Basic Approach
It is the philosophy of the Maruha Nichiro Group 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 continue to provide consumers with a stable supply of sustainable “food” that contributes to improving the health value of consumers and takes into consideration social and environmental issues. The Maruha Nichiro Group will contribute to the enrichment of our customers' lives by continuing to provide “food” that contributes to creating health values and sustainability.
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 provide food that contributes to the creation of health value and sustainability (“KENPRO”) was launched in FY 2022.
The “KENPRO” project is owned by the director in charge of sustainability and led by the general manager of the Marketing Department, with the participation of the planning staff of seven units (Fishery, North America, Marine Products, Processed Foods, Fine Chemicals, Foodstuff Distribution, and Agriculture & Livestock), the Customer Service Center, the Central Research Center, and the Development Department as project members. The Sustainability Group of the Corporate Planning Department and the Marketing Department serve as the secretariat. Since FY2024, Kenji Oba and Shoichiro Tsugane have been invited as external experts to evaluate "KENPRO" activities and provide regular feedback.
KGIs and KPIs from FY2022 to FY2030
Materiality: Providing Food That Contributes to Creating Health Value and Sustainability
Ideal State in 2030 (KGI): Branded as a top food company contributing to creating health value and sustainability
| Achievement targets (KPI) | Target year | Target value | FY2023 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Achievements | Self-assessment | ||||||||||||||||
| Establishment of product standards that contribute to the creation of health value and sustainability and setting of targets for FY2030 (MN*) | 2024 | - | Product standards and KPIs for food products that contribute to health value creation and sustainability have been established. | ★★★☆☆ | |||||||||||||
| Establish an external evaluation method for a company that contributes to health value creation and sustainability (MN*) | 2024 | - | |||||||||||||||
*MN = Maruha Nichiro Corporation
Note: The department in charge is “Promote food that contributes to health value creation and sustainability Project”
Message from Representative
Koji Owada
General Manager, Marketing Department
Leader, Food promoting project that contributes to creating value and sustainability
As part of our Medium-term Management Plan materiality, the project has been continuously examining how we can address and contribute to solving customers’ health issues from both the nutrition and sustainability perspectives under the Group’s philosophy of “providing healthy food.” Additionally, last fiscal year, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare released “Health Japan 21 (Third Term)” starting from 2024. Its basic policies are primarily “extending healthy life expectancy and reducing health disparities” and “improving individuals’ behavior and health condition.” The four themes we have identified as materiality solutions are “proper protein intake,” “proper sodium intake,” “good lipid intake,” and “nutritional intake for those who have difficulty eating regular meals.” We believe they are in line with the basic policies. By setting specific KPIs for 2030 and carrying out marketing activities, we will contribute to promoting customers’ health through sustainable food.
Maruha Nichiro Initiatives
Nutrition That Contributes to Creating Health Value
KPI Setting and Standards
At the Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit 2021 hosted by the government of Japan, the Company endorsed two action plans: promoting innovation in food related industries and promoting behavioral change for personal nutrition. In line with these plans, we have established the following four evaluation items: proper protein intake; proper sodium intake; good lipid intake; and nutritional intake for those who have difficulty eating regular meals (reducing nutritional disparities)
Recognizing anew that many of our products already generate health value and are making a contribution, we set the “sales ratio of target products” as the KPI, with the objective of increasing the share of these products to total sales. By using the sales ratio as the KPI, it takes into account the linkage with economic value and social value creation through business activities.
Four Items for Evaluating Health Value
| Standard | FY2030 KPI | |
|---|---|---|
| Proper sodium intake | Less than 3 g per meal, or less than 0.46 g per 100 kcal*1 | Sales ratio of products that meet the standards among the target processed food: 65% or more |
| Proper protein intake | 4.1 g or more per 100 kcal, or 8.1 g or more per 100 g*2 | Sales ratio of products that meet the standards among the target processed foods: 45% or more |
| Good fat intake | 350 mg or more per meal, or 1 mg or more per 1 g*3 | Sales ratio of products that meet the standards among the target processed foods: 20% or more |
| Reducing nutritional disparities | Promotion of foods that support nutritional intake for people with crewing and swallowing difficulties | Sales amount of target products: 190% or more than the FY2022 amount |
- *1Our proprietary standard based on the “Chanto” (adequate diet) Smart Meal standard
- *2Our proprietary standard based on the “Fukumareru” (containing) Consumer Affairs Agency labeling standard
- *3Our proprietary standard for the intake target of fish-derived n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), based on the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s 2020 Dietary Intake Standards’ reference intakes for n-3 PUFA
Specific Actions
In July 2024, we submitted action goals and evaluation indicators focusing on “proper sodium intake” for the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s “Strategic Initiative for a Healthy and Sustainable Food Environment” in which we are participating.
We also plan to inform our initiatives to society by turning our community site "Oishiine!! (Delicious!!)" into a health owned media and increase communication with many customers, including members.
