Sustainability Initiatives and External Evaluations

In December 2020, Kobe Steel, Ltd. announced its support for the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and its participation in the TCFD Consortium of Japan composed of companies supporting the TCFD recommendations.

TCFD refers to the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, established by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) at the request of G20 to develop consistent climate-related financial risk disclosures and discuss how these issues should be addressed by financial institutions. TCFD recommends companies to disclose information in four areas: Governance, Strategy, Risk Management, Metrix & Targets. Going forward, the KOBELCO Group will continue to actively disclose information based on the TCFD recommendations.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are global goals set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was adopted in the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015. The SDGs consist of 17 goals and 169 targets for solving global issues such as poverty, inequality and climate change.

The KOBELCO Group has been tackling social issues through its business activities, as stated in the KOBELCO’s Mission, to provide solutions to the needs of society, by making the best use of the talents of our employees and our technologies.

In order to further promote the resolution of social issues, we will continue to carry out activities to deepen each employee's understanding of the SDGs through e-learning, training stratified by job classification, and forums for dialogues.

Kobe Steel, Ltd. signed the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and was registered as a participant company in March 2021.

The UNGC is a global framework for achieving sustainable growth under which companies and organizations demonstrate responsible and creative leadership and act as good members of society. The companies and organizations that sign the UNGC are committed to the ten principles for the protection of human rights, elimination of unfair labor, conservation of the environment and prevention of corruption.

The White Logistics Movement aims at ensuring stability in logistics needed for people's daily lives and industrial activities and contributing to economic growth while addressing the growing shortage of truck drivers in logistics services. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries are the advocates of this initiative.

In support of the movement, Kobe Steel is committed to voluntary actions to improve the work environment for people engaged in logistics operations.  

Declaration of Partnership Building is a framework to help large enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to build mutually beneficial relationships. Declarations will be made by the representatives of companies that are committed to promoting the coexistence and co-prosperity of the entire supply chain, building new partnerships regardless of the size of business and beyond the boundaries of business affiliations, and establishing good business practices between parent companies and subcontractors.

Kobe Steel has joined the Declaration of Partnership Building endorsing the purpose of the Council on Promoting Partnership Building for Cultivating the Future, advanced by the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, among others.

The FTSE Blossom Japan Index is an index designed to measure Japanese companies with outstanding Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance based on rules developed by international standards, including the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Since June 2021, Kobe Steel has been included in the index series as a constituent.

The FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index reflects the performance of Japanese companies that demonstrate strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices relative to their respective sectors and is designed to be sector neutral.
Since March 2022, Kobe Steel has been included in the index series as a constituent.

The MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index is an index created by MSCI Inc., a major U.S. financial services company, which uses its proprietary ratings to select stocks from among those of listed Japanese companies that comprehensively respond to ESG-related risks and demonstrate outstanding performance in ESG practices. It has been adopted as one of the ESG investment indices by Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), the world's largest public pension fund management organization.

Since June 2022, Kobe Steel has been included in the index as a constituent.

The MSCI Japan Empowering Women Index (WIN) is constructed by multidimensionally calculating a gender diversity score of a constituent of MSCI Japan IMI top 700 index and selecting companies from each industry that achieved high scores.
Since December 2022, Kobe Steel has been included in the index series as a constituent.

The S&P/JPX Carbon Efficient is designed to measure the performance of companies in the Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX), while overweighting or underweighting those companies that have lower or higher levels of carbon emissions per unit of revenue. The index aims to revitalize the stock market by encouraging environmental initiatives and information disclosure throughout the stock market.

Kobe Steel has been included in the index as a constituent.

Kobe Steel was awarded the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ)'s highest environmental rating in January 2017 as a "company with excellent advanced environmental initiatives" and received financing under this system.

The DBJ Environmental Rating system is the world's first financing system which uses a screening system (rating system) developed by DBJ. It can evaluate the level of a company's environmental management, helping select the advanced companies.

The Health & Productivity Management Organization Recognition Program is a certification program, under which the Nippon Kenko Kaigi examines large enterprises, SMEs and other organizations engaging in initiatives for overcoming health-related challenges in communities or for promoting health-conscious activities led by the Nippon Kenko Kaigi, and recognizes outstanding enterprises engaging in efforts for health and productivity management.

Kobe Steel was certified as one of the White 500 Health and Productivity Management Organizations in 2017, 2020 and 2021. In addition, the Health & Productivity Stock Selection Program is a joint selection program by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Tokyo Stock Exchange for companies that promote activities to maintain and improve employee health. Kobe Steel has been selected for three consecutive years since the first year (FY 2015).

Kurumin certification is given to companies that provide good child-rearing support by the Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare gives in accordance with the Act on Measures to Support the Development of the Next Generation. Certification is granted when certain requirements are met, such as the formulation and notification of action plans and achievement of targets. If a Kurumin Certified Company that has implemented a higher level of initiatives meets certain requirements, it will be able to receive special certification under the Platinum Kurumin as an excellent child-raising support company.

Kobe Steel received the Kurumin Certification in 2012 and 2015 and was awarded as a Platinum Kurumin Company in 2019.

The Nadeshiko Brand designation was created by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, together with the Tokyo Stock Exchange, to highlight corporations that actively promote the employment and advancement of women.

Kobe Steel was selected as a Nadeshiko brand in 2016 and a semi-Nadeshiko in 2017 as a listed company that excels at promoting the advancement of women.