Sustainability Approach and Structure

The Ajinomoto Group aims to contribute to the well-being of all human beings, our society, and our planet with “AminoScience.” To this end, we believe it is necessary to achieve two outcomes by 2030, namely, to help extend the healthy life expectancy of 1 billion people and to reduce our environmental impact by 50%.
The business of the Ajinomoto Group is supported by sound food systems*, or in other words, stable access to food resources and a verdant natural environment supporting these resources. At the same time, our business operations also have a major impact on the environment. Today, as the planet’s environment is reaching a tipping point, our ability to take action to regenerate the environment is an urgent issue for the continuity of the Group’s business operations. By addressing climate change, ensuring the sustainability of food resources, and conserving biodiversity to reduce our environmental impacts, we can sustainably execute initiatives for healthier, better living aimed at extending healthy life expectancy.
Through our business activities, we provide products and services that are tasty, nutritionally balanced, and of benefit for people’s dietary habits, and that further promote a reduced environmental impact caused by greenhouse gases, plastic waste, and food loss and waste. Also, through our resource recycling-based amino acid fermentation process (a bio-cycle), we contribute to sustainable food systems that are more resilient and to regeneration of the global environment.
Our goal is to create a more positive impact on society by leveraging “AminoScience,” a strength of the Ajinomoto Group, to the greatest extent possible, while making steady reductions to negative environmental impacts and other negative impacts.

In the Ajinomoto Group, we honestly comply with the Ajinomoto Group Policies (AGP) that show the ideal way of thinking and action that the Group companies and their officers and employees should comply with, continue to develop and properly operate our internal control system, strengthen our system that considers sustainability as an active risk-taking system, and continuously enhance our corporate value.
We are strengthening our sustainability promotion system in order to continuously increase our corporate value from the perspective of sustainability. As of the publication of this document, this system is outlined below.

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors has established the Sustainability Advisory Council, creating a system to provide recommendations about the Group’s approach to sustainability and ESG. It determines important issues for the Ajinomoto Group (materiality) that serve as guidelines for ASV management and supervises the execution of initiatives related to sustainability.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee has established the Sustainability Committee and the Risk Management Committee as its subordinate bodies, which identifies risks and opportunities based on material matters for the Ajinomoto Group (materiality) and assesses them for degree of impact, formulates measures, and manages their progress. In fiscal 2023, the Executive Committee received two activity reports from the Sustainability Committee.

Sustainability Advisory Council

Beginning April 2023, the Second Term Sustainability Advisory Council will continue its work to enhance the Ajinomoto Group's corporate value from the viewpoint of sustainability. The Second Term Sustainability Advisory Council consists of four external experts, primarily investors and financial market specialists, and is chaired by an external expert. After receiving consultation from the Board of Directors, the council will investigate the implementation of materiality, disclosure and dialogue on its progress, and building relationships with stakeholders through these activities, in the interest of stronger monitoring of the Board of Directors, and issue a report in response to the Board of Directors. The Second Term Sustainability Advisory Council will meet at least twice a year and report the results of its deliberations to the Board of Directors.

• Follow this link for more about the Ajinomoto Sustainability Advisory Council.

Sustainability Committee

In order to advance Medium-Term ASV Initiatives, the Sustainability Committee works with the Risk Management Committee to select and identify risks and opportunities based on materiality as well as assess their impact on the Ajinomoto Group, making proposals to the Executive Committee. The committee then formulates countermeasures and manages the progress of sustainability measures. In addition, the Sustainability Committee formulates the entire Ajinomoto Group's sustainability strategy, promotes action themes (nutrition, environment, and society) based on this strategy, makes proposals and provides support for business plans from a sustainability viewpoint, and compiles internal information on ESG.

Risk Management Committee

The Risk Management Committee works with the Sustainability Committee to select and identify risks calling for particular initiative by management (pandemics, geopolitical risks, information security risks, etc.) based on materiality as well as assess their impact on the Ajinomoto Group, making proposals to the Executive Committee. The committee also formulates risk management measures and manages their progress in order to realize a strong corporate structure capable of responding promptly and appropriately to risks and crises.

The Ajinomoto Group has a wide range of product areas in the food business, from seasonings and foods to frozen foods, and is also expanding its business into fields such as healthcare. As a result, our business is significantly dependent on various natural bounties, or ecosystem services, such as agricultural, livestock, and fisheries resources, genetic resources, water and soil, and pollination from insects and other organisms. We are able to enjoy these natural bounties thanks to a healthy biodiversity shaped by the diversity of organisms and their connections. The issues of biodiversity and those of the environment, such as climate change, the decline of water resources, resource waste, and the pollution of water, air, and soil, are closely intertwined and cannot be separated. Considering this mutual interrelationship, we will work to conserve biodiversity and sustainably use biological resources, taking these and other actions to reduce our environmental impact such as limiting greenhouse gas emissions, effectively using resources, and reducing waste.
In addition, we consider human assets to be the source of all intangible assets, and therefore employee engagement is an important factor for us in increasing corporate value. We will strengthen our investment in human resources so that a diverse team of colleagues imbued with our purpose can deeply engage with consumers and customers and take on the challenge of co-creating innovation.

In order to realize the Purpose-Driven Management by Medium-Term ASV Initiatives2030 Roadmap, including the aforementioned two outcomes, it is extremely important to accurately identify risks and respond to them promptly and appropriately. The Sustainability Committee and the Risk Management Committee work closely to ensure that no risk is left unaddressed by the two committees, selecting and identifying risks and opportunities based on material matters for the Ajinomoto Group (materiality) and making proposals to the Executive Committee. The Sustainability Committee then formulates measures and regularly manages their progress for matters related to sustainability, including social, environmental, and nutritional issues, while the Risk Management Committee handles the same processes for risks that management should take the initiative to address pandemics, geopolitical risks, information security risks, etc.).
At each business site in Japan and overseas, we implement a risk process cycle identifying risks and formulating countermeasures, taking into account individual business strategies and local political, economic, and social conditions. The Risk Management Committee continuously improves this risk process cycle, compiles the risks identified by each site, and responds to those calling for initiative by management. In addition, each business and corporation has formulated a business continuity plan (BCP) in preparation for emergencies, and the Risk Management Committee has established a system for constant verification of each BCP's effectiveness and regularly monitors and manages risk response. Full-time Audit Committee members attend the Sustainability Committee and the Risk Management Committee to monitor risk management process.

We will continue our work to achieve a 50% reduction in environmental impact by 2030, as well as achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
We will also continue our efforts toward goals in existing major themes by 2030, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, plastic waste, and food loss and waste, as well as achieving sustainable procurement.

Progress in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Scope 1 and 2 and cutting food loss and waste has exceeded our plans. As for reducing GHG emissions in Scope 3, the dialogues with MSG raw material suppliers in Thailand that started in fiscal 2022 will transition to a reduction effort execution stage in fiscal 2024.We intend to expand these activities to other areas horizontally. With regard to plastic waste reduction, we are working to reduce usage and switch to recyclable packaging materials, as well as toward the social implementation of recycling. Regarding sustainable procurement, we are promoting initiatives in priority raw materials, and in fiscal 2023, we also promoted biodiversity initiatives.

In addition, we will work to improve employee engagement scores as a measure to enhance intangible assets and help achieve our ASV metrics.

ASV indicators

We are working to reduce our environmental impact by 50% by 2030 and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
In addition, we are aiming to increase the employee engagement score to 80% (fiscal 2025) and 85% (fiscal 2030).