Kirin Holdings Recognized by the PRIDE Index as an LGBTQ+-friendly Workplace, Receiving Gold Status for the Seventh Year in a Row

TOKYO, November 8, 2023 – Kirin Holdings Company, Limited (Kirin Holdings), along with subsidiaries Kirin Brewery Company, Limited, Kirin Beverage Company, Limited, and Mercian Corporation, jointly received a gold rating – the highest ranking – in the PRIDE Index*1for its LGBTQ+-friendly workplace policies.
*1: A Jamanese　rating index for LGBTQ+ efforts by companies and other organizations, developed in 2016 by work with Pride, a general incorporated association that supports the promotion and establishment of LGBTQ+ diversity management.

The PRIDE Index recognizes LGBTQ+-friendly policies in five categories: Policy (declaration of action), Representation (community of people), Inspiration (awareness activities), Development (human resource systems/programs), and Engagement/Empowerment (social contribution/liaison activities) and accords one of three levels overall: gold, silver, or bronze. Kirin Holdings received high marks in all five categories.

The Kirin Group has taken steps to raise awareness about LGBTQ+ issues through messages from management to all employees, human rights training, efforts to promote understanding among hiring interviewers, and the establishment of an external consultation service.

LGBTQ+-friendly Workplace Initiatives

In July 2017, Kirin Holdings revised its compliance guidelines to stipulate a code of conduct for employees stating that LGBTQ+ sexual orientation and gender identity, along with gender, age, and nationality, will not cause unfair discrimination or damage individual dignity. In November 2022, we established a new internal ally*2 community.. The goal is to create an atmosphere of acceptance of LGBTQ+ as an identity through the exchange of information among allies and initiatives to promote a proper understanding of LGBTQ+.
*2: Here, ally means a person who understands and supports LGBTQ+ people.

In 2019, we formulated our long-term management concept, “Kirin Group Vision 2027 (KV2027),” which calls for us to “create value in areas ranging from food to medicine and become a leading global CSV*3 company.” In January 2023, we formulated the Kirin Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan to create an environment in which diverse human resources can maximize their abilities, including the LGBTQ+ community, and to accelerate innovation.*4

We will continue to respect human rights*5 and create an organizational culture that makes the most of the abilities of our diverse human resources, which will lead to further improvement of our organizational capabilities to realize value creation.
*3 Abbreviation for Creating Shared Value. Creating value that can be shared with customers and society.
*4 Kirin Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan released on January 31, 2023.
*5 Please refer to the Kirin Group Human Rights Policy and Strategy.　Kirin Group Human Rights Policy.

KIRIN brings joy to society by crafting food and healthcare products inspired by the blessings of nature and the insights of our customers.”

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.

GALLERY