News Releases
Konica Minolta Named to All ESG Indexes Adopted by the GPIF for Two Consecutive Years and to the FTSE4Good Developed Index for 15 Consecutive Years
July 26, 2018
Tokyo (July 26, 2018) - Konica Minolta, Inc. (Konica Minolta) has been named to the three responsible investment (RI) indexes adopted by Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF)*1 as environmental, social and governance (ESG) indexes for two consecutive years. These indexes are the FTSE Blossom Japan Index, the MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index, and the MSCI Japan Empowering Women Index.
Konica Minolta has also been included in the FTSE4Good Developed Index*2, which is one of the most well-known RI indexes in the world, for 15 consecutive years.
Konica Minolta's Commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
In 2017, Konica Minolta formulated a Medium Term Business Plan, “SHINKA 2019,” under which the company aims to become a digital company with insight into implicit challenges; namely, a company capable of anticipating implicit challenges and continuing to create new values to meet such challenges, with a view to contributing to the evolution of customers and society. At the same time, Konica Minolta, through group-wide efforts, is determined to find solutions to global environmental issues and improve quality of life, while striving for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030.
To be specific, Konica Minolta has launched Care Support Solution in Japan, a system developed with the company's proprietary sensor technology and image processing technology, combined with ICT, to change the way care is given and reduce the workload of caregivers. Through this innovative service, Konica Minolta aims to contribute to solving issues relating to the care of elderly people, which is becoming increasingly important as society is aging. In fiscal 2017, Konica Minolta made a full-fledged entry into the precision medicine business, with a view to contributing to reducing medical costs for society at large by supporting drug discovery efforts of pharmaceutical companies and offering diagnostic support tailored to individual patients' needs.
In its efforts towards solving global environmental issues, Konica Minolta formulated Eco Vision 2050, a long-term environmental vision to be achieved by 2050, in which the company set an ambitious “Carbon Minus” goal to reduce CO2 emissions from the company's business activities by 80% compared to 2005 levels by 2050. Konica Minolta also aims to achieve a reduction effect that exceeds the amount of CO2 produced by its business activities by sharing its environmental technologies and know-how with business partners and customer companies.
FTSE and MSCI Indexes
The FTSE4Good Developed Index was developed by the UK's global index provider, FTSE Russell. Its constituents are limited to companies around the world that meet high standards for environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices. The index is a major indicator used by investors and RI funds in selecting companies with regard to sustainability. The FTSE Blossom Japan Index, on the other hand, is a new index that includes Japanese companies with excellent performance in ESG practices. The index was adopted by the GPIF, the world's largest public pension fund, as one of the ESG indexes for its passive investment strategy.
The MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index and the MSCI Japan Empowering Women Index are new ESG indexes introduced in 2017 by MSCI Inc., a US-based global ESG research and index provider. These indexes were also adopted by the GPIF. Konica Minolta was included in the MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index in recognition of its performance in “Human Capital Development” and “Supply Chain Labor Standards.”
Reference: Evaluation by External Parties
In addition to above, Konica Minolta is currently included in global ESG indexes and is ranked high in the CSR ratings, as shown below.
| Dow Jones Sustainability Index (USA, Switzerland) | ESG index | World Index (DJSI World): Included in the index consecutively since 2012 Asia Pacific Index (DJSI Asia Pacific): Included in the index consecutively since 2009 |
|---|---|---|
| FTSE4Good Index (UK) | ESG index | Included in the index consecutively since 2003 |
| FTSE Blossom Japan Index (UK) | ESG index | Included in the index since its establishment in 2017 |
| MSCI ESG Leaders Indexes (USA) | ESG index | Included in the index consecutively since 2010 *No information is available as to whether or not the company was included in the indexes prior to 2010. *The index was renamed from MSCI Global SRI in 2017. |
| MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index (USA) | ESG index | Included in the index since its establishment in 2017 |
| MSCI Japan Empowering Women Index (USA) | ESG index | Included in the index since its establishment in 2017 |
| Morningstar Socially Responsible Investment Index (Japan) | ESG index | Included in the index consecutively since 2003 |
| RobecoSAM (Switzerland) | CSR rating | Awarded Gold Class (February 2018) |
| ISS-oekom (Germany) | CSR rating | Maintained the highest Prime Status since 2011 |
| Ethibel (Belgium) | CSR rating | Selected for the investment universe of Ethibel Pioneer and Ethibel Excellence (March 2018) |
| CDP (UK) | Environmental rating | Included on the Climate Change A List for the fourth time (October 2017) |
*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.
*2:The FTSE4Good Global Index was renamed the FTSE4Good Developed Index in October 2017.