KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Englishver.

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

KOKUYO's CSR Charter
While remaining profitable and honest in its business practices, KOKUYO conducts business that is necessary
for society.
In addition to complying with laws and regulations, we seek to maintain continuity of our business byacquiring the trust of all related stakeholders, investors, and, of course, our customers by fulfilling our social
responsibilities as a corporate citizen.

For Our Customers

1

Without being satisfied with the present conditions, we continue to improve the safety and quality of2

Strive to continually innovate society through our business operations by developing new products andour entire product line and services.
services.

For Regional Communities

1

Strive to be a trusted‘corporate citizen’on both regional and national levels via proactive interaction andplanning with regional communities, while respecting regional culture and customs and encouraging theiradvancement.

For Environmental Conservation

1

Concentrate the wisdom of each of our employees, and align the actions of our entire company in order2

By developing Eco Products, we strive to decrease the environmental burden over the life cycle of these3

Contribute towards the advancement of a‘low carbon society’by proposing revolutionary work styles

to assist in reaching solutions for the common environmental problems facing the world today.
Products and to introduce new environmental engineering and green procurement techniques.
and environments, and decrease society's overall burden on the environment.

Corporate Activities

1

Conduct transparent, just, and free competition and business transactions while keeping sound and2

In order to become a trusted company, we strive for business partner relations that are consistently fair3

Recognize our responsibility to increase our corporate value for stockholders, and maintain a corporate

correct relations with politicians and governmental bodies.
and built upon a foundation of reciprocal cooperation, allowing for mutual growth.
management style that earns the trust of society through its transparency and virtue.

Respect for Human Rights

1

Respect the human rights of all individuals involved with or affected by all of our corporate activities.
We support work environments free from discrimination, and do not approve of child labor or forcedlabor practices.

2

Strive to accept each and every employee's individual character and personal values, and become
a company where many different human resources can fully express their abilities and develop
themselves.

1

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

Contents●

KOKUYO's CSR Charter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 001●

Corporate Proﬁle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 003●

KOKUYO's Main Business Domains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 004●

KOKUYO's Initiatives and History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 006●

Initiatives for Future and Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 010●

KOKUYO's Various Initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 011●

Introduction of KOKUYO s Initiatives in 2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 012●

Message from the President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 014●

KOKUYO's CSR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 016●

Focus Initiatives for 2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 050
Respect for Human Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 050
Work Style Reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 051
Promotion of Diversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 053
Human Resources Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 056
Communication with Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 059
Employees Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 061
Employees Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 064
With Business Partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 068
Providing Peace of Mind and Safety to Customers . . . . . . . . . . . 072
Dialogue with our Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 077
Domestic contribution activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 080
New Value Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 086● Governance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 090
Corporate Governance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 090
System for the Promotion of Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 096
Risk Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 098
With Stakeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101● Third-Party Assessments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Rankings and Recognitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
CSR Report 2019 Survey Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108● Content Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
GRI Standards content index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
ISO26000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120● social

Creating Organizations Resilient to Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 021
in the Market Environment
Safeguarding Biodiversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 023●

Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 027
Environmental Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 027
Global Warming Preventive Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 034
Resource-saving and Recycling Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 037
Legal Compliance and Pollution Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 039
Developing Environmentally Friendly Products and Services . . . 041
Consideration for Biodiversity and Promotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 044
of Environmental Communications

Reporting Period
January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019
Publication Period
Report published: May 2020
Next report to be published: April 2021
Previous report published: June 2019
Scope of the Report
The KOKUYO Group refers to KOKUYO Co., Ltd., and its domestic
and overseas Group companies, comprising 20 consolidated subsidiaries,
certain activities involve other subsidiaries and aﬃliates.
Reference Guidelines
・ISO26000
・Japanese Ministry of the Environment Environmental Reporting Guidelines 2012
・GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines 4th Edition

2

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
Social3

Initiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
Social4

Initiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

5

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
Social6

Initiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

7

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

8

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

9

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
Social10

Initiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
Social11

Initiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
Social12

Initiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

13

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

Message from the President

Creating Value that Excites People

Since I was appointed president in 2015, I have embarked on the challenge of shaping a new future for KOKUYO. Afterconsidering “what we want to achieve,” I first formulated a goal of becoming a Life & Work Style Company that benefitssociety. By engaging in business that relates to three critical aspects of people’s lifestyles—namely, “Work,” “Learn”, and“Live”—I want KOKUYO both to provide people with benefit and to contribute to society.
However, I arrived at the conclusion that we cannot do this simply entail selling products; rather, we must generate value that
improves the creativity of our customers. Said differently, we must create and provide value that excites people.

Shifting to Idea-Centric Business Domains

Our First Medium-term Business Plan (2016–2018) formed the first step toward achieving the goals outlined above, andmarked a move to a new style of business management: it identified increasing our market share and improving our grossprofit margin as priority issues, laid out a strategy to increase the added-value we provide, and led to the implementation of the“Plan→Do→Check→Action” PDCA cycle.
We commenced our Second Medium-term Business Plan in 2019. Its basic policy is to enable sustainable growth, and to thisend it promotes the acquisition of new markets and customers. It also marks a shift from the object-centric “three businesssegments” approach we used to implement to an idea-centric “three business domains” approach based on understanding
how our customers’ needs will change in the future. Thinking about business domains instead of business segments will
enable us to take a more expansive view of markets—I believe that this approach will help us identify new markets andcustomers, and lead to medium and long-term growth.

