Environment
The Suntory Group, including Suntory Beverage & Food (“the Company”), recognizes that sustaining its business and continuing to create value require it to identify risks due to climate change as well as their potential impact on its business, and to respond appropriately. In May 2019, the Suntory Group has declared its support for the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations established by the Financial Stability Board (FSB), and makes disclosures based on the recommendations annually.
Starting in 2022, in addition to assessing and identifying the risks and opportunities that the problem of climate change presents to society and corporations, we started to estimate the monetary impacts on our business. Going forward, we will aim to enhance our resilience to these impacts by incorporating adaptive measures into our strategies to address risks and opportunities as they become evident. We will also continue to expand disclosure of related information.
At Suntory Beverage & Food, the Risk Management Committee and Sustainability Committee work in constant collaboration, and important decisions are further discussed and resolved by the Board of Directors.. Progress on strategies relating to environmental and social issues, as well as business risks and growth opportunities, are reported to the board accordingly. The board members are also provided opportunities to deepen their knowledge of sustainability through training sessions with external experts, convening board meetings at production and R&D facilities, and exchanging views.
Suntory Beverage & Food's sustainability management promotion organization
Suntory Beverage & Food assesses climate change-related issues based on their importance. For risks that are expected to have a large impact on our business, we have set medium- to long-term targets and are proceeding with initiatives. For our approach to identifying risks and their assessment, we create an evaluation of the identified risks based on the two axes of "Risk Exposure" and "Degree of Response". We categorize major Group-wide risks as Tier 1 through Tier 3, with Tier 1 being most important risk and Tier 2 important risk. "Risk Exposure" is calculated by probability of occurrence (probability) x magnitude of impact (impact), and "Degree of Response" is calculated by the degree of preparation for countermeasures. As a result of the evaluation, climate-related risks are positioned as one of the most important risk types.
With consumers, investors, and other stakeholders showing more and more interest in GHG emissions by corporations, we recognize that risks and opportunities related to climate change may greatly affect the Company’s business strategy. We conduct scenario analysis to understand and take measures against risk and opportunities related to climate change that may impact our business and consider them when engaging in financial planning.
At Suntory Beverage & Food, to identify important financial risks and opportunities for an organization, impact and frequency of each item in the span of short (0 to 3 years), medium (3 to 10 years), and long (10 to 30 years) term were considered. Result of the internal assessment is organized and shown below. Of the identified risks and opportunities, we recognized that increase in costs due to introduction of carbon tax, opportunity loss due to insufficient supply of water at production sites, and increase in raw material costs due to decrease in yield of agricultural products are the three items that may have a significantly impact and estimated the amount of their monetary impact on business.
For the basis of analyzing risks and opportunities, we used RCP 8.5 (4°C Scenario) as global warming scenario and IEA NZE 2050 and other scenarios as decarbonization scenario.
1. Identify major risks and opportunities | 2. Assess the impact of each risks and opportunities on business (For most important risk, estimate the amount of monetary impact) |
3. Determine/conduct response measures | ||
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Types of Risks and Opportunities | Estimated impact on business | Measures to reduce risks/seize opportunities | ||
Transition Risk | New regulation |
Increase in production costs due to introduction of carbon pricing |
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Physical risks | Chronic risks | Impact of insufficient supply of water on operation of production sites |
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Increase in procurement costs due to decline in yield of agricultural products |
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Acute risks |
Flood, etc. caused by large typhoon or heavy rain |
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Opportunities | Products/ Services | Impact on health due to rising temperatures |
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Change in consumer behavior due to increased environmental awareness |
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Resource efficiency | Cost reduction due to introduction of new technology |
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We aim to resilient by considering both scenarios and taking strategic approach toward the above actualized risks and opportunities. We have been focusing on identifying water supply risks, proper management of water, water resource cultivation activities, and other water sustainability activities but are considering risks related to raw material procurement and other aspects. In addition, in order to reduce GHG emissions throughout the value chain, from raw material procurement to manufacturing, distribution, sales, and recycling, we set challenges for each department and take action. For opportunities, we are expanding product portfolio of beverages with ingredients which are recommended by the Ministry of Environment of Japan as products addressing climate change. We believe that continuing and enhancing water resource cultivation activities, Mizuiku — education program for nature and water and other activities related to water as well as sharing information about Suntory Group’s approach to water to the public will raise are brand value and lead to increased sales. In terms of resource efficiency, we are actively promoting recycle of plastic bottles.
Water is the most important ingredient in the Company’s products, as well as a precious shared resource. It is imperative for our sustained business growth that we understand the impact that water risk has on our business, local communities, and the ecosystem, and so we conduct water risk assessments. Based on this, the Company has conducted a risk assessment of water sustainability at its own plants.*
More details about the water supply risk assessment
With regard to agricultural products and other raw ingredients, it is predicted that extreme weather, such as drought and flooding, occurring due to the rise in the Earth's average temperature due to climate change will have a major impact on their production activities, including fluctuations in yield and the need to move production to other areas which offer suitable cultivation. As corporate activities become more and more globalized, need to appropriately manage human rights of people who work in the supply chain and other social issues increase.
To offer our consumers high-quality products and services, we believe it is crucial to promote sustainability throughout our entire supply chain. This means we need to give due consideration to environment and society, as well as to safety and reliability. Based on this belief, we established and promote long-term strategy for safe, reliable, and sustainable supply of raw materials.
At Suntory Beverage & Food, the Risk Management Committee identifies and assesses critical risks throughout the Company each year. The committee identifies risks that should be prioritized at the Company and promotes risk reduction activities companywide. The Risk Management Committee regularly reports these activities to the Board of Directors. The Company’s approach to identifying and assessing risks and the process for managing identified risks is shown below.
Risk Management System at Suntory Beverage & Food
For the risks identified, we create a heat map based on the two axes of "Risk Exposure" and "Degree of Response", evaluate the importance especially for group-wide material risks on a three-point scale, and identify the risks to be prioritized. "Risk Exposure" is calculated by probability of occurrence (probability) x magnitude of impact (impact), and "Degree of Response" is calculated by the degree of preparation for countermeasures. As a result of the evaluation, climate-related risks are positioned as one of the most important risk types.
Of the identified risks and opportunities, we believe that the three items that may have the most significant impact are: increase in costs due to introduction of carbon tax; opportunity loss due to insufficient supply of water at production sites; and increase in raw material costs due to decrease in yield of agricultural products.
For the identified risks that should be prioritized, a person in charge and a monitoring organization will be appointed to implement the risk countermeasures. The response status is reported and discussed by the Risk Management Committee (RMC), and the PDCA cycle of extraction, evaluation, countermeasures, and monitoring is carried out.
Regarding climate change and water, which are expected to have a large impact on business, the Suntory Group has established "Environmental Targets toward 2030" as the medium-term targets with 2030 as the target year and "Environmental Vision toward 2050" as the long-term vision with 2050 as the target year, and are moving ahead with initiatives.
Environmental Vision toward
2050
Water Sustainability "Mizu To Ikiru" Activities
Climate Change Measures
Continue to promote energy conservation, proactively implement renewable energy solutions, utilize next-generation infrastructure options and work together with stakeholders across the value chain in order to contribute to realizing a decarbonized society
Suntory Beverage & Food has set the following environmental targets for 2030 to guide its efforts to help achieve the Suntory Group’s Environmental Vision for 2050.
Environmental Targets toward
2030
Water Sustainability "Mizu To Ikiru" Activities
Climate Change Measures
2023
Progress
Water Sustainability "Mizu To Ikiru" Activities
Climate Change Measures