Seven & I Holdings

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
Seven & i Holdings has identified and discloses five sustainability topics in its corporate social responsibility (CSR) report. It also discloses its process for identifying and prioritising these topics. Seven & i Holdings has also set time-bound targets for these topics for different legal entities and reports progress against them. However, the company can improve its performance by establishing a long-term sustainable development strategy built around its most relevant sustainability topics and extend this across the entire value chain.

Governance and accountability for sustainable development
The company discloses that it has established a CSR Management Committee. The executive officer in charge of the CSR Management Committee regularly reports and confirms the operational status of the internal reporting system at the Board of Directors’ meeting. While the remuneration policy of the highest governance body is aligned with parts of the company’s sustainability performance, it is unclear if this is across all three measurement areas of the benchmark.

Stakeholder engagement
Seven & i Holdings discloses its stakeholder engagement policy. It also discloses that it undertakes stakeholder engagement activities and provides an overview of the issues discussed. However, the company does not disclose the process for integrating the outcomes of this process into its wider sustainability strategy, nor does it disclose how it identifies its stakeholders, presenting an opportunity for the company for future reporting.

Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions
Seven & i Holdings discloses a target to reduce its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as a net-zero target by 2050. However, this only applies to its store operations. The company reports its annual scope 1 and 2 emissions on a subsidiary basis. There remains an opportunity for the company to set a target that is applicable to the whole group and report progress against the target.

Plastic use and packaging waste
Seven & i Holdings discloses targets to use environmentally friendly materials for its own-brand containers and to eliminate plastic shopping bags. The company also reports progress against these targets for its subsidiaries. However, the target for containers only covers its own-brand products. Going forward, the company has an opportunity to introduce a target covering all the products in its stores.

Protection of terrestrial natural ecosystems
Seven & i Holdings is involved in all five high-risk commodities (beef, soy, palm oil, cocoa and coffee). While the company discloses evidence that it is working to achieve deforestation and conversion-free (DCF) supply chains for coffee and palm oil, it has an opportunity to improve by setting targets for achieving DCF supply chains for all its high-risk commodities, or disclosing the proportion of its high-risk commodities that are currently DCF. Moreover, the company should look to disclose the sourcing regions of all its high risk commodities.

Availability of healthy foods
Seven & i Holdings provides evidence that its subsidiary Ito-Yokado offers healthy options containing more dietary fibre and vegetables and less salt and sugar. The company has taken steps to reduce trans fatty acids in products and shares its progress in reducing the amount used in Honokana Amami Strawberry Jam Margarine from 2002 to 2019. However, no details on other products were disclosed. The company has an opportunity to increase its disclosure by establishing targets for the percentage of healthy products in its portfolio.

Food safety
Seven & i Holdings discloses its food safety certifications for its different subsidiaries. The company also shares some practices to ensure food safety. However, it does not demonstrate that 100% of its operations are certified to a widely recognised (industry-specific) food safety scheme. Neither does it provide details of the percentage of its food suppliers that are certified to such a scheme. It can improve its performance by increasing its disclosure in both of these areas.

Clear and transparent labelling
Seven & i Holdings discloses that it is compliant with the food labelling law in Japan, which went into effect in 2020. However, no commitment on front-of-pack labelling was found. The company 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.

Child labour
Seven & i Holdings commits to prohibiting and eliminating child labour. The company includes no use of child labour in its CSR audit. The company also mentions no child labour in its Business Partner Sustainable Action Guidelines. However, there remains an opportunity for the company to improve by disclosing a monitoring and verification process for its own operations and supply chain and requiring its suppliers to verify the age of workers hired.

Forced labour
Seven & i Holdings commits to prohibiting forced labour and mentions the requirement to eliminate forced labour in its Business Partner Sustainable Action Guidelines. The company also discloses its audit process in its CSR report and Business Partner Action Guidelines. However, the company could provide commitment on prohibition of intimidation in its policy documents.

Living wage
Seven & i Holdings discloses that it complies with Japanese law on minimum wages, which cover living expenses in Japan. However, the company does not specify a living wage policy for operations outside Japan. No other evidence of paying a living wage was found for the company’s operations. The company can improve its performance by committing to pay a living wage across its own operations and supply chain.

Seven & i Holdings commits to respecting human rights, identifies its human rights risks and impacts and provides grievance mechanisms for its workers. However, the company does not disclose that it has a grievance mechanism for third parties, or participates in a shared mechanism, accessible to all external individuals and communities who may be adversely impacted by the company. In addition, no information regarding a human rights due diligence process was found in the public domain.

Seven & i Holdings commits to ensuring health and safety and has publicly available data on supporting gender equality and women’s empowerment. The company can strengthen its performance by increasing its disclosure on these topics, such as a public commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment. Moreover, little information on paying a living wage, respecting working hours, supporting collective bargaining and workforce diversity was found in the public domain.

Seven & i Holdings addresses responsible tax and anti-bribery and anti-corruption however it can improve its performance by increasing disclosure on these topics. For example, for tax, this could include disclosing the amount of corporate income tax paid for each tax jurisdiction where the company is a resident for tax purposes. In addition, the company does not disclose sufficient commitments towards personal data protection or responsible lobbying and political engagement.