ENVIRONMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
KOKUYO recognizes that environmental problems, including global warming and the reduction of forest resources, are pressing issues. We will bring together the best business brains to develop sustainable solutions.
KOKUYO Group Environmental Policy (April 2025 version)
Building a sustainable society will require the creation of a decarbonized and circular economy that can coexist with nature. The KOKUYO Group Environmental Policy sets out specific actions to that end. We updated the policy to reflect the public’s demand and the latest corporate direction. The latest version of the policy (as updated in April 2025) identifies four environmental challenges: 1) responding to the climate crisis, 2) contributing to a circular economy, 3) contributing to a society that coexists with nature, and 4) legal compliance and pollution prevention. The first three are material issues, while the fourth was already part of our policy on protecting the environment. It also sets out three types of actions, which align with our code of conduct: 1) unleashing creativity and innovation, 2) widening the scope of empathy, collaboration, and co-creation, and 3) ensuring robust management. The updated policy elaborates further on each theme to better illustrate the challenges and actions to be taken. Guided by this policy, each operating company sets its own environmental target, taking into account the nature of its businesses, and then takes actions to improve its environmental performance.
- KOKUYO Group Environmental Policy
- We recognize that global warming, depletion of resources, biodiversity conservation and other global environmental problems are perpetual issues shared by the whole world to achieve a sustainable society. Accordingly, the KOKUYO Group will assume the lead in taking action to resolve these issues by bringing together the wisdom of various people involved in our business activities.
Environmental challenges
-
Responding to the climate crisis- To support the carbon transition, we will significantly reduce our greenhouse emissions throughout our supply chains by shifting to renewable energy, committing to energy efficiency, and engaging in environmental conservation initiatives that increase carbon sequestering.
-
Contribute toward a circular economy- To support the transition to a circular economy, we will use less resources, recycle more waste, develop products and services that are recycling-friendly in each stage of their life cycle, and pitch ideas for waste-free lifestyles, contributing to a waste-free world.
-
Contribute toward a society that coexists with nature- To help restore biodiversity and other forms of natural capital, we commit to legal, transparent, and sustainable procurement of forest resources. To minimize negative impacts to ecosystems, we will reduce the use of harmful chemical substances, improve resource productivity, and use water more efficiently.
-
Legal compliance and pollution prevention- As well as complying with environmental regulations by country and region, we will follow to the environmental policies set out in industry guidelines we have endorsed, meet stakeholders’ expectations regarding the environment, and adhere to global environmental initiatives we have endorsed.
Actions
-
Unleashing creativity and innovation- We will channel our creativity to generate positive social and environmental impacts with environmentally sustainable products and services, along with technologies, workstyles, and lifestyles that improve environmental performance.
-
Widening the scope of empathy, collaboration, and co-creation- To collaborate with a wider body of stakeholders in protecting the environment, we will communicate our environmental commitments and performance with customers through active disclosures of our environmental data, endorse more global environmental initiatives, and work closer with industrial associations and stakeholders.
-
Ensuring robust management- To ensure sustain positive environmental impacts, we commit to an ongoing cycle for improving environmental management. This includes setting policies and targets and improve environmental performance. It also includes building and applying a database of knowledge and best practices and educating employees in such.
Environmental Management System (EMS)
Our Environmental Management System (EMS) is certified to ISO 14001. It consists of an integrated accreditation system for planning, R&D, production, marketing, sales, services, storage, and shipment. Since 2004, the system has covered KOKUYO and all major subsidiaries in Japan. While keeping the core elements of the EMS consistent across the group, we differentiate according to the scale of the environmental impact. Specifically, operating companies and plants with a relatively large environmental impact get case-specific treatment, while those with less impact get standard treatment. We also try to give the companies sufficient leeway to manage their environmental impacts in a manner that suits the nature of their businesses. For example, we allow the companies to set environmental targets in line with their business strategies.