14

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Continued Contributions to Society and Sustained Growth

Guided by our new, idea-centric form of business management, going forward I want
KOKUYO to become a company that breaks free from simple consumerism andprovides people around the world with a variety of societal values.
Furthermore, since the start of 2020, we have been exposed to the threat of COVID19 and people all around the world are facing a crisis we have never experienced
before. We can expect this to trigger significant changes in our lifestyles such as in
the ways we work and learn. We hope to continue offering KOKUYO’s value to thenew post-COVID-19 society by seeing this crisis as an opportunity and creating new
A table and chairs made with wood
products and services unique to KOKUYO.
resulting from thinning at the Yui no Mori
In order to prepare ourselves for such a future, we are advocating a corporate
Projectmanagement style that prioritizes ESG.
KOKUYO possesses many of the qualities of a manufacturer and, as such, we place a high priority on our environmental
initiatives. For example, our Campus Art notebooks, of which we supply more than 100 million units per year, are produced at
our Shiga Plant on the shores of Lake Biwa; for this reason, we carry out activities that contribute to the conservation of Lake
Biwa’s environment.
The paper used in our Campus Art notebooks is a forest resource; for this reason, we run the Yui no Mori Project, which aims
to preserve Kochi Prefecture’s Shimanto River, which is widely regarded as Japan’s last-remaining pristine river, along with thesurrounding forests.
The Yui no Mori Project primarily entails thinning the forests and making use of the resulting wood materials. However, sincethinning also increases the amount of CO2 that can be absorbed by the forest, it helps prevent global warming.
In 2018, KOKUYO formulated its 2030 CO2 Emission Reduction Target, which covers all our consolidated companies in Japan.
Together with aiming to reduce CO2 emission in 2030 by 26% compared to 2013, we will thin around 150 hectares of forests
each year as part of our forest conservation activities to contribute toward CO2 absorption of at least 6,000 tons.
The importance of corporate governance is gradually increasing from the perspective of achieving medium and long-term
growth. At KOKUYO, we have engaged in initiatives aimed at strengthening our governance for the past 10 years or so, andwe continue to improve governance by increasing the number of outside directors.
More recently, as part of our efforts to further increase standards of governance, we have chosen to appoint an outside
director as Chairman of the Board—this is a pioneering measure for a Japanese company.
Based on ESG management, at KOKUYO we intend to establish the idea that companies are public institutions, and thatcompanies have a duty to create new values that help resolve societal issues. We believe that this will enable us to achieveboth continued contributions to society and sustained growth.
At present, KOKUYO is in the process of executing long-term growth strategies. We very much hope for the continued
understanding and support of all our stakeholders.

15

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

KOKUYO's CSR
KOKUYO's founder Zentaro Kuroda once said: "Business is something that we do for society, and the profit we gain frombusiness is a reward for our contribution to society." Now too, more than 100 years on from KOKUYO's foundation, we are
keeping alive the spirit of our founder in our CSR activities.

Concepts

Basic Concepts

The KOKUYO Group began when founder Zentaro Kuroda opened a small shop selling ledger covers made with Japanese
paper in 1905. The founder moved from his village to Osaka with the aspiration of making his business the pride of his
hometown Etchu (present-day Toyoma Prefecture). Through the brand Kokuyo (国誉), which is the current company name
KOKUYO (コクヨ), his aspiration has been passed down to the KOKUYO Group and captured in its business. In 2004, we
enacted the KOKUYO Group CSR Charter based on our corporate philosophy to establish better relations with various
stakeholders as a good corporate citizen (which was partially revised in 2012). Our basic policy for ensuring the ongoinggrowth of society and the KOKUYO Group has been clarified in line with five key themes: our customers, regional
communities, environmental conservation, corporate activities, and respect for human rights.
※ Related information: "KOKUYO Group CSR Charter"

System for the Promotion of CSR

The KOKUYO Group promotes CSR activities on a group-wide basis through linkages among CSR-related sections. The CSR& Environmental Group formulates and reviews policies and helps to define issues and targets in order to strategically promote
CSR. We also operate an environmental committee and a central health and safety committee, among other such organs
tasked with dealing with important concerns. With special sections leading the way, our entire group pursues these concerns ina coordinated fashion. We will continue to strive to achieve sustained growth for society and the Group while maintaining astate of harmony with stakeholders through CSR information disclosure and dialogue.

16

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR Charter

While remaining profitable and honest in its business practices, KOKUYO conducts business that is necessary for society. In
addition to complying with laws and regulations, we seek to maintain continuity of our business by acquiring the trust of all
related stakeholders, investors, and, of course, our customers by fulfilling our social responsibilities as a corporate citizen.

1. Without being satisfied with the present conditions, we continue to improve the safety and quality of our entire
product line and services.
2. Strive to continually innovate society through our business operations by developing new products and services.

1. Strive to be a trusted ‘corporate citizen’ on both regional and national levels via proactive interaction andplanning with regional communities, while respecting regional culture and customs and encouraging theiradvancement.

1. Concentrate the wisdom of each of our employees, and align the actions of our entire company in order to assist
in reaching solutions for the common environmental problems facing the world today.
2. By developing Eco Products, we strive to decrease the environmental burden over the life cycle of these
Products and to introduce new environmental engineering and green procurement techniques.
3. Contribute towards the advancement of a ‘low carbon society’ by proposing revolutionary work styles andenvironments, and decrease society's overall burden on the environment.

1. Conduct transparent, just, and free competition and business transactions while keeping sound and correct
relations with politicians and governmental bodies.
2. In order to become a trusted company, we strive for business partner relations that are consistently fair and built
upon a foundation of reciprocal cooperation, allowing for mutual growth.
3. Recognize our responsibility to increase our corporate value for stockholders, and maintain a corporate
management style that earns the trust of society through its transparency and virtue.

1. Respect the human rights of all individuals involved with or affected by all of our corporate activities. We support
work environments free from discrimination, and do not approve of child labor or forced labor practices.
2. Strive to accept each and every employee's individual character and personal values, and become a company
where many different human resources can fully express their abilities and develop themselves.

