Seven & i Holdings accommodates requests from elementary, junior high and high schools in the communities where its stores are located and provides students with opportunities to learn about jobs performed by store employees and actually experience stocking the sales areas, serving customers, and packaging products. At Ito-Yokado for example, in the fiscal year ended February 28, 2015 we offered 604 such programs and 6,802 students participated.

Ito-Yokado and Sogo & Seibu have created store environments that make shopping easier for people with children, providing lounges for diaper changing and breast- or bottle-feeding. The stores also offer a free service that allows mothers and expectant mothers to consult with a health nurse or midwife on childcare issues to help address the problem of a general lack of accessible people for mothers to consult with. As of the end of February 2015, consultations have been made available at 120 Ito-Yokado stores and 18 Sogo & Seibu stores. We also hold parenting classes for mothers and events to introduce people to the joy of raising children. Ito-Yokado has been recognized for its activities in this area and in November 2014 received the Encouragement Award from the Kanagawa Prefectural Government at the Kanagawa Children and Child-Raising Support Awards.

In Japan, the number of retail stores has decreased in many areas along with shrinking public transportation networks. Increasing numbers of people also feel worried about driving as they age. For these reasons, the number of people who have difficulties with daily shopping has increased, mainly among the elderly, and this has become a social issue.

Seven & i Holdings provides support for guide dog training, collecting donations at Ito-Yokado, York Mart, and Sogo & Seibu stores.

At our store facilities, we have incorporated universal design considerations into store designs to make them more accessible for all people, and employee training is conducted to ensure store personnel are able to adequately assist people with physical disabilities. In addition, the ATM machines of Seven Bank are equipped with a voice guidance system that allows people with visual disabilities and others who cannot use a touch panel to operate the machines using an intercom to make cash withdrawals, deposits and balance inquiries.

Japan has an abundance of artificial forests that are no longer maintained and do not adequately perform the functions of regular forests, such as absorbing carbon dioxide. Seven & i Holdings is involved in forest preservation activities together with the Seven-Eleven Foundation to help address the issues of global CO₂ emissions reduction and biodiversity protection. The "Seven & i Forest" conservation project maintains forests in 15 locations throughout Japan, coordinating with forestry associations and others involved to thin trees, clear out underbrush and other maintenance with the goal of turning the sites into sustainable forests that will also help protect biodiversity. Since Group employees nationwide participate in maintenance activities, the forests also serve as a way of raising environmental awareness. (Approximately 3,150 employees have participated in 33 events as of February 2015.)

Promoting use of forestry products from thinned trees is one of the issues facing Japan's forests. Seven & i Holdings works to promote consumption of forest thinnings by using them in its products. For more details, please visit
Reducing and Innovating Packaging and Containers .