1. Policy and Basic Concept

Individual Climate Change Policies

• We regard the climate change problem as a critical issue in management. We clearly state that we will strive for the "reduction of environmental impacts from our operations" in our Environmental Policy. We are reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting the efficient and sustainable use of energy to mitigate the impact of the climate change problem. Our Board of Directors passed a resolution in April 2022 to formulate concrete targets for the greenhouse gas emissions reduction rate by 2025, 2030 and 2040. Furthermore, we will proactively aim to realize carbon neutrality by 2040 based on the Paris Agreement and Japan's NDC. We must adapt to unavoidable climate change risks. Accordingly, we are selecting locations for contact centers after assessing the impact of water damage caused by heavy rain and flooding that we have identified as risks in Japan. We are then strengthening measures against water damage, supporting business continuity planning, and expanding work-from-home call centers.
• We consider achieving corporate sustainability by reducing our energy consumption and using alternative energies to be an important issue. We have set a target to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 30% compared to 2019 in the short term by 2025 in our latest Mid-term Management Plan (2023 to 2025) which we announced in April 2023. That target is based on our Climate Change Policy which we enacted in 2022. We will proactively work to reduce the consumption of all the energy we use and to improve our energy efficiency by transforming our business model in addition to reducing greenhouse gases.

2. Governance of Risks Related to Climate Change

• The Board of Directors established Materiality Themes and Environmental Policy in 2019. The materiality defined environmental protection as one of the social issues to be addressed. As we observe more global actions on climate change, we are evaluating its impact on our business and society, continuing to promote aggressive measures mainly with carbon neutralization. We also established the governance system that ensures appropriate and effective management on the issue.
  • We have Sustainability Promotion Division as a dedicated permanent office headed by the Officer in Charge of Sustainability to continuously analyze risks related to climate change, develop plans and take actions, and manage effects of the actions.
  • The Board of Directors take responsibility on the issue related to climate change through assigning a director in charge of climate change. We have also assigned an officer in charge of group-wide risk management including risks related to climate change (Chief Risk Officer (CRO)).
  • Organization chart

    

3. Scenario analysis and strategy

• Our Business model mainly consists of call center types of businesses. There are about 40 call center locations. Among them, just one is our property and the others are rental facilities. Almost all business activities are carried out indoors. Our employees generally commute to their centers, but some work from home. In our model, our sales and profits are basically proportional to the number of employees and centers to a large degree.
• The dominant factors for our greenhouse gas emissions are product and service purchases, electric power consumed at contact centers, investment in equipment, and commuting by employees.
• We chose the "4℃ scenario" and the "well-below 2℃ scenario" to analyze risks and opportunities due to the future temperature increase, also referring other scenarios in order to have the better images about the world that the scenarios are suggesting. Then we evaluated our current strategy again.

Scenario analysis to update strategy

• In either scenario, we have concluded that there is no significant negative risk to our finances in the short term (~ 2030) or in the medium to long term (~ 2040). We believe that our business model has extremely little impact on or from the environment.
• On the other hand, we will continue to actively respond to climate change issues, sincerely considering social responsibility and the ideal model of making a profit.
• Suggestions for our strategy
  • The decrease in demand due to rising prices because of the increasing transition cost is minor.
  • Reduced availability of the centers due to physical damages caused by disasters will remain within controllable margins.
  • The direct impact of temperature rise on demand and profits for our services is small. On the other hand, we have to strengthen control over the impact of our possible inadequate responses to climate change issues on brands and recruitment.
  • Overall, we see opportunities outweigh risks if our business has a proactive attitude on climate change.

4. Risk management

Identifying risks related to climate change

• The Sustainability Promotion Division collaborates with each division to identify risks and opportunities, evaluate financial impact, and carry out regular reviews.
• We evaluate the impact on our company by industry, referring to the risk analysis results of our customers' industries such as the beverage industry (increased sales of beverages), the pharmaceutical industry (increased sales of products for infectious diseases), the food industry (rising prices of raw materials), and the energy industry (significant changes in business structure).
• Furthermore, based on the evaluation results, we will review our portfolio, prioritize business partners, establish buffers for high-risk industries, and incorporate these measures into our management policies.

Relationship with company-wide risk management

• We manage risk by linking the company-wide risk management system under the control of the Risk Management Division with the risk management related to climate change under the control of the Sustainability Promotion Division.
• In terms of risks related to climate change, based on the analysis of the Sustainability Promotion Division, both divisions jointly evaluate the importance and impact and develop countermeasures. The results will be reported to the Sustainability Promotion Committee, which is chaired by the Representative Director.
• The Sustainability Promotion Committee reports important issues to the Board of Directors at least once a year.
• Medium-term and long-term plans are revised based on the decisions made by the Board of Directors on risks and opportunities, and roadmaps are revised as well.

