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. SDGs 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 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 wellsuited, 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 Japan’s declining birthrate and aging population, is both the Group’s mission and an opportunity for growth.

For customers enrolled in 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 other benefits. 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.

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.

In May 2024, we launched Long-term Care Income Protection Insurance, a redesign of Disability Income Protection Insurance that is part of the Hoken Kumikyoku Best lineup. By newly establishing “14-day continuous hospitalization benefit special provisions” which cover short and continuous hospital stays, and “hospitalization and light disability benefits” that cover long-term continuous hospital stays of 180 days or more, while also newly covering designated situations involving light disabilities, customers are now even better equipped than before to prepare against the risk of not being able to work in the event of hospitalization or the need for nursing care.

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 August 2024, this was further evolved and transformed as T-AI-Face, a mobile terminal driven by AI technologies. A new way of developing proposals has been achieved, using AI to suggest the optimum protection plan, and doing so from anywhere, thanks to the use of digital technology.

We will continue to make use of information via internet advertising and other channels to promote hybrid sales combining in-person and non-in-person interactions, while also making use of DX in every field to evolve our business models, boost productivity and enhance service. We will also drive growth to become “a company that supports the healthy and long lives of customers through challenges and innovation,” as declared in our management plan.

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.

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 April 2022, we started providing a new Taiyo Life My Page service—the web insurance certificate and 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 160,000 as of March 2024.

In May 2023 we launched a new service that allows customers to access Taiyo Life My Page to create their own electronic barcode and use it to pay their second and subsequent insurance premiums at a convenience store. We also made it possible to use electronic barcodes for other payments, such as for first premium reserve payments in December 2023, and the repayment of policyholder loans in January 2024. As a result, the number of registered members for the Taiyo Life My Page service increased by approximately 500,000 from the end of fiscal 2022, reaching 1.72 million by the end of fiscal 2023.

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 [non-participating age-specific maturity term life insurance (specified surrender value suppression rate type)], J-type [non-participating critical illness insurance (specified surrender value suppression rate type)], and T-type [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, since April 2019, Daido Life has been offering 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.

To make it easier for all business owners, irrespective of their age, to secure the necessary protection, in December 2023 we released Kenko Yell Wari (excellent health discount rider), which combines two insurance premium categories, namely “insurance premium rates that carry a large discount,” and “insurance premium rates with a wide range of discounts.”

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 allowing customers who are enrolled in medical insurance and riders, including the former M type, to update their insurance coverage with simple procedures (not requiring declarations) and to review coverage in accordance with business conditions.

To improve the convenience of customer procedures and respond to the “new normal” of coexistence with the COVID-19, we have introduced Procedures that Connect under which customers can carry out procedures related to insurance enrollment, insurance claims, benefit claims, and cancellation requests with their own smartphone and PC as well as Remote Examinations offering examinations by doctors over the videophone.

In addition, to make non-face-to-face procedures quick and simple for as many customers as possible, we expanded our Procedures that Connect starting in June 2023 to include policyholder loans and repayment.

We are continuing to try to make all insurance procedures non-face-to-face, so that customers can choose between the security of face-to-face procedures and the convenience of non-face-to-face procedures according to their needs.

In order to respond to the wishes of SME owners to care for all employees regardless of nationality, Daido Life has developed a procedural application system that enables applications in foreign languages for life insurance as welfare benefits and is intended for foreign employees (insured members) who have difficulty understanding Japanese. This system is used by many employees.

(Explanatory materials in foreign languages, explanatory materials of important topics in foreign languages, telephone-based interpreter contact points, etc.)

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.

Recently, business owners have rapidly developed a growing interest in business succession. To accommodate business owners worried about whether they can smoothly hand on their business to a successor, since 2016 we have formed an organization of financial planning (FP) and inheritance consultants* who are specialists in inheritance and business succession, establishing a system to provide ongoing support to help customers solve their issues.

Our FP and inheritance consultants provide advice about transferring a company’s own shares and risk management based on financial analysis, reflecting the results of estimated company share valuations. Additionally, through collaboration with partners, we are offering a wide range of consulting tailored to the issues customers face as experts in inheritance and business succession. These include M&A support services for third-party succession, Daido Management Academy as a successor development program, and the provision of solutions from the banking sector through our collaboration with the Resona Group.

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.

