Social
Human capital management at the Suntory Group has been based on its founding spirit and motto since 1899.
The Group aims to inspire the brilliance of life, by creating rich experiences for people, in harmony with nature. To achieve this purpose, the Group is advancing various initiatives under its philosophy of human capital management, which holds that people are the crucial foundation of business management.
In line with the concept that people are the most important foundation of business management, the Suntory Group, which includes Suntory Beverage & Food ("the Company"), aims for each employee to work vigorously and with a sense of fulfillment, growing continuously by fully demonstrating their individuality and abilities. To that end, the Group has established policies and is moving forward with various initiatives as described below.
The Company takes a medium-to-long-term approach to human resource development and strives to provide opportunities for growth to all of its employees, regardless of nationality, age, etc.
The Suntory Group, which includes the Company, started out as a merchant in foreign liquors and expanded into beer, soft drinks, health foods, dining, flowers, and many other areas of business. It also grew internationally out of Japan, and today it does business as a manufacturer in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania, extending across functions and the value chain. As the corporate group develops further in global foods and liquors, it aims to provide ongoing opportunities for all employees to take on career challenges and grow using its company-wide talent development system.
The Suntory Group opened Suntory University in April 2015 for employees to strengthen our framework for day-to-day learning and build a culture of learning — for developing talent within the group. Suntory University develops a variety of programs for all employees in the group based on four aspects — cultivating a culture of self-development and continued personal growth, sharing and implementing the founding spirit, leadership development, and skills development for the future.
Suntory Beverage & Food develops the skills of its employees using programs developed and provided by the Suntory Group.
The Suntory Group, which includes the Company, has established a DEI Vision Statement and Strategic Pillars based on the active inclusion of people who share different backgrounds and values. It aims to assure fair treatment for everyone, valuing full participation regardless of age, nationality etc. To achieve this, the Group makes efforts globally to promote the active participation of a diverse workforce including women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, persons with disabilities, and the senior demographic. As the Suntory Group does not believe that nationality or age at time of recruitment creates any significant barriers to advancement, it has not set targets for non-Japanese employees or mid-career recruits in its voluntary and measurable targets for promoting core personnel.
For more information, see Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The Suntory Group, which includes the Company, believes that the health of employees and their families is the source of workplace energy and innovation. Based on this, the Group aims to maintain good working conditions for all of employees — conditions that promote positive motivation at work and excellent mental and physical health. In 2016, the Group set forth a Health Management Declaration, and it has established systems to support the health of all employees, led by our Global Chief Health Officer. The Group clearly indicates action items for employees to undertake themselves and actively provides health literacy education to foster health awareness.
For more information, see Health Management
With over 40,000 employees worldwide, the Suntory Group, which includes the Company, believes that engagement is a key factor determining how well employees of various backgrounds and personalities can actively connect as colleagues and grow together while pursuing the Group’s mission. Operating under the motto “One Suntory, One Family,” the Group periodically monitors employees’ attitudes on engagement, understanding of the corporate philosophy, and compliance, using corporate culture surveys. The Group reflects the findings in initiatives aimed at improvement.
For more information, see Human Resource Development Program
For more information on various other human resource development initiatives, see the page on Management Strategy and Human Resources Strategy.
Based on the principle that to carry out diversity management, it is important that Suntory Beverage & Food actively engage a wide range of human resources with diverse values, it has been proactively recruiting mid-career employees who have diverse experience. We judge that we are placing and using human resources in a well-balanced way without compartmentalizing new graduates and mid-career recruits, and in the future, we will continue to utilize diverse human resources by recruiting mid-career employees as needed.
The Suntory Group, which includes the Company, conducts an organizational culture survey annually. The survey investigates how each employee perceives and understands the corporate philosophy in their daily work, as well as their awareness of the organizational culture, measures, and compliance at their company and workplace. The findings are shared with and utilized by management as well as each company and division. Group companies outside Japan also conduct organizational culture surveys. The 2022 survey found approximately 80% of employees feel proud to work for the Suntory Group.