Unicharm Corporation

Stakeholder engagement
The company discloses an overview of the issues raised in stakeholder engagement activities, as well as its engagement process.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
The company discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability impacts in relation to its sustainability strategy and reports consistently against all targets. It also links executive salary to the company’s ESG performance.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
The company provides qualitative evidence of achieving zero conversion for timber throughout its supply chain.

GHG emissions
The company has a time-bound target to reduce its scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. The company reduces its scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions and reports against the target.

Resource exploitation and circularity performance
The company discloses some of its material inputs in product development, as well as plastic used in sales promotional items, but has an opportunity to disclose more comprehensively on its material inputs.

Solid and air pollution
The company describes its process to assess and minimize the use of hazardous chemicals. The company provides quantitative evidence of reducing plastic use and waste in its own operations.

Water
The company demonstrates it is reducing water withdrawal in its own operations. The company also discloses a time-bound target to reduce water withdrawal in its own operations and reports progress against the target. The company reports the proportion of water withdrawn for its own operations in water-stressed areas. The company discloses its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality. The company regularly reports on water pollution metrics.

No leading practices were identified in the social inclusion and community impact area.

Provide and promote decent work
The company maintains a safe and healthy workplace, committing to the health and safety of its employees and establishing policies for managing occupational safety. It monitors suppliers’ activities via SMETA audits on the Sedex platform and engages suppliers in discussions and policy briefings to address and improve serious issues. The company has signed the Women’s Empowerment Principles and aims to increase the ratio of female managers and executive officers to 30% by 2030. It also prioritizes suppliers’ environmental commitments and maintains a dialogue on human rights and labor standards.

Respect human rights
No leading practices were identified in the core social indicators area.

Lobbying
The company does not report comprehensively on its lobbying and advocacy practices on nature-related issues, nor whether these activities align with its sustainability strategy.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
While the company has set some targets, it does not disclose group-wide targets on all key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain. The company does not disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise regarding nature-related topics.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
The company does not have a commitment to ensure zero conversion. While the certification for some of its high-risk commodities, it does not guarantee zero conversion. The company is not committed to restoring ecosystems. The company does not disclose details and outcomes of ecosystem restoration projects in areas affected by its own operations or by its suppliers.

GHG emissions
The company has an opportunity to reduce its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions and report against its targets. Its targets also have an opportunity to be aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory.

Impact and dependencies assessment
The company has not holistically assessed its impacts or how it depends on nature, including biodiversity. It has an opportunity to start such an assessment across its value chains, focused on quantification of its impacts or dependencies.

Invasive species
The company has not identified any activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive alien species in its own operations.

Key areas and species
The company does not disclose key species or areas important for biodiversity affected by its operations or suppliers. It has an opportunity to increase its transparency.

Resource exploitation and circularity performance
The company does not report quantitatively on its group-wide circularity performance. The company has an opportunity to disclose activities to improve soil health or agrobiodiversity in its production or sourcing practices. The company has an opportunity to disclose a target to improve soil health in its production or sourcing practices and report progress against it.

Solid and air pollution
The company does not commit to avoid developing or marketing new chemicals or products with SVHC (substance of very high concern) properties. The company is not reducing the production of hazardous waste. The company does not report on the amount of plastic waste generated and proportions directed from or to disposal. It also does not report metrics on air pollutants, nor set time-bound targets to reduce them.

Water
The company does not engage with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal. The company does not report a decrease in water pollution. The company does not report targets to reduce water pollution. The company has an opportunity to publicly commit to the right to water and to provide its processes for implementing preventive and corrective action plans for identified specific risks to the right to water and sanitation in its own operations.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
The company does not show if it is committed to respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights or land rights of local communities.

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
The company has an opportunity to commit to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders. Moreover, it should track its actual or potential negative impacts on the health of local communities.

Act ethically
The company mentions preventive measures against corruption but lacks a formal policy statement on bribery and corruption. It also does not include anti-bribery clauses in contracts with business partners. In terms of lobbying, it lacks a clear policy, disclosures of expenditures, and guidelines for third-party lobbyists. The company has an opportunity to formalise its anti-bribery commitments and develop a comprehensive policy on lobbying and political engagement.

Provide and promote decent work
The company does not disclose comprehensive health and safety data, including injury types or policies ensuring business partner compliance. While it pays above the local minimum wage, it lacks clear commitments or strategies for achieving or supporting a living wage. Gender equality efforts are indicated but lack broad public commitments or detailed targets. The company has an opportunity to provide clearer health and safety disclosures, define and support living wage standards, and establish measurable targets for gender equality.

Respect human rights
Although the company promotes respect for human rights and has a prohibition against child labour, forced labour, and discrimination, its policy commitments lack formalisation and do not cover all ILO fundamental rights. The use of Sedex tools to monitor risks is noted, but the processes for assessing human rights impacts are not adequately described. The company has an opportunity to formalise its human rights commitments and enhance its risk assessment processes, including the public disclosure of results and comprehensive mitigation strategies.