17

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Kokuyo Group Code of Conduct

Accompanying the development of KOKUYO's overseas activities, it is necessary to prepare a common code of conduct for
the group by taking into account of local customs and mores. In August 2012, the KOKUYO Group enacted its KOKUYOGroup Code of Conduct as a set of common provisions applicable to the KOKUYO Group and prepared the KOKUYO Group
Code of Conduct Handbook with supplementary points based on business practices, laws, and other matters that differ
depending on the country or region.

1. Compliance with laws and internal rules and acting with integrity
We not only comply with laws and internal rules, but also act with high ethical standards and integrity.
2. Respect for human rights and personality
We do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, language, gender, disability or other status.
We do not engage in conduct that constitutes sexual harassment or power harassment.
We do not tolerate child labor or forced labor.
3. Preservation of the global environment
We work to eliminate or reduce the environmental burden whilst focusing on global environmental issues, suchas global warming and declining forest resources.
4. Free competition and fair trading
We comply with laws and internal rules related to prohibition of monopolization, fair competition and fair trading
and will not engage in conduct that deviates from these standards.
5. Provision of safe and reliable goods and services
We strive to win customers' satisfaction continuously through the provision of safe and reliable goods andservices.
6. Proper handling of company assets and protection of intellectual property
We properly manage, maintain, and utilize every tangible and intangible company asset. We respect the
intellectual property rights of others.
7. Proper information management and financial reporting
We honestly and properly create records of the company, as well as manage and report information collected
and obtained in the course of business in accordance with proper procedures based on the materiality of suchinformation. We carry out accounting and financial reporting in compliance with laws and internal rules relevant
to financial, accounting, and tax affairs.
8. Prohibition of acts involving conflicts of interest
We will not engage in any act that involves or may involve a conflict between personal and corporate interests. If
there is a possible conflict of interest, we will report it to our superiors.
9. Prohibition of insider trading
We will not engage in insider trading or any act that triggers insider trading laws or regulations in connection withthe trading in shares of the Kokuyo Group or any other company
10. Proper management of entertainment and gifts
We will not give or receive entertainment and gifts in deviation from normal business practices. We will notillegally give entertainment or gifts to public servants or government officials.
11. Handling of unreasonable external demands
We will not comply with any unreasonable external demand.

18

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

With Stakeholders

KOKUYO's Stakeholders

Working towards realizing a sustainable society, the KOKUYO Group is actively promoting CSR management to meet the
expectations of various stakeholders including customers, shareholders, partner companies and local communities.

Stakeholder Communication

Stakeholder

Main opportunities for dialogue

Examples of implementation in FY2018

A System for Utilizing Feedback from
Customers
Customer Support Center"Inquiries" form and Q&A page on website
Customers

Provision of various productManagement of "Dealers' Guide" wherestores handling KOKUYO products can besearched from the website
Various events and seminars

Revamp of “VoiceClip” System That Shares
Customer Feedback Company-wide
KOKUYO EXPO Held “KOKUYO LAND:
Amusement Park for Going on a Trip”
KOKUYO MESSE 2019
“9th General Seminar of Reception Desk”
Held for Local Governments
Held Interaction Session in Shanghai with
Stationery Key Opinion Leaders
Held 2019 KOKUYO-HAKU Shanghai
Employee Satisfaction Survey
Conducting Second Medium-termManagement Plan Town Hall Meeting

Employees

Consultation between labor andmanagement"Shunjukai" Retirement Ceremony for
Employees Approaching Mandatory
Retirement

Various training programs

2019 KOKUYO Memorial Service for
Deceased Employees

Company newsletter
Company events

Employees of KOKUYO Furniture (China)
Co., Ltd. Visited Shibayama Plant,
Shinagawa Showroom, and SST Office
Announcement of ACW Awards
Subcontractor Meetings Held by KOKUYO's
Furniture Business Division
Clients

Audit of subcontractors

Stationery Business Conducted an Audit of
Subcontractors

Various meetings and events

The 10th KOKUYO Logitem Held DriverCompetition

Holding exhibitions

KOKUYO Supply Logistics (KSL) held the
National Partner Conference in FY2019
Shareholder Special Benefit Plans
Stakeholders

Conducting Financial Results Briefing for
Institutional Investors

IR activities
Information disclosure

Conducting Company Briefing for Individual
Investors

19

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Stakeholder

Main opportunities for dialogue

Examples of implementation in FY2018
KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD 2020 with “♡”
as the Theme

Supplying the Tokyo Organising Committeeof the Olympic and Paralympic Games withField Cast Notebooks for 80,000 Olympic
Games Volunteers
Booth at SHIBUYA BOSAI FES 2019
KOKUYO Team Run Flat-out at Isu-1 GrandPrix Held across Japan
Campus Art Award 2019, a Painting
Competition for Junior High and HighSchool Students
The Job Study Initiative
Local Cleanup Activities and Blood Donation
General Participants of Factory Tours at
KOKUYO Product Shiga Exceeded 5,000
Regional
Communities

Gathering in Sendai of the MICHINOKU
Future Fund That Helps Orphans Continue
Their Education

Social contribution activities
Disaster recovery activities
Regional contribution activities

KOKUYO Kitakanto Sales Became Official
Supplier of the 77th National Sports Festival
and 22nd National Sports Festival for
People with an Impairment
Held Event for Employees of Public Offices
to Experience Telecommuting
Deaf students from Shanghai visit KOKUYO
Commerce (Shanghai)’s notebook factory
Chasing Big Dreams with Small Notebooks!
Establishing Mini Science Centres atschools near KOKUYO Camlin factories
Making donations to Project Nanhi Kali,which provides support to underprivileged
girls
Supporting the artistic activities of injured
soldiers at the Paraplegic Rehabilitation
CentreGlobal Warming Preventive Measures
Reusing and Recycling End-of-Life Products

