Co-existence with Local Communities
Policy
A principle of our Group’s business is to “engage in corporate activities rooted in our communities and actively contribute to society,” as expressed in the Fuji Oil Group Management Philosophy.*
Management system
Each company in our Group carries out community development activities specific to the country and region in which they operate. Group-wide and interregional activities are led by Fuji Oil Holdings Inc.
Basic approach
With key operating sites in 14 countries (as of July 2024), our Group aims to contribute to the development of local communities by carrying out social development initiatives that are in line with local needs. We engage in community-based corporate activities and dialogues, and use the perspectives gained from these activities in our management. We also believe that working in such initiatives enables Group employees to find greater job satisfaction and raise their awareness of sustainability.
To learn more about our engagement with communities and other main stakeholders, refer to our initiatives for each material ESG issue and the link below.
-
Stakeholder Engagement
* https://www.fujioilholdings.com/en/sustainability/stakeholder_engagement/
Specific initiativesGRI:203-2, 413-1
Food education using our main raw materials (soybeans, palm oil and cocoa)
Since FY2014, Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. has been conducting a food education project in Japan in cooperation with the nonprofit Houkago NPO AFTER-SCHOOL. The objective is to get children to become curious about human and planetary health by teaching them about global food issues and the importance of food.
In FY2023, we once again held three programs: one on soybeans (“The Global Environment and Our Food”) and two on palm oil ("Food Education Bingo" and “Food Detectives, Discover the Secrets of Food!”), with fifteen of our employees acting as lecturers. We also developed a new “cocoa program” to help students learn about the issues surrounding chocolate and consider what actions they can take. We held two trial classes and the program will be fully operational from FY2024.
For the four programs, we taught a combined 31 classes in-person on soy, palm oil, and cocoa to 830 students at 16 elementary schools. A total of 5,979 children have participated in the food education project since it began.
Aside from the food education project, we also held food education events for students and their parents. In FY2023, more than 250 people across seven locations explored the topic of global sustainability through familiar foods, using ingredients used by the Fuji Oil Group as subject matter.

Food Education Bingo, food education lecture on soybeans

Tag created by a cocoa program participant
Comments from participants:
- Please make more meals made with soybeans and deliver delicious and healthy for people all over the world. (3rd grader)
- From now on, I’ll try to eat more soybeans instead of just meat so that people around the world can eat more. I’d like to decide on what to eat with people around the world in mind. (5th grader)
- The children really enjoyed the quiz and stories, which piqued their interest. It was a very interesting lesson about food that cannot be found in the regular school curriculum. This one-hour lesson made me realize once more the importance of food education. (Teacher at school venue)
- I learned about palm oil and its relationship with our planet for the first time. This experience made me want to find out more about oil and food with less impact on the environment. (6th grader)
- We usually sell the food ingredients for school lunches, but I’ve never had the opportunity to meet and talk with the children who actually eat them. I felt the social significance of my work, and now I feel more engaged with it. (Employee lecturer)
- I learned that the chocolate that we usually eat does not come from one company alone, but also from other companies and people behind the scenes who support the company through B2B. Learning that many people are involved in a single chocolate before it gets to us made me want to eat chocolate with more gratitude. (High school student)
Support for SDGs for School
Since 2018, Fuji Oil Holdings Inc. has sponsored SDGs for School,* a project run by the non-profit Think the Earth. The project supports class teachers and students by creating educational content and networking spaces for learning about how to create a more sustainable society through the SDGs. In 2021, Think the Earth was officially designated by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment as an organization that supports environmental education, and the programs were registered as services of human resource certification. Continuing from last fiscal year, in FY2023 our Group donated chocolate (two types: with cocoa butter and with vegetable oil) to two high schools in Japan, which was used as aids for teaching about environmental problems through familiar foods. A combined 250 students learned about climate change and the importance of forest conservation.

Hannan Forest Project
Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. launched the Hannan Forest Project in 2010 to regenerate Satoyama landscape in Izumisano City, Osaka Prefecture, where its head office is located.
Since then, project activities have been further developed: From March 2018, the company’s employees have volunteered their time and labor to support park development at Izumisano Kyuryo Ryokuchi* in Osaka.
Local volunteers, the Osaka Prefectural Government, and companies come together once a month to manage the forest and bamboo groves in a designated area of the secondary forest.
In FY2023, the volunteering events were held nine times (120 participants in total). Events were more frequent in FY2023 than in FY2022 as a result of COVID-19 being downgraded to a Category V infectious disease. We expanded our activities further into deeper areas of the secondary forest and provided a trail called the “Explorer Route” through the bamboo forest.
Going forward, employees plan to continue volunteering, with the goal of creating a rich forest for owls, giant flying squirrels, and other wildlife can live.


