Sustainability Priority Themes

Among the various sustainability fields that relate to its business activities, the T&D Insurance Group has identified social issues that are highly important to society and highly relevant to the Group’s operations. Based on this, we established the following four sustainability priority themes.

We considered various social issues to be targeted, based on what society expects of us as a Group engaged mainly in the insurance business, as well as how we can help develop a sustainable society.

After examining the SDG goals and targets, our Group CSR Charter, changes in the social environment, trends in technological innovation, and other sources, we identified 40 (important) target-related social issues relevant to our policies, products, services, and business model.

We identified the initiatives that have been implemented to increase social value with respect to the important social issues through our business activities and our critical business and sustainability management platforms.

We identified initiatives that address important social issues and the shared value of their impact. In order to create shared value, we set themes that promote Group sustainability from the perspectives of the areas of the issues to be addressed and the ways of addressing them.

For more details on (2) and (3), please see “Initiatives for Solving Social Issues and Creating Shared Value”.

We evaluated the importance of each shared value and sustainability theme based on both ^a) importance to society, and ^b) relevance to the Group’s business and initiatives (influence on social issues). We then clarified the priority of the initiatives for the Group to pursue.

We set priority themes for promoting Group sustainability that can have an impact on the creation of shared value by addressing important social issues.

The Group Sustainability Promotion Committee formulates annual plan for priority theme activities, and regularly checks progress with its implementation. Those developments are regularly reported to the Board of Directors.

The T&D Insurance Group is committed to creating shared value and contributing to solving social issues through the Group’s broad range of business activities.

Our priority themes for promoting Group sustainability, where they are described, and the corresponding GRI topics are shown below.

The relationships between sustainability themes that are foundational for promoting our priority themes and social issues, where they are described, and the corresponding GRI topics are shown below.

At the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015, “Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” was adopted unanimously. The agenda sets forth Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), consisting of 17 goals and 169 targets, for the realization of sustainable development at the global level through the cooperation of the global community, including national governments, ordinary citizens and private-sector corporations.

The SDGs are aimed at realizing a sustainable world through initiatives that address issues in a wide range of fields. They are in line with the Group’s corporate philosophy of “aiming to be a group that contributes to all people and societies through the creation of value.” The Group will continue to incorporate contributions to SDGs into the process for selecting sustainability priority themes and make efforts to contribute to achieving SDGs through our initiatives to promote sustainability, taking advantage of the features and strengths of the business.

With the main business of the T&D Insurance Group being the life insurance business, contributing to promote healthy and abundant lives for all people is one of our most basic responsibility to society. We have positioned “Providing Better Products and Services” as the first principle of the T&D Insurance Group CSR Charter. The Group clearly states its commitment to fulfilling its responsibilities to society through the insurance business by offering well-suited, high-quality products and services that meet customer needs. The provision of products and services that contribute to solving various risks faced by our customers, which occur due to societal changes such as the acceleration of Japanʼs declining birthrate and aging population, is both the Groupʼs mission and an opportunity for growth.

In May 2022, we launched relaxed underwriting-type advanced medical insurance and Simplified death insurance that customers who are worried about their health can apply for as well. Relaxed underwriting-type advanced medical insurance covers advanced medical treatment for which all the technical fees must normally be paid by the customer due to such treatment not being covered by public medical insurance systems, and this includes expensive cancer treatment such as heavy-particle radiotherapy. In addition, with our Simplified death insurance, death benefits can be prepared with nothing more than a simple notification.

We are also striving to suitably flesh out our product lineup for Sma-Hoken (Internet channel) and Remote Application, and, in November 2022, we launched our children’s medical insurance, which enables policies for which the policyholder and insured member are different people. With this product, fully-online insurance can be used to provide coverage not only for policyholders but also for their children who are 12 years old or younger.

In May 2023, we launched Simplified cancer diagnosis insurance and Simplified cancer treatment insurance, which can be applied for even by persons for whom it is generally difficult to apply for cancer coverage, such as individuals who had cancer in the past. With Simplified cancer diagnosis insurance, a lump-sum payment is provided to pay for treatment costs, living expenses, etc. incurred after being diagnosed with cancer. Meanwhile, with Simplified cancer diagnosis insurance, benefits can be received for every month that certain kinds of treatment are undergone. This means that it is now possible to provide cancer coverage even to customers worried about their health.

Taiyo Life is continuously working on various reforms and improvements to deliver trustworthy and reliable services to customers over the long term, from enrollment and the policy period up until a policy pays out.

