Introduction: Our Vision of Society

The Seven & i Group has various points of contact with customers, including food, clothing, housing, and financial services. We have about 22,800 stores in Japan, which are visited by more than 22.2 million people every day. Our business rests on the pedestal of our position as part and parcel of the daily lives of customers. To make local communities sustainable, we have identified, as material issues,^*1 social issues that should be solved in a priority manner through our main businesses. In our Medium-Term Management Plan 2021–25,^*2 we have committed ourselves to the promotion of sustainable management.

Among the material issues, through our Approach to Nature and Biodiversity (3. Realize decarbonization, circular economy, and society in harmony with nature, through environmental efforts), we will undertake initiatives to prepare for and prevent issues that threatens the daily lives of customers and local communities, such as natural disasters, which are increasing in number, and the procurement of product raw materials, which is becoming increasingly unstable. To accelerate these initiatives on material issues, in May 2019 we issued the “GREEN CHALLENGE 2050” environmental declaration,^*3 which outlines a roadmap for the society we are aiming for in the years 2030 and 2050.

In this environmental declaration, we have set medium- to long-term goals in four fields—reduction of CO₂ emissions, measures against plastic, measures against food loss/waste and for organic waste recycling, and sustainable procurement—toward a transition to three forms of society, namely, a decarbonized society, a circular economy, and a society in harmony with nature.

Regarding the TNFD, we support the TNFD principles, participated in the TNFD Forum in January 2023, and the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN)’s Corporate Engagement Program in February 2023. By March 2024, we signaled our intent to adopt the TNFD Recommendations (TNFD Adopters) and began analysis and disclosure.

The Seven & i Group utilizes and has impacts on nature, both directly, and indirectly, throughout its supply chains. For example, the retail food business relies on various benefits from nature, such as abundant water resources used for cultivation and pollinators, centered on the procurement of raw materials in upstream supply chains. Also, excessive extraction of resources and over application of agricultural chemicals and fertilizers may have negative impacts on nature.

There are concerns that changes in nature will have impacts on business, including difficulty procuring and using raw materials. To maintain business over the medium to long term, it is crucial that we understand and manage the relationships between business and nature so that we can minimize the negative impact that business has on nature.

Therefore, our group promotes business activities that take nature into consideration to stop and restore the loss of nature and biodiversity (nature-positive).

The Seven & i Group recognizes these dependencies and impacts on nature, as well as the associated risks and opportunities, and by promoting sustainable procurement and utilization as a group, we aim to contribute to achieving nature-positive outcomes.

Scoping (Selection of the Evaluation Scope)

  We started by surveying all Group operating companies about how their business is related to nature. When performing the evaluation, we used ENCORE,^*1 a tool recommended by the TNFD, to identify general dependencies and impacts within those companies’ industries and scored^*2 the results and mapped them along two axes: dependencies and impacts.

  The mapping results revealed that the upstream activities of gasoline retail and real estate development, specifically 'gasoline extraction' and 'construction and civil engineering,' have significant impacts on nature. In the food-related business, it was found that the upstream supply chain, particularly 'agricultural production,' has a high dependency on and significant impact on nature.

　In the Locate phase, we identified the sourcing countries and regions for coffee procured by 'Seven-Eleven Japan,' '7-Eleven, Inc.,' and private brand products 'Seven Premium,' and evaluated their relationship with nature and biodiversity.

  When performing the valuation, the results were organized based on five criteria defined by the TNFD (criteria relating to the importance of conservation, ecosystem intactness, rapid degradation of ecosystem intactness, importance of ecosystem services, and water stress). We also took into consideration procurement ratios and selected priority regions from among the major procurement sources.

　In the Evaluate phase, we dug deeper into the evaluation results obtained during the Scoping phase and identified general dependence and impact items in coffee production. Based on the results, there are concerns regarding the impacts including deforestation due to the conversion to farmland, the decline in water resources in conjunction with the use of ground and surface water, and soil contamination and water pollution caused by the use of agricultural chemicals and fertilizers.

  At the same time, there is a high degree of dependence on the functions of nature, such as the abundant provision of water, controlling flooding and inundation and preventing landslides by covering and solidifying soil with vegetation and so on. Looking to individual regions, in South America, which has high procurement volumes, the risks associated with identified dependencies and impacts are high, and we recognize this as a region where responses should be prioritized.

  Additionally, coffee has a high dependency on water and there are concerns about its impact on surface and groundwater pollution. In Central America, where water scarcity is significant, addressing water-related issues is considered a high priority. In the future, based on the results from the (1) Locate and (2) Evaluate phases, we will identify risks and opportunities relating to coffee and evaluate their scale (the (3) Assess phase in LEAP analysis), and based on that we will investigate countermeasures (the (4) Prepare phase in the LEAP analysis).

Evaluation of Dependencies and Impacts on Nature Relating to Coffee Beans

   Seven-Eleven Japan supports the production areas of its representative product, "Seven Cafe." The support program is determined after confirming the issues that each production countries facing

　The Seven & i Group sees sustainability issues including climate change and natureal capital as something that should be addressed Group-wide, and we have created governance structures centered on supervision by the Board of Directors and the CSR Management Committee.

  The Board of Directors receives reports from the Sustainability Development Department that is a secretariat for the CSR Management Committee on our efforts for sustainability at least once a year, supervises their progress and the status of achieving the goal, and reviews our policies and efforts as appropriate.

   The CSR Management Committee, chaired by Representative Director and President of Seven & i Holdings, meets twice a year, attended by CSR managers (e.g., representative director and president) of Group companies including the CEO of 7-Eleven, Inc. and managers from related divisions at Seven & i Holdings. Under the CSR Management Committee, the Environment Subcommittee has been established as a subcommittee to deal with climate change and natural capital issues.

　The Group has established a risk management system with the Risk Management Committee at its core, based on the basic rules for risk management. Each Group company identifies its own risks based on the Group’s common risk classification, and evaluates them from quantitative and qualitative perspectives, taking into account their degree of impact and likelihood of occurrence. The risks and mitigation measures are compiled into risk assessment sheets and reports to the Risk Management Committee Secretariat. The risk assessment sheets include risks related to climate change such as CO₂ emission regulations.

　The climate related risks of 7-Eleven, Inc., which 7-Eleven, Inc. conducted TCFD analysis in the fiscal year 2024, are also managed under the risk management framework of Seven & i Group.

　The Group has set goals for reducing CO₂ emissions, measures against plastic waste, reducing food waste and food recycling, as well as sourcing sustainable raw materials in its “GREEN CHALLENGE 2050” environmental declaration and discloses the progress of these targets.