Thinning a bamboo grove
Fuji Foundation for Protein Research
The Fuji Oil Group founded the Research Committee of Soy Protein Nutrition in 1979 to fund academic research on soy protein. After restructuring as a public interest foundation in 2012, it transformed into the Fuji Foundation for Protein Research*1 to continue building upon this legacy of plant-based protein research. To date, the Foundation has funded over 1,200 studies in total covering a wide range of research fields, including life sciences, dietary culture, culinary science, and breeding. With the ongoing trend toward globalization, we have also been providing research grants to researchers in the Netherlands through the Foundation’s EU branch since FY2023.
The results of the research grants are published annually in the journal “Soy Protein Research, Japan” and posted on the Foundation’s website,*2 where they are widely accessed by researchers.
In addition, the Foundation also holds free open lectures for the general public as part of its public interest mandate to promote awareness and utilization of soy and plant-based proteins. In FY2023, we hosted a seminar in Osaka City featuring three speakers who gave lectures from various perspectives, including (1) the history and uses of soybeans from an archaeological perspective; (2) Japanese home-cooked soybean dishes from the perspective of food culture; and (3) the relationship between soybean consumption and mental health, a modern social issue. More than 170 people attended the seminar, and many more people watched the video archive on the Foundation’s website that was later posted for a definite period.
Through donations to the Foundation, we will continue to support academic research on soy and plant-based proteins and contribute to the social good.
-
*2 Follow the link below for research results.

Soy Protein Research, Japan

Public lecture held in Osaka City
Providing a path to entrepreneurship: Chocolate business startup program for low-income earners in Brazil
Harald Indústria e Comércio de Alimentos Ltda (Brazil) has been running a free chocolate entrepreneurship program since 2019 to help low-income earners generate a profitable secondary source of income. Participants gain practical knowledge, as well as material and technical support, through training conducted by qualified professionals. So far, more than 2,000 people have attended the program, indirectly impacting over 6,000 people. Most of the participants are young people and women between the ages of 18 and 65. The program has gained popularity by helping participants start a business with limited resources and earn a stable income in the short term.
In FY2023, we established new partnerships with NGOs and local governments to intensify our efforts, and increased in-person training at community kitchens and retail stores in São Paulo. Over 2,100 free chocolate and sweets workshops have been held at retail stores to teach basic food preparation skills and inspire potential entrepreneurs. More than 270,000 people have participated across Brazil, creating a positive impact on local communities.
Harald has also been working on a vocational training project with the Bunge Foundation since FY2022 to meet the needs of people seeking employment in the food service industry. The project offers free qualification courses on baking, confectionery, and cooking to young people in the suburbs of São Paulo. In FY2023, 15 students were selected to spend a year obtaining professional certifications, followed by six months of career monitoring in a practical setting to prepare them for employment.


Training classes conducted by the Harald Project together with the Bunge Foundation and other social partners in 2023
Valentine’s Day event: Volunteering at a U.S. facility for people with developmental disabilities
On February 7, 2024, Blommer Chocolate Company (U.S.) participated in a Valentine’s Day event at St. Mary’s of Providence (SMOP), a non-profit residential facility that provides care for approximately 80 women with developmental disabilities. This event was initiated 16 years ago by former Blommer employee Sandy Murphy and is held annually by the Chicago chapter of the American Association of Candy Technologists (AACT). Blommer has been donating chocolates and volunteering every year since the event began. The event brings together confectionery companies from the greater Chicago area to fill the tables with their delicious treats and to help the women celebrate and share the joy of the holidays.
Aside from Blommer, 14 companies participated in 2024: Mars Wrigley, Flavorchem, Jelly Belly, Primrose Candy Company, Roquette, Ferrara Candy Company, Dawn Foods, Bunge, American Licorice Company, Chocolate Inspirations, Sensient, Malt Products Corporation, Lucky Teapot Consulting, and Long Grove Confectionery Company. Ten volunteers from Blommer, including both current and former employees, participated in the event. Blommer’s booth featured a pink strawberry-flavored chocolate fountain and sweets such as brownies, marshmallows, and rice crispies. With help from our employees, the women dipped these treats in the chocolate fountain and decorated them with various sprinkles.

The Blommer team at their booth

Helping the women of St. Mary’s dip their desserts in the chocolate fountain