-
The JT Group Materiality and sustainability
- Split PDF
This section introduces the JT Group's new and updated materiality. The sustainability initiatives of the Group, initiatives by each business and the activities of the Sustainability Advisory Forum are also explained in this section. In the CSO interview, you will find a more detailed account of our new JT Group Materiality and the outlook for 2023 and beyond.
Click on the image to see a larger version.
Updating the Group materiality
We started our materiality assessment in 2013, and in 2015 for the first time through interviews with our external and internal stakeholders, we completed our original materiality assessment to cover the entire JT Group.
Since we selected our original materiality topics, external circumstances and the business environment in which we operate have changed. In 2021, we began updating the Group’s materiality framework by identifying and analyzing our materiality topics.
Through interviews with internal as well as external stakeholders, we have selected and prioritized our materiality topics and updated the materiality matrix accordingly. We then identified issue groups for the Group materiality consideration to set out the JT Group Materiality.
Our materiality is based on the concept of double materiality, taking into account the significance to and impact on our stakeholders and the society, and the significance and impact to the JT Group for sustainable growth. The whole process was conducted in accordance with the advice of an external consultant.
Updating the JT Group Materiality – the process
The JT Group Materiality was updated through the following four phases.
Phase 1
Identifying materiality topics
- Identifying topics that may have impact on the sustainable growth or sustainability challenges of our Group, bearing in mind the changes in our external operating environment and the business challenges.
- Identifying topics by researching and analyzing a wide range of information including but not limited to sustainability disclosure standards or frameworks such as SDGs, SASB or GRI, risk factors found through our enterprise risk management process, or materiality coverage of our competitor firms, among others.
Phase 2
Stakeholder interviews and desktop searches
- Integrating internal and external stakeholder opinions by conducting interviews and surveys, using the topics identified in the phase 1 process.
- Prioritizing the topics for our external and internal stakeholders through desktop analysis of information issued by external rating agencies, global mega-trends or media reports, ensuring there are no gaps and that all relevant topics have been included.
- Conducting interviews with a wide range of stakeholders to maintain quality of the materiality assessment, bearing in mind that the priority of materiality topics may vary depending on the individual stakeholder.
Track record of stakeholder interviews, surveys
- Primarily senior vice presidents of corporate and business functions of the Group: 119 SVPs or others in similar positions
- Suppliers, customers, NGOs, other external parties: 27 cases
- Investors, banks: 38 cases
- Employees and others: Approximately 450 cases
Phase 3
Plotting the matrix and prioritizing
- Plotting the matrix: As with our original matrix, we first set out the materiality matrix of our tobacco business, which was subsequently expanded to include the entire Group.
- Visualizing individual materiality topics by plotting priorities of significance to and impact on our stakeholders on the vertical axis and, priorities to our Group’s long-term business on the horizontal axis.
- Read more about the materiality analysis on JT.com.
Phase 4
Identifying the issue groups
- Selecting priority topics or issues for the JT Group as well as for our stakeholders for sustainable growth of the Group and our society.
Then arranging the topics into five groups with similar issues or expected effects, namely, preserving our environment, product and services, people, supply chain management and governance.
Progress of our sustainability initiatives in 2022
Progress of the JT Group Environment Plan 2030 or KPI progress by each business segment are reported to the Board of Directors every year.
Focus areas, aspirational goals, targets and progress of each business for 2022 are shown below.
Targets and progress by business segment
Focus areas, aspirational goals, targets and progress, related SDGs
| Tobacco | Sustainability strategy of tobacco business |
|---|---|
| Pharmaceutical | Sustainability strategy of pharmaceutical business |
| Processed food | Sustainability strategy of processed food business |