Seven & i Group is making efforts to reduce its own environmental impact as well as working together with its business partners to reduce environmental impact across the entire supply chain. Besides requesting that our contractors that are manufacturing original products to comply with the Business Partner Sustainable Action Guidelines, we are also working to save energy at factories and introduce eco-friendly vehicles.

To ensure that it meets its social responsibilities on matters such as reducing its impact on the environment, Seven & i Holdings formulated the Business Partner Action Guidelines in 2007 and asks business partners to comply with them. In December 2019, to clarify our intention to build a sustainable society together with our business partners, we enhanced items related to human rights and labor issues. Thus we changed the name of the guidelines to “Seven & i Group Business Partner Sustainable Action Guidelines.”

“8. Global Environmental Conservation” in the Seven & i Group Business Partner Sustainable Action Guidelines defines items such as compliance with environmental laws and regulations, appropriate handling of wastewater and waste, consideration of biodiversity, and proactive use of energy-efficient equipment and eco-friendly technologies, as well as items related to the “GREEN CHALLENGE 2050” environmental declaration.

For our business partners to understand these guidelines for sustainable behavior and take effective action, we are carrying out the following activities, which are primarily aimed at the original products manufactured by the Group companies. In particular, we have been conducting training for our business partners since the fiscal year ending February 28, 2019, to support the promotion of their efforts. In 2019, we held local briefings on the Business Partner Sustainable Action Guidelines and related policies for our business partners at four venues in China and five venues in Southeast Asia. A total of 287 factories (94.4% participation rate^※1) and 482 business partners took part. In the fiscal year ending February 28, 2022, these in-person briefings, "Business Partner Sustainable Action Guidelines and CSR Audit Briefings," were canceled accompanying the global spread of COVID-19.

We began to distribute "Briefings and Practicals on the Business Partner Sustainable Action Guidelines" in an on-demand format to our business partners with manufacturing bases overseas (274 participants from 178 companies^※2) from June 2020. From August 2020, it was possible to view these resources in Chinese and five other Asian languages, while in October instructional video streams for CSR audits with Chinese narration were also distributed to business partners within China (79 participants from 66 companies). In the fiscal year ending February 28, 2022, "Business Partner Sustainable Action Guidelines and CSR Audit Briefings," were distributed in live and on-demand streaming (1,071 participants from 517 companies^※2). In the fiscal year ending February 28, 2023, we distributed live and on-demand streamings (666 participants from 480 companies^※2).

 ◆Awareness and spread: Organizing of briefings

 ◆Confirmation of implementation: Administering of self-check sheet

 ◆Support for implementation: Organizing of compliance training

 ◆Validation of implementation: Conduct of CSR audits and encouraging the taking of corrective action

Since the fiscal year ended February 28, 2013, the Seven & i Group has had CSR audits conducted by third-party inspections organizations at the manufacturing factories of our private brand suppliers in developing countries. The CSR audits include everything from items related to human rights and labor issues to inspections of environmental aspects, such as compliance with environmental laws and regulations, management of effluent and chemical substances, and promotion of energy-saving and environmental protection activities.

If the business partner is found to be in conformance upon completion of the audit, we issue a Certificate of Conformity. However, if items not in conformance with the audit items (nonconforming items) are found, the third-party auditing organization will indicate the nonconforming items to the business partner in question. If the audit finds items that do not comply with the audit program (unacceptable items), the external audit organization provides guidance to the business partner concerned. The business partners must submit a corrective action plan (CAP) to the auditing organization within 10 days of the audit being completed, and must take immediate action to improve the items. After receiving a report on the completion of improvements for the relevant items, the completion of improvements is confirmed based on the submission of photos showing the improvements, guarantee documents (evidence) and other materials. However, for factories that exceed certain standards, such as when numerous serious unacceptable items are found, the resolution of issues is confirmed through another visit to perform a re-audit. When correction of the non-compliant items is completed or the third-party auditing organization and Seven & i Holdings judge that the plan contained in the CAP is valid, a Certificate of Conformity is issued to the relevant business partner.

The issuance of a “Certificate of Conformity” is a prerequisite for a business relationship to continue. In addition, when a new transaction is requested, we ask that you understand and comply with the “Seven & i Group Business Partner Sustainable Action Guidelines” and begin the transaction after a “Certificate of Conformity” has been issued through a CSR audit.

Seven-Eleven Japan has its original daily products manufactured by several contract manufacturers. These manufacturers have organized the Nihon Delica Foods Association, which reports on the CO₂ emissions, waste emissions, and the food recycle rate. It works to ascertain the environmental information of our contract manufacturers and hold study seminars through the “Environmental Promotion Team” (held monthly) under the CSR Promotion Committee of the Nihon Delica Foods Association, where it shares and spread examples from each manufacturer. 

