Eiken and Sustainability

Sustainability Policy

The Eiken Group develops its business activities based on the "EIKEN WAY" , which itself is based on a management philosophy, management vision and a motto. By strengthening ESG (environmental, social and governance) efforts and contributing to solving social issues, it is the aim of the Eiken Group to attain a sustainable society and continuously to improve corporate value.

Sustainability Advancement System

The Eiken Group is committed to the vigorous advancement of sustainability Group-wide. For this purpose, the Group has established a Sustainability Committee, composed of the president and CEO as Committee chair and the executive officers in charge of each function and business group.

In principle the Sustainability Committee meets twice a year, deliberating and reporting on important matters related to sustainability. Depending on the importance or other aspects of the issues on which it deliberates, the Committee may refer some matters to the Management Conference.  The proceedings of the Sustainability Committee are reported to and supervised by the Board of Directors.

The mid-term and annual targets that are approved by the Sustainability Committee are sent for execution to related committees and divisions, where they are developed in detail and related activities are advanced.

Materialities

The Eiken Group conducts its business activities in accordance with the EIKEN WAY, as enshrined in its management philosophy, management vision and motto. In this way the Group strives to enhance corporate value by contributing through healthcare to the protection of people’s lives and health around the world. Currently, in its bid to grapple more concretely and proactively with social issues, thereby growing as an enterprise that is necessary to society, the Group has identified important issues—materialities—that it must address on a priority basis.

Materialities

The Eiken Group has identified 11 materialities, and in addition to "Environment," "Society," and "Governance,"  has created the category of "Medical" as a company that protects the health of people around the world,  expressed in four categories.  The Group is raising awareness of these materialities internally, incorporating them into its business strategy and drafting targets and key performance indicators (KPIs) for each issue. In so doing, the Group is focusing its combined efforts on these materialities and contributing through various initiatives to the achievement of the SDGs.

  Materialities Measures
Medical

Contributing to Health and Quality of Life for People Around the World

Improving Access to Healthcare Supply of products to developing countries that have not yet adopted them
Solutions to Medical Issues Global solutions to healthcare issues
Development of advanced technologies and advancement of innovation
Pursuing Quality and Establishing Sustainable Supply Chains Proactive measures on quality
Strengthening of supply-chain management
Environment

Business Activities in Harmony with Regional Environments

Responding to Climate Change Reduction of CO2 emissions at worksites (Scopes 1 and 2)
Reduction of CO2 emissions in supply chains (Scope 3)
Contributing to a Recycling-Oriented Society Reduction of water use
Reduction of waste
Reduction of packaging and use of sustainable materials
Social

A Dynamic Company Driven by Excellent People

Respecting Human Rights and Diversity Promotion of diversity and inclusion
Eradication of harassment
Employee Engagement and Personnel Training Creating fulfilling and supportive workplaces and achieving work-life balance
Development of global personnel
Development of R&D personnel
Boosting Health and Ensuring Safety and Hygiene Advancement of health improvement programs and safety-and-hygiene activities
Governance

An Organizational Base That Supports Sustainable Growth

Achieving Sound and Transparent Governance Promoting diversity among executives
Rigorous Compliance and Thorough Corruption Prevention Training and monitoring based on compliance programs
Thorough prevention of corruption
Establishing Risk Management Continuous improvement of business continuity management
Strengthening of information security management

Identifying Materialities

External evaluation

Inclusion in ESG indices

FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index

FTSE Russell (a registered trademark of FTSE International Limited and Frank Russell Company) hereby certifies that Eiken Chemical Co. Eiken Chemical Co., Ltd. is a constituent of the FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index.
The FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index is widely used to create and evaluate sustainable investment funds and other financial products.