Environment

Global warming preventive measures
Resource-saving and recycling
Concern for biodiversity

Recruiting Members of the Local
Community to Protect Lake Biwa with
Reeds
Expanding Activities: Non-native Fish
Fishing Contest and Canoe Reed Bed
Observation Event20

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

Focus Initiatives for 2019

Focus Initiatives for 2019, No. 1:
Creating Organizations Resilient to Changes in the Market
Environment

To propose even better office spaces and work styles to customers, KOKUYO searched for our own work style reform uniqueto KOKUYO. What is the ideal organization and work style that KOKUYO seeks?

Breaking Away from the Past and Fostering a New Corporate Culture and Climate

In KOKUYO’s history of 115 years since being established, we have grown while selling items from paper products andstationery to office furniture as well as expanding into the spatial design business. As part of our growth process, our growthmodel in the past was to efficiently produce standard products in bulk and bring value to the market. Today, the market
environment has changed significantly, and we are in an era where it is getting harder to expect growth by following what wehave done so far. Product life cycles are becoming shorter and companies are expected to always provide new added value.
Against such changes in the environment, many companies in Japan are not making progress in transforming employee
mindsets or breaking away from existing work styles. They are unable to escape from the intense success stories of an era
when the focus was on selling things. KOKUYO also faces this issue of breaking away from various common knowledge within
the company arising from such a past and fostering a new corporate culture and climate.
To overcome this issue and for both KOKUYO and our employees to grow sustainably, we aim to be an organization that isresilient to changes in the market environment and accepts diversity. This is against the backdrop of KOKUYO always being
particular about drawing out value from our employees in our operation strategy.

Increasing Individual Autonomy toward an Organization That Grows Together with People

To draw out value from our employees is to increase employee autonomy and allow each person to better apply the value they
inherently have. We aim to create an organization resilient to changes with diverse values by gathering autonomous
individuals who innovate together. I think increasing the autonomy of each employee means having employees take ownershipof issues—such as the kind of corporate culture and climate they want to work in, the type of work they want to do, and how
they want to grow through work—and expand their scope of action based on their own initiative. If existing work environments
and systems are hindering factors, it is necessary to remove them. We are planning and implementing various initiatives aswork style reform unique to KOKUYO toward realizing these goals.

21

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Toward Realization of Work Flexibility and Better QOL

As for specific initiatives, we have two major ones. They are to revamp our core personnel system and to transform our work
styles and welfare system. For the former, we have established a system that makes it easier to directly link results withcompensation compared to the past.
For the latter, as part of creating systems for developing employee autonomy, we are working on a plan that can be applied to
employees regardless of position, attributes, or age. The aim is to create opportunities for health, learning, and growth bybuilding systems and frameworks allowing employees to choose their time and place of work on their own as well as byestablishing welfare support meeting the diverse needs of employees.
Furthermore, since two years ago, we have been working on flexibility in working conditions, such as allowing employees tochoose on their diverse work styles that are not bound by time and place. This includes the limited-period trial named “Exciting
Smart Work” that promotes the implementation of teleworking and utilization of satellite offices. Always paying attention to theway time is used, the theme is about how to use the 24 hours each day that everyone is given equally. It is not aimed only at
creating time by doing current work even more efficiently. The change in the way we use time that we hope to achieve is theapproach of reducing working hours by reviewing existing work styles and methods so as to create and invest time for realizing
individual growth and better QOL.

Accelerating Reform in Preparation for Further Changes

At present, many companies are likely to be implementing work style reform not because they must do it but because it isbetter to do so. However, the issues faced by Japan—including a low birth rate and ageing population—and other factors suchas the development of AI technologies are moving with increasing speed. As society’s requirements rapidly grow strong, it is amatter of time before work style reform becomes something we must do. For KOKUYO to be a company chosen and neededby people and society, I think it is necessary to undertake reform starting from now and further accelerate it.
The various measures we are currently undertaking are just means for achieving our targets. We hope to make steadyprogress toward sustainable growth and the creation of an organization with diversity resilient to changes in the market
environment while sharing with employees the vision KOKUYO is aiming for and deepening their understanding of this vision.

22

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

Focus Initiatives for 2019

Focus Initiatives for 2019, No.2:
Safeguarding Biodiversity

KOKUYO Seeks to Safeguard Forest Resources, which are Indispensable to its Business

If we divide the greenhouse gas emissions of KOKUYO’s entire supply chain into three—Scope 1 “Direct emissions from
owned or controlled sources,” Scope 2 “Indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy,” and Scope 3 “allindirect emissions not included in Scope 2”—then Scope 3, Category 1 “Purchased goods and services,” accounts forapproximately 78 percent of our emissions. In other words, raw materials used for KOKUYO products (including containerand packaging materials) have the greatest impact on the environment. Of these raw materials, more than 70 percent aresourced from forests—these include paper and wood-based materials—and demonstrate forest resources areindispensable to the business of the KOKUYO Group. For this reason, KOKUYO is proactively engaged in forest
conservation activities. One of these activities is the Yui-no-Mori Project, which we launched in 2006.
* Refer to “Global Warming Preventive Measures” in CSR Data
Breakdown of Scope 3 Emissions

Breakdown of Raw Materials Used by the KOKUYO
Group

23

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Productizing Wood from Thinning, and Aiming to Balance our Business Activities with Forest
Conservation