We proactively recommend that the family members of a senior customer be present when he or she concludes a contract to prevent misunderstandings. Also, our in-house sales representatives make use of the videophone function of our Taiyo Life Concierge service for mobile devices to contact customers directly and reconfirm the intention of the contract, application details, the notification details in the case of relaxed-underwriting type products, and more through our senior support desk. We have also introduced the Family Registration Program, which allows the prior registration of contact information of customers’ family members as preparation in case it ever becomes difficult to communicate with the policyholder due to the onset of dementia or hospitalization.

We are also implementing our Senior Visit Service, which involves visiting senior customers at least once a year during the enrollment period to confirm contract details and encourage customers to claim their benefits. By using our dedicated customer service web portal Taiyo Life My Page, customers can complete procedures without having to visit the Company, including address changes and other insurance maintenance procedures, use of loans and other funds, hospitalization benefit, etc. claim procedures, and more. It is also possible to complete various procedures and benefit, etc. payments online. In October 2021, we became the first major insurance company in Japan to expand Taiyo Life My Page so it can be used by insured members as well, and, even if the policyholder and insured member differ, it is now possible to carry out benefit claim procedures on My Page. In April 2022, we started providing a new Taiyo Life My Page service—the web insurance certificate digital certificate—that enables not only policyholders but also insured members and registered family members to confirm policy details, and the total number of applications was past 80,000 as of March 2023. In February 2023, we also made it possible to complete account application and changing procedures, and—as of the end of fiscal 2022—the number of Taiyo Life My Page members was up to 1.22 million increased by 537,000 members from the end of fiscal 2021.

Our goal at Taiyo Life is to help create a society where everyone can live long, healthy lives in the era of the 100-year life. To accomplish this goal, we are working on initiatives that not only support customers in terms of detecting and improving dementia and critical illnesses at an early stage, but also help prevent disease and improve customers’ health.

For customers eligible for the payment of special survival benefits (preventive benefits) through our Himawari Dementia Prevention Insurance, we recommend dementia prevention services such as MCI Screening Plus, which determines the risk of mild cognitive impairments (MCIs) through a simple blood test, and the Kurort Health Walking Experience Tour, which can prevent disease and improve health, among others. In addition, in March 2021, we entered into a business agreement with Ajinomoto, H.U. Frontier, and H.U. Wellness, and began offering AminoIndex^® Risk Screening, which can simultaneously evaluate the possibility of an individual currently having cancer and whether they are at risk of future strokes, myocardial infarctions, or diabetes.

Starting in August 2022, we also made it possible for customers to undergo MCI Screening Plus and AminoIndex^® Risk Screening examinations as part of mobile medical services, thereby increasing opportunities for such testing and contributing to the health promotion of our customers.

Moreover, we have started providing the Taiyo Life Health Promotion App based on the concept of improving health in a fun way using an app, which can support the health promotion of customers from a variety of perspectives, including walking and sleeping. This app has functions that give advice based on the number of steps walked and hours of sleep every day regarding possible illnesses and conditions that can be prevented and for health promotion, so that customers can confirm their own state of health.

Taiyo Life has changed the way life insurance solicitation is done. For example, we introduced the Taiyo Life Concierge mobile terminal for the in-house sales representatives in August 2018, enhanced its functions utilizing the latest IT, equipped it with consulting and presentation functions which listen to the requests of the customers and propose the optimal plan on the spot, and made it fully paperless in all processes from concluding the policy to receipt of payment.

In October 2019, we launched Sma-Hoken, which enables customers to complete application procedures online.

Sma-Hoken, our completely new fully-online insurance system with extensive after-sales services, combines an online insurance quoting and application process that can be used any place and time a customer desires with attentive visiting service from our personable staff. Furthermore, in January 2021 we introduced Remote Application (non-face-to-face solicitation), which combines Sma-Hoken with sales-representative consultations and application procedure support. Through this Remote Application service, proposals to a greater number of customers, including customers requiring non-face-to-face services as well as distant customers for whom direct face-to-face applications are difficult, etc., are now possible, and these customers can now easily complete policy procedures from their own smartphones or computers anytime and anywhere. We will continue to promote hybrid sales that combine face-to-face and non-face-to-face services as we promote DX in various fields based primarily on three pillars—developing next-generation sales devices, utilizing AI, and implementing business reforms—thereby increasing our productivity, expanding our points of contact with customers, and improving our services. We will also endeavor to grow in line with our management plan goal of becoming a company that helps customers live healthy and long lives by providing the best products and services.

There are many cases in which SMEs rely on the reputation and technical capabilities of the business owners themselves for their viability. For this reason, continuation of the business sometimes becomes difficult in the case that the business owner dies or becomes unable to work due to a major illness or injury, etc. In preparation for this kind of situation, Daido Life calculates the funds necessary to protect the company and family (“standard coverage” and “living support funds”) to propose reasonable integrated coverage for the corporation and individuals (a full-range of protection).