We offer “Free Consultation on Recruitment and Training of Human Resources (General Human Resources Consultation)” and four fee-based services in order to respond to a wide range of concerns regarding human resources, which is one of the management issues of SMEs.

In recent years, large and unforeseen natural disasters have been on the rise. To respond to the wishes of SME business owners regarding the safety of their employees when disasters such as major earthquakes, typhoons or torrential rains strike, we provide a Safety Confirmation System that allows the safety status of employees to be promptly confirmed. This service is equipped with all of the functions necessary for safety confirmation at SMEs in the event of a disaster.

To help SMEs resolve management issues, Daido Life provides various support services below.

Taking into account the attributes and diverse needs of customers, T&D Financial Life responds to various requirements such as growing and using funds after retirement, leaving assets to family members, and preparing for long-term care or dementia. At the same time, we develop products and services that help customers use their life insurance to form and manage assets, and have worked to bolster our product lineup.

T&D Financial Life has been working to further improve customer satisfaction by making administrative and system improvements that contribute to customer-oriented business operations, such as collecting customer feedback, conducting interviews with solicitation agents, and studying the market environment including various financial products, legal aspects and industry trends.

Since May 2023, we have adopted an AI-driven voice-based response system (Voice Bot) to promptly respond to customer inquiries. When a customer contacts our service center by telephone, they can answer questions from the Voice Bot verbally. This has made it possible to accept requests for some procedural documents and inquire about matters such as surrender values 24 hours a day, including on weekends and public holidays.

In February 2024, we launched the AI Fund Prediction Service. The service, the first of its kind in the industry, predicts unit price movement for separate accounts based on economic indicators and other data. Through the service, customers can view AI-driven predicted unit price change rates (versus the end of the previous month) for separate accounts being handled through the Hybrid Asset Life, Hybrid Anshin Life and Hybrid Tsumitate Life products.

In March 2024, we adopted Gokazoku Anshin Service (services that bring peace of mind to family members) as the informal name for our Family Registration Program and expanded the service to enable policy change procedures as well as the designation of accounts in the names of registered family members as payee accounts for insurance payouts and benefits.

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 factors. In particular, the T&D Japanese Equity ESG Research Fund, which is a 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 materialitydriven 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 2024, the number of articles topped 435.
In addition, information on preventing injuries and providing preventative care against disease is regularly disseminated via the Pet & Family Insurance website and official LINE account.

We believe that in order to Provide Workplace Environments that Enable Diverse Human Resources to Participate Actively, it is necessary to respect the personalities 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 personalities 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. In addition, each Group company has introduced systems such as management by objectives and a 360-degree evaluation system, to ensure that employees clearly understand their roles and objectives and can experience confidence and satisfaction by achieving their objectives. These initiatives lead to accelerate employees’ career advancement and the development of human resources.

As of the end of March 2024, a total of 402 employees with disabilities, including 50 new recruits for fiscal 2023, worked at the three life insurance companies, which account for 2.58% 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 set targets for promoting female employees to management positions (25% by 2027 and 30% by 2030), and are working to systematically nurture female employees for promotion to management positions.

The T&D Insurance Group has disclosed action plans for promoting the active participation of women and targets for promoting female employees to management positions. The ratio of female managers has been steadily increasing.

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.

Daido Life treats same-sex partners as spouses under its leave and benefit program and has also established an “LGBT Consultation Desk” that gives advice to and deals with a wide range of inquiries from sexual minority employees.

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. To enable diverse work styles, the company introduced a flextime system with no core hours, the home-based work system and satellite office work system. The company also has other systems to support employees to balance their jobs with life at home that go above and beyond what is required by law. For instance, a childcare leave system available to employees with children no older than three years, a shorter working hours system available to employees with children up until the end of elementary school, and a nursing care leave system that can be utilized for up to three years. Taiyo Life also encourages male employees to take childcare leave of one month (20 business days), with their salaries paid in full during that time. In addition, the company is implementing initiatives to achieve a work-life balance, including expanding the scope of application of hospital leave, which was previously limited to pre- and post-natal care, infertility treatment and cancer treatment, to include cerebrovascular disease and cardiovascular disease from October 2023.

Daido Life has introduced a range of initiatives such as a flextime system with no core hours, “early finish” days, and a system of taking leave in units of one hour, and is working to achieve a work-life balance by encouraging all employees to reduce their working hours and take leave.