Japan’s forests are poorly managed, and the resulting deterioration in forest
functions has become a societal issue. As part of its forest conservation activities,
in the 1990s KOKUYO began using recycled paper, FSC-certified paper, and wood
produced by thinning in its products. In 2006, KOKUYO started thinning poorly
managed forests, and, in order to effectively use the resulting wood, launched theYui-no-Mori Project in Shimanto Town, Kochi Prefecture. Currently, the applicablearea of Yui-no-Mori has grown to 5,425 hectares, and the total thinned forest has
expanded to 1,789 hectares.
Total area covered by Yui-no-Mori, and
The Yui-no-Mori Project also helps to prevent global warming. The project has
total CO2 absorbed
been awarded CO2 Absorption Certificates by Kochi Prefecture since 2007; it
absorbed 6,689 tons of CO2 in FY2018, with the cumulative total from April 2006 to March 2019 now standing at 56,314
tons.
* Related information: Yui-no-Mori ProjectProtocol counter

Thinning activities

Contributing to Local Communities through our Lake Biwa Conservation Activities

KOKUYO Product Shiga Co., Ltd., which is responsible for producing KOKUYO’s core paper products, carries out its
manufacturing activities near Lake Biwa, which supplies water to the 14.5 million people living in the Kinki region. In 2007,
the company launched the ReEDEN Project to safeguard the precious Lake Biwa environment, and carries out businessactivities in collaboration with local communities.

Biwako Stationery

Mowing the reeds

Eliminating non-native fish

The ReEDEN Project aims both to preserve and to utilize the reed beds that exist near Lake Biwa, and so raise awarenessof how they are deteriorating. Reed beds play a vital role as habitats to a diverse range of wildlife; they also absorb CO2
and, as they grow, they help purify water by absorbing nitrogen and phosphorous.
Reeds were previously used for making reed screens, roofs, and other products. However, as lifestyles changed, reeds
ceased to be used for such purposes; reed beds were no longer maintained and fell into a state of dilapidation.
As part of the ReEDEN Project, KOKUYO Product Shiga cuts down dead reeds in winter, then uses the reeds in the
production of the ReEDEN Series—a series of products it develops and sells as a new way of using the reeds.
* Related information: ReEDEN Project24

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO’s Biodiversity Conservation Activities are Widely Praised

Through the Yui-no-Mori and ReEDEN Projects, and other business activities, KOKUYO has contributed to the resolution ofsocietal issues for more than 10 years.
In recognition of their outstanding results, the Yui-no-Mori Project received the Excellence Award at the Low Carbon Cup
2019, and the Minister of the Environment Prize in the Corporate Category of the 7th Ministry of the Environment’s GoodLife Award, and the ReEDEN Project received the Judging Committee Special Prize at the Award for Companies Promoting
Experience-based Learning Activities for Youth, and the Grand Prix at The Biodiversity Japan Award 2019.
Altogether, the Yui-no-Mori Project has received five awards in three consecutive years, while the ReEDEN Project hasreceived 13 awards in five consecutive years.
Going forward, the KOKUYO Group will continue to promote activities aimed at realizing a sustainable society.
* Related information: Commendations and Recognition from External Parties

Grand Prix at The Biodiversity Japan Award 2019 (ReEDEN)

Award in the corporate category of the Minister of the Environment
Prize at the 7th Ministry of Environment Good Life Award (Yui-noMori)

ReEDEN

2008

Special Recognition Prize in the Green
Purchasing Award

2009

Merit Award in the Eco Products Award

2013

Certified by Kokocool Mother Lake
Selection/td>

Yui-no-Mori
Online and catalog sales “Yui-no-Mori” series received
commendation award at Japan Shop System Awards
2008

Grand Prize at the Kaueco Grand Prix

2015

Honorable mention in the company award forthe fostering of environmentally-aware
personnel
Reed calligraphy pen recognized as one of The
Wonder 500TM collection of products

2016

Reed calligraphy pen awarded the Hanayaka
Kansai Selection Prize

2017

Biwako Template won the Japanese Stationery

25

Wood Design Award 2017

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

of the Year Award for Excellence in the Design
Category
Shiga Biodiversity Grand Prize

2018

Shiga Prefecture Low-Carbon Society
Development Award

Green Wave Award at the Biodiversity Action Award
Japan 2018

Japan Water Prize’s Minister of Economy,
Trade and Industry Award
Judging Committee Special Award in theAward for Companies Promoting Experiential
Activities for YouthCommendation Award at Low Carbon Challenge Cup
2019

Excellence Award at The Biodiversity Japan
Award 2019Award in the corporate category of the Minister of theEnvironment Prize at the 7th Ministry of Environment
Good Life Award

2019

26

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

Environment

Environmental Management
KOKUYO recognizes that environmental problems, including global warming and the reduction of forest resources, arepressing issues. We concentrate the wisdom of all employees and align our actions in order to develop solutions for these
problems.

The Group's Vision for the Environment

Building a sustainable society will require the creation of a recycling-oriented, low-carbon society that can coexist withnature. The KOKUYO Group Vision for the Environment consists of an environmental philosophy and an environmental
policy with seven specific activities: the prevention of global warming; resource saving and recycling; procurement,
development and supply of environmentally friendly products; biodiversity; legal compliance and preventing pollution;
information disclosure and communication; and environmental management.

