics                        Republic of Korea   Ricoh Leasing Co., Ltd.                   Japan
LG Innotek                            Republic of Korea   Best Buy Co., Inc.                        USA
Lite-On Technology Corporation        Taiwan              Carrefour                                 France
Metsä Board Corporation               Finland             Cellnex Telecom SA                        Spain
PACCAR Inc                            USA                 Grupo Logista                             Spain
Pirelli                               Italy               H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB                   Sweden
Schneider Electric                    France              J Sainsbury Plc                           UK
Signify NV                            Netherlands         LG                                        Republic of Korea
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.          USA                 Rexel                                     France
Tessy Plastics                        USA                 The Home Depot, Inc.                      USA
TETRA PAK                             Sweden              Walmart, Inc.                             USA
Valmet                                Finland
                                                          Services
Materials                                                 Benesse Holdings, Inc.                    Japan
KAO Corporation                       Japan               Fujitsu Limited                           Japan
Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.           Japan               MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc.      Japan
Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co., Ltd.   Japan               NEC Corporation                           Japan
Air Liquide                           France              Nomura Research Institute, Ltd.           Japan
                                                                                                                        07
Company                              Country       Company                              Country

     Sompo Holdings, Inc                  Japan         Koninklijke KPN NV (Royal KPN)       Netherlands
     Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc.          Japan         Landsec                              UK
     Accenture                            Ireland       LG Uplus                             Republic of Korea
     Adobe, Inc.                          USA           Lloyds Banking Group                 UK
     AENA SME SA                          Spain         Macerich Co.                         USA
     Alphabet, Inc.                       USA           Mercialys                            France
     American Express                     USA           Microsoft Corporation                USA
     ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd.     Taiwan        Morgan Stanley                       USA
     Atos SE                              France        Orange                               France
     Bank of America                      USA           salesforce.com                       USA
     Berner Kantonalbank AG BEKB          Switzerland   SGS SA                               Switzerland
     BNY Mellon                           USA           Shinhan Financial Group              South Korea
     BT Group                             UK            Sopra Steria Group                   France
     Cap Gemini                           France        Stockland                            Australia
     Cisco Systems, Inc.                  USA           Taiwan Mobile Co. Ltd.               Taiwan
     Citigroup Inc.                       USA           Telefónica                           Spain
     CVS Health                           USA           Telstra Corporation                  Australia
     Deutsche Telekom AG                  Germany       thyssenkrupp AG                      Germany
     Dexus Property Group                 Australia     TUI Group                            Germany
     DNB ASA                              Norway        Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield            France
     EVRY ASA                             Norway        Vicinity Centres                     Australia
     Gecina                               France
                                                        Transportation Services
     Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company   USA           Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd.          Japan
     Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc.          USA           Deutsche Bahn AG                     Germany
     IGM Financial Inc.                   Canada        Österreichische Post AG              Austria
     ING Group                            Netherlands   Panalpina Welttransport Holding AG   Switzerland
     Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A                Italy         La Poste                             France
     JCDecaux SA.                         France

08
CDP Scoring:
A measure of a company’s environmental performance

                                                            Scoring at CDP is mission-driven, focusing on                In order to better focus on key data points and
                                                            CDP’s principles and values for a sustainable                provide a more detailed breakdown of a company’s
                                                            economy and as such scores are a tool to                     score, each question falls into a scoring category.
                                                            communicate the progress companies have                      Different weightings will be applied amongst
                                                            made in addressing environmental issues, and                 sector scoring categories, and the number of
                                                            highlighting where risks may be unmanaged. CDP               points achieved per scoring category are used
                                                            has developed an intuitive approach to presenting            to calculate the final score for Management and
                                                            scores that highlight a company’s progress                   Leadership levels, according the scoring category
                                                            towards leadership using a 4 step approach:                  weighting.
                                                            Disclosure which measures the completeness of
                                                            the company’s response; Awareness which intends              A minimum score and/or the presence of a
                                                            to measure the extent to which the company has               minimum number of indicators on one level will be
                                                            assessed environmental issues, risks and impacts             required in order to be assessed on the next level.
                                                            in relation to its business; Management which is             If the minimum score threshold is not achieved,
                                                            a measure of the extent to which the company                 the company will not be scored on the next level.
                                                            has implemented actions, policies and strategies             The final letter grade is awarded based on the
                                                            to address environmental issues; and Leadership              score obtained in the highest achieved level. For
                                                            which looks for particular steps a company has               example, Company X achieved 88% in Disclosure
                                                            taken which represent best practice in the field of          level, 82% in Awareness and 65% in Management
                                                            environmental management.                                    will receive a B. If a company obtains less
                                                                                                                         than 44% in its highest achieved level (with the
                                                            Since 2018, CDP’s questionnaires have taken                  exception of Leadership), its letter score will have
                                                            a sector focused approach, under this new                    a minus. For example, Company Y achieved 81%
                                                            approach, each of CDP’s questionnaires has                   in Disclosure level and 42% in Awareness level
                                                            general questions alongside sectorspecific                   resulting in a C-.
                                                            question aimed at high impact sectors.
                                                                                                                         Public scores are available in CDP reports, through
                                                                                                                         Bloomberg terminals, QUICK teminals, Google
                                                            The scoring methodology clearly outlines how
                                                                                                                         Finance and Deutsche Boerse’s website. CDP
                                                            many points are allocated for each question and
                                                                                                                         operates a strict conflict of interest policy with
                                                            at the end of scoring, the number of points a
                                                                                                                         regards to scoring and this can be viewed at
                                                            company has been awarded per level is divided
                                                                                                                         https://www.cdp.net/scoring-confictof-interest.
                                                            by the maximum number that could have been
                                                            awarded. The fraction is then converted to a
                                                            percentage by multiplying by 100.

