Celebrating Pride with Suntorians Across the Globe

In line with our vision of Growing for Good, Suntory Group established our first global DEI vision and strategic pillars in November 2021 to reaffirm our commitment to recognizing, valuing and respecting diversity and actively promoting and fostering inclusion. As part of this commitment, we continuously look for ways to ensure equity as we listen to the voices and perspectives of our employees and take action. This is our ambition to derive strength from diversity and enrich our workplace through inclusion. We encourage all employees to Unleash Your Spirit – be curious, be bold, and be yourself.

This June, we celebrated Pride Month with Suntorians across the globe and launched Suntory Pride, our new platform celebrating the resilience, strength, and diversity of the LGBTQ+ community. Our Suntory Pride events throughout the month aimed to support and uplift the unique identities of our employees through empowerment, and most importantly, Pride!

Suntory Holdings
In Japan, Suntory Holdings held a panel discussion with our LGBTQ+ colleagues, allies, and a special external guest, Motoki OKOCHI, President of Kenzo Paris Japan K.K., to help build awareness around creating and ensuring there is an equitable workplace for all. Suntory also held a session for general managers to understand the challenges that the LGBTQ+ community faces in the workplace and to further discuss how to properly communicate with each team member to create a safe and inclusive environment.

Frucor Suntory
To kick off Pride Month, Taka Sanno, CEO of Suntory Beverage & Food APAC, and the Frucor Suntory Executive Leadership Team walked the walk in Auckland, as they inaugurated the Head Office’s Rainbow Walk and opened Suntory Pride in New Zealand on June 2.

Later in the month, they held a DEI Master Class on LGBTQI+ Inclusion and The Active Ally, facilitated by Ola Lione of Diversity Works N.Z. This session aimed to foster inclusiveness, raise awareness, and help recognize and remove any unintended barriers in our culture, processes, and practices. Through understanding different lived experiences, participants were able to learn how to create an accessible and inclusive environment for everyone.

To conclude the Pride month festivities, on June 29 Frucor Suntory hosted an educational Drag Trivia Quiz event in its Auckland and Sydney offices. The trivia was live-streamed across the business, so Suntorians could participate in the fun virtually as well as in-person and learn something new about the LGBTQ+ community.

Suntory Beverage & Food Europe (SBFE)
In Europe, Suntory Beverage & Food Europe held a Pride-themed discussion with their DE&I Taskforce. Prior to the discussion, participants voted for which topics they most wanted to discuss, including LGBTQ+ Awareness & Education and LGBTQ+ Inclusive Workplace Policies. The discussion was incredibly powerful, and Suntory will continue to build inclusivity for our LGBTQ+ colleagues.

SBFE also held an event featuring Ben Hunte as its guest speaker. Ben Hunte is a senior reporter for VICE World News, investigating stories about LGBTQ+ people, race, and inequality from across the world. Previously, Ben was the BBC’s first LGBT Correspondent, reporting on stories surrounding sexuality and gender, before becoming the BBC’s West Africa Correspondent. Ben spoke about LGBTQ+ inclusion and what we can do as an organization to support the LGBTQ+ community.

Beam Suntory
In the US, Beam Suntory’s LGBTQ+ Employee Impact Group, PRISM, celebrated Pride Month in the Chicago office with a bottle display to reflect the rainbow Pride flag. Employees and visitors had the opportunity to learn about what the colors on the flag represent through the display. (Red = Life; Orange = Healing; Yellow = Sunshine; Green = Nature; Blue= Harmony; Purple = Spirit.) Also, in Spain and US, Beam Suntory International and Beam Suntory had the educational session with NGO, and happy hour event with Queen’s education and experience sharing at the end of June.

Suntory Pepsico Beverage Thailand (SPBT)
Suntory Pepsico Beverage Thailand (SPBT) invited colleagues to share pictures with their response prompt expressing their respect for the LGBTQ+ community. SPBT also conducted an online quiz to spread awareness around Suntory's DE&I, LGBTQ+ and gender policies.

In addition to these events all around the world, Suntory launched a Suntory Pride workspace on our award-winning digital learning and development platform, My Suntory University. Along with a message from President & CEO Tak Niinami, there is a large selection of resources, including bite-sized information, full length classes and activities to further understand how to be an active ally to the LGBTQ+ community everywhere. Suntory strives to promote and advance a culture of inclusion not only in June, but throughout the year, and we work to align this vision with actions that benefit all.