Suntory Group Philosophy
Being true to our purpose “To inspire the brilliance of life, by creating rich experiences for people, in harmony with nature,” we will practice our values of Growing for Good, “Yatte Minahare,” and Giving Back to Society.
The Suntory Group’s Vision on Sustainability
As a multifaceted beverage company, we are dedicated to realizing a sustainable society where enriching people’s lives and conserving the natural environment go hand in hand. We deeply respect the blessings of nature on which our products rely, and engage in a range of activities to ensure sustainable use of natural resources and a healthy natural water cycle. In addition to delivering products and services that enrich peoples’ lives, we strive to ensure that our business growth contributes to a sustainable society across our entire value chain.
The Suntory Group’s approach to sustainability and the seven sustainability themes to which we are contributing are outlined in the Suntory Group Sustainability Vision. Being strongly aware of the interdependence between nature and people, we are implementing a range of activities, together with our stakeholders, to realize a world where nature and people live in harmony.
The world faces a wide variety of environmental and social issues, such as water shortages and loss of biodiversity from the changing climate, pollution and increasing waste, poverty, and human rights violations. As companies are expected to implement proactive actions for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)*, which are objectives shared by the whole world, the Suntory Group, which operates globally, will also continue to take on the challenge of realizing a sustainable society by tackling global issues more sincerely than ever before.
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*The Sustainable Development Goals are goals adopted at a UN Summit in September 2015 that the whole world should tackle by 2030
The Suntory Group’s Vision on Sustainability
Materiality
To promote sustainable management that takes into account the changes which can be anticipated in the macro environment over the medium to long term, the Suntory Group has identified its materiality, and this materiality is reflected in our sustainability strategy.
In 2023, the Suntory Group reviewed the results of the materiality analysis that had been performed in 2017. This time, the materiality analysis was based on the double materiality concept, and sought to identify and evaluate the impact on both the company’s business and the people and the environment. The seven themes outlined in the Suntory Group Sustainability Vision were collated mainly from the 10 key issues identified as constituting Suntory’s materiality. Both the materiality and the Suntory Group Sustainability Vision were approved following discussion by the Board of Directors.
Materiality Identification Process
Materiality Matrix
Using the process outlined above, we identified 10 key materiality items for the Suntory Group. Focusing on these items, we collated seven main sustainability themes that Suntory should address.
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Water |
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Climate Action |
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Containers and Packaging |
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Raw Ingredients |
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Human Rights |
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Health |
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Enriching Life |
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Dialogue with NGOs Regarding Materiality
Various units in the Suntory Group undertake stakeholder engagement as part of their day-to-day operations. During the process of identifying Suntory’s materiality in 2023, we engaged in dialogue with leading international environmental NGOs, such as Conservation International and the WWF, and human rights NGOs, including Human Rights Watch. We received valuable suggestions from these NGOs regarding issues that the Suntory Group should address.
The main feedback received from the NGOs was as follows:
- As a leading company, Suntory is expected to respond to consumers’ changing attitudes. It is also expected to increase its communication for the achievements in terms of water conservation over a period of more than 20 years, as consumers will appreciate this.
- Taking water risk assessment as the foundation, Suntory is expected to promote nature-positive management that both meet the company’s goals and address the issues affecting people living in the watersheds from which Suntory accesses water. The Suntory Group can make effective use of the capabilities that it has built up to tackle water-related problems affecting people and nature in collaboration with local communities.
- Suntory is expected to undertake stakeholder engagement more frequently, and should conduct dialogue with NGOs in a less formal manner on a day-to-day basis.
- Suntory is expected to announce what it is aiming to achieve in relation to human rights, and should disclose specific targets and the progress.
The Suntory Group will be utilizing the valuable feedback obtained from stakeholders, including from this recent dialogue with NGOs, to promote sustainable management.
Suntory Group’s Mid- to Long-term Targets
The Suntory Group is committed to addressing the wide range of challenges that the world is facing today, and will continue our efforts to realize sustainability. In particular, we have set mid- to long-term targets and are implementing world-leading initiatives for water sustainability, as well as for the pressing issues of reducing GHG emissions and plastics usage.
Promoting Structure
The Global Sustainability Committee (GSC) acts as an advisory committee to the Board of Directors for sustainability management. The GSC discusses the Group’s sustainability strategies and confirms progress on priority themes (water, climate change, raw ingredients, containers and packaging, health and human rights) under the direction of the Chief Sustainability Officer. Progress on environmental and social activities as well as business risks and opportunities are reported to the Board of Directors on a quarterly basis. In addition, the Board of Directors is provided with opportunities to receive advice from third-party experts on sustainability management.
Suntory Group's Environmental Management Promoting Structure
Stakeholder Engagement
We pursue our business activities while engaging with a wide variety of stakeholders. We will make clear our responsibilities to our stakeholders and communicate with them in various ways so that we can continue making contributions to realizing sustainable society. We aim to incorporate feedback we receive and societal needs into our company activities and continuously work to build highly trustworthy and collaborative relationships with stakeholders.
Opportunities for Communication with Stakeholders