With the arrival of the era of the 100-year life and facing a serious lack of successors, a phenomenon including the aging of SME owners and the lengthening of their working careers is advancing. Meanwhile, structural changes in society and industry are presenting SMEs with more diverse management challenges and risks. These changes in the environment have brought about changes in the insurance needs of SMEs, in particular a growing need for products with coverage that can be flexibly configured according to business conditions and other factors. In response to this situation, we launched the industry’s first “made-to-order” insurance products to provide SME owners with long-term coverage against death, critical illness (cancer, acute myocardial infarction, and strokes), and severe physical disability. Specifically, in July 2019, we began offering L-type α [non-participating age-specific maturity term life insurance (specified surrender value suppression rate type)], J-type α [non-participating critical illness insurance (specified surrender value suppression rate type)], and T-type α [non-participating disability protection insurance (physical disability certificate-linked/specified surrender value suppression rate type)]. These products cater to the diverse needs of customers by allowing them to freely configure not only the insurance amount and period, but even the balance between premium and surrender value.

On June 1, 2023, we started selling lump-sum payment M-type [non-participating hospitalization lumpsum payment insurance (no surrender value)], which covers both corporate working capital in cases where managers are absent due to disease or injury as well as the costs of hospitalization by using a lump-sum payment.

This insurance can also be freely combined with riders as necessary to cover surgery, radiation therapy, anticancer drug treatment, etc.

As a result of the aging society, there has been an increase in the number of people requiring long-term care in the public long-term care insurance system, as well as the number of elderly people with dementia. Accordingly, the needs for nursing-care benefits of SME owners and individual business owners are also on the rise. To satisfy these needs, in April 2019, Daido Life launched Kaigo Relief α [non-participating whole life nursing care insurance (no surrender value type during premium payment period)] to provide wide coverage when long-term care is required, such as for dementia. This product ensures substantial coverage for times when long-term care is required, while realizing inexpensive insurance premiums by eliminating the surrender value during the premium payment period. By offering this product and the ancillary Kaigo Concierge service integrally, Daido Life is providing comprehensive support to relieve the financial, as well as psychological, burdens associated with nursing care.

Since April 2020, free access to up to three sessions of the Neuro HALFIT^® exercise program, which uses the wearable Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL)^® of CYBERDYNE, Inc., has been offered. This service, delivered as an ancillary service of Kaigo Relief α, etc., is intended to help prevent disease advancement and increase the independence of people who require relatively light levels of care while insuring them against financial risk in the event long-term care is needed.

To respond more flexibly to changes in needs after enrollment, in June 2023, we introduced the Policy Conversion System (Switch), which allows products in the same benefit field with different coverage periods to be switched (converted) between one another. The system applies not only to traditional death benefits, disability benefits, and health promotion but also to medical benefits. This has further improved the flexibility of policies, such as by enabling simple procedures for reviewing or updating coverage in line with business conditions.

Since April 2017 Daido Life has been providing the Daido Life KENCO SUPPORT PROGRAM in cooperation with a multitude of companies, in particular Value HR Co., Ltd., that possess specialized technology and know-how.

It is a comprehensive program targeted at SMEs that supports continuous implementation of the PDCA cycle necessary for health-oriented management. This includes assisting companies in encouraging employees to go through health checkups, risk analysis of development of lifestyle disease, etc. for individual SME owners and employees, visualization of the company’s overall health status, and provision of health promotion solutions and incentives that promote continuous health improvement efforts.

In order to realize “prevention of illness using health-oriented management” and “preparation for unexpected retirements,” we launched a health-promoting insurance integrating the KENCO SUPPORT PROGRAM with protection in January 2022.

This product widely protects against a variety of risks such as death, severe disability, physical disability, critical illness, etc.; moreover, it has introduced a mechanism which discounts the basic policy insurance premiums the following year in the case that the customer’s “average number of steps per day is 8,000 steps or more every year.” We establish an “opportunity to start health-oriented management” by getting all of the owners, executives, and employees of SMEs to enroll in insurance together.

We support SME owners worried about whether they can smoothly hand on their business to a successor through a variety of initiatives aimed at resolving issues. More specifically, for customers who have issues regarding business succession, expert consultants who have financial planning (FP) knowledge (FP and inheritance consultants) give advice about methods of transferring the company’s own shares and risk management based on financial analysis. In addition, we cooperate with partner companies to provide our M&A Support Service and Corporate Value Calculation Service to calculate the corporate value free of charge as information to be used for judging the direction of corporate management going forward, and we also offer a successor development program at Daido Management Academy. In recent years, we have also formed a business alliance with the Resona Group in the inheritance and business succession field, and we are providing solutions possessed by the insurance and banking fields in line with issues faced by customers.