June is “KOKUYO Environment Month”

In response to environmental issues such as global warming, biodiversity, and marine plastics, the KOKUYO Group wishes
to encourage its employees to increase their environmental awareness and reassess the way they work and live byengaging in various initiatives that affect them personally. To this end, to coincide with World Environment Day on June 5,
the Group chose to make June “KOKUYO Environment Month.”Previously, the KOKUYO Group had taken part in the Lights Down Campaign on the day appointed by the Ministry of theEnvironment. In 2019, the Group expanded the campaign and carried out “lights down” for the entirety of KOKUYO
Environment Month: it encouraged employees to leave the office by 7 p.m., and promoted energy-saving measures for
employees working after 7 p.m.
In addition, as part of its efforts to reduce CO2 emissions, KOKUYO set a goal of “reducing CO2 emissions by 26 percent
compared to 2013 levels by 2030.”

27

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

2030 CO 2 Emissions Reduction Target

The KOKUYO Group strengthens activities to ease global warming (measures for the reduction and absorption of CO2
emissions).KOKUYO formulated its 2030 CO2 Emissions Reduction Target in 2018, covering its consolidated subsidiaries inJapan*1, KOKUYO K Heart Co., Ltd., and Heartland Co., Ltd. Electricity-based CO2 emissions are calculated using thebasic emissions factors of the relevant electrical power companies.
Global Warming Preventive Measures (Easing Measures)
CO2 Emission Reduction

CO2 Absorption Forest Conservation Activities

Aim to achieve more than 6,000-tons CO2 absorption
Aim to reduce CO2 emission in 2030 by 26% compared to 2013
(Consolidated subsidiaries in Japan*1 + KOKUYO K Heart Co., Ltd. by tree thinning in approximately 150 hectares (Yuino-mori Project)+ Heartland Co., Ltd.)CO2 emission reduction target

2013
CO2
emissions2030
targetReduce CO2 emissions in 2030
by 26% compared to 2013

30,683t-CO2

22,705t-CO2

2018
2019
performance performance

Compared toCompared toprevious2013
year

28,779t-CO2

Reduced by
8.2%

26,419t-CO2

Reduced by
13.9%*1 KOKUYO Co., Ltd.; KOKUYO Product Shiga Co., Ltd.; KOKUYO MVP Co., Ltd.; KOKUYO Logitem Co., Ltd.; KOKUYO Supply Logistics Co.,
Ltd.; KOKUYO Marketing Co., Ltd.; Kaunet Co., Ltd.; Actus Co., Ltd.; KOKUYO Finance Co., Ltd.; KOKUYO & Partners Co., Ltd.; and LmD
International Co. Ltd.

CO2 absorption by forest-conservation activities

Results

Contributes over 6,000t - CO2 absorption by tree thinning inapproximately 150 hectares per year.

Thinned area: 123.5ha Amount of CO2
absorbed: 6,689t-CO2

Medium-term Environmental Action Plan

Medium-term Environmental Action Plan (Fiscal 2020)
Environmental
policyPrevention of
global warming

MeasuresFiscal 2017
performance

Fiscal 2018
performance

Fiscal 2019
performance

Fiscal 2020
goals

Cut CO2 emissions(vs. FY 1990)

Reduced by
9.6%(in Japan)

Reduced by
9.3%(in Japan)

Reduced by
12.7%(in Japan)

Reduced by30%(in Japan)

Reduced by
12.0%(unit energy
consumption)

Reduced by
12.7%(unit energy
consumption)

Reduced by
13.8%(unit energy
consumption)

Reduced by
10%(unit energy
consumption)

94.5%

94.6%

95.5%

100%

Cut energy consumption(vs. FY 2010)* Average 1% annual reduction inunit energy consumption

Resource
saving andrecycling

Increase the rate of recycling
in relation to the total volumeof emissions* incl. waste materials (prime
contractor)

Scope of medium-term target:
KOKUYO Co., Ltd.; KOKUYO Product Shiga Co., Ltd.; KOKUYO MVP Co., Ltd.; KOKUYO Logitem Co., Ltd.; KOKUYOSupply Logistics Co., Ltd.; KOKUYO Marketing Co., Ltd.; Kaunet Co., Ltd.; Actus Co., Ltd.; KOKUYO Finance Co., Ltd.;KOKUYO & Partners Co., Ltd.; and LmD International Co., Ltd.; KOKUYO K Heart Co., Ltd.; and Heartland Co., Ltd.
* Calculations for Actus and Heartland will use the actual results for 2018 as the reference year as they were not included in the scope during
the original year of reference.

28

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Environmental Management System

In 2004, the scope of registrations for the environmental management system was enlarged to cover all major consolidated
subsidiaries in Japan. This resulted in a multi-site certification system that encompasses planning, R&D, manufacturing,sales and services, and warehousing and shipping operations. The environmental management system is structured toreflect the level of the environmental impact while preserving consistency across the KOKUYO Group. Companies andfactories with a relatively large environmental impact are classified as individual units. Companies with a relatively small
impact are classified as common units. In addition, the environmental management system reflects the unique aspects of
the activities of each group company. This allows companies to perform environmental management that matches theiroperations, such as by establishing goals based on each company's business plan. While MELON, a database system forthe management of environmental documents and records, was previously introduced, we enhanced the functionality of thissystem in July 2013 in an effort to expand the scope of target sites and improve the user-friendliness, efficiency, andaccuracy of document management and browsing.
In December 2016, we received and successfully completed an inspection based on migration to the 2015 version.

