About 40% of Largest Japanese Businesses Mention SDGs in CSR Reports

Copyright Cre-en All Rights Reserved.
Translated by Japan for Sustainability

According to a recent survey on Japanese companies' initiatives to work toward the UN's sustainable development goals (SDGs), 38 of the top 100 Japanese companies by aggregate market value included statements concerning the SDGs in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports or integrated reporting. A worldwide survey by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) targeting its member companies shows that the rate of companies disclosing information on efforts toward the SDGs was about 30 percent (50 companies out of 163).

Among the statements on SDGs by Japanese companies, the most common statement was an expression by the head of the company recognizing the issues which the SDGs address, seen in 27 of 38 cases. Seventeen companies disclosed initiatives to incorporate the SDGs into important company issues or policies, which means about half of the companies that made statements about the SDGs have already integrated the SDGs into their CSR strategies. Some companies have started more advanced initiatives such as launching a new project.

Copyright Cre-en All Rights Reserved.
Translated by Japan for Sustainability

An investigation of the SDG-related statements by sector reveals that a high proportion of companies are issuing such statements in fields where global diversification is important, such as trading firms, electrical device manufacturers and food production companies. The rate is lower in fields dominated by domestic markets, such as the service-sector and retailing businesses, railroad companies and bus companies.

The survey was conducted by Cre-en Incorporated, a Japanese company engaged in CSR consulting services, targeting the top 100 Japanese companies by market value as of September 30, 2016. The survey was conducted using CSR reports for FY2015 or other equivalent reports, and for companies with a system of integrating reports, the survey used the integrated reporting. All reports surveyed were published by October 20, 2016.