Materiality

In recent years, awareness of the need to realize a sustainable society has increased dramatically, and "sustainability" has become one of the criteria for judging corporate value, attracting the attention of all stakeholders. The "Kotobuki Spirits Ethics Outline" stipulates that the Kotobuki Group is aware that it receives various benefits from the global environment, including the resources necessary for its business activities, and that preserving the global environment in a better state is an essential requirement for its existence and activities, and that the Group will actively promote sustainability activities. The company is aware of the fact that sustainability is an essential requirement for its existence and activities.
 

In April 2023, we established a Sustainability Committee and expressed our support for the TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) recommendations; in June 2024, we published a materiality statement covering each ESG area and announced our long-term goals through FY2030. In June 2024, we announced our long-term goals covering each of the ESG areas. The four long-term targets to be achieved by 2030 are: (1) Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (2) Reduction of food waste (3) Promotion of diversity (4) Promotion of health management. All of these initiatives are indispensable for the Group's sustainable business operations, and we will steadily implement specific measures to achieve them.
 

In response to the expectations and demands of society, each and every employee will continue to actively engage in sustainability activities to resolve materiality and achieve long-term goals, aiming for sustainable growth.

Managing Director
General Manager, Group Business Management Division
Shinji Matsumoto

In recent years, a variety of social issues have arisen, including environmental problems such as climate change and resource depletion, as well as labor load issues and human rights issues in the supply chain. In this context, we need to recognize and evaluate the impact of these issues on our business activities and clarify the management issues to be addressed in order to continue our economic activities into the future. In June 2024, Kotobuki Spirits Group identified priority materialities to be addressed based on the views of our stakeholders, including customers, shareholders, investors, and employees.

Step1　Identification of issues
We analyzed the business environment surrounding our group and examined issues that have a significant impact on our business activities and sustainable growth from various perspectives, including macro trends, international frameworks, and various guidelines. Based on this analysis, we identified key issues that could be anticipated from the standpoints and perspectives of front-line employees, management, and board members. In addition, the Sustainability Committee, which promotes the mid-term plan on sustainability, interviewed each department to identify issues such as interests and concerns that stakeholders who come into contact with the Company in their daily work may have.

Step2　Organizing and prioritizing issues
The issues extracted from the list of items were categorized by ESG and sustainability themes, and evaluated and prioritized according to two axes: "importance to stakeholders" and "importance to the Group.

Step3　Validation and board approval
The materialities identified in Step 2 were deliberated by the Sustainability Committee and then approved and resolved by the Board of Directors to be identified as the six materialities. The Sustainability Committee will continue to play a role in verifying and confirming the appropriateness of the materiality evaluation and identification process.

Step4　Establishment of management structure
Under the Sustainability Committee, the responsible managers of each company took the lead in discussions and formulated a roadmap that includes targets and action plans for each of the six materialities identified. Going forward, the Sustainability Committee will deliberate on the roadmap and evaluate progress while implementing the PDCA cycle based on evaluation indicators (KPIs). In addition, the materiality will be reviewed as necessary as the management policy is discussed.