                                                                                                                                                                 Threshold

                                                                          A                                                                                      65-100%
                                                             Leadership           A-                                                                             0-64%
                                                                                               B                                                                 45-74%
                                                             Management                                  B-                                                      0-44%
                                                                                                                     C                                           45-79%
                                                             Awareness                                                          C-                               0-44%
                                                                                                                                             D                   45-79%
                                                             Disclosure                                                                               D-         0-44%

                                                            F = Failure to provide sufficient information to CDP to be evaluated for this purpose 1

1   Not all companies requested to respond to CDP do
    so. Companies who are requested to disclose their
    data and fail to do so, or fail to provide sufficient
    information to CDP to be evaluated will receive an
    F. An F does not indicate a failure in environmental
    stewardship

                                                                                                                                                                             09
Kao Corporation
     Chemicals and Cosmetics, Japan

       We’re facing the greatest threats in history,
       global challenges like climate change,
       resource scarcity and plastic pollution
       are leading consumers around the world
       to seek a more sustainable way of living.
       Through our products and presence in
       everyday life, we know that we have an
       increasingly important role to play in
       delivering more sustainable products
       and empowering consumers to live more
       sustainable lifestyles.

10
Tips for success                          The world is changing fast, so the way we work needs to change even faster. We’re facing
                                          the greatest threats in history: global challenges like climate change, resource scarcity and
{ Committing to a consumer-centric        plastic pollution are leading consumers around the world to seek a more sustainable way
   ESG strategy (The Kirei Lifestyle      of living. Through our products and presence in everyday life, we know that we have an
   Plan) that focuses on both the         increasingly important role to play in delivering more sustainable products and empowering
   individual and society as a whole      consumers to live more sustainable lifestyles.

{ Set ambitious long-term                 Since we were founded in 1887, Kao has been committed to serving people, their families,
   commitments that are focused on        their communities and our planet, while helping them live more sustainably – we call this
   your material issues and aligned       philosophy the Kao Way. It’s why we have developed and committed ourselves to a new
   with your corporate purpose.           ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) strategy called the Kirei Lifestyle Plan. ‘Kirei’
                                          means beautiful and clean, both on the outside and on the inside.
{ Collaborate with key partners
   to share goals and develop joint
                                          As part of achieving this, we’ve developed a highly concentrated liquid detergent with high
   initiatives to reduce your emissions
                                          washing power which means only one rinse cycle is needed, reducing water and cutting
   and accelerate progress on other
   targets.                               energy use. Similarly, we make our dishwashing detergents with foams that lather and rinse
                                          quicker, helping our consumers reduce the amount of water they use by 20%.
{ Support your sustainability strategy
   with clear targets for each division   Working within the beauty and personal care industry, we’re also acutely aware of the
   in your organization, and activities   serious impact of plastics on our natural environment and the need for urgent action to
   that outline how your employees        reduce their level of use and ensure that those we do use are always re-used or recycled.
   can contribute towards these           That’s why we have launched refill packaging for almost 300 of our products, resulting in a
                                          73% decrease in plastic packaging use in personal care and household in 2018, compared
{ Commit to research and                  to a ‘do nothing’ scenario.
   development to meet the increasing
   demand for sustainable living.         To decrease our environmental impact and reduce our carbon emissions even further, we’re
                                          now using 100% renewable electricity in our manufacturing sites across Europe and the US,
                                          as well as in Ehime in Japan, and have committed to purchasing 100% renewable electricity
                                          supplies across all our sites by 2030. Through such measures, renewable energy now
                                          accounts for 20% of our global power consumption. This has resulted in an approximate
                                          65,000-ton annual reduction in our CO2 emissions (2018).

                                          Another key issue we are dedicated to addressing through the Kirei Lifestyle Plan is
                                          deforestation. We have already achieved 100% in traceable paper and pulp use in Kao
                                          consumer products and packaging. And by 2020, we aim to purchase only recycled or
                                          sustainably sourced paper for use in our products, our packaging materials and our offices.

                                          Additionally, we use questions from the CDP programme to assess our suppliers, evaluate
                                          the sustainability of their practices and provide consultation to help them improve their
                                          management of these commodities. We are now in our second year of this CDP SC Forest
                                          assessment process and believe it provides suppliers with concrete ideas for building
                                          change.

                                          Moving forward, we will continue improving our operations and reducing our environmental
                                          impacts by:

                                          { building innovative partnerships to improve traceability of commodities that are used across
                                             our product line, such as palm oil;

                                          { working more closely with the smallholder farmers who supply us to ensure their
                                             practices are environmentally responsible and sustainable;

                                          { and driving further innovation in water and materials efficiency through our products,
                                             operations and supply chain.

                                          We dedicate all our operations to enabling our consumers to live more sustainably and
                                          make a positive contribution to the world, as envisioned by the United Nations Sustainable
                                          Development Goals. Through our Kirei Lifestyle Plan, we will continue to realise our
                                          commitment to making every day more beautiful, making thoughtful choices for society,
                                          and making the world healthier and cleaner.

                                          Dave Muenz, Executive Officer, ESG Global, Kao Corporation
                                                                                                                                           11
Japan Tobacco Inc.
     Food, Beverage & Agriculture, Japan

       To create a sustainable
       and inclusive future, we
       consider the respective
       interests of consumers,
       shareholders, employees,
       and wider society.