The company also encourages diverse work styles, reducing constraints on work locations by actively utilizing home-based work and also establishing satellite offices, introducing shared offices operated by private companies, and utilizing online communication tools. In recognition of its approach and initiatives, the company has received a great many awards relating to telework from government ministries and agencies and other organizations.

Meanwhile, Daido Life goes above and beyond what is required by law in supporting employees to balance their jobs with life at home, including expanding eligibility for the system of shorter working hours and childcare leave to the end of the 6th grade of elementary school, and awarding 10 days of paid leave for caring for sick family members/nursing care. The Company provides a wide range of other support systems according to the specific circumstances and provides a handbook explaining the support available to employees to encourage employees to use them.

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 home-based work (telework) systems to realize more flexible work styles. In addition, it is advancing initiatives for the realization of worklife 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.

The Paris Agreement adopted in December 2015 set holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels as long term global goals. Achieving net zero emissions and carbon neutrality by 2050 is required to realize this target. Moreover, in December 2022, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted, setting out new global goals and targets for biodiversity. The mission of the framework is to take urgent action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss to put nature on a path to recovery by 2030. To protect the environment, transition to a low-carbon or 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. 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.

The T&D Insurance Group formulated the T&D Insurance Group Environmental Policy and has been working to protect the environment in areas such as forest conservation activities. With the publication of the final recommendation of the TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures) in September 2023, the importance of natural capital disclosure has increased. Accordingly, the T&D Insurance Group is also taking action in compliance with the TNFD Framework and registered as a TNFD Adopter in September 2024. Our system of governance for nature capital-related organizations is the same as that shown on page 60. The Group recently also conducted an analysis of the nature-related risks of investees according to the LEAP approach.^*1

• The analysis results showed that our natural capital that is highly dependent is habitats and water.

• The analysis results showed that our greatest impacts on nature are GHG emissions, soil pollution, solid waste and water pollution.

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 2023, 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.

• Our goal is to achieve a 40% reduction in CO₂ emissions by 2025, and further aim for a 70% reduction by 2030. (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 investment behavior of institutional investors, who manage long-term funds, plays a major role in solving various social issues and realizing a sustainable society. Recognizing this role, the T&D Insurance Group secures stable investment income and contributes 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 our ‘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 financing that considers ESG issues. Specifically, we are promoting investment and financing 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, the company promotes sustainable growth of companies it invests in by fully understanding the situation of the companies, including environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues, during the investment process. Also the company conducts constructive dialogue (engagement) and exercises voting rights to promote the sustainable growth of these companies. In these ways, the company aims to increase the medium- and long-term investment returns on the assets 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, each company in 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 medium- to 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 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 investees and borrowers 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 project finance, we assess 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 financing 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 specific weapons (manufacturers of cluster munitions, biological and chemical weapons, landmines, nuclear weapons, 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 exploration 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 exploration 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 investments and loans on themes that contribute to creating a sustainable society. The cumulative amount of ESG-themed investment and financing made as of the end of FY2023 was 960 billion yen.

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 in below.

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 provide long-term support and encouragement to investees and borrowers by exchanging opinions on reduction efforts and progress, and by sharing awareness.

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 effects and effectiveness of our investments.

The table below shows the CO₂ emissions of Taiyo Life and Daido Life’s investment and loan portfolios as of the end of FY2023.

CO₂ emissions (emission intensity) of the companies’ portfolios of stocks and bonds and loans to domestic listed companies, which can be compared to the interim target toward the achievement of net zero emissions, were 0.58 tons per million yen, a 49% reduction compared to the FY2020 level. We will continue working steadily to achieve the interim target, including by engaging with the companies that we invest in or lend to. We have begun measuring CO₂ emissions associated with government bonds issued by Japanese and foreign governments. The CO₂ emissions of the government bond portfolio of Taiyo Life and Daido Life as of the end of FY2023 were 6.53 million tons.

We have begun to measure the CO₂ emissions attributable to the assets managed by T&D Asset Management. We measured emissions associated with the stocks and bonds of domestic listed companies and government bonds issued by Japanese and foreign governments held by T&D Asset Management as of the end of FY2023. Through dialogue and other initiatives, T&D Asset Management will assist the organizations it invests in their reduction of CO₂ emissions, aiming to help establish a decarbonized society.