Social Impact and Material ESG Issues
Fuji Oil in society
Fuji Oil Group’s value chain
The Fuji Oil Group is a food ingredient manufacturer that has four business segments: Vegetable Oils and Fats Business, Industrial Chocolate Business, Emulsified and Fermented Ingredients Business, and Soy-Based Ingredients Business. We develop, manufacture, and sell various food ingredients, including oils and fats for chocolate, industrial chocolate, whipping cream, margarine, and soy protein ingredients, mainly made from agricultural products, such as palm oil, cocoa and soybeans. Our customers range widely from food manufacturers to restaurants, convenience stores and retail stores.
Our positive impacts and negative impacts
The Fuji Oil Group recognizes the following positive and negative impacts of our business.
Positive impacts (examples)
- Addressing food resource issues and supporting healthy lives with plant-based food ingredients
- Improving sustainability in the supply chain of raw materials
- Reducing impacts on the global environment by reducing consumption of energy, water, and other natural resources and the generation of CO2, waste, and other emissions at Group companies, primarily in their manufacturing processes
Negative impacts (examples)
- Environmental degradation and human rights violations in the value chain
- Impact on the global environment through the consumption of energy, water and other natural resources and the generation of CO2, waste, and other emissions by Group companies, primarily in their manufacturing processes
Four sustainability activity areas
The Fuji Oil Group classified the activities contributing to the promotion of sustainability management into the following four areas. Activity guidelines were set for each area.