                                           Live barn in Malawi
12
Tips for success                           JT Group has offices and factories in more than 70 countries and regions and we sell our
                                           products in more than 130. In addition to our tobacco business, we have pharmaceutical
{ Consider various stakeholders:           and processed food businesses.
   our 4S model places the
   expectations of our stakeholder         Our management principles and our approach to sustainability are governed by our 4S model.
   groups (consumers, shareholders,        Through this, we strive to fulfill our responsibilities to our valued consumers, shareholders,
   employees, society) at the heart of     employees, and the wider society. We carefully consider the respective interests of these
		 everything we do.                       four key stakeholder groups, and exceed their expectations wherever we can. JT Group’s
                                           CEO, Masamichi Terabatake explains: “Sustainability calls for our management to have a
{ Focus on the important topics:           broad long-term perspective, and to ensure the business continues to create value, thus
   we have identified and prioritized      ensuring the sustainability of our business and of society, over the long term.”
   sustainability issues material to our
   business and our stakeholders.
                                           With sustainability at the heart of our management approach, we reviewed our organizational
                                           structure in early 2019. We created a Sustainability Management Division at the JT Group
{ Establish a sustainability strategy      head office in Tokyo and appointed a dedicated Senior Vice President for Sustainability. This
   with long-term targets: we look
   beyond our usual planning cycle         followed the launch of our Sustainability Strategy in 2018.
   to consider the longevity of our
   business as well as the future of our   Our strategy is underpinned by three ‘absolute requirements’ for sustainability which apply
   planet.                                 to the whole Group: Respect for Human Rights, An Improved Social and Environmental
                                           Impact, and Good Governance and Business Standards. We then identified key focus areas
{ Develop clear plans and metrics          through materiality assessments and engagement with stakeholders. Our core business,
   to achieve your strategy: we            tobacco, has already set out its four focus areas and specific targets, which provide a solid
   implemented the JT Group                basis for measuring and benchmarking our sustainability performance, and support the
   Environment Plan 2030 to further        sustainability of the JT Group. As of December 2019, our pharmaceutical division and
   reduce the environmental impacts        processed food business are currently defining their respective approaches.
   of our business.
                                           In addition, we have determined how our approach to sustainability is aligned with the United
{ Promote initiatives by forming           Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which form the blueprint for the world
   cross-functional teams:                 to achieve a more sustainable future. We mapped the activities of our tobacco business
   crossfunctional approaches              against all 17 SDGs and concluded that the business contributes most significantly to nine
   provide us with different               of them. We intend to undertake the same process for the other two businesses in the
   perspectives to address risks and       Group.
   realize opportunities.
                                           To translate into action the absolute requirement for ‘Improved environmental impact’,
                                           we have published a new Group Environmental Policy. This outlines our overall intention
                                           and direction in relation to how we manage our environmental impact. In turn, the Policy is
                                           supported by our new ‘JT Group Environment Plan 2030’ which we launched in mid-2019.

                                           To develop the plan, we identified our key environmental risks and opportunities. From
                                           these, we established the focus areas, namely “Energy and Emissions”, “Natural Resources”
                                           (water and forestry) and “Waste”. Our Plan contains longer-term objectives for energy and
                                           emissions, along with quantified targets to be achieved by 2030 for all focus areas. It also
                                           sets out a commitment to transition our operations to net zero carbon energy supply. To
                                           help track our performance, we have also set a long-term Greenhouse Gas emissions
                                           reduction target, in line with the Paris Agreement and which was validated by the Science
                                           Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in February 2019. Going forward, we will be conducting
                                           climate scenario analysis to provide a longer-term perspective on risks from climate change
                                           and how we need to manage those risks.

                                           Within an organization of the scale and complexity of the JT Group, no single function can
                                           implement our Sustainability Strategy and Group Environment Plan alone. We promote
                                           cross-functional working in terms of geographies, businesses and departments. By doing
                                           this, we better identify our risks and opportunities, implement robust action plans to address
                                           these, and share learnings and good practices. These are all essential to deliver on our
                                           sustainability commitments.

                                                                                                                                            13
Investor Case Study

      SMBC - Amundi Climate ActionTM                                expected to generate economic value through efforts to
                                                                    take action against climate change.
      Amundi Japan
                                                                    The objective of SMBC・Amundi Climate ActionTM is
      World’s first use1 of CDP climate change scoring for          to provide opportunities for Japanese retail investors
      the selection of investment candidates                        to participate in action against climate change through
      Launched an investment trust that takes action against        investment, and thereby enable them to support the
      climate change                                                achievement of sustainable growth by the investee
                                                                    companies and by society.
      CPR AM, a pioneer of responsible investing and a
      subsidiary of Amundi, Europe’s largest asset manager          TM = Trademark registration pending
                                                                    1 Source: CDP press release issued January 31, 2019
      by assets under management,2 on December 7, 2018,              (https://www.cdp.net/en/articles/investor/cpr-am-and-cdp-launch-climate-fund)
      launched CPR Invest – Climate Action (Luxembourg)             2 Source: Investment & Pensions Europe; “Top 400 Asset Managers” (June 2019 edition; ranked by
                                                                      global assets under management on December 31, 2018).
      as a fund that for the first time1 in the world used CDP
      climate change scoring for the selection of investment
      candidates.

