ESG and sustainability initiatives and development of a sustainable management foundation

「We will continue to make every effort to improve performance in a constantly changing environment by responding to requests for formulations and production to meet customers' needs for new products and, over the medium to long term, further strengthening our capabilities in areas such as clean beauty and the SDGs.」

「In addition, cost increases driven by inflation, particularly for petroleum-derived products amid soaring crude oil prices and concerns over supply, were substantial. Although we continued efforts to reduce various costs, we were unable to pass these inflationary increases through sufficiently to order prices, and profit is also expected to fall short of the forecast announced previously.」

「Over the medium to long term, we will continue to make every effort to improve performance in a constantly changing environment by further strengthening our capabilities in areas such as clean beauty and the SDGs.」

「With regard to reductions in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, which are particularly important in connection with climate change, the Company set a target of reducing them by 10% by fiscal 2026 from fiscal 2023 levels. Having achieved this target, the Company revised it.」

「We established a Sustainability Committee as an advisory body to the Board of Directors and launched subcommittees for the environment, partnerships, the provision of high-quality products, and work styles and human resources. We are promoting initiatives related to the SDGs across the organization by setting material issues and KPIs and monitoring progress each year.」

「Over the medium to long term, we will make further efforts to improve performance by further strengthening our strengths, including our ability to respond to demands for clean beauty and the SDGs in cosmetics, while leveraging those strengths in the continually changing environment.」

「We will respond to customer requirements by providing formulations suited to their needs for new products and by meeting their production requirements, while over the medium to long term we will further strengthen our capabilities, including our strengths in clean beauty and SDGs initiatives for cosmetics」

「Over the medium to long term, we will make further efforts to improve performance by leveraging our strengths in the continually changing environment, including by responding to demands for clean beauty and the SDGs in cosmetics.」

「In the near term, we will meet customer needs by developing formulations and production technologies that reflect changes in cosmetic trends influenced by COVID-19, while over the medium to long term we will address demands for clean beauty, the SDGs and related matters in cosmetics,」

「For the time being, we will respond to customer requirements by developing formulations and production technologies that reflect makeup trends affected by COVID-19, while over the medium to long term we will respond to requirements for clean beauty and SDGs in cosmetics, among other initiatives, making further efforts to strengthen our capabilities in the new environment and achieve a swift recovery in performance.」

「The Company wins orders by proposing formulations that comply with customers' blacklists and graylists for clean products and SDGs, which list ingredients that cannot be used or whose use should be restricted. At the same time, it supports customers' clean beauty and SDG initiatives and meets end consumers' requirements for health and safety.」

「(iv) ESG and sustainability initiatives / Building a stable, sustainable management foundation」