In recent years, interest in sustainability has been growing in society, including the 2050 Carbon Neutrality Declaration by the government, and initiatives for the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) are becoming large management issues for not only major companies but also SMEs.

Given the above changes in the environment, we are providing a program that helps our customers deepen their understanding of the SDGs. This program also encourages the practice of sustainability management by creating points of contact between companies with an interest in the SDGs and companies possessing technologies and services that contribute to the resolution of social issues and supporting the introduction of services and cooperation among companies.

To help SMEs resolve management issues, Daido Life provides various support services. One such service is the Safety Confirmation System introduced by Daido Life in April 2019 in order to respond to the wishes of SME owners to confirm the safety status of employees accurately and promptly in the event of large-scale disasters. This service is equipped with all of the functions necessary for safety confirmation at SMEs in the event of a disaster.

To respond to a wide range of customer requests, we provide the services below.

T&D Financial Life is working to make administration and system improvements that contribute to customer-oriented business operations. Such measures include collecting customer feedback, conducting interviews with solicitation agents, studying the market environment, including various financial products, legal aspects, industry trends, and the like.

In fiscal 2022, regarding various procedures for which our Call Center receives a lot of inquiries, we posted inquiry methods other than the telephone on the top page of our website. We also posted the surrender claim form for target-value attainment policies, regarding which we receive an especially large number of inquiries, on our website so that customers can file claims without having to inquire with our Call Center. In addition, in response to feedback indicating that designation of the survivor benefit beneficiaries within the previous scope is impossible as a consequence of the falling birthrate and aging population, we expanded the scope of survivor benefit beneficiaries for single-premium products to include “relatives of the policyholder (blood relatives within six degrees of kinship and relatives by marriage within three degrees of kinship) and their spouses.”

T&D Financial Life is considering and pushing ahead with various efforts to further improve customer satisfaction.

In January 2023, to further increase the convenience of our Internet services for policyholders, we opened an official LINE account and linked LINE and Internet service IDs to eliminate the need to enter a password or other details, thereby making it easier to log in and use our services.

We also added a product-video 2D code to the system diagram for our foreign-currency linked product Notification of Policy Details to make this easier to understand.

To ensure the long-term growth of the assets entrusted to the company by our customers, the active management of Japanese equities by T&D Asset Management emphasizes the analysis of not just financial information but also non-financial information such as ESG (environmental, social and governance) factors. In particular, the "T&D Japanese Equity ESG Research Fund," which is private placement fund and makes selective investments in companies that excel from an ESG viewpoint, has set “health, safety and security” as a materiality when evaluating investee companies, and actively invests in companies that contribute to solving social issues related to people’s health. Furthermore, when T&D Asset Management analysts conduct materiality-driven dialogues with investee companies, they encourage the companies to take action to resolve social issues and contribute to building a society where people can live healthy and prosperous lives.

Pet & Family Insurance has posted on its website information for enriching pets’ lives. The website also features special contents titled “Pet News Storage” that introduce questions closely related to pets’ lives in an easily understandable fashion. It is regularly conveying information on various subjects related to pets in an attempt to deepen understanding of pets, which are precious family members. In March 2023, the number of articles topped 335.

We believe that in order to provide workplace environments that enable all people to participate actively, it is necessary to respect the individuality and diversity of all people, while realizing a healthy and safe work environment. In the T&D Insurance Group’s CSR Charter and Human Rights Policy, we clearly state our respect for the human rights of all people and the individuality and diversity of all employees, as well as our commitment to nurturing human resources and creating a workplace environment that guarantees health and safety for all. Inadequate actions regarding respect for human rights in relation to business may result in the risk of losing the trust of society. We believe that in order to realize a sustainable society, it is necessary to support and show respect for the protection of human rights, and to promote the creation of a healthy and safe working environment where employees are able to respond to the needs of society. We also believe that such measures will serve as opportunities to further vitalize the Company, and are promoting various initiatives accordingly.

At the T&D Insurance Group, we believe that our human resources, working side-by-side, are the most important driving force behind our business activities to fulfill the T&D Insurance Group’s corporate philosophy. Since its foundation, the Group has promoted the nurturing of a corporate culture where a diverse workforce can feel job satisfaction and reach its potential and has established the Basic Group Policy on Human Resources which aims to clarify the basic policy for human resource management within the Group. Under this policy, in which T&D Holdings and each Group company aim to improve their corporate value by leveraging the unique and specialized nature of their respective business strategies, each company formulates its own education and training plan and strives to develop and enhance the skills of its employees.