29

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Environmental Education

To heighten employees' awareness about environmental conservation, and acquire
knowledge necessary for the achievement of environmental targets as well as
responses and management methods for accidents and during emergencies, the
KOKUYO Group has environment-related law briefings conducted by the ISO
Promotion Secretariat as well as training to develop and improve the skills ofinternal auditors. In addition, respective divisions also conduct their own
environmental education.
Training on LPG handling (KOKUYO
Product Shiga)

Type of Education/Training

Number of participants
2017

2018

2019

General environmental education

2,075

2,152

1,891

Education related to the achievement ofenvironmental targets as well as laws andregulations

311

233

367

Training for the handling of accidents andemergencies

152

169

232

Internal auditors

30

21

56

Other

273

322

192

Total

2,841

2,897

2,738

30

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Results of Internal Audits and Third-Party Inspection

The KOKUYO Group performs internal audits in two stages: primary audits are conducted by operating companies andsecondary audits are conducted primarily by the ISO Promotion Secretariat. Ensuring compliance with laws and regulations
is the highest priority of these audits. For 2019, primary audits were conducted from July 2 to 31, while secondary audits
from August 1 to September 6. Furthermore, ad-hoc audits focusing specifically on waste management pointed out as anarea of improvement (minor nonconformity) during the third-party (ISO 14001) inspection of 2018 were conducted fromMarch 16 to October 24. The ISO 14001 inspection was conducted from November 25 to 29. As a result of detailed checks
regarding waste management conducted during the ad-hoc audits, there was a significant increase in the number of areas
pointed out, but nothing was highlighted during the ISO 14001 inspection. In addition, continuing from last year, thebiodiversity conservation initiatives ReEDEN Project and the Yui-no-Mori Project which received several external awards
were again cited as strong points. Note that the ISO 14001 inspection in 2019 was regularly scheduled.
FY in which conducted2017 2018 2019

FY in which conducted

2017
2018
2019
(periodic) (periodic) (periodic)

Sites subject to monitoring

70

75

118

・Primary audits

55

60

61

Sites subject toexamination

20

29

17

・Secondary audits

15

15

16

Strong points

0

1

1

・Ad-hoc audits

－

－

41

Good points

5

8

5

Matters cited

28

28

83

・Minor points of nonconformity

12

8

25

Matters cited for
improvement (minor
points of nonconformity)

0

1

0

・Corrections

16

20

58

Opportunities foramelioration

16

21

21

Internal audit(KOKUYO MVP Tottori Factory)

Ad-hoc audit
ISO 14001 inspection(KOKUYO Supply Logistics Chubu Integrated (Mie Plant)
Distribution Center)

31

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Independent Verification Report

Third-party verification by Bureau Veritas Japan was undertaken for the KOKUYO Group’s environmental performance data
to receive opinions about the data’s accuracy, transparency, coherence, appropriateness, and completeness from an
independent perspective.

Summary of Third-Party Inspectio

Since 2018, environment load data and scope 3 emissionsfor 32 KOKUYO Group companies*1, to which Iwami
Paper Industry Co., Ltd. had been added, have been
subject to verification. On-site examinations relating to datameasurement and management methods were also
conducted at three sites in Japan (KOKUYO’s Shibayama
Plant, Kaunet’s Head Office, and KOKUYO Supply
Logistics’ Metropolitan Area Integrated Distribution Center)and one site overseas (KOKUYO-IK (THAILAND) Co.,
Ltd.). This process resulted in a number of matters being
pointed out: a total of 9 assessable points, 6 opportunities
for amelioration, 32 requests for modifications, and 30
requests for clarification. The requests for modification andclarification were dealt with during the verification period.
For the verification of Scope 3 emissions, the need forclarifying the data collection scope in each category wascited as requiring improvement because the collection
scope had been noted as "consolidated" or "consolidated
and affiliate" depending on the category.
Based on these matters that were pointed out to us, we will
endeavor to enhance the disclosure of informationencompassing the entire supply chain and improve theprecision of such information.
FY in which conducted
Assessable points

2017

2018

2019

9

9

12

Opportunities for amelioration 10

6

11

Requests for modifications

26

32

38

Requests for clarification

21

30

17

Environmental performance data
third-party verification(Mie Plant)

Environmental performance data
third-party verification(Heartland Co., Ltd.)*1 Organizational units covered

32

Environmental performance data
third-party verification
KOKUYO Logitem Metropolitan Area
Integrated Distribution Center

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Consolidated Subsidiaries

Other Subsidiaries and Affiliates

KOKUYO Co., Ltd.

Japan

Overseas

KOKUYO K Heart Co., Ltd., Heartland Co., Ltd.,IWAMI Paper Industry Co., Ltd., KOKUYOKaunet Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Marketing Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Hokkaido Sales Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Tohoku
Engineering & Technology Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Supply
Sales Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Kitakanto Sales Co.,
Logistics Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Logitem Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Ltd., KOKUYO Tokai Sales Co., Ltd., KOKUYO
Product Shiga Co., Ltd., KOKUYO MVP Co., Ltd., LmD
Hokuriku-Niigata Sales Co., Ltd. , KOKUYOInternational Co., Ltd., Actus Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Finance Sanyo-Shikoku Sales Co., Ltd.
Co., Ltd, KOKUYO & Partners Co., Ltd.
KOKUYO Vietnam Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Malaysia Sdn.
Bhd., KOKUYO (Shanghai) Management Co., Ltd.,KOKUYO Commerce (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., KOKUYOFurniture (China) Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Design Consultants(Shanghai) Co., Ltd., KOKUYO International Asia Co.,
Ltd., KOKUYO International (Malaysia) Sdn Hbd,
KOKUYO Vietnam KOKUYO-IK(Thailand) Co., Ltd.

33

KOKUYO-IK(Thailand) Co., Ltd.

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

Environment

Global Warming Preventive Measures

The KOKUYO Group strengthens activities to ease global warming (measures for the reduction and absorption of CO2
emissions) with a view to achieve a low carbon society.