Previously, our environmental initiatives were led by the Environment Committee. This committee coordinated efforts to address environmental issues and monitored socioenvironmental trends. However, we later decided that a more group-wide approach was necessary to deal with the increasingly diverse and complex environmental issues in Japan and around the world. In 2022, we reorganized the committee into a subcommittee (Environmental Subcommittee) of the new Sustainability Committee and increased its membership to include Actus (our interior retail business) and Heartland (a special subsidiary—a company focused on employing people with disabilities). The Environmental Subcommittee has three taskforces for leading cross-organizational efforts to accomplish the goals for the three material issues: the Climate Crisis Taskforce, the Circular Economy Taskforce, and the Taskforce for Coexistence with Nature.
for three material issues
Three taskforces
Climate Crisis Taskforce
- KOKUYO
- Kaunet
- KOKUYO Product Shiga
- KOKUYO MVP
- ACTUS
Circular Economy Taskforce
- KOKUYO
- Kaunet
- KOKUYO Logitem Co., Ltd.
- KOKUYO Supply Logistics
- KOKUYO Marketing
Taskforce for Coexistence with Nature
- KOKUYO
- Kaunet
- KOKUYO Marketing
Environmental Education
We provide training opportunities to raise employees’ awareness about environmental conservation, learn the knowledge necessary for accomplishing our environmental goals, and gain the expertise to deal with emergencies. These opportunities include briefing sessions about environmental law, which are provided by the ISO Promotion Office, workshops for training the auditing team, and an assortment of training provided by each corporate division. In fiscal 2024, as in fiscal 2023, we saw an increase in employees attending general environmental training as a result of organizing an internal event called Sustainable Academia Weeks. The event included a seminar on the circular economy, which was attended (in some cases online) by 359 employees. The 2024 result for briefings on environmental targets and legislation represented an increase because we held more workshops about the law concerning asbestos.
| Education and training category | Number of attendees*Total employees attending training programs and drills | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
| General environmental education | 2,611 | 3,466 | 2,628 |
| Briefings on environmental targets and legislation | 1,711 | 1,657 | 2,062 |
| Accident/emergency response drills | 234 | 316 | 303 |
| Training for internal audit team | 17 | 17 | 52 |
| Other | 68 | 94 | 51 |
| Total | 4,641 | 5,550 | 5,096 |
(Shinagawa office)
(Shinagawa office)
(Shibayama Plant)
Internal (First- and Second-Party) Auditing and Third-Party Auditing
Internal audits (first- and second-party audits) are performed to ensure conformity across our corporate group, with a focus on legal compliance. In first-party audits, the auditee (a group company) performs the audit on itself. In second-party audits, our ISO Promotion Office performs the audit on the auditee. In 2024, first-party audits were performed from June 18 to August 7, second-party audits were performed from August 1 to September 3, and third-party (ISO 14001) audits were performed from November 25 to December 6. The first- and second-party audits identified 31 instances requiring corrective action, one of which was a major nonconformity. The nonconformity concerned transactions with a partner who purchases office furniture for reselling. In some cases, the fees paid exceeded the proceeds from the sale. The auditor noted that we might be in violation of the Act on Waste Management and Public Cleaning if the partner continued to supply its removal and transportation services without a consignment contract. We have already taken corrective action (by concluding such a contract). The total number of instances requiring corrective action was higher than in 2023. This reflects the wider scope of the audit (the audit covered items that were not covered in previous years). We will improve our compliance activities accordingly. Among the nonconformities identified in the first- and second-party audits, those related to operational management were the most frequent with 13 cases.
The third-party (ISO 14001) audits highlighted 21 good aspects, a ten-year record. It is also true, however, that a minor nonconformity was highlighted in relation to our processes for evaluating and maintaining compliance, as a sales company’s business office failed, during the audit, to produce its consignment contract for the disposal of its industrial waste or a copy of the contractor’s license. We have submitted to the auditor a plan for corrective action. The business site in question has been reevaluated for compliance and the situation has been rectified. To ensure that a similar problem never occurs in other business sites, we are requiring all business sites to undertake self-checks regarding their process for evaluating compliance and to give staff basic training in environmental law. The ISO Promotion Office will conduct an extraordinary audit of the sales company in question.