The three life insurance companies conduct education and training, primarily through OJT (on-the-job training), group training, support for personal development, and reskilling/relearning. Each Group company encourages autonomous career development by each employee, by actively helping them to acquire qualifications and offering a diverse curriculum, including correspondence education, online courses, and e-learning, according to their educational plans.

As of the end of March 2023, a total of 493 employees with disabilities, including 30 new recruits for fiscal 2022, worked at the three life insurance companies, which account for 2.48% of the total number of employees. We have put in place several measures designed to create a comfortable workplace for employees with disabilities. As a pre-hire initiative, we encourage the attendance of a placement support worker at job interviews, so that job candidates can go through the screening process without worry. We also hold workplace tours for candidates to prevent assignment mismatches. After hiring, we strive to provide company-wide support, through measures such as preparing a comfortable working environment by introducing specialized computers and other equipment, and taking commuting routes into consideration. In addition, job coaches who specialize in support for employees with disabilities are dispatched to the company, and a placement support worker holds interviews together with the employee and his or her supervisor, and offers advice. We will continue working to create a workplace environment that encourages and supports persons with disabilities in working comfortably, and to expand employment opportunities for persons with various disabilities.

The T&D Insurance Group has accelerated efforts to create a corporate culture where a diverse workforce can feel job satisfaction and reach their potential. The Group recognizes that enabling women to further reach their potential is an important driver of sustainable growth in corporate value, and that their active participation is a crucial management priority for the Group. With this in mind, the Group’s three life insurance companies are working to revise their respective personnel and compensation systems, as well as introducing various support systems to enhance employees’ work-life balance, including balancing work with childcare and nursing care. In addition, by fostering a Group-wide collaboration to reduce total working hours and encourage male employees to take childcare leave, we are making an effort to create rewarding workplace environments where everyone is motivated to play an active role. To steadily advance these initiatives and promote the active participation of female employees, the Group’s three life insurance companies have each formulated action plans based on their respective business models.

Underpinned by its basic approach to respecting human rights expressed in the T&D Insurance Group’s Human Rights Policy, the Group strives to develop a workplace environment in which each and every employee can fully realize their own potential. From the viewpoint of diversity, each Group company is addressing LGBT (sexual minorities) issues by running training sessions and setting up consultation desks.

In April 2018, Daido Life began treating same-sex partners as spouses under the company’s leave and benefit program.

Major Applicable Systems

• Leave, short working hours
• Recreation facilities
• Family transfer system
• Company housing/transfer allowance
• Daido Life Mutual Aid Fund (congratulations and condolence allowance system), etc.

The T&D Insurance Group’s three life insurance companies have also started to allow policyholders to designate same-sex partners as beneficiaries of insurance benefits, just like for a spouse, by submitting documents showing that the two people are in a partnership, such as a partnership certificate issued by a local government.

Daido Life is expanding the areas in which same-sex partners living together are accorded the same treatment as spouses, including procedures for new policies, payments, and policy changes.

The T&D Insurance Group companies are strengthening various initiatives, including enhancement of childcare leave and other systems, reduction of total working hours, and introduction of the home-based work system and satellite office work system to enable diverse work styles. Accordingly, employees can make full use of their skills and increase their performance at work, while fulfilling their responsibilities at home, such as housework, childcare, and nursing care. Furthermore, we believe that in order to promote the active participation of women, it is essential to create a workplace where women can continue working long term, while experiencing life events such as marriage and childbirth. As part of these efforts, the Group as a whole is striving to realize work-life balance by encouraging men to participate in childrearing, and the percentage of male employees taking childcare leave has reached 100% at the three life insurance companies.

Taiyo Life is taking steps to reduce overall working hours and encourage its employees to take paid leave. A number of flexible working options are on offer; for example, the company rolled out a system that allows workers to take time off in units of 10 minutes to look after their child if they have fallen ill or for nursing care, while the scope of Taiyo Life’s shorter working hours system was expanded to include employees with children up until the end of elementary school. Also, Taiyo Life’s flextime system can now be utilized by employees working shorter hours. The company also has other systems in place that go above and beyond what is required by law. For instance, a nursing care leave system that can be utilized for up to three years, a childcare leave system available to employees with children no older than three years, and paternity leave for male employees of one month or more. Also, in April 2020 Taiyo Life introduced a new system that lets employees work only three or four days a week if they need to take time off to provide nursing care or undergo cancer treatment. Support for employees balancing work with nursing care or medical treatment is also being expanded with cancer treatment being added to the scope of hospital leave, which was previously limited to pregnant employees, employees that had recently given birth, or employees undergoing infertility treatment. Moreover, in January 2021 the company made it possible for workers to take time off in units of 10 minutes to look after their child if they have fallen ill or for nursing care and from April 2022 use of hospital leave in units of 10 minutes also became possible.

