Governance

To accelerate efforts focused on sustainability issues, the TOPPAN Group has established a Sustainability Promotion Committee chaired by the president & representative director of TOPPAN Holdings Inc. It is positioned as part of the corporate governance structure and responsible for advancing sustainability across the Group.

1) Board of Directors and Sustainability Promotion Committee
The Board of Directors of TOPPAN Holdings delegates the consideration and deliberation of sustainability-related issues for the TOPPAN Group to the Sustainability Promotion Committee. The specific activities and measures discussed at the Sustainability Promotion Committee are reported to the Board of Directors by the Management Committee, and the Board of Directors is responsible for overall decision-making on sustainability management. The Board of Directors continuously discusses, monitors, and supervises sustainability-related activities, target setting, and progress.

2) TOPPAN Group ESG Management Promotion Committee
The TOPPAN Group ESG Management Promotion Committee is a body positioned within the Sustainability Promotion Committee. Its members are presidents and directors of TOPPAN Group operating companies, who expand upon discussions on ESG and SDG-related themes within the Group, share issues to address, and coordinate to drive solutions.

3) SDGs Promotion Project and Corporate ESG Project
Under the Sustainability Promotion Committee, we have established the SDGs Promotion Project and the Corporate ESG Project, which are cross-divisional bodies. These project teams address various individual themes while coordinating with each other.

The SDGs Promotion Project primarily focuses on advancing sustainability initiatives in our business activities. It drives and monitors the progress of efforts for the themes of “Environment,” “Communities,” and “People,” the three areas of focus set out under Business Materiality in TOPPAN Business Action for SDGs.

The Corporate ESG Project is mainly responsible for sustainability issues that relate to the entire TOPPAN Group. In fiscal 2023, we formed the Human Capital Working Group, Supply Chain Management (SCM) Working Group, Global Environment Working Group, and Risk Management Working Group, which undertake projects on specific themes.

4) Executive Sustainability Promotion Committee
We have also established the Executive Sustainability Promotion Committee as a forum for discussing future sustainability issues. Directors and outside experts exchange opinions and coordinate with the Sustainability Promotion Committee to deliberate important matters.

TOPPAN Group Sustainability Promotion Structure

*as of the end of September 2024

Risk Management

Risk management for sustainability-related issues in the TOPPAN Group is incorporated into a comprehensive risk management framework promoted in collaboration with the operating companies of the Group. Under the management of the Board of Directors of TOPPAN Holdings, divisions responsible at the holding company, the relevant departments of operating companies, and the Risk Management Working Group* work together and coordinate risk management efforts.

*
as of the end of September 2024
As part of efforts to reinforce the risk management framework, in October 2024 we plan to establish an independent committee to discuss risk management.

The Risk Management Working Group is part of the Corporate ESG Project under the Sustainability Promotion Committee. It is led by the director in charge of risk management, composed of persons in charge of risk management in the relevant divisions, and administered by the Compliance Department of the Legal Division. It conducts an annual risk assessment and designates as “significant risks” those that are deemed to have a significant impact on the management of the TOPPAN Group.

The identification of significant risks is based on the results of assessment by the relevant departments of business divisions of Group companies under the supervision of the divisions responsible at TOPPAN Holdings. We also consider such factors as the probability of actualization in the medium to long term, frequency of occurrence, and level of impact. In addition to changes in the global social and economic environments in which the TOPPAN Group operates, when assessing significant risks, we also fully consider sustainability management perspectives encompassing various global risks. These include environmental problems prompted by climate change, increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks accompanying the progress of digitalization, forced labor, and other human rights issues. In fiscal 2024 we have selected 19 significant risks. These include “risks related to climate change and loss of biodiversity,” “securing human resources to support growth,” “risks related to the supply chain,” and “human rights risks.”

Once identified, significant risks are reported to and considered by the Sustainability Promotion Committee before being reported to the Board of Directors, where they are discussed before being put forward for resolution. Significant risks are reassessed annually under the management of the Board.

To prevent potential significant and other risks from actually occurring, the divisions responsible at the holding company and the relevant departments of operating companies consider countermeasures and implement appropriate risk management aligned with business activities in Japan and overseas. Via the director in charge of risk management, the Board of Directors receives regular reports from the divisions responsible on the status of responses to risks. When risks are actualized, we respond promptly in line with our crisis management framework.