Introduction of an internal carbon pricing scheme (ICP scheme):

• We have introduced an internal carbon pricing scheme (ICP scheme). We use the ICP scheme to convert into costs greenhouse gas emissions arising from large-scale capital investment and to create economic incentives to reduce emissions. We will promote low-carbon investment in our business activities and expand our initiatives to achieve our emissions reduction targets by adopting the ICP scheme as the basis for selecting equipment and making investment decisions. In addition, we will strive to raise awareness of decarbonization within our company and to expand these initiatives in our daily operations.
• We appropriately set carbon price every year for the ICP with reference to the IEA reference values (internal carbon price in FY2025: 7,000 yen per t-CO2).

5. Metrics and targets

• We aim carbon neutrality by 2040, based on the Climate Change Policy. The target and result for each fiscal year will be disclosed regularly.
• We support the Paris Agreement and are actively working towards carbon neutrality by 2040 to achieve a world that limits global warming to 1.5℃.

  Our Climate Change Policy and Participating Initiatives（PDF）

Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets and Progress

We have set a goal of achieving carbon neutrality (net zero greenhouse gas emissions) over the entire value chain by FY2040. This target is certified by the SBT initiative in December 2023, based on scientific evidence for limiting the rise in global temperature to within 1.5°C since the start of the industrial revolution. Emissions reductions are progressing according to plan as of FY2024.

「SBTi Approved Targets（PDF）」

Major Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

• Major sources of greenhouse gas emissions are electricity consumption at sites for Scope1+2, and the purchased goods and services, capital goods, and employee commuting for Scope3.

Efforts Toward Carbon Neutrality

• Efforts to reduce Scope1+2 Emissions

  By FY2025*1	Achieving carbon neutrality at the Kobe and Matsue Centers and data centers Installation of solar power equipment at the Kobe Center
  By FY2030*2	Installation of solar power equipment at the Matsue Center 50% renewable energy usage across all sites
  By FY2040	100% renewable energy usage across all sites

  • *1: The Kobe Center switched to using renewable energy for all its electricity in FY2022, and the Matsue Center did so in FY2023. Furthermore, the data centers achieved carbon neutrality in FY2023. Solar power equipment at the Kobe center was introduced at its parking lot and bicycle parking area in FY2024.
    https://www.bell24.co.jp/ja/csr/social/supplychain-index/supplychain-guideline/
  • *2: Renewable energy has already been installed in the head office, Chubu, Kobe, Tohoku, and other locations, totaling 13 sites, since FY2022 (Actual results for FY2024：9,441MWh).
• Efforts to reduce Scope3 Emissions

  By FY2025*1	Establishment of Conduct Guidelines for Business Partners
  By FY2030	Collaboration with the supply chains and refinement of Scope3 calculation method
  By FY2040	Strengthening Collaboration with the Supply Chain

  • *1: We have established the Sustainability Principles of Conduct for Supply Chains (Request for Cooperation from Business Partners) in FY2025.
• Information Disclosure and Other Efforts
  • We are disclosing the risks and the opportunities related to climate change and the impact on our company in line with the recommendations of the TCFD.
  • We have disclosed information to the CDP annually since 2022 (response submitted in 2025)
  • Training on environmental issues is mandatory for all our full-time employees, and the participation rate is 100%.

6. Initiatives in Which We Are Participating

Support for the TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) Recommendations

We have expressed our support for the recommendations of the TCFD. In line with the recommendations, we are collecting, analyzing and disclosing the necessary data about the impact of climate change risks and opportunities on our business activities, strategies and financial plans.

SBT initiative (SBTi)

The SBTi is an international initiative that certifies Science Based Targets (SBTs). The SBTs are greenhouse gas emission reduction targets scientifically consistent with the targets established by the Paris Agreement. Four organizations - the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), CDP, World Resources Institute (WRI) and United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) - jointly established the SBTi. The SBTi encourages companies to set reduction targets based on scientific evidence toward the target of limiting the global average rise in temperature to 1.5°C compared to before the Industrial Revolution. We were certified in December 2023.

CDP

The CDP is an international non-profit organization focused on environmental issues that runs the disclosure platform to analyze and evaluate companies' environmental initiatives. We have responded to CDP Climate Change Questionnaire annually since 2022.

Japan Climate Leaders' Partnership (JCLP)

The Japan Climate Leaders' Partnership (JCLP) is a unique Japanese business group established in 2009 with the recognition that industry must develop a healthy sense of urgency and initiate proactive action to realize a decarbonized society. We joined as an associate member in November 2024. We participate in the Decarbonization Consortium platform operated by JCLP, sharing insights and initiatives from leading companies while promoting collaboration and cooperation with other members. We also participate in a working group aimed at reducing supply chain emissions.

Japan Climate Initiative (JCI)

The Japan Climate Initiative (JCI) is a network of non-governmental actors in Japan. It is proactively working to realize the decarbonized society sought by the Paris Agreement. This network brings together companies, local governments, organizations and NGOs which endorse the declaration of "joining the front line of the global push for decarbonization from Japan." We endorsed this declaration in September 2024.

7. Data

Third-party Verification

We believe it is important to disclose highly transparent and reliable environmental information, and we have disclosed the data verified by a third party since FY2022.
The following data marked with a ★ have undergone third-party verification in compliance with the international standard ISO 14064-3 for greenhouse gas emissions calculation.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Performance Data