News Releases
Konica Minolta Named to All ESG Indexes Adopted by the
GPIF for Eight Consecutive Years and Included in the
FTSE4Good Index Series for 21 Consecutive Years
August 1, 2024
Konica Minolta, Inc. (Konica Minolta) has been named to all of the six indexes adopted by Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF)*1 for the eighth consecutive year. These six indexes are the FTSE Blossom Japan Index, the FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index, the MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index, the MSCI Japan Empowering Women Index, the S&P/JPX Carbon Efficient Index and the Morningstar Japan ex-REIT Gender Diversity Tilt Index. To coincide with this, Konica Minolta has also been included in the FTSE4Good Index Series, which is one of the most well-known sustainable investment indexes in the world, for 21 consecutive years.
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Konica Minolta’s Sustainability Strategy
Sustainability is now a common issue throughout the world, and since the integration of Konica and Minolta in 2003, the Company has positioned sustainability as the core element of management strategy. More recently, in 2020, Konica Minolta evaluated its own impact on society at large and the environment to help identify opportunities and risks to work towards creating a more sustainable society by 2030. As such, Konica Minolta has identified five material issues to focus on to create value within society. Namely:
◆Improving fulfillment in work and corporate dynamism
◆Supporting healthy, high-quality living
◆Ensuring social safety and security
◆Addressing climate change
◆Using limited resources effectively
Konica Minolta has been working to create value through its business in response to five material issues.
In the Professional Print Business, the Company has been contributing to improving fulfillment in work and corporate dynamism by promoting the shift from analog printing to digital printing, significantly reducing the work time through labor saving, elimination of dependence on skills, and remote work transition, and helping create a clean work environment at print shops and transformation to a creative and vibrant workplace. The Company has also been contributing to addressing climate change and using limited resources effectively by reducing transport, storage, disposal, and intermediate goods through production at the right time, in the right amount, at the right place.
In the Industry Business, the Company has been contributing to addressing climate change by helping significantly reduce CO2 emissions and industrial wastewater by shifting the process of manufacturing printed circuit boards to the inkjet method. In terms of functional films, the Company has been contributing to using limited resources effectively by using TAC films derived from plants and achieving 100% recycling of out-of-spec products and surplus materials in the manufacturing process.
In the Healthcare Business, the Company has been contributing to supporting healthy, high-quality living by achieving early diagnosis using its proprietary image processing technology and ICT and increasing the efficiency at hospitals and clinics.
Through these activities, Konica Minolta aims to help people achieve their own purpose and realize a sustainable society to a greater degree.
Outline of Each Index
The FTSE4Good Index Series, which was introduced by FTSE Russell, a UK-based global index provider, lists companies around the world demonstrating strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices, and provides a means for investors and RI funds to select companies with good sustainability prospects for investment. The FTSE Blossom Japan Index is designed to include Japanese companies with excellent performance in ESG practices, and was selected by GPIF, the world’s largest public pension fund, as one of the ESG indexes for its passive investment strategy.
The FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index is a comprehensive ESG index that incorporates Japanese companies selected based on assessments of the size of companies’ environmental impact and their management of climate change risks, as well as the ESG assessments of FTSE Russell. This index was adopted as an ESG index by the GPIF in 2022.
The MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index and the MSCI Japan Empowering Women Index are ESG indexes introduced in 2017 by MSCI Inc., a US-based global ESG research and index provider.
The S&P/JPX Carbon Efficient Index was launched jointly by S&P Dow Jones Indices, one of the world’s major index providers, and Japan Exchange Group, Inc. Using TOPIX as a benchmark, it is designed to reduce exposure to high-carbon companies while maintaining the risk/return profile similar to that of their benchmarks.
The Morningstar Japan ex-REIT Gender Diversity Tilt Index is one of the gender diversity indices provided by Morningstar, a U.S. provider of investment research and investment management services. It utilizes data and evaluation methods from Equileap and is designed to enable investment focused on companies that have established gender diversity policies as part of their corporate culture, and companies that promise equal opportunities to their employees regardless of gender. This index was adopted as an ESG index by the GPIF in March 2023.
Reference: Evaluation by External Parties
Konica Minolta is currently included in global ESG indexes and is ranked high in the ESG ratings, as shown below.
FTSE4Good Index Series (UK) | Included in the index consecutively since integration of Konica Minolta in 2003 |
---|---|
FTSE Blossom Japan Index (UK) | Included in the index consecutively since its establishment in 2017 |
FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index(UK) | Included in the index since its establishment in 2022 |
MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index (USA) | Included in the index consecutively since its establishment in 2017 |
MSCI Japan Empowering Women Index (USA) | Included in the index consecutively since its establishment in 2017 |
Morningstar Japan ex-REIT Gender Diversity Tilt Index (USA) | Included in the index since its establishment in 2023 (Certified as the highest Group 1) |
Dow Jones Sustainability Index (USA) | Asia Pacific Index (DJSI Asia Pacific): Included in the index consecutively since 2009 |
S&P/JPX Carbon Efficient Index (USA, Japan) | Included in the index consecutively since its establishment in 2018 |
S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook (USA) | Included in the Sustainability Yearbook consecutively since 2011 |
Corporate Knights (Canada) | Ranked among the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World (2011, 2019-2023) |
ISS ESG (USA) | Maintained the highest Prime Status since 2011 |
CDP (UK) | Included on the Supplier Engagement Leader (2016, 2018, 2020-2023) |
Asia-Pacific Climate Leaders (UK, Germany) | Selected in 2024 |
*1:The Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) is an independent administrative agency responsible for the management and administration of the employees’ pension and national pension reserve funds under control of the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
THE INCLUSION OF KONICA MINOLTA, INC. IN ANY MSCI INDEX, AND THE USE OF MSCI LOGOS, TRADEMARKS, SERVICE MARKS OR INDEX NAMES HEREIN, DO NOT CONSTITUTE A SPONSORSHIP, ENDORSEMENT OR PROMOTION OF KONICA MINOLTA, INC. BY MSCI OR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES.
THE MSCI INDEXES ARE THE EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OF MSCI. MSCI AND THE MSCI INDEX NAMES AND LOGOS ARE TRADEMARKS OR SERVICE MARKS OF MSCI OR ITS AFFILIATES.
Morningstar, Inc., and/or one of its affiliated companies (individually and collectively, “Morningstar”) has authorized KONICA MINOLTA, INC. to use of the Morningstar® Japan ex-REIT Gender Diversity Tilt Logo (“Logo”) to reflect the fact that, for the designated ranking year, KONICA MINOLTA, INC. ranks within the top group of companies comprising the Morningstar® Japan ex-REIT Gender Diversity Tilt Index(SM) (“Index”) on the issue of gender diversity in the workplace. Morningstar is making the Logo available for use by KONICA MINOLTA, INC. solely for informational purposes. KONICA MINOLTA, INC.’s use of the Logo should not be construed as an endorsement by Morningstar of KONICA MINOLTA, INC. or as a recommendation, offer or solicitation to purchase, sell or underwrite any security associated with KONICA MINOLTA, INC. The Index is designed to reflect gender diversity in the workplace in Japan, but Morningstar does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of the Index or any data included in it. Morningstar makes no express or implied warranties regarding the Index or the Logo, and expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use with respect to the Index, any data included in it or the Logo. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall Morningstar or any of its third party content providers have any liability for any damages (whether direct or indirect), arising from any party’s use or reliance on the Index or the Logo, even if Morningstar is notified of the possibility of such damages. The Morningstar name, Index name and the Logo are the trademarks or services marks of Morningstar, Inc. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.