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Environmental

Responses to TCFD (Climate Change)

Governance

The Board of Directors' approach to climate change

Climate change is a huge issue that will dramatically change the entire financial market, and we recognize that addressing the issue of climate change is an important task.

The Board of Directors is actively and proactively dealing with issues related to sustainability, based on the recognition that it is the body to decide policies for ESG in general, including climate change, and carries out evaluation and monitoring. Going forward, we will continue efforts to reduce the environmental impact of the Group's business activities, while addressing climate change risks to prevent damage to our medium- to long-term corporate value. Moreover, we will contribute to the realization of a resilient and sustainable society through services such as ESG consulting for listed companies that are clients of the Group.

Strategy

The Group conducted a scenario analysis based on the TCFD recommendations to estimate the risks of, opportunities for and financial impact on its own business activities.

Climate change risks and opportunities

Climate change risks and opportunities in the 2-dgree and 4-degree scenarios are identified in the table below.

Type Item Impact on
business
Impact on business and finance Impact
period
2℃ or lower 4℃
Transition risk Regulatory policies Introduction of carbon pricing (carbon tax, etc.) Introduction of a carbon tax will increase business costs Medium to long
Market Changes in market structure If many companies fail to transition in the long term, changes in corporate competitiveness and corporate value will impact the consulting business Short to medium
Transition to decarbonization SG&A costs will increase due to the use of renewable energy and carbon offsets Short to medium
Physical risk Chronic Changes in climate patterns (higher average temperature, etc.) Rising temperatures will disrupt our employees' work and increase our response costs Medium to long
Acute Extreme weather conditions (intense heat, heavy rains, more frequent typhoons, rising sea levels) Natural disasters will harm social infrastructure and businesses, and cause economic activity to stagnate. The earnings of clients will deteriorate, affecting the consulting business Medium to long
As global warming progresses, the frequency of outbreaks of heat stroke and pandemics of infectious diseases will increase. If employees become ill, our business continuity will be affected Medium to long
Item Impact on
business
Impact on business and finance Impact
period
2℃ or lower 4℃
Opportunities Market changes Consulting needs will increase as the transition to achieve Japan's nationally determined contributions accelerates and as the need to create strategies, capital policies, etc., for the transition to decarbonization increases ↑↑ Short to medium
Transition to decarbonization Business costs will decrease due to resource and energy conservation Short to medium
Changes in customer reputation As ESG information disclosures were requested or required, and awareness of sustainability increases, the need for related consulting services will increase ↑↑ Short to long
Changes in investor reputation In response to customers' transition to decarbonization, consulting needs to attract ESG investment and support needs for environment-related shareholder proposals will increase ↑↑ Short to medium

If natural disasters intensify and abnormal weather leads to economic stagnation, an impact on our consulting business will be realized. Meanwhile, consulting needs for institutional shareholder relations, voting rights, and M&A support are expected to increase, in association with the transition to a decarbonized society and adaptation to climate change.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions

As the Company has zero Scope 1 emissions (direct emissions from operations), we calculated our Scope 2 emissions (indirect emissions from electricity consumption).

The Company's GHG emissions for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023 were 0 tons for Scope 1 and 59 tons for Scope 2, converted from energy consumption.

Energy consumption

Energy consumption

GHG emissions

GHG emissions

Financial impact

One financial impact of climate change risk that can be assumed is the introduction of carbon pricing (carbon tax, etc.). Accordingly, we estimated the carbon cost in 2030 and 2050 for the 4-degree scenario and the 2-degree scenario with GHC emissions at their current levels. The International Energy Agency scenario, the International Renewable Energy Agency scenario and the current carbon price (emissions trading system, carbon tax and energy tax) were used in our calculations.

Year 2030 2050
4-degree scenario 223 1,076
2-degree scenario 453 1,803

Risk Management

In the Group, the head of each organization, including senior general managers and general managers, identifies operational risks on an organizational basis, analyzes and evaluates these risks, and reports them to the Sustainability Committee. If a risk that needs to be addressed is discovered, the Sustainability Committee oversees risk management and supports risk management by selecting a person responsible in each organization to address the identified risk and have him or her take necessary measures. In addition, in the event that the Sustainability Committee discovers a significant risk, it will promptly report it to the Board of Directors.

Climate change risk is also positioned as one of the most important risks for the entire Company. In response, the Sustainability Committee evaluates climate change risk and reports the details of its review and its response to the Board of Directors at least once a year.

Goals

The Company's goal is to reduce GHG emissions (Scope 2) from electricity consumption to net zero by 2025. In this manner, the Company aims to realize a decarbonized society.

To reduce GHG emissions, we will strive to save energy and electricity at the office. For energy that is difficult to reduce due to our corporate activities, we will introduce renewable energy sources that do not use fossil fuels and actively utilize the government-certified J-Credit Scheme.