      Amundi Japan considers that it is highly significant
      that through the investment to make societal and
      environmental impacts and provide Japanese retail
      investors the opportunity to contribute to the achievement
      of a sustainable society and the United Nations
      Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Accordingly,
      on June 14, 2019, it launched SMBC・Amundi Climate
      ActionTM as a publicly offered domestic fund for which
      CPR Invest – Climate Action is its primary investment.
      CPR Invest – Climate Action focuses on companies
      that have a high CDP climate change scoring and are

      Mizuho Eco Finance                                            to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from our own
                                                                    business activities.
      Mizuho Financial Group
                                                                    The "Mizuho Eco Finance" is a loan program provided
      In June 2019, Mizuho Bank, Ltd. and Mizuho Information        by Mizuho Bank to clients whose initiatives meet
      & Research Institute, Inc. (“MHIR”) launched a service        a certain level on a scoring system based on an
      entitled Mizuho Environmentally Conscious Finance             environmental assessment model developed by MHIR
      (“Mizuho Eco Finance”) through which we will take action      which incorporates globally reliable environmental
      alongside our clients to advance the shift to a low-carbon    verification and evaluation program, such as SBT
      society.                                                      (Science Based Target) and S&P/JPX Carbon Efficient
                                                                    Index. Through dialogue under this service as a start, we
      As efforts on mitigation and adaptation against climate       deliver supports in the forms of advices and funds to our
      change have progressed around the world, and given that       client companies on the one hand, including evaluation
      climate change has the potential to have a significant        on whether their GHG reduction targets would be in
      impact on the business activities of borrowers, we            line with the Paris Agreement goals, as well as to their
      recognize the need for the , as a financial           supply chain, both upstream and downstream, aiming to
      institution, to evaluate the efforts of our clients to deal   promote decarbonization of an entire society.
      with climate change and, in particular, support their
      further efforts through financing and advice, in addition

14
Efforts to create a sustainable                             through engagement, and strengthen efforts for loans in
                                                            which the use of funds is closely linked to ESG elements,
society at banks                                            and loans that support customers’ ESG measures and
                                                            information disclosure.
- Promotion of ESG linked loans –
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation                         Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation has been
                                                            providing corporate loan products to support customers’
In 2019, we continued to see frequent occurrences           sustainability management. In 2018, we commenced
of floods and droughts around the world that were           with the arrangement of syndicated loans that come
suspected to be linked to climate change, and Japan         with ESG evaluation reports. The syndicated loans were
suffered record damage due to large typhoons and            offered to customers in a wide range of sectors, and we
heavy rain. The importance of countermeasures against       think that ESG linked loans have spread to participating
climate change risk and information disclosure is           domestic financial institutions. Since December 2019,
increasing even more for all companies amid growing         we have started handling sustainability linked loans that
concerns over the impact of increasing natural disasters    link the status of ESG initiatives and lending conditions
on business activities. In the Japanese financial market,   using CDP’s disclosed information on climate change
ESG linked loans have started to spread full scale          and data on ESG assessment agencies in cooperation
following the expansion of ESG investment in stocks and     with the Japan Research Institute, our group company
bonds, in response to the will of investors and financial   with abundant ESG knowledge. We will continue to
institutions who want to fulfill the responsibilities       contribute to the improvement of customer corporate
necessary to form a sustainable society.                    values and the sustainable development of society.

In ESG linked loans, which are indirect financing, I
believe it is important for banks that are responsible
for ESG linked loans to share issues and goals for the
advancement of customers’ sustainability management

                                                                                                                        15
Japanese Company response to CDP 2019

     63%
                                                                2019 marks CDP’s 17th global climate survey, and        The results of Japan 500 selected companies
                                                                is the 14th time Japanese companies have been           show that 36 companies2 (12%) scored an A and 58
                                                                asked to respond. Between 2006-2008 responses           companies (19%) ranked A- in 2019. The majority
                                                                were sought from 150 Japanese companies, this           of companies (112 companies, representing 37%)
     Japan 500 response rate                                    number grew in 2009, when 500 companies were            scored a B (Figure 1). Encouragingly the number of
     (316/500)                                                  selected based on the FTSE Japan Index (hereafter       companies scoring A and A- has increased, while
                                                                referred to as Japan 500).                              the number scoring C and D has to decreased.
                                                                                                                        Although there are differences between the
                                                                This report mainly analyses the status of               industries, companies that manage their response

     356
                                                                respondent companies in Japan 500. Since the            to climate change in their own business are
                                                                number of voluntary respondents is increasing           gradually beginning to lead the market, and there
                                                                year by year, it also includes the response status of   is a tendency to be polarized with C and D rank
                                                                firms other than Japan 500. This report focuses on      companies in terms of disclosure information.
     Number of total                                            response to some of the most notable questions.
                                                                                                                        The response rates of Manufacturing and
     responding companies                                       From 2018, the contents of the recommendations          Materials sectors were very high, at 83% and 80%,
                                                                of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial          respectively. Meanwhile the Services and Retail
                                                                Information Disclosure (TCFD) were reflected            sectors lagged behind, with the lowest response