Efforts are being made to reduce working hours, such as the implementation of automatic computer shutdown. In addition, the company is promoting work styles that allow employees to balance their jobs with life at home, such as encouraging employees to take paid leave and make use of the home-based work system. In 2017, the company was recognized by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) for initiatives such as its home-based work system, receiving the MIC Award as one of the Top 100 Telework Pioneers. Later, in February 2019, Daido Life was awarded the Excellence Award at the Telework Promotion Awards held by the Japan Telework Association, and in November 2019, the company took home the Shiny Telework Prize Excellence Award implemented and selected by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Further, in January 2021, the company introduced an hourly leave system for paid leave and caring for sick family members/nursing care leave which enables employees to take leave in units of one hour. Also, in April 2021, the company launched its Work Experience Challenge system with the goal of supporting the development of each employee by providing them the opportunity to undertake work experience outside the company, and further, has been promoting initiatives for new working styles, such as the introduction of private shared offices which provides locations for employees to work outside of the office.

The company is promoting initiatives to reduce working hours by implementing a “No Overtime Day” and a “Leave Work Early Day,” automatically shutting down computers used for work, and other measures, initiatives encouraging employees to take paid leave such as making it mandatory to take planned annual leave of five consecutive business days + three business days, and homebased work (telework) systems to realize more flexible work styles. In addition, it is advancing initiatives for the realization of work-life balance, such as the introduction of the system for short working hours which employees can utilize during the raising of children, nursing care, and convalescence from illness, recommending that employees take children’s birthday leave (until the child starts elementary school), and the introduction of a childcare leave system enhanced above the statutory requirements.

The Group's three life insurance companies have set the ration of female managers as their Key Performance Indicator and are taking action to achieve the target.

A globally shared long-term target was established by the Paris Agreement, adopted at the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in December 2015, to keep the rise in global average temperature fully below 2ºC in comparison to before the Industrial Revolution and pursue efforts to limit this rise to 1.5ºC. Achieving net zero emissions and carbon neutrality by 2050 is required to realize this target. To transition to a low carbon/decarbonized society and adapt to climate change, it will be necessary to transform the industrial structure on a large-scale and modify our behavioral patterns. The T&D Insurance Group also remains cognizant of the fact that we must do our part as a member of society.

The T&D Insurance Group formulated the T&D Insurance Group Environmental Policy* to clarify the Group’s stance on the environment. The Policy is to carry out business activities with full awareness of the importance of environmental concerns, and to ensure that executives and employees understand that they must act in consideration of the protection of the global environment. The Group will achieve sustainable growth along with society while fulfilling the public mission of life insurance and other businesses, and undertaking its corporate social responsibilities. In addition, based on the above Policy, the Group has set out its Green Purchasing Standards and Detailed Rules and gives priority to the purchase of products and services that help reduce its environmental impact when procuring a diverse group of goods ranging from office furniture, equipment and consumable supplies to real estate facilities and system equipment as well as in printing product brochures and policy documents. While climate change on a global scale is a risk for the continuity of the Group’s business activities, the Group considers it an opportunity to undertake new activities.

The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), established by the Financial Stability Board (FSB), formulated its recommendations for clarified, comparable, and consistent information disclosure regarding the risks and opportunities posed by climate change. These recommendations were announced in June 2017. Climate change is an issue to be addressed on a global scale. The effects of climate change have significant impacts on the lives of people, through changes in economic behaviors and society worldwide. The T&D Insurance Group has expressed its support for the TCFD recommendations, and is actively committed to disclosing climate-related financial information in an easy-to-understand manner.

Over 90% of the Group’s CO₂ emissions (Scope 1 + 2) arise from electricity use. For that reason, we are endeavoring to reduce CO₂ emissions by setting targets for reducing electricity consumption in order to curb energy usage and advancing the introduction of renewable energy.

Each year the T&D Insurance Group participates in a “Cool Biz” campaign from May to October (setting thermostats of air conditioners at 28°C) and a “Warm Biz” campaign from November to March (setting a room temperature at 20°C). In addition, as a power-saving measure to prevent global warming, the Group turns off or reduces the lighting in offices, meeting rooms, hallways and other areas when they are not in use.

As an initiative to raise the environmental awareness of each of the Group’s executives and employees, the T&D Insurance Group has been conducting a campaign in which it calls for a simultaneous switch-off of all the lights in offices twice a year. In fiscal 2022, this initiative was conducted in July and December. Going forward, we will continue our initiative of a simultaneous switch-off of all the lights which can contribute to the prevention of global warming.