Advancing the SDGs

Our material ESG issues
Basic approach
The Fuji Oil Group identifies material ESG issues as areas where we can contribute, through our business activities, to the sustainable development of society, our own sustainable growth and the creation of value for society. Material ESG issues contribute to two of the four activity areas for promoting sustainability management: “Creation of positive impact” and “Reduction of negative impact.”
Material ESG issues for FY2022
Our material ESG issues for FY2022 are listed below. Please refer to the relevant webpages for details on our basic approach, goals and the status of initiatives concerning each issue.
Value creation
Creation of sustainable food resources
Action theme/Person in charge/SDGs we aim to support | Our vision | FY2022 Goals | FY2021 Results |
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Establish alternative technologies and disseminate environment-friendly plant-based food ingredients — a substitute for animal protein and dairy products — to address the concerning issue of food resource shortages in the future
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Health and nutrition
Action theme/Person in charge/SDGs we aim to support | Our vision | FY2022 Goals | FY2021 Results |
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Contribute to well-being among older people by addressing health issues and removing lifestyle limitations
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Provide nutritionally balanced food products that help prevent lifestyle-related diseases by replacing certain sugars with plant-based protein ingredients
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Reduce the amount of trans-fatty acids (TFA) contained in products in compliance with the WHO’s recommendations and the laws and regulations of each country (in regions where the TFA intake exceeds 1% of the total daily energy intake)
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10 out of 14 relevant Group companies outside Japan have completed the switch to low-TFA products (as of March 2022)
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Sustainable procurement
Action theme/Person in charge/SDGs we aim to support | Our vision | FY2022 Goals | FY2021 Results |
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- *1 Good Agricultural Practices
- *2 Round Table on Responsible Soy Association
Safety, quality, and the environment
Product safety and quality
Action theme/Person in charge/SDGs we aim to support | Our vision | FY2022 Goals | FY2021 Results |
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Ensuring product safety and quality |
Ensure that the Fuji Oil Group is never a cause for complaints for any of the products it manufactures
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Zero serious quality-related complaints
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Serious quality-related complaints: 0
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Occupational health and safety
Action theme/Person in charge/SDGs we aim to support | Our vision | FY2022 Goals | FY2021 Results |
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Promoting occupational health and safety |
Place top priority on safety and respect for humanity. Keep all Group companies accident free by creating safe and comfortable workplaces
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Eliminate the occurrence of serious accidents and serious property damage accidents
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Zero cases of serious accidents and serious property damage accidents
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Climate change
Action theme/Person in charge/SDGs we aim to support | Our vision | FY2022 Goals | FY2021 Results |
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CO2 emissions reduction |
Environmental Vision 2030
Scope 1 and 2: 40% reduction (absolute) Scope 3 (Category 1): 18% reduction (absolute) Achieve both by 2030 (based year:2016) Note: Approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) |
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Technologies developed for eliminating chemicals, capturing and utilizing carbon (CCU), and other applications reduce the Group's global environmental impact across its value chain
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Water resources
Action theme/Person in charge/SDGs we aim to support | Our vision | FY2022 Goals | FY2021 Results |
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Water use reduction |
Environmental Vision 2030
20% reduction in water use (intensity) by 2030 (base year: 2016) |
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25% reduction
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Circular economy
Action theme/Person in charge/SDGs we aim to support | Our vision | FY2022 Goals | FY2021 Results |
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Waste reduction |
Environmental Vision 2030
10% reduction in waste (intensity) by 2030 (base year: 2016) |
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6.1% reduction
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Contribute to reducing food loss and waste throughout the value chain through technology innovation and reuse/upcycling of byproducts
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Developed and pitched new ingredients that maintain product quality and increased customer adoption
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Biodiversity
Action theme/Person in charge/SDGs we aim to support | Our vision | FY2022 Goals | FY2021 Results |
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Biodiversity conservation and restoration |
Become nature positive in key raw material producing regions
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Formulate Group policy on biodiversity conservation
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It is not included in the ESG materiality in FY2021
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- * Follow the links below to learn more about our biodiversity initiatives.
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Sustainable Procurement of Palm Oil
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Sustainable Procurement of Cocoa
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Sustainable Procurement of Soybeans
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Sustainable Procurement of Shea Kernels
https://www.fujioilholdings.com/en/sustainability/shea_kernel/
Business foundations
DE&I*1
Action theme/Person in charge/SDGs we aim to support | Our vision | FY2022 Goals | FY2021 Results |
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DE&I management*2 |
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Group-wide
Japan
Other countries
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Group-wide
Japan
Other countries
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- *1 Diversity, equity and inclusion.
- *2 A term encapsulating the concepts and practices of providing equitable opportunities and evaluations and developing and leveraging diverse teams through inclusive management.
GRC*
Action theme/Person in charge/SDGs we aim to support | Our vision | FY2022 Goals | FY2021 Results |
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Risk management system |
Earn the trust of society by demonstrating high reliability and risk management capability
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Strong compliance |
Earn the trust of all stakeholders by conducting business fairly, transparently, and with integrity
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Enhance corporate value through the establishment of an effective Group governance system
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Improve corporate value through appropriate functioning of the Board of Directors
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Establish the Board of Directors as a function focused on supervising (monitoring) corporate management
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Carried out deliberations on the following at the board meetings in FY2021
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- * Governance, risk, and compliance
Process of selecting material ESG issues for FY2022
The Fuji Oil Group reviews and selects our material ESG issues once a year based on new social issues and input received from stakeholder dialogue.
In FY2021, the secretariat of the Sustainability Committee updated its list of social issues based on the ESG materiality map created for FY2021 and taking into consideration the GRI*1 and SASB*2 disclosure items, the WBA*3 benchmarks, the SDGs, ESG themes promoted by industry groups, the material issues of other companies in the same industry worldwide, and expert guidance. It then assessed the materiality of the resulting 15 social issues by plotting them on one of three levels on two axes (the Fuji Oil Group’s impact on society and the social issue’s impact on the Fuji Oil Group), creating a draft ESG materiality map for FY2022.
Following a multistakeholder discussion involving Group chief officers in charge of specific material ESG issues, the presidents of regional headquarters, relevant departments, and internal and external experts, the Sustainability Committee — which has around 30 members, including Group chief officers in charge of specific material ESG issues, the managers responsible for promoting ESG initiatives in FY2021 (selected from corporate, business, and R&D divisions), and internal and external experts — then reviewed the validity of the materiality map.
Based on the Sustainability Committee’s conclusions, the committee’s secretariat reported the materiality map and the 11 material ESG issues for FY2022 to the Fuji Oil Holdings Inc. Board of Directors for approval.
As a result of this process, the ESG materiality map and material ESG issues for FY2022 were updated from the FY2021 version based on the following main points.
- Adopt language for the two axes of the ESG materiality map to emphasize the concept of double materiality, and focus the weight of the analysis on the Group’s impact on society.
- Separate “health and nutrition” and “biodiversity” as discrete social issues, reflecting the rise in stakeholder interest in these issues since the analysis conducted in FY2020.
- Adjust the names of some of the social issues to align with stakeholder interests (example: “creative food solutions” to “creation of sustainable food resources”)
- *1 Global Reporting Initiative
- *2 Sustainability Accounting Standards Board
- *3 World Benchmarking Alliance
Identification and selection process
FY2022 ESG materiality map

- *1 “Sustainable procurement” includes important issues such as respect for human rights, biodiversity conservation, and forest conservation.
- *2 Diversity, equity and inclusion
- *3 Governance, risk, and compliance. “GRC” includes corporate governance and internal control. The Sustainability Committee is in charge of monitoring internal control. The Board of Directors is in charge of monitoring corporate governance.