     38
                                                                in CDP's Climate Change Questionnaire. The              rates (46% and 40% respectively).
                                                                responses analyzed within this report represent
                                                                the second round of disclosures since this major        Sectors leading the scores are Food, Beverage
                                                                revision to the question structure was made.In          and Agriculture (A/A- 35% of the 74% response
     A list companies                                           2019, 97% of the questions remained unchanged           rate), Infrastructure (A/A- 57% of 57%) , and
                                                                from 2018, with only minor changes. Sector-             Manufacturing (A/A- 33% of 83%). Their relatively
                                                                specific questionnaires were sent for sectors           high response rates indicate that the sectors as a
                                                                related to "Agriculture," "Energy," "Materials,"        whole are taking a strong stance of climate change
                                                                and "Transportation," whereas the request for           issues. In the retail sector, the response rate is low
                                                                responding to a Finance-sector questionnaire was        at 40%, but 43% of the responding companies are
                                                                deferred.                                               ranked A or A-, suggesting that companies in the
                                                                                                                        sector are polarized in their response to climate
                                                                Response status                                         change. Meanwhile, the response rate of the power
                                                                This year the number of respondents out of the 500      generation sector, which has historically had a low
                                                                companies questionnaires were sent to - including       response rate, exceeded 50% in 2018, rising to 70%
                                                                responses by group companies (SA) - grew to 316,        this year, and it can be said that it is a sector that
                                                                19 more than in 2018. As such, the response rate        actively engages in information disclosure (Figure
                                                                of the Japan 500 in 2019 was 63%, increasing            2).
                                                                from last years 59%. Despite the introduction
                                                                of a fee-based response in 2018, we’re seeing a         Governance
                                                                growth in the number of Japanese companies              With the introduction of the Corporate Governance
                                                                actively disclosing their efforts on climate change,    Code in Japan and the emphasis on TCFD
                                                                highlighting the increasing global awareness of         recommendations, climate governance is a hot-
                                                                the topic.In this report, the analysis is based on a    button topic.
                                                                total of 343 companies excluding SA and including
                                                                Japanese companies other than Japan 500.                92% (a 1% percentage point increase from 2018)
                                                                                                                        report that their Board of Directors have oversight
                                                                Scoring                                                 on climate change issues (C1.1) (Figure 3), with
                                                                The CDP scoring uses a band system of                   25% of companies reporting that these issues
                                                                information disclosure, recognition, management,        are covered in all their meetings(Figure 4). 55% of
                                                                and leadership. The scores are from A to D from the     companies responded that they had "some planned
     2   In addition to 36 companies, two companies
         other than Japan 500 have been selected as A-list      top to the bottom (A- to D- also exist if each does     meetings", 8% more than last year. Including this,
         companies.                                             not reach the reference point). After a quantitative    80% of companies said that they regularly discuss
     3   CDP has developed and adopted a unique sector          scoring based on a scoring methodology is               climate change issues with the board of directors.
         classification, CDP-ACS (Activity Classification
         System). Details of the sector classification can be
                                                                performed, the final score is determined by a           In some Japanese companies, issues related to
         found on the website.                                  threshold.                                              climate change are being discussed at the board
                                                                                                                        level as a factor of risks and opportunities.

16
Figure 1. Score distribution of Japan 5002        Figure 2. Score by industrial sector, Japan 5002

                                                  100%

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               100
40%                                          04

                                             53   80%

                                                                              Biotech, Health Care and Pharma

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               80
                                                                                                                     Food, Beverage, and Agriculture
30%                                          03

                                                  60%

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               60
                                             52

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Transportation Services
20%                                          02

                                                  40%

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Power generation

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               40
                                             51

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Manufacturing
                                                                                                                                                                                                Infrastructure
10%

                                                                                                                                                            Fossil Fuel

                                                                                                                                                                              Hospitality
                                             01
                                                  20%

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Materials

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               20
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Services
                                                                Apparel

                                             5

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Retail
0%                                           0    0%

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               0
      D-   D    C-     C   B-   B   A-   A        Response            0%                              71%                                    74%                    100%              14%                 57%                   83%           80%                  70%                   40%            46%                   52%
                                                  rate
                                                  # of target             1                                     31                                     31                 5                 7                    37              122               60                      10                 57         112                         27
                2019            2018              companies
                                                                                                                ■ A    ■ A-      ■ B  ■ B-      ■ C                                                                                                                         ■ D                     ■ D-
                                                                                                                ■ SA (See another) ■ Not scored

Figure 3. Board-level oversight of Climate        Figure 4. Board's oversight of climate-                                                                                                                        Figure 5. Does your organization use
related issues                                    related issues - Frequency                                                                                                                                     climate-related scenario analysis to
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 inform your business strategy?
Figure 6. Use of climate-related          Strategy and scenario analysis                           Future risk is the most highly considered risk
     scenario                                  The climate change scenario analysis is a new            amongst companies (C2.2a), with 72% of
                                               question added in 2018 based on the TCFD                 respondents answered that they considered risks
                                               recommendations. In Japanscenario analysis has           beyond a 6 year period, up from 61% last year.
                                               attracted the interest of companies. When asked if       17% of companies do not consider risks beyond a
                                    21%        they use climate change-related scenario analysis        six year period, down by 10% in 2018 and by 37%
                                               in their business strategies, more than half of all      from 2017. This also seems to be linked to the
                48%                            respondents (53%) reported using qualitative and         increasing number of companies that incorporate
                                               /or quantitative measures, up 6% from 47% last           scenario analysis and strategy development
                                               year. Additionally, 34% of respondents who have          from a long-term perspective accompanying the
                                    31%
                                               not done so yet report that they will do so within       TCFD recommendations into their organizational
                                               two years, and 87% of companies believe that             structures (Figure 9).
                                               analyzing climate change scenarios is a necessary
       Multiple scenarios                      business strategy (Figure 5).                            As for risk recognition, more than 80% of
       Single scenarios                                                                                 companies said all these physical and transition
       Not using scenarios                     As for the types of scenarios used in the scenario       risks were relevant. In terms of the breakdown of
                                               analysis, RCP2.6 was the most used by companies,         risk recognition, 75% of companies say that they
                                               followed by 2DS and NDCs. Furthermore, some              always include acute risks and 67% of them include
                                               21% of companies are conducting analysis using           chronic risks as relevant in their assessments.
                                               multiple scenarios.(Figure 6). Figure 7 explores the     Organizations are most aware of current regulation
                                               different scenarios companies are analyzing.             as a transitional risk, followed by market, emerging
     Figure 7. Climate-related                                                                          regulation, and technology (Figure 10).
     scenarios and models applied              Risks and opportunities
     (Top 10)                                  From 2018, risk and opportunity responses are            This data shows that acute physical risks are highly
                                               consistent with TCFD recommendations, by                 recognized, as typified by the damage caused by
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
 0