>Related links: FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index

S&P/JPX Carbon Efficient Index

We have been selected for inclusion in the S&P/JPX Carbon Efficient Index, which was jointly developed by S&P Dow Jones Indexes, one of the world's largest independent index companies, and the Japan Exchange Group, and is based on the TOPIX (Tokyo Stock Exchange Stock Price Index) constituent stocks, focusing on environmental information disclosure status and carbon efficiency (carbon emissions per sales) levels. The index determines the weighting of constituent stocks by focusing on the level of environmental information disclosure and carbon efficiency (carbon emissions per sales volume) of the TOPIX (Tokyo Stock Exchange Stock Price Index) constituents. The index has been selected for management by the GPIF.

>Related links:S&P/JPX Carbon Efficient Index

Morningstar Japan ex-REIT Gender Diversity Tilt Index

We are included in the Morningstar Japan ex-REIT Gender Diversity Tilt The index focuses on companies that are committed to equal opportunities for employees regardless of gender. The index has been selected for management by the GPIF.

>Related links:Morningstar Japan ex-REIT Gender Diversity Tilt Index

ESG-related third-party evaluations/certifications/awards

MSCI ESG RATING *

It rates companies on a scale of 'AAA to CCC' based on the degree of ESG risk and how well they manage these risks compared to their peers.
We received a rating of A in 2022.

* THE USE BY EIKEN GROUP CORPORATION OF ANY MSCI ESG RESEARCH LLC OR ITS AFFILIATES (“MSCI”) DATA, AND THE USE OF MSCI LOGOS, TRADEMARKS, SERVICE MARKS OR INDEX NAMES HEREIN, DO NOT CONSTITUTE A SPONSORSHIP, ENDORSEMENT, RECOMMENDATION, OR PROMOTION OF EIKEN GROUP CORPORATION BY MSCI. MSCI SERVICES AND DATA ARE THE PROPERTY OF MSCI OR ITS INFORMATION PROVIDERS, AND ARE PROVIDED ‘AS-IS’ AND WITHOUT WARRANTY. MSCI NAMES AND LOGOS ARE TRADEMARKS OR SERVICE MARKS OF MSCI.

Resilience Certification

The 'Resilience Certification' system was established by the Office of National Land Stewardship, Cabinet Secretariat, to certify businesses that support the government's land resilience objectives and are actively implementing initiatives related to business continuity as 'organisations contributing to national land resilience'.

We were certified in March 2019 under 'Business Continuity and Social Contribution'.

CDP

CDP is an international environmental non-profit organisation that scores and discloses information on responses from companies and others based on questionnaires on global environmental issues CDP scores are widely used in investment and procurement decision-making to build a net zero, sustainable and resilient economy.
We received a 'B-score' rating in 2023 in the survey on 'climate change' responses.

Eruboshi certification

Eruboshi certification is granted by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare to companies that have formulated and submitted an action plan in accordance with the Law on the Promotion of Women's Advancement in Employment (commonly known as the Law for the Promotion of Women's Advancement), and whose status regarding the promotion of women's advancement is excellent. Companies are evaluated on the basis of five assessment criteria: recruitment, continued employment, working hours and other working methods, management ratio, and diverse career paths, and the number of criteria met determines the level of certification that can be obtained. In November 2023, we fulfilled the required criteria in all evaluation items and were awarded the highest accreditation of 3 stars.

Kurumin certification

Kurumin certification is awarded by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare to companies that provide excellent childcare support based on the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising the Next Generation.
We have been certified as a 'Kurumin' company consecutively since 2016, and in October 2021 were certified as a 'Platinum Kurumin' company, which recognises companies that have already been certified as a 'Kurumin' company and are working to a higher standard.

Health Management Excellence Corporation 2023

We have been certificated as a 'Health Management Excellence Corporation 2023 (Large Corporations Sector)'  for the 4th consecutive year since 2020, under a joint sysytem to select and certify companies that are engaged in excellent health management by the Japan Health Council and METI.

Management system-related third-party evaluations/certifications/awards

Quality Management System(ISO9001:2015)

Eiken Chemical has acquired an ISO9001 certification for all of its business locations by meeting the international standards for quality management systems for the provision of products and services.