The third-party audit in 2024 was a recertification audit.
Internal Audits
| Year | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sites audited | 72 | 79 | 72 |
| ・First-party audit | 56 | 63 | 56 |
| ・Second-party audit | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| ・Extraordinary audit | － | － | － |
| Issues identified | 26 | 20 | 31 |
| ・Serious nonconformity | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| ・Minor nonconformity | 6 | 5 | 10 |
| ・Corrective action | 20 | 14 | 20 |
Third-Party Audits
| Year | 2022 surveillance audit |
2023 surveillance audit |
2024 recertification audit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sites audited | 14 | 18 | 25 |
| Excellent aspects | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Good aspects | 10 | 17 | 21 |
| Minor nonconformities | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Opportunities for improvement | 25 | 16 | 23 |
(KOKUYO Marketing’s Nagoya office)
(KOKUYO Product Shiga)
(KOKUYO Supply Logistics’ Nanko distribution center)
(KOKUYO’s Shinagawa Office)
(KOKUYO’s Mie Plant)
(KOKUYO Logitem’s Kansai distribution center)
Overview of Third-party Reviews of Environmental Performance Data
We underwent a third-party review by Bureau Veritas Japan to receive opinions from an independent standpoint regarding the accuracy, transparency, consistency, validity and completeness of the environmental performance data (environmental burden data and Scope 3) of 39 companies* in the KOKUYO Group. It also visited workplaces to see how data was being measured and managed. Three Japanese workplaces were visited: (KOKUYO MVP’s Aoya Plant, Nikkan’s main plant, and KOKUYO Supply Logistics’ Fukuoka distribution center). One overseas workplace was visited: (Dongguan Lamex Furniture’s Dongguan plant). The review identified six excellent aspects and 10 opportunities for improvement. It also identified 29 issues requiring corrective action and 29 opaque aspects requiring better transparency. During the review period, we rectified the issues and clarified the opaque aspects.
The review concluded that information was transparent on the basis that a third party could easily understand how primary documentation is categorized, recategorized, aggregated, and calculated. It also noted, however, that certain data items were aggregated or inputted inaccurately. In light of the issues raised, we will continue working hard to improve the accuracy and precision of disclosures both internally and throughout our supply chains.
| Year | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excellent aspects | 11 | 8 | 6 |
| Opportunities for improvement | 12 | 9 | 10 |
| Issue requiring corrective action | 38 | 31 | 29 |
| Aspects requiring better transparency | 7 | 23 | 29 |
A third-party audit
(KOKUYO MVP: Aoya plant)
A third-party audit
(Nikkan’s main plant)
A third-party audit
(KOKUYO Supply Logistics’ Fukuoka distribution center)
| Consolidated group companies | Equity-method affiliates | |
|---|---|---|
| Within Japan | KOKUYO Co., Ltd. | KOKUYO Hokkaido Sales Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Tohoku Sales Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Kitakanto Sales Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Hokuriku-Niigata Sales Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Tokai Sales Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Sanyo-Shikoku Sales Co., Ltd., Chubu Kispa, Nikkan |
| Kaunet Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Marketing Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Supply Logistics Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Logitem Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Product Shiga Co., Ltd., KOKUYO MVP Co., Ltd., LmD International Co., Ltd., Actus Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Finance Co., Ltd, KOKUYO & Partners Co., Ltd., Origin Co., Ltd., Estic Corporation | ||
| Overseas | KOKUYO Vietnam Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., KOKUYO (Shanghai) Management Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Commerce (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Furniture (China) Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Design Consultants (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., KOKUYO International Asia Co., Ltd., KOKUYO International (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., KOKUYO Vietnam Trading Co., Ltd., KOKUYO CAMLIN Ltd., KOKUYO Hong Kong Ltd., Global Known Ltd., Lamex China Investment Ltd., Lamex Trading Co. Ltd., Dongguan Lamex Furniture Co., Ltd., Lamex (S) Sales Pte. Ltd., KOKUYO-IK (Thailand) Co., Ltd., KOKUYO International (Thailand) |