T&D Insurance Group recognizes the importance of global environmental problems and has positioned the global environmental protection as an important issue. With this in mind, T&D Insurance Group has set the four key performance indicators (KPIs) of "CO₂ reduction," "electricity consumption," "office paper consumption," and "green purchasing ratio" for reducing environmental impact and is taking action to achieve the targets through wide range of corporate activities. The "CO₂ reduction target" is positioned as a "non-financial KPI" in the Group Long-Term Vision.

• By fiscal 2025, we aim to reduce CO₂ emissions by 40%. (Scope 1+2, compared to FY2013, per floor area)

For the “Targets and Results” of the four indicators, see “Group-wide Targets and Results” under “Initiatives to Address the Environment” of the Sustainability Library.

With the main business of the Group being life insurance business, contributing to realizing a sustainable society through investment is one of the most fundamental roles of the Group. The sustainable and stable growth of society is essential in securing long-term stable profit through investment.

Recognizing that the investment behavior of institutional investors, who manage long-term funds, plays a major role in solving various social issues and realizing a sustainable society, theT&D Insurance Group will secure stable long-term investment income and contribute to the sustainable and stable growth of society through investment activities undertaken in consideration of the environment, society and corporate governance.

The Corporate Philosophy of the T&D Insurance Group is “With ‘Try & Discover’ motto for creating value, we aim to be a group that contributes to all people and societies.” In our asset management, we aim to secure stable earnings over the long term and contribute to the realization of a sustainable society. Believing that, as a responsible institutional investor, it is important to make investments with consideration for the environment, society, and corporate governance, we defined and published the Group’s stance towards ESG investment in the “T&D Insurance Group ESG Investment Policy.”

Taiyo Life, Daido Life, and T&D Asset Management have signed the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)^*, which is supported by the United Nations.

In order to further fulfill its social responsibility as an institutional investor, Taiyo Life determined that it was essential to exert its influence for the betterment of society and the global environment through investment and lending activities to a greater extent, and to contribute to the realization of a sustainable society. In line with this thinking, in March 2007, Taiyo Life became the first Japanese life insurance company to sign the PRI. Based on these principles, Taiyo Life gives due consideration to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, and promotes asset management to achieve a sustainable society.

Daido Life supports the objectives of the PRI and became a signatory institution to them in November 2016. Based on these objectives, Daido Life is contributing to the formation of a sustainable society through promoting investing and lending that considers ESG issues. Specifically, we are promoting lending and investment that aims to supply funds to companies and businesses that contribute to solving climate change and the development of social infrastructure. We are also carrying out initiatives regarding asset management that incorporates ESG factors such as company analyses of investment and lending processes.

T&D Asset Management, to fulfill its responsibilities of being entrusted as an institutional investor that manages investments, endorses the concept of the PRI, and signed them in March 2012. In accordance with these principles, T&D Asset Management tackles ESG issues in a manner consistent with meeting the long-term interests of customers, fully grasping the status of investee companies. Accordingly, the company is also committed to pursuing the sustained growth of these companies, particularly through holding constructive dialogues with them and through the exercise of voting rights, with the aim of increasing the mediumand long-term investment returns on the funds entrusted to it by customers.

The status of each Group company’s PRI initiatives is reported in PRI Transparency Report. Enter the name of the company of interest into the search box at the following link:

WEB https://www.unpri.org/searchresults?qkeyword=&PageSize=10&parametrics=

To promote asset management that considers ESG issues, the T&D Insurance Group has introduced various ESG investment methods depending on the characteristics of the assets held.

Specifically, we have introduced, depending on the characteristics of the assets, the integration of non-financial information such as ESG in investment decisions, as well as a negative screening method that excludes companies and businesses from investment and lending if they are unfavorable from the viewpoint of ESG, and we are expanding investments and financing in themes that contribute to solving ESG issues (ESG-themed investment and financing). We also support the mediumto long-term business growth of investees and borrowers through constructive dialogue (engagement) with them on the ESG issues they face.

Taiyo Life and Daido Life will strive to increase long-term investment returns and fulfill its mission as an institutional investor to create a sustainable society by taking into account not only financial information relating to borrowers and investees but also assessment results relating to ESG and other non-financial factors when making investment and financing decisions for all assets under management.

When investing and financing stocks, bonds and other securities as well as real estate and loans, we assess, for example, that organization’s initiatives relating to ESG and incorporate that into our investment and financing decisions.

We have introduced a negative screening method that excludes companies and businesses from investment and lending if they are unfavorable from the viewpoint of ESG.