                                               detailing their classifications and financial impacts,   recent large typhoons and river flooding. More
     RCP 2.6                                   Risks are classified by physical risks (acute and        than 70% of companies say that any transition
                                   63          chronic) and transition risks (regulations, markets,     risks are always included in the risk assessment
                                               technologies, reputations, etc.) in detail, and five     as related risks. As mentioned,it appears that the
     2DS                                       categories have been introduced for opportunities,       organizational structure that assesses risks related
                                               including resource efficiency, energy sources,           to climate change from a long-term perspective is
                              53
                                               products and services, markets, and resilience.          becoming more pervasive in companies and has
                                               Regarding the frequency of assessing these               led to the practice of scenario analysis.
     Nationally determined contributions
                                               climate change risks, 19% of companies said that
                         42                    they evaluate it once a year, and 69% of companies       As for the opportunities related to climate change
                                               evaluate it once every six months or more                (C2.4a), companies with over 600 employees
     RCP 8.5                                   frequently. The percentage of firms that responded       overwhelmingly view       products and services
                    33                         with an evaluation frequency of at least once a          as the greatest opportunity About half of them
                                               year is 88%, almost the same as last year's 87%,         (311 in 2019 and 297 in 2018) are expanding the
     IEA 450                                   but the number of companies that evaluate more           development of low carbon products and services
               24                              frequently than half a year or more has increased        (Figure 11).
                                               from 63% last year (Figure 8).
     IEA Sustainable development scenario
           20

     IEA NPS)
       13

     RCP 4.5
      10

     IEA B2DS
           7

     RCP 6
        5

 0             20        40        60     80

18
Figure 8. Identifying and assessing climate-related risks -             Figure 9. Identifying and assessing climate-related risks - How
Frequency                                                               far into the future
                                                                                                                                   1%
  2%                                                                       1%
                                                                                                                      10%              7%
             10%
                                                                                                                                                              10%                                                            14%
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Up to 1 year
  19%                              Six-monthly or more frequently                                                                                                                                                                   1 to 3 years
                                   Annually                                                                                                                                                                                         3 to 6 years
                                   Other                                                                                                                                                                                            >6 years
                    69%
                                   N/A                                                                                       72%                                                                                                    Unknown
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    N/A

Figure 10. Climate-related risk types considered in risk                Figure 11. Climate-related opportunity driver
assessments
                                                                         80
                                                                        80%
Current
regulation                                                               70
                                                                                                                                 61%
                                                                         60
                                                                        60%
Emerging
regulation                                                               50

Technology                                                               40
                                                                        40%
                                                                                  Goods and Services

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Resource efficiency
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Energy efficiency
                                                                         30
Legal
                                                                         20
                                                                        20%
                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Resilience

                                                                                                                                                                         11%                                                                                                                        11%                                                      12%
                                                                                                                                                            Markets

Market                                                                   10
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    5%
                                                                         0%0
Reputation

Acute physical

Chronic physical                                                        Figure 12. Climate-related opportunity driver (Goods and Services)
                                                                        60%60
Upstream
                                                                                                                                                                         51%
                                                                           50
                                                                                      Ability to diversify business activities

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Development of new products or services

Downstream
                                                                                                                                                                               Development of climate adaptation and

                   0%      20% 100 40%150    60%                 350 40%40
                                                       80% 300 100%
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Shift in consumer preferences

                    0     50                 200     250
                                                                                                                                       Development and/or expansion of
                                                                                                                                       low emission goods and services

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     through R&D and innovation

  Relevant, always included Relevant,   Not relevant, explanation provided 30
                                                                                                                                                                               insurance risk solutions

  sometimes included                    Not evaluated
  Relevant, not included                No response                       20%20                                                                                                                                                                                                17%                                                   15%
  Not relevant, included                N/A
                                                                                                                                                                                                                        10%
                                                                           10
                                                                                                                                 4%                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  3%
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Other

