Basic Approach
The Group's philosophy is to be an essential part of society by improving everyone's daily life with wholesome, safe, and healthy food. To realize this philosophy, we believe it is essential to contribute to improving the health value of consumers and to continue to provide consumers with a stable supply of sustainable food that takes into consideration social and environmental issues. The Group will continue to provide food that contributes to the creation of health value and sustainability, thereby contributing to the enrichment of everyone's daily life.
Management Structure
In order for Maruha Nichiro to formulate definitions and standards for "food that contributes to the creation of health value" and "food that contributes to sustainability," and to promote the penetration and handling of such definitions and standards within the Group, a project to promote food that contributes to the creation of health value and sustainability ("Health Value Creation Project") was launched in FY 2022. The "Health Value Creation Project" is owned by the director in charge of sustainability and led by the general manager of the Corporate Branding Department, and its members include planners from six units (Fishery, Seafood Trading, Processed Foods, Fine Chemicals, Foodstuff Distribution, and Livestock), the Quality Assurance Department, the Customer Service Center, the Central Research Institute, and the Development Department. The Sustainability Promotion Group of the Corporate Planning Department and the Corporate Branding Department serve as the secretariat.
KGIs and KPIs from FY2022 to FY2030
Materiality: Food provision contributing to creating health value and sustainability
Ideal state in 2030 (KGI): Branded as a top food company contributing to health value creation and sustainability
| Achievement targets (KPI) | Target year | Target value | FY2022 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Achievements | Self-assessment | ||||||||||||||||
| Establish product standards that contribute to health value creation and sustainability and set targets for FY2030 (MN*) | 2024 | - | Definition and basic concept of food that contributes to health value creation and sustainability already formulated | ★★★☆☆ | |||||||||||||
| Build an external evaluation method of an enterprise that contributes to the creation of health value and sustainability (MN*) | |||||||||||||||||
*MN: Maruha Nichiro Corporation
Note: The department in charge is Food promoting project that contributes to creating health value and sustainability, Maruha Nichiro Corporation.
Message from Representative
Yoshiyuki Usuda
Food promoting project that contributes to creating health value and sustainability Manager
Corporate Branding Department
General Manager
As the Group's philosophy, Maruha Nichiro Group aims to be an essential part of society by improving everyone's daily life with wholesome, safe and healthy food. In terms of providing healthy food, the Group has made identifying its approach to resolve health issues for customers as a food company thereby improving everyone's health value as a materiality in the current Medium-term Management Plan. In 2022, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare launched "HSFE" to start initiatives that focus on addressing nutritional issues in Japan. Under the slogan of "For the ocean, for life," we believe it is also our mission to aid in resolving nutritional issues.
Main Initiatives in FY2022
Establishing the Concept of Product Standards That Contribute to MNV Creation
In FY2022, Maruha Nichiro launched the project of providing food that contributes to health value creation and sustainability (known as “Health Value Creation Project”), in aims of establishing, disseminating, and promoting the handling of, definitions and standards for food provision contributing to creating health value and sustainability. The Company also established a system of standards for products that contribute to MNV creation. In formulating the system, after listing the issues that Japan's society faces, we selected issues that strongly require our business involvement, and set evaluation items for each selected issue.
System of Standards for Products That Contribute to MNV Creation
For the creation of health value, we endorse the two action plans of promoting innovation in food related industries and promoting behavioral change for personal nutrition as part of the important agenda in Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit 2021 hosted by the government of Japan. Given this, we have established criteria for evaluating products that contribute to health value creation including the following four items: promote proper protein intake, promote proper sodium intake, promote intake of good fat, and promote nutritional intake even for those with difficulty eating regular meals.
And we will promote an "expanded lineup of externally certified products that contribute to sustainability (MSC-certification, ASC-certification, etc.)" as the criteria for evaluating products. In addition, as a premise, we have clarified the requirement to eliminate any ties to IUU fishing (illegal, unreported, and unregulated) as well as eliminate any ties to forced or child labor that clearly have a negative impact on the environment and society. We will ensure that raw materials and products we handle are not subject to any exclusion requirements.
Collaborative Initiatives Such as Industry-Government-Academia Collaboration
In January 2023, Maruha Nichiro joined "HSFE" organized by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. This initiative aims to develop a naturally healthy food environment for all through collaboration and cooperation between multiple sectors including industry, academia and government. Participating companies are required to set SMART* action goals and evaluation indicators to enable discussion and collaboration toward a more effective plan among participating businesses.
Setting an action goal and evaluation indicators for improving the nutritional issue of excess sodium intake indicated in the initiative aligns with our mission of providing food that contributes to health value creation. Through our involvement, we aim to encourage behavioral change particularly in sodium intake in the dietary habits of people in Japan.
*SMART goal setting approach stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound as the five parameters to include in goal setting.
Future roadmap
In FY2023, we will determine the specific product standards for protein, sodium and fat intake and establish KPI for each product evaluation item in contributing to MNV creation. Following the establishment of product standards, we will urge internal members to increase the number of compliant products based on marketing data for each. Furthermore, we will review methods for external evaluation while working with agencies, such as the Strategic Initiative for a Healthy and Sustainable Food Environment by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, with the aim to meet the 2024 KPI of establishing an external evaluation method as an enterprise that contributes to health value creation and sustainability, thereby embodying our brand statement, "For the ocean, for life."