Going forward, we will formulate an overall marketing strategy, integrate it company-wide, and expand our lineup of health value creating products
Message from Expert
Soichiro Tsugane
Professor
International University of Health and Welfare Graduate School
M.D., Ph.D. Former Executive Director of National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition and Director of National Institute of Health and Nutrition. Former Director of the Center for Public Health Sciences, National Cancer Center.
For the purposes of setting and implementing KPIs related to health value creation, it is extremely important and wise that Maruha Nichiro is attaching health value to products that can be expected to extend healthy life expectancy. Many of the products already on the market that focus on health value are often intended to solve specific health or nutritional issues, and they appear to have limited effectiveness in extending healthy life expectancy. To contribute to extending healthy life expectancy in Japan, measures are needed to prevent leading causes of early death, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases, as well as frailty, which is a major reason why nursing care is needed in old age. Excessive sodium intake (which increases the risk of ischemic heart disease, stroke, and stomach cancer) and low intake of seafood-based n-3 PUFA (which increases the risk of ischemic heart disease) have been scientifically shown to be unhealthy. Furthermore, protein deficiency (which increases the risk of early death and frailty) is a relatively critical issue in Japan, where the health impact of being underweight is more concerning than obesity. It is reasonable to place value on providing products that can contribute to the improvement of these issues.
Sustainable Food Provision
KPI Setting and Standards
Marine products distributed globally are considered to carry many risks, such as the depletion of wild marine resources, environmental destruction due to aquaculture, and involvement in IUU fishing. In addition to countering these risks, as part of our value proposition for “Sustainability food provision” we have decided to set KPIs and actively promote the handling of marine products produced by sustainable fisheries and aquaculture that have obtained internationally recognized certification approved by the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI). Similar to the creation of health value, we will set the “sales ratio of certified products to total sales” as the KPI and advance our initiatives accordingly.
Evaluation Item for Sustainability
| Standard | FY2030 KPI | |
|---|---|---|
| Sustainable certified product | GSSI certified marine products*4 | Sales ratio of sustainable certified products among all products including fishery and marine products 15% or more |
*4 Certified marine products approved by the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (MSC certification, ASC certification, BAP certification, MEL certification, etc.)
Specific Actions
Through our business activities, we need to make it clear to customers why it is significant to handle sustainable marine products, as well as inform and raise awareness of the general public. To this end, at the Japan International Seafood and Technology Expo held in August 2024, our employees and MSC Japan conducted a dialogue-style seminar and discussed the challenges currently facing the fisheries industry. We will also inform our initiatives to many people in society using "umito.", our owned media.
Message from Expert
Kenji Fuma
CEO
Neural Inc.
A non-executive director of board or advisory board member for several companies in the ESG field. Has served on committees of the Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and others. Authored many books and given numerous lectures.
Amid a deteriorating global outlook for the food situation, the food industry is stepping up its sustainability efforts in the areas of nutrition, the environment, and human rights. Against this backdrop, Maruha Nichiro's sales ratio targets from both the nutrition and sustainability procurement perspectives capture the necessary actions head-on.
For nutrition, the Company established its own standards for measuring "healthy foods" based on nutritional epidemiology, showing a willingness not only to improve the nutritional contents of its products but also to promote the sales of marine products with high nutritional benefits.
For sustainability procurement, Maruha Nichiro sets out a goal to obtain GSSI-approved certification for both fishery and aquaculture. GSSI established standards covering both marine resource quantities and human rights (including labor practices), and the sales ratio targets represent an important step forward for Maruha Nichiro.
Its competitiveness will be fostered as it overcomes the challenges that lie in achieving the ambitious targets. I am looking forward to the Company's raising the sales ratio standards in the long rum.
An Outside Director and Advisory Board Member for several companies in the ESG field. Has served on committees of the Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and others. Authored many books and given numerous lectures.
Industry-Academia-Government and Other Collaborative Activities
Participation in the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's “Healthy and Sustainable Food Environment Strategy Initiative
In January 2023, we joined the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's “Healthy and Sustainable Food Environment Strategy Initiative”. This initiative is to develop a food environment where everyone can be naturally healthy through cooperation and collaboration among industry, academia, and government. Participating businesses are required to set action goals and evaluation indicators in SMART format*, enabling them to examine and collaborate with each other to develop more effective measures. The action goals and evaluation indicators set to improve “excessive salt intake,” one of the nutritional challenges of the Initiative, are in line with our policy of “food that contributes to the creation of health value. Through our participation, we will encourage behavioral changes in the Japanese people's dietary habits, particularly with regard to salt intake.
* SMART format: a goal-setting indicator that includes five elements: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
Strategic Initiative for a Healthy and Sustainable Food Environment（HSFE）
Future Roadmap
In FY2023, we determined the details of product standards, such as specific protein, salt, and fat intake standards that contribute to MNV creation, and also developed KPIs for each product evaluation item. Based on the marketing data of each product, we plan to encourage an increase in the number of compliant products within the company, and we will continue our efforts toward our KGI for 2030, “Establish a brand as a top food company that contributes to the creation of health value and sustainability,” and embody our brand statement, “Creating the future of the ocean and life. We will embody our brand statement “for the Ocean, for Life".