221 factories in Japan that are tasked with manufacturing the Group's “Seven Premium” private brand products have acquired ISO 14001 certification for their environmental management systems.

Seven & i Holdings is working to reduce CO₂ emissions and evaluate its environmental impact at every stage from the supply chain through to sales and consumption, as stated in its Fundamental Policies Relating to Measures to Contribute to the Prevention of Global Warming. To this end, the Group has calculated the CO₂ emissions (“Scope 3”) throughout the entire supply chain following the “Basic Guidelines on Accounting for Greenhouse Gas Emissions throughout the Supply Chain Ver. 2.4.” of the Ministry of the Environment. For the fiscal year ending February 28, 2023, we calculated emissions for 10 major Group companies.^※2 The results showed that Scope 3 emissions accounted for almost 90% of the Group’s overall emissions, and of these, around 80% originated in the raw materials procurement process. We will analyze this calculation result and use it to achieve further reductions of CO₂ emissions across the entire supply chain.

Seven & i Holdings is asking its partners who deliver products to stores to cooperate with efforts to introduce eco-friendly vehicles, improve fuel efficiency, and reduce store delivery frequencies. Furthermore, progress is also being made in fitting trucks with drive-data terminals that record driving status. Data collected from the terminals is used to provide driver instruction and eco-driving seminars.

For its delivery vehicles that convey products to stores, Seven-Eleven Japan is introducing clean diesel engines, compressed natural gas (CNG), hybrid vehicles, and EV trucks and hydrogen-powered fuel cell trucks that do not emit CO₂, with the goal of reducingCO₂ emissions to achieve a decarbonized society. Of the total of 6,169 delivery vehicles, 4,860 are environmentally friendly vehicles (as of the end of February 2023).

Since March 2018, Seven-Eleven Japan has been cooperating with a project being conducted by Ehime Prefecture to encourage the use of biodiesel fuel produced from used frying oil. Seven-Eleven Japan has been refining bio diesel fuel from oil collected from households, fryers in 7-Eleven stores, and production of fried foods at specialized factories in Ehime Prefecture. Seven-Eleven Japan projects that approximately 300,000 liters of bio diesel fuel will be used each year and that emissions from deliveries will be reduced by about 40 ton kg-CO₂ per year.

In March 2018, Seven-Eleven Japan introduced three EV trucks from Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, with the scope for introduction of EV trucks currently being further expanded for store deliveries.

Additionally, in April 2019, it introduced two light fuel cell trucks developed by Toyota Motor Corporation. These trucks run on a fuel cell (FC unit) that uses hydrogen to generate electricity, has a maximum loading capacity of three tons, a cruising range of approximately 200 kilometers, and does not emit environmentally hazardous substances during operation. Also, the electricity generated by the FC unit is used to power the refrigeration unit. As of 2023, three small fuel cell trucks are in operation in Tokyo and Fukushima Prefecture.

In February 2023, York-Benimaru commenced deliveries to its stores utilizing “small hydrogen fuel cell trucks.” Going forward, retail, logistics, infrastructure, and vehicle manufacturers will actively work together on managing operations for hydrogen fuel cell trucks and on building energy management systems (creation of optimum hydrogen station operations). As of the end of February 2023, two vehicles were in operation in Koriyama City.

Seven-Eleven Japan is promoting the introduction of eco-friendly tires with low rolling resistance for delivery vehicles. As of the end of February 2023, it have installed ecofriendly tires on 6,107 delivery vehicles, representing approximately 99% of the total fleet.

Moreover, Seven-Eleven Japan has also introduced retread tires. These tires are made from tires that have finished their service life, by removing a certain amount of the rubber surface that makes contact with the road and applying new rubber and tread. In this way, they can be re-used as rear tires for delivery vehicles. Seven-Eleven Japan will promote the use of retread tires to contribute to resource conservation and waste reduction by reusing them.

Seven-Eleven Japan is promoting efforts to reduce wasteful power usage at its distribution centers by introducing “demand controllers” that monitor the electricity usage of each unit of equipment and apply controls to the equipment in use to ensure that the usage does not exceed a certain range at 65 of 164 distribution centers (as of the end of February 2023).

Seven & i Holdings is actively supporting and participating in external organizations/initiatives both domestically and internationally such as the industry-government-academia collaborations and consortiums. We actively collect information on advanced technologies and know-hows on sustainability through initiatives, participate in regular/irregular seminars and study groups, as well as dispatch our information by discussions and presentations at symposiums/seminars/gatherings. By working to further reduce the environmental impact of the Group through collaborative and cooperative activities with suppliers and other stakeholders, we advance our efforts to realize our prosperous and sustainable society together.