                                                                         0%   0

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          19
GHG emissions reduction target                                   companies in 2018). 51 companies set the target
                                                Regarding the Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction                  year of 2050 (38 companies in 2018) (Figure 14).
                                                targets, 40% of companies that set absolute                      The number of companies that set medium-term
                                                emissions targets stated that they are science-                  targets for 2030 is 60% higher than last year.
                                                based targets (SBT), which is up from 38% in 2018,
                                                and has increased 2.5 times from 16% in 2019. In                 Disclosure of Scope 2 & 3 emissions
                                                the same manner as last year, 85% of companies                   The calculation method of Scope 2 emissions
                                                responded in the same positively to SBT’s, and                   (location-based, market-based) following the
                                                either intend to incorporate and SBT into their                  revision of the GHG protocol has been adopted for
                                                current target, or set one within two years (Figure              four years. Until now, the number of companies
                                                13).                                                             reporting on a market basis has gradually
                                                                                                                 increased, and in 2019, about 80% of companies
                                                14% of companies that set emissions intensity                    reported emissions on a market basis, a further
                                                targets have an SBT. The total ratio of the                      increase of about 10% from 70% in 2018. The
                                                companies is 74% if those which have another                     number of companies reporting on location basis
                                                target that is science based and those which plan                is 81%, up from 76% last year. (Figure 15).
                                                to set within 2 years are added. Although the ratio
                                                is slightly lower than the absolute emissions target             For the calculation status of Scope 3, 157
                                                companies, more than 70% responded positively to                 companies selected any of “Relevant, calculated,”
                                                SBT’s (Figure 13).                                               “Not relevant, calculated,” and “Not relevant,
                                                                                                                 explanation provided” (66 companies in 2015, 101
                                                Another important point is the target year in the                companies in 2016, 109 companies in 2017, and
                                                reduction target, in which medium- to long-term                  157 companies in 2018). Approximately half of
                                                target setting is expected. In this regard, 131                  the respondents performed anevaluation for all
                                                companies have relatively short-term target year of              15 categories. It’s clear companies are beginning
                                                2020 (99 companies in 2018) and 132 companies                    to calculate not only their own emissions, but the
                                                have medium-term target year of 2030 (83                         emissions of their supply chain.

     Figure 13. Science Based Target (Outer;             Figure 14. Target year (Scope 1, 2 emissions)                Figure 15. Scope 2 reporting (Outer:
     Absolute target, Inner: Intensity target)                                                                        Location based, Inner: Market based)
Trend for third-party verification (assurance)              however response rates were low, indicating that
                                                       Proportion of companies with third-party verifi-            only a small number of conscious companies are
                                                       cation                                                      responding.
                                                       The number of companies that undertook third-
                                                       party verification has been increasing, as shown            Verification standards
                                                       in Figure 17. Of the responding companies, the              The adopted verification standard was 44%4 for
                                                       proportion of companies that undertook third-               ISO 14064-3, 19%4 for ISAE 3000, 18%4 for ISAE
                                                       party verification is 65% for Scope 1 and Scope 2,          3410. These proportions are large, accounting for
                                                       and 52% for Scope 3. The growth rates from the              80% of the whole (Figure 19).
                                                       previous year were 14% for Scope 1 (203 -> 231),
                                                       14% for Scope 2 (203 -> 232), and 19% for Scope             Figure 20 shows the global situation. As in Japan,
                                                       3 (154 -> 184). The proportion of companies with            verification standards were centered around ISO
                                                       third-party verification worldwide is 63.4% for             14064-3, ISAE 3000, and ISAE 3410, accounting
                                                       Scope 1, 62% for Scope 2, and 47% for Scope 3,              for 73% in total. We can see that Tokyo Metropoli-
                                                       so there is no major difference in comparison to            tan and Saitama emissions trading scheme, which
                                                       Japan.                                                      account for about 10%, differ from the worldwide
                                                                                                                   average.
                                                       Figure 18 shows the status of third-party
                                                       verification in the top 15 countries’ GHG emissions.        The number of companies that undertook third-
                                                       The ratios for China and the United States, which           party verification for 70% or more of their gross
                                                       rank first and second in GHG emissions, were                emissions was 191 (83%) for Scope 1 and 189
                                                       lower than the global average. On the other hand,           (82%) for Scope 2. Here Japanese companies are
                                                       in Germany, France and Italy, we’re seeing a high           lagging slightly behind the rest of the world, where
                                                       number of companies reporting seeking third-party           the global average 87% for Scope 1 and 85% for
                                                       verification.                                               Scope 2.

                                                       In terms of response rates, Japanese companies              As mentioned above, in Japan nearly 10% selected
                                                       had the highest response rate, and also                     Tokyo and Saitama prefectural verification stan-
                                                       demonstrated a higher than average rate of third-           dards. This is one of the reasons why there is a
                                                       party verification, confirming that awareness in            higher number of companies with third-party veri-
                                                       Japan is improving overall. South Korea, Mexico             fication scope under 70% compared to the rest of
4   Weighted average of Scope 1 and 2 responses        and Brazil have high ratios of third-party verification,    the world.

Figure 16.         Evaluated scope 3 categories                                                Figure 17. The number of companies with third-party
                                                                                               verification or assurance

1. Purchased goods and services                                               80%                                                      146
                                                                                               2015                                     148
2. Capital goods                                                             78%
                                                                                                                        87
3. Fuel- and energy-related activities
(not included in scope 1, 2)                                                     82%
4. Upstream transportation                                                                                                              150
                                                                             79%
and distribution                                                                               2016                                     152
5. Waste generated in operations                                                 80%                                       98

6. Business travel                                                               82%
                                                                                                                                              168
7. Employee commuting                                                            82%           2017                                            170
8. Upstream leased assets                                                                                                        123
                                                                                 80%
9. Downstream transportation                                               74%
and distribution                                                                                                                                       203
10. Processing of sold products                                            71%                 2018                                                    203
                                                                                                                                        154
11. Use of sold products                                                   72%
12. End-of-life treatment of                                               72%                                                                                231
sold products
                                                                                               2019                                                           232
13. Downstream leased assets                                                  80%
                                                                                                                                                 184
14. Franchises                                                                     88%                 0          50         100          150           200           250
                                                                                                        0         50       100         150           200        250
15. Investments                                                             75%
                                                  0%
                                                   0    20     40   50%
                                                                      60    80          100%
                                                                                       100              Scope 1                 Scope 2		                  Scope 3
                                                                                                                                                                            21
Figure 18.      Ration of companies with third-party verification or assurance in descending order of emissions by country

