Kirin Holdings Selected As “CDP Supplier Engagement Leader” Also Receives The Highest “A-List” Rating In The “CDP Climate Change and Water Security” For 2022

TOKYO, May 31, 2023 -Kirin Holdings Company, Limited (Kirin Holdings) has been selected as a “Supplier Engagement Leader” ,the highest rating in the Supplier Engagement Assessment by CDP*1, an international non-profit organization. This is the fifth consecutive year that Kirin Holdings has been selected as a "Supplier Engagement Leader," and also selected the highest rating of "A-List" in "Climate Change" and "Water Security" for it the fourth consecutive year, Kirin Holdings has received awards in three categories.
1: CDP is a non-profit organization whose primary activity is to encourage corporations and local governments to disclose information on environmental issues such as climate change, water resource protection, and forest conservation at the request of institutional investors and major purchasing companies around the world that are highly concerned about environmental issues. In 2022, the organization will work with more than 680 investors with more than US$130 trillion in assets to pioneer environmental disclosure, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, water conservation, and forest protection for companies through capital markets and corporate procurement activities. Nearly 20,000 organizations worldwide, including more than 1,100 cities, states, and provinces, will disclose environmental information through the CDP.

The CDP Supplier Engagement Assessment evaluates a company's commitment to climate change based on responses in four areas: governance, targets, Scope 3 emissions, and supplier engagement, The top 8% of companies with particularly outstanding efforts were selected as Supplier Engagement Leaders.

In the Kirin Group Environmental Vision 2050, formulated in February 2020, the Kirin Group set a lofty goal of achieving net zero GHG emissions*2 throughout its entire value chain by 2050, and in 2022 became the first food and beverage company in the world to be certified as a net zero SBT (Science-based Targets)*3 Initiative*4. Kirin Holdings joined RE100*5 in November 2020 and committed to 100% renewable energy for electricity consumption by 2040. To date, the Kirin Group has completed the installation of large-scale solar power generation at all nine Kirin Brewery breweries, Mercian's Fujisawa Plant, and Kyowa Kirin's Ube Plant.
2: A state in which anthropogenic GHG emissions and removals are balanced and GHG emissions to the atmosphere are net zero.
3: Science Based Targets: Greenhouse gas reduction targets based on scientific evidence.
4: An international initiative jointly established in 2015 by CDP, the UN Global Compact, the World Resources Institute (WRI), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
5: An international environmental initiative consisting of companies aiming for 100% renewable energy for electricity.

The Kirin Group, which uses the gifts of nature as raw materials and conducts its business activities by harnessing the power and wisdom of nature, is also actively engaged in setting targets and disclosing financial information related to climate change and natural capital*6 , including disclosures in response to new guidance from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD*7 ) and the world's first-ever "LEAP approach" to disclosure under the Nature-related Financial Disclosure Task Force (TNFD*8).
6: Natural capital: the stock of natural assets that provide society with flows of renewable and non-renewable resources and ecosystem services.
7: The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures
8: The Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures

The Kirin Group will continue to address complex and interrelated environmental issues (biological resources, water resources, containers and packaging, and climate change) in a holistic approach, and to work with all those involved in the value chain to connect our desire to enjoy and pass on the bounty of the earth's bounty to future generations. We will proactively promote various initiatives that will have a "positive impact" on nature and people.

For Reference:
・Kirin Group Environmental Vision 2050

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