The current targets of negative screening are as follows. Going forward, we will continue adding and reviewing targets based on international concerns and trends related to the environment and society.

Given the humanitarian concerns, we prohibit investment and financing in companies that manufacture inhumane weapons (cluster bombs, biological and chemical weapons, anti-personnel mines, etc.).

Because the consumption of fossil fuels is one of the major factors driving environmental problems such as climate change and air pollution, it is the Group’s policy not to make any new investments or loans to coal-fired power generation projects or coal mining projects. However, we may consider investments and loans in cases where the environmental impact of the project will be reduced, for example through the development and application of new technologies for carbon capture and storage (CCS) or carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS).

It is also our policy not to make any new investments or loans in oil and gas extraction projects in the Arctic (areas north of 66°33’N) where the impacts on climate change and the ecosystem are high, or in oil sands extraction projects, which pose a greater environmental burden during extraction and refining compared to traditional petroleum.

The three life insurance companies (Taiyo Life, Daido Life and T&D Financial Life) take ESG issues into account in making investment and financing decisions and focus their loans and investments on themes that contribute to creating a sustainable society.

We invest in green bonds issued by various issuers, including local governments and operating companies, with the goal of funding renewable energy generation projects and energy efficiency projects.

Specifically, we invested in green bonds, which financially support environmental projects such as climate change adaptation, creating smart energy cities, and clean transportation.

As part of our efforts to realize a decarbonized society, we engage in “transition finance,” which provides financial support for reducing the environmental footprint of business activities with high environmental loads, and for decarbonizing them entirely.

Specifically, we have invested in transition bonds issued by Japanese business companies to achieve their carbon neutrality plans.

We invest in social bonds to support the education and employment in developing countries, solve global social issues such as gender equality, and support measures against new coronavirus infections.

Specifically, we financed COVID-19 vaccine loans, and invested in education bonds, JICA gender bonds, and JICA peace building bonds.

In addition to the activities outlined above, we also engage in investments and financing aimed at resolving various social issues in Japan and overseas. These include:

We engage in “impact investing,” which seeks not only to generate returns on investments, but also to create positive impacts on social and environmental issues.

We invested in the Fund Supporting Good Health and the Japan Healthy Society Support Fund, with the aim of responding to the social issue of extending people’s healthy life spans. The former is for listed corporations in Japan involved in businesses such as pharmaceuticals, healthcare, sports clubs, and health foods that contribute to the promotion of human health, while the latter supports projects that contribute to the promotion of human health.

Taiyo Life and Daido Life invest in the “T&D Japan Equities ESG Research Fund” (a privately placed investment trust). The fund selectively invests in companies with an outstanding ESG performance, through stock selection based on ESG research. T&D Asset Management established and manages the fund (management began in July 2015).

As a responsible institutional investor, the T&D Insurance Group has set emission reduction targets for CO₂ emissions from its own investees and borrowers (Scope 3, Category 15) as shown on the right.

Taiyo Life and Daido Life engage continuously with investees and borrowers on the theme of climate change to reduce CO₂ emissions and achieve net zero, and provide financial support to investees and borrowers who are tackling climate change issue through initiatives for financing projects that use the funds for investments in decarbonization.

We are requesting that our investees and borrowers with the highest CO₂ emissions improve their information disclosure, including publishing emission reduction targets and roadmaps for achieving the targets. In addition, we support the long-term efforts of investees and borrowers by exchanging opinions and sharing knowledge on how to reduce emissions.

As an institutional investor who manages long-term funds, the Group believes that it is possible to provide stable funding to investees and borrowers who promote long-term solutions to climate change and other issues. We support companies tackling climate change issues from a financial standpoint by actively investing in “green bonds,” “transition finance,” and similar instruments that use the funds for investments aimed at decarbonization.

Although investment in and financing of companies with high CO₂ emissions may temporarily cause an increase in CO₂ emissions from the investees and borrowers, in the long term, we believe that we can promote corporate efforts toward decarbonization and contribute to the achievement of the net zero target of society as a whole. We will continue to engage in ESG-themed investments and loans while taking into account the schedule for achieving net zero for investees and borrowers and the effects and effectiveness of our investments.

At the end of FY2022, CO₂ emissions based on our investee and borrower portfolio (covering stocks, bonds, and loans held by Taiyo Life and Daido Life that were issued by listed companies in Japan) amounted to 1,989,000 tons. On a per-unit basis, which is how our interim targets toward net zero are defined, emissions were 0.76 tons per million yen, a 33.3% reduction from FY2020.

We will continue to make steady efforts to achieve our targets, and we will also consider expanding the number of assets subject to emission measurement, with a view to extending our response to climate change issues to our entire portfolio.