100   100%

 80   80%

 60   60%

 40   40%

 20   20%

      0
      0%
              China    US        India   Russia    Japan Germany South Canada
                                                                 Korea
                                                                                Indo-
                                                                                nesia
                                                                                        Mexico    Brasil    Australia   UK     Italy   France   Other   Over
                                                                                                                                                        all

                                                  Scope 1          Scope 2		             Scope 3                         Response rate

      Figure 19.      Proportion of used verification standard (Japan)              Figure 20.      Proportion of used verification standard (Global)

                      3%
                 2%
                            6%

                                                                                                  16%
                9%
                                                                                         3%
                                                                                        3%                                   37%
                                             44%
                                                                                        5%
             18%

                                                                                        8%

                           19%
                                                                                                           28%

             ISO14064-3                                                                      ISO14064-3
             ISAE3000                                                                        ISAE3000
             ISAE3410                                                                        ISAE3410
             Tokyo and Saitama verification standards                                        A1000AS
             A1000AS                                                                         ASAE3000
             ASAE3000                                                                        EU ETS
             Other                                                                           Other

 22
Climate change information disclosure                                                                                                                                       recommendations, formulating strategies based
An increasing number of companies are considering                                                                                                                           on scenario analysis.
the financial impact of climate change, and
including climate related risks and opportunities                                                                                                                           In 2019, 38 Japanese companies were on the A
in other reports, including their financial reporting.                                                                                                                      list, up 18 (1.9 times) from last year. Leadership
                                                                                                                                                                            points can be scored only when management
190 companies are releasing information in their                                                                                                                            issues on climate change are actively monitored
voluntary sustainability reports (169 in 2018),                                                                                                                             by the board level; risks and opportunities are
fwhile 148 companies publish it in mainstream                                                                                                                               appropriately identified and evaluated, and
reports, which is a significant increase from 108                                                                                                                           they are reflected in the organization’s strategy
companies last year. In the meantime, 114 firms                                                                                                                             including scenario analysis; and certain criteria
report in voluntary communications (118 in 2018).                                                                                                                           are met, such as setting ambitious targets and
                                                                                                                                                                            indicators, measuring outcomes, and having
For mainstream reports, 27 companies (7                                                                                                                                     emissions verified by a third party.With the rise in
companies in 2018) disclosed based on TCFD                                                                                                                                  A List companies in mind, it’s positive to see the
recommendations, and 7 companies (14                                                                                                                                        number of organizations submitting high-quality
companies in 2018) replied that the disclosure                                                                                                                              disclosures and addressing climate change issues
was based on the CDSB (Figure 21). showing                                                                                                                                  steadily increasing year on year.
the increasing number of companies that have
indicated support for the TCFD recommendations.                                                                                                                             Considering the increase in the number of
                                                                                                                                                                            Japanese companies that have expressed support
Conclusion and future prospects                                                                                                                                             for the TCFD recommendations, it is expected
In 2019 the response rate of the Japan 500 was                                                                                                                              that the number of companies disclosing to CDP
the highest it has ever been, exceeding 60% for the                                                                                                                         and working to address their climate impact will
first time. However, the rate differs significantly                                                                                                                         continue to increase.
between sectors, and is under 40% in some
sectors. It’s clear then that, while the response rate                                                                                                                      As discussions of climate change issues continue
is gradually increasing, we’re seeing a polarized                                                                                                                           to make their way onto Japanese companies’
response from sectors, and must continue to                                                                                                                                 board agendas, and the rate of scenario analysis
target non-responders..                                                                                                                                                     continues to grow, we can expect to see the
                                                                                                                                                                            management strategies of Japanese companies
In sectors where the response rate to CDP is high                                                                                                                           change dramatically as they become more strongly
and the disclosure rate is increasing, we can see                                                                                                                           aware of climate change.
that climate actions such as responses to TCFD
recommendations, strategies, and efforts to                                                                                                                                 As companies increasingly come under pressure
reduce CO2 has been converging at a faster speed.                                                                                                                           from investors, employees and citizens to address
                                                                                                                                                                            their climate impact, and ESG reporting continues
With ESG investment receiving more attention, it is                                                                                                                         to move further into the mainstream for Japanese
becoming increasingly important for companies to                                                                                                                            companies, we expect to see Japanese companies
disclose ESG information to investors, and some                                                                                                                             step up their efforts, and work to build a sustainable
companies are demonstrating in their response                                                                                                                               business model that benefits both society, and
an increased awareness of the importance of                                                                                                                                 their businesses.
taking actions such as disclosing via TCFD

Figure 21.                        Published information

200
                                        In mainstream reports, in accordance with

                                                                                        In mainstream reports, in accordance with

200
150
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       190
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  In voluntary sustainability report

                                  182
                                                                                                                                                                              In voluntary communications

150
                                                                                                                                         In other regulatory filings

100
                                                                                        TCFD recommendations
          In mainstream reports

100                                                                                                                                                                                                         114
                                        CDSB framework

 50
  50
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     48
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Other

                                                                                    7                                               27                                 21
 0    0
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          23
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