Kirin Holdings Signs the COP15 Business Statement for Mandatory Assessment and Disclosure

TOKYO, November 9, 2022 -Kirin Holdings Company, Limited (Kirin Holdings) has endorsed the COP15 Business Statement for Mandatory Assessment and Disclosure(https://www.businessfornature.org/cop15-business-statement)*1 (Business Statement) and signed it on October 18, 2022.
*1 An initiative launched in July 2019 by 13 organizations, including the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the World Economic Forum (WEF), and the Natural Capital Coalition (NCC). Bringing together influential organizations and forward-looking companies, the initiative aims to encourage corporate action to demand that governments restore destruction of nature and to expand the voices of such companies.

The Business Statement is in response to the call of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15). COP15 will be held in Montreal, Canada this December for mandatory assessment and disclosure of natural impact and dependence by all corporations and financial institutions in order to halt the loss of biodiversity and restore it by 2030. Business for Nature has called on companies around the world, including Kirin Holdings, to endorse and sign the COP15, with the aim of halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030. Kirin Holdings signed the petition because it believes it will contribute to building a "society that uses sustainable biological resources," as declared in the Kirin Group Environmental Vision 2050, and to Nature Positive*2 in 2030, which is the goal of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures(https://tnfd.global) (TNFD)*3.
*2 Nature Positive is a concept that aims to halt the decline of nature and set a course for recovery by 2030. This is a concept that has attracted attention at COP15 and COP26 (the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) in 2021.
*3 TNFD is an international organization that aims to develop and provide a framework for companies and other organizations to disclose nature-related risk information, with the aim of redirecting the flow of funds to have a positive impact on nature, or “Nature Positive.”

The Kirin Group's raw materials are mainly derived from nature, and everything from tea leaves and hops to grapes is dependent on the places they are grown. These agricultural products play an important role in making the Kirin Group’s products unique, and cannot be replaced if the biodiversity of these places where they are grown is damaged. From this perspective, Kirin Holdings formulated the Kirin Group Action Plan for Sustainable Use of Biological Resources as early as 2013 and has been implementing many initiatives, including supporting the acquisition of Rainforest Alliance certification(https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/faqs/what-does-rainforest-alliance-certified-mean) at tea plantations in Sri Lanka and coffee plantations in VietnamPDF：586KB, and using 100% FSC® certified paper for paper container packagingPDF：513KB. In addition, Kirin Holdings is working toward Nature Positive by participating in a domestic pilot program to contribute to the 30by30 Alliance for Biodiversity initiative, and by leading the world in the trial disclosure of natural capital*4 based on the TNFD LEAP approach in Kirin Holdings’ Environmental Report 2022 (page 3)PDF：1.3MB, which was released in July. Kirin Holdings is working toward a nature positive approach.
*4 ‘Natural capital’ is the stock of natural assets that provide society with flows of renewable and non-renewable resources and ecosystem services.

The Kirin Group will accelerate its efforts related to natural capital, understand the interconnectedness of the four issues (biological resources, water resources, containers and packaging, and climate change) set forth in the Kirin Group Environmental Vision 2050, and continue to work toward integrated (holistic) solutions.

About Kirin Holdings

Kirin Holdings Company, Limited is an international company that operates in the Food & Beverages domain (Food & Beverages businesses), Pharmaceuticals domain (Pharmaceuticals businesses), and Health Science domain (Health Science business), both in Japan and across the globe.

Kirin Holdings can trace its roots to Japan Brewery which was established in 1885. Japan Brewery became Kirin Brewery in 1907. Since then, the company expanded its business with fermentation and biotechnology as its core technologies, and entered the pharmaceutical business in the 1980s, all of which continue to be global growth centers. In 2007, Kirin Holdings was established as a pure holding company and is currently focusing on boosting its Health Science domain.

Under the Kirin Group Vision 2027 (KV 2027), a long-term management plan launched in 2019, the Kirin Group aims to become “A global leader in CSV*, creating value across our world of Food & Beverages to Pharmaceuticals.” Going forward, the Kirin Group will continue to leverage its strengths to create both social and economic value through its businesses, with the aim of achieving sustainable growth in corporate value.

* Creating Shared Value: combined added value for consumers as well as for society at large.