Quality Management System(ISO13485:2016)

Eiken Chemical has acquired an ISO13485 certification for all of its business locations by meeting the international standards for quality management systems for medical devices and related products.

Environmental Management System(ISO14001:2015)

Eiken Chemical have obtained certification under ISO 14001, the international standard for environmental action since 2010.

Awards

13th 'The Most Valuable Company in Japan' Awards - 'Judging Committee's Special Award'

In March 2023, We were awarded the 'Judging Committee's Special Prize' at the 13th 'The Most Valuable Company in Japan' Awards. The 'The Most Valuable Company in Japan' Awards is granted to companies that have made particularly excellent efforts in valuing people, including employees and their families, subcontractors and suppliers, customers, local communities and shareholders, who should really be valued by companies, and which have continuously implemented actions to realise human happiness, with the aim of setting a good example for other companies. The aim is to provide a model for other companies.

[Reasons for the award]
>The research and development-oriented company that manufactures and sells test-reagents and test-equipment, and can be regarded as a hidden excellent company that is steadily growing.
>The company produces COVID-19 detection kits and works hard as a whole to fulfil its responsibility to supply them.
>The company is also a good employer of  disabled persons (2.52%), and it is noteworthy that it has opened a farm within the company to provide them with a place to work.

The website of the 'Japan's Most Valuable Company' Award: https://www.htk-gakkai.org/a0013/MyHp/Pub/

Received the 10th Technology Management and Innovation Award “Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award”

In January 2022, we received the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award at the 10th Technology Management and Innovation Awards (sponsored by the Society for Science, Technology and Economic Affairs).
This award was given to the LAMP method, an isothermal gene amplification technology developed by our company that facilitates and speeds up infectious disease genetic testing, which is widely used as a national countermeasure against COVID-19, as well as in response to tuberculosis and malaria. The company was highly praised for its contributions to health and hygiene in developing countries, as well as for the company's management that has achieved this goal.

[About the Technology Management and Innovation Award]
This award recognizes outstanding examples of innovation that transform the world in order to revitalize Japan's economy, and aims to promote innovation in Japan by having industrialists learn about the process.

https://www.jates.or.jp/dcms_media/other/10th_Tech_and_Innov_Award.pdf

All Japanese Listed Companies' Website Ranking

Nikko IR Inc.'s "All Japanese Listed Companies' Website Ranking'' evaluates websites from three perspectives: "Easy to Understand,'' "Ease of Use,'' and "Amount of Information.'' 
Our website selected as an A rank website in the general category.
In fiscal 2022, the website of all 3,926 listed companies was targeted, and 496 of them were selected as "Overall Top Companies" (207 AAA rank websites, 134 AA rank website, 155 A rank website).

Initiatives endorsed or signed

Endorsement of the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

In February 2023, the Eiken Group announced its endorsement of the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
In 2015 the Financial Stability Board (FSB), an international body based in Switzerland, established the TCFD. In its final report, tabled in June 2017, the TCFD recommended that companies disclose climate-related information that may affect their finances. The TCFD recommends disclosure of risks and opportunities presented by climate change in terms of four elements: governance, strategy, risk management, and indices and targets.

The Eiken Group recognizes the risk climate change poses for financial markets. In addition to reinforcing its current battery of measures to tackle climate change, the Group is advancing disclosure in accordance with the TCFD recommendations.

Signing of “the Kigali Declaration on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)”

Eiken Chemical has signed the Kigali Declaration, an international public-private partnership for the control of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). The Declaration is a high-level declaration in which stakeholders pledge to work together for the elimination of NTDs. With the signing of the Declaration, we will further strengthen our collaboration with global partners to provide people affected by NTDs with access to rapid and accurate diagnosis and more effective treatment based on that diagnosis, and to promote efforts to achieve the World Health Organization (WHO) Roadmap 2021-2030 for the control of NTDs. We will continue to promote our efforts.

Stakeholder Message

We receive feedback from stakeholders regarding the activities of our Group.