Sustainability Promotion Committee

We convened the Sustainability Promotion Committee three times, the TOPPAN Group ESG Management Promotion Committee twice, and the Executive Sustainability Promotion Committee once in fiscal 2023.

Selected Matters Discussed by Sustainability Promotion Committee
  • Reports on activities of working groups in fiscal 2022
  • Formulation of plans for working group activities in fiscal 2023 and reports on progress
  • Discussion and selection of significant risks for fiscal 2024
  • Workshops led by outside experts (Themes: risk management, sustainability management, etc.)

The main activities and challenges to address going forward for each of the projects are as follows.

Corporate ESG Project
1)
Human Capital Working Group

Main activities:

  • Informed parties inside and outside the Group of the TOPPAN Group Human Rights Policy and continued to conduct training for employees, including those at Group companies inside and outside Japan.
  • Continued to conduct human rights due diligence on the TOPPAN Group (172 companies globally), focusing on human rights risks identified based on the TOPPAN Group Human Rights Policy.
  • Confirmed items where there is potential for negative impacts on human rights, conducted onsite assessments of eight companies in Japan and one overseas to ascertain the actual situation, and implemented improvement activities.
  • Analyzed responses to human rights risk surveys and provided feedback on the results of the assessment.

Challenges to address going forward:

  • Promoting human rights risk mitigation and remediation and providing related information based on the results of assessments.
  • Expanding opportunities for direct dialogue with individual companies through onsite assessments.
  • Facilitating continuous dialogue with external organizations and making use of external assessments.
2)
SCM Working Group

Main activities:

  • Ensured that our business partners are fully aware of the TOPPAN Group Sustainable Procurement Guidelines by driving a PDCA cycle of planning and selecting target business partners, requesting questionnaire responses and written declarations of agreement, checking risks, giving feedback, and rectifying issues.
  • After providing explanations to procurement staff in relevant departments, identified and selected target business partners, and requested and collected written declarations of agreement and questionnaire responses via briefing sessions.
  • Aggregated questionnaire responses, checked risks, and gave feedback. Conducted onsite assessments of four business partners whose activities needed to be confirmed.

Challenges to address going forward:

  • Continuing, expanding the scope of, and enhancing the quality of the PDCA cycle for driving agreement with and full awareness of the TOPPAN Group Sustainable Procurement Guidelines.
  • Concluding agreements stipulating observance of the TOPPAN Group Sustainable Procurement Guidelines with 90% of target business partners by the end of fiscal 2025. (Concluded with 71% in fiscal 2023)
3)
Global Environment Working Group

Main activities:

  • Reexamined TCFD scenario analyses, updated financial impacts, and implemented measures to address transition risks and physical risks.
  • Declared support for the TNFD’s final recommendations (registered as an Early Adopter). Assessed the TOPPAN Group’s nature-related issues (identified priority regions and assessed dependencies and impacts).

Challenges to address going forward:

  • Identifying risks and opportunities, assessing financial impacts, and formulating and promoting countermeasures.
  • Enhancing disclosure in various media based on disclosure aligned to TCFD and TNFD recommendations.
4)
Risk Management Working Group

Main activities:

  • Supplemented significant risks for fiscal 2023 and plans for countermeasures.
  • Considered significant risks for fiscal 2024 and formulated plans for countermeasures.

Challenges to address going forward:

  • Building a risk management framework that addresses changes in the external environment, such as shifts in the business environment, global risks, information security, social problems, and environmental problems.
SDGs Promotion Project

The SDGs Promotion Project monitors the progress of TOPPAN Business Action for SDGs, publishes results for each fiscal year, and assesses the feasibility of achievement of targets aligned to the Medium Term Plan and consistency between activities and selected indicators. While keeping an eye on trends in society’s sustainability-related needs and the progress of the TOPPAN Group’s DX and SX businesses, the project team also continually considers its future activities and new themes.

Sustainability Challenges Going Forward

We aim to be a company that drives true sustainability by delivering solutions to global challenges, such as decarbonization, the establishment of a circular economy, and preservation of biodiversity. In addition to accelerating the activities of the Corporate ESG Project and the SDGs Promotion Project, we will proactively consider efforts for new sustainability themes, including our response to the TNFD.

Under the holding company structure, we will create frameworks to lead the entire Group in advancing sustainability management, facilitate activities at each Group company, and strengthen reciprocal collaboration.

We will continue to drive sustainability management across the TOPPAN Group, with an awareness of the importance of both activities and disclosure, and take on the challenge of delivering solutions to global social issues through our business.

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