Lotte Corporation

No leading practices were identified for the company in the governance and strategy measurement area.

No leading practices were identified for the company in the environment measurement area.

No leading practices were identified for the company in the nutrition measurement area.

No leading practices were identified for the company in the social inclusion measurement area.

Sustainable development strategy
Lotte Corporation discloses objectives covering sustainability topics across the three benchmark measurement areas and discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability topics through a materiality assessment. The company also reports against these targets against key performance indicators (KPIs). However, the company does not disclose targets across its entire value chain, presenting an opportunity for the company for future reporting.

Governance and accountability for sustainable development
Lotte Corporation does not disclose the governance structure for the implementation of its sustainable development strategy or targets, such as the person, team or committee that holds ultimate responsibility for its implementation.

Stakeholder engagement
The company does not disclose stakeholder engagement activities, including how it selects the stakeholders, nor an overview of the topics discussed, or their outcomes.

Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions
Lotte Corporation discloses that it aims to reduce scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 13%, or more, per unit of sales by 2023 compared to levels in 2013, and by 26% or more by 2028. Therefore, the company has a target to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions and reports progress against the target. However, the target has not been approved as science based, presenting an opportunity for the company going forward.

Food loss and waste
While the company is addressing food loss and waste in its own operations through participating in the Japanese project of the 10x20x30 Food Loss and Waste Initiative, it has an opportunity to disclose a commitment by setting targets to reduce food loss and waste across its own operations and supply chain and report against these targets.

Plastic use and packaging waste
While Lotte Corporation discloses that it is reducing its plastic use and transitioning to sustainable forms of packaging, through the LOTTE Basic Policy on Plastics, it has an opportunity to strengthen its commitment by setting targets to reduce plastic use and transition to more sustainable forms of packaging and reporting against these targets.

Availability of healthy foods
The company does not disclose a commitment or activities to increase the availability of healthy and nutritious foods.

Clear and transparent labelling
While Lotte Corporation discloses a commitment of compliance with national regulations regarding labelling, and commits to providing nutritional information on key relevant nutrients through back-of-pack (BOP) labels, it has an opportunity to make nutritional information more visible to consumers through the adoption of front-of-pack (FOP) labels or any other consumer-facing nutrition label.

Food safety
Lotte Corporation discloses that all of its Japanese and overseas factories have acquired certifications recognized by Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), as well as committing to required rules and regulations on food safety in the regions it operates. However, the company does not disclose the percentage of suppliers who are also certified to similar food safety schemes, presenting an opportunity for the company.

Child labour
While the company commits to prohibiting child labour in its own operations and requires its suppliers to adhere to the same standard, it has an opportunity to disclose a policy requiring its suppliers to have an age-verification system in place.

Forced labour
While Lotte Corporation commits to prohibiting forced labour in its own operations and supply chain, it has an opportunity to disclose a requirement that prohibits its suppliers from retaining workers’ personal documents and restricting workers’ freedom of movement.

Living wage
Lotte Corporation does not disclose that it pays its workers a living wage or requires its suppliers to do the same. Neither has it set targets to do so in the future.

Although Lotte Corporation publicly commits to respect human rights in both its operations and supply chain, the company does not provide a publicly available policy statement committing it to respecting the human rights that the ILO has declared to be fundamental rights at work. Similarly while Lotte Corporation discloses a grievance mechanism for workers, it could extend this to include external parties also. The company fails to provide sufficient public disclosure on other human rights issues, including a comprehensive human rights due diligence process which includes the identification, assessment, and of salient human rights risks in its operations and supply chain.

Lotte Corporation provides publicly available commitments to health and safety and gender equality but can improve its performance by increasing its disclosure key metrics relating to these topics. Moreover, the company does not disclose sufficient information on most other decent work indicators, including commitments towards paying a living wage or expectations regarding working hours in its own operations and supply chain.

The company discloses a publicly available Privacy Policy which includes statements on addressing key data protection issues regarding personal data fundamentals, including a global publicly available privacy statement in relation to the collection, sharing and access to personal data. Moreover, the company has a globally applicable anti-corruption statement however it could improve its performance by increasing its disclosure on the accessibility of its reporting channel for stakeholders to raise bribery and corruption concerns. Lastly, there was a lack of sufficient public information regarding responsible lobbying and responsible tax policies, including a globally tax strategy.