Internal and External Communication

Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. and its consolidated subsidiaries (hereinafter referred to as "our Group") are utilizing the characteristics of the retail business, which is used by approximately 22.4 million customers every day in Japan alone, to promote environmental activities along with its customers. Moreover, we emphasize collaboration with various stakeholders through participation in the activities of external organizations and communication with NPOs. Further, to promote environmental activities, it is necessary for each and every one of our more than 70,000 employees in Japan to take action, so we are also focusing our efforts on awareness-raising activities for employees.

  • SDGs4 QUALITY EDUCATION
  • SDGs12 RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION
  • SDGs15 LIFE ON LAND

Communication with Customers

Our Group is committed to environmental activities that take advantage of the distinct ability of the retail business to interact directly with many customers.

As part of this commitment, to coincide with Environment Month etc. in every June, we introduce our development of products which combine environmental friendliness and quality via in-store posters and a dedicated website, with the aim of raising customer awareness of environmentally friendly products and of creating opportunities to reflect about and act together in relation to the environment.

Ito-Yokado additionally began an initiative for the collection and recycling of used cooking oil generated in households using special returnable bottles in 2023, with all stores in Tokyo subsequently implementing the initiative in 2024. The used cooking oil collected is being utilized, for example, in the production of soap and ink solvents.

Support for NPOs and Other Environmental Organizations

Seven & i Holdings continues to make donations to various environmental organizations such as the Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund, which promotes wider awareness of biodiversity and supports the nature protection projects of NGOs in and outside of Japan, as well as WWF Japan, environmental and wildlife preservation group. In addition, with regarding to climate change, we joined the Japan Climate Initiative (JCI), the Japan Climate Leaders’ Partnership (JCLP), and the TCFD Consortium, and for plastic issues, we joined the Japan Clean Ocean Material Alliance (CLOMA). We are making efforts to promote environmental activities in cooperation with various companies and organizations.

In addition, the Seven-Eleven Foundation, which was established to engage in environment-themed social contribution activities through unified efforts by 7-Eleven franchised stores and Head Office, has been conducting environmental citizenship activity support projects, natural resource protection and conservation projects, publicity projects, and disaster recovery assistance projects based on donations from customers collected through collection boxes installed in stores* as well as contributions by Seven-Eleven Japan. One of the major pillars of the environmental citizenship activity support projects is the funding of NPOs and civic groups conducting regional environmental activities. The foundation has been calling for applications each year since 2001, with the goal of seeing regional donations used to support regional environmental activities.

The Seven-Eleven Foundation also operates the Kokonoe Furusato Nature School located in Kokonoe Town, Kusu District, Oita Prefecture and the Takao Forest Nature School in Hachioji City, Tokyo, based on the principle of “Learning from nature: how to promote coexistence and mutually beneficial relationships between people and nature and the natural environment and local communities.” The Kokonoe Furusato Nature School is working to protect and preserve satochi regions and satoyama landscapes where people and nature coexist. They achieve this through activities such as those to preserve grassland environments and grassland butterflies and through promotion and awareness raising on rice paddies integrated with the natural environment and on vegetables which grow in and are traditionally associated with the local area. In addition, the Takao Forest Nature School, which initially opened as a collaborative project with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) in 2015, celebrated the 10th anniversary of its establishment in 2025. The project is operated in approximately 26.5 ha TMG-owned forest, where programs to allow participants to experience and learn about the importance of biodiversity are implemented via protection and conservation activities for invaluable flora and fauna. We are working to develop the human resources who will be responsible for passing on the region’s nature, history, and culture to future generations utilizing the knowledge gained from these activities.

Donation Amounts at Seven-Eleven Storefronts

FY2021 FY2022 FY2023 FY2024 

¥436,809,753

\429,428,907

\404,599,793

\516,614,107

* The total amount of storefront donations since fiscal year 1994 is ¥10,143,901,735.

Grant Achievements for Environmental Civic Activities (including continuous grants)

  FY2021 FY2022 FY2023 FY2024 
Total Number of Grants

272

285

268

275 

Total Amount of Grants \138,350,724 

\155,361,354 

\161,864,664 

\153,926,505 

*The cumulative number of grants since fiscal year 2001 is 5,178, and the total amount of these grants is ¥3,032,693,353.

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Takao Forest and Nature School

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Collection box placed on counters in stores

FurusatoNatureSchool.jpg

Kokonoe Furusato Nature School

Responding to Opinions and Requests

Our Group receives and responds to opinions and requests relating to the environment from customers and civic groups at the customer support departments of each Group company and at the Sustainability Development Office of Seven & i Holdings. In 2022, when we revised the material issues that Seven & i Holdings should address, we identified our material issues upon engaging in dialogue with stakeholders including customers, business partners, shareholders, and other investors, as well as sustainability experts.

Employee Environmental Education

In order to raise the environmental awareness of employees, our Group regularly holds training, events, and more with the aim of instilling basic knowledge and facilitating understanding of environmental matters in line with the characteristics of each of their businesses.

Conducting Group-Wide e-Learning

In response to the “GREEN CHALLENGE 2050” environmental declaration announced in May 2019, our Group has conducted Group-wide e-learning every year since 2020. In the fiscal year ended February 28, 2025, this e-learning was implemented for all our Group employees in Japan, with content that focused on introducing the status of the Group’s initiatives for the achievement of the targets in the “GREEN CHALLENGE 2050” environmental declaration, and activities that can contribute to the achievement of the targets through work and daily life.

Holding Environmental Events to Raise Awareness Among Employees

Our Group holds internal environmental events to provide opportunities to raise the environmental awareness of employees. For example, the Group employees participate alongside 7-Eleven franchisees in volunteer activities organized by the Seven-Eleven Foundation. Major activities include such conservation efforts as forest care operations ranging from tree planting to tree thinning and undergrowth cutting at “Seven Forests” in 19 locations throughout Japan (as of the end of February 2025), and marine afforestation initiatives to cultivate eelgrass habitats, which purify water and reduce CO2, thereby enriching the marine environments in Tokyo Bay and Osaka Bay. Personnel from Seven-Eleven Japan franchised stores and Head Office employees as well as the Group employees take part in these activities.

Additionally, we are engaged in various activities to raise employee awareness, particularly in October, which has been designated as Environment Month. In the fiscal year ended February 29, 2024, we conducted a food drive, involving households bring in surplus food to donate to a food bank, and tested an app that encourages environmentally friendly behavioral changes. In March 2024, this app commenced full-scale operations and, as of September 2024, 15 Group companies are providing employees with opportunities to reflect on environmental and societal issues as matters which directly concern them.

Number of Participants in "Seven Forest" Activities

FY2021 FY2022 FY2023 FY2024 

494

1,058

1,771

 2,071

* Cumulative total of 23,919 participants

Initiatives for Material Issue 6