Summary for 2019

The CO2 emissions of consolidated subsidiaries in Japan*1, KOKUYO K Heart Co., Ltd., and Heartland Co., Ltd. in 2019
totaled 26,419 tons. It was decreased by 2,360 tons from the previous year, achieving the goals with a reduction of 8.2%. Of
the 2,360 tons, 2,020 tons were due to the change of the emission coefficients*2. Based on estimates, there was a
reduction in CO2 emissions of 531 tons through operational improvements and 147 tons through equipment improvements.
However, manufacturing operations and the closing and consolidating of facilities raised emissions by 338 tons. As a result,
the reduction in total was 340 tons. The status by department is as follows.
Measures Taken at Offices

Offices lowered CO2 emissions by 519 tons (105 tons after excluding the amount that was due to the change of theemission coefficients) over the previous year. There was an increase of 55 tons compared to the previous year due to anincrease in stores of Actus Co., Ltd. and other factors. However, we made June our KOKUYO Environmental Month, andconducted a “light down” campaign. We also reviewed the operation of air-conditioning systems as well as our working
styles, promoted activities such as no-overtime days and early go-home, and encouraged the use of public transportation
for sales activities so as to cut gasoline consumption as well as other activities. This resulted in a reduction of 134 tons.
Switching to LED lights and other means resulted in a further reduction of 25 tons. Furthermore, in 2019, the previous coolbiz and warm biz campaigns were combined into a smart biz campaign that was in effect all year long.
Measures Taken at Factories

At factories, the net decrease in CO2 emissions was 1,402 tons (244 tons after excluding the amount that was due to thechange of the emission coefficients) compared to the previous year. While an increase in production resulted in CO2emission increasing by 104 tons on a year-on-year basis, a reduction of 300 tons was achieved due to operational
improvements attributed in part to a shortening of the time required to make changes to product types, the thoroughapplication of rules for the operations of production equipment, the conduct of inspections, the elaboration of production
schedules, and a reduction of waste made possible through energy checks. In addition, a reduction of 48 tons in CO2emissions was achieved by embracing energy-saving equipment, including adopting systems that enable the installation of
inverters and switching to LED lights.
Measures Taken by the Logistics Division

In the area of logistics (storage and shipping), we reduced CO2 emissions by 439 tons (increase of 8 tons after excluding
the amount that was due to the change of the emission coefficients) compared to the previous year. There was an increaseof 180 tons due to the increase in work volume, but operational improvements achieved through the promotion of daily

34

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

energy-conservation activities, along with equipment improvements achieved through a review of optimal luminance forlighting fixtures at distribution centers, reduced emissions by 98 tons. The active promotion of replacing illumination with
LED lights further reduced emissions by 74 tons.

Solar panels installed at the new wing of ourOsaka office

Solar panels installed at Shiga factory

Hybrid streetlights installed at our
Metropolitan Area Integrated Distribution
Center (IDC)*1 KOKUYO Co., Ltd.; KOKUYO Product Shiga Co., Ltd.; KOKUYO MVP Co., Ltd.; KOKUYO Logitem Co., Ltd.; KOKUYO Supply Logistics Co.,
Ltd.; KOKUYO Marketing Co., Ltd.; Kaunet Co., Ltd.; Actus Co., Ltd.; KOKUYO Finance Co., Ltd.; KOKUYO & Partners Co., Ltd.; and LmD
International Co. Ltd.
*2 As to CO2 emission coefficients for electricity, we adopt the coefficients based on Japan’s Act on Promotion of Global WarmingCountermeasures (base emission coefficients for each electricity company based on actual performance for 2017 and 2018).

Total CO 2 Emissions by KOKUYO Group

The total CO2 emission in 2019 for 31 KOKUYO Group companies*1—which alsobegan data collection for Iwami Paper Industry Co., Ltd. in 2018—was 40,130
tons*2. This was a reduction of 5,100 tons compared to 2018. Approximately 4,400
tons of reduction was due to the decrease of emission coefficients for powercompanies while 700 tons of reduction was due to the reduction activity of theGroup as a whole.
*1 Refer to CSR Data
*2 As to CO2 emission coefficients for electricity in Japan, we adopt the coefficients based on the
Solar panels installed at KOKUYO
Act on Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures (base emission coefficients for eachCamlin’s Patalganga Factory
electricity company based on actual performance for 2017 and 2018). As to CO2 emission
coefficients for overseas electricity, we adopt the CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion 2019 edition by the International Energy Agency. The
difference due to change in coefficients is the difference with the emissions calculated based on the average of all electricity sources for 2000
(0.378 kg-CO2/kWh).

Actual Emission Coefficients for Each Electricity
Company

Trend of CO2 Emissions for Entire KOKUYO Group35

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Improving the Accuracy of Scope 3 Data

In recent years, a movement to engage in carbon disclosure projects (CDP) and to manage and externally disclose Scope 3(encompassing production, shipping, business trips, commutation, and other categories) emissions generated throughsupply chains that indirectly emit GHG has been gaining momentum. While the KOKUYO Group has also engaged in suchactions in certain areas such as shipping, actions started to be taken in 2014 in accordance with the Ministry of theEnvironment's Basic Guidelines on Calculating Volumes of Greenhouse Gas Emissions. The volume of GHG emissions forthe entire supply chain in year 2019 was 624,107 tons of CO2. Scope 3 emissions accounted for approximately 93 per centof this figure with 83 per cent thereof attributed to “Category 1 purchased products and services.” While Scope 3 emissions
increased, this is a result of the effort to collect data at subcontractors for stationery products which started in 2018 andfurther advanced in 2019. Third-party verification services provided by Bureau Veritas Japan have also been secured toensure the reliability of disclosed information and data.
Emission by Scope

Scope3 Breakdown

36

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

Environment

Resource-saving and Recycling Measures
To promote the growth of a recycling-oriented society, we endeavor to reduce, reuse, and recycle by effectively utilizing
limited resources.

Summary for 2019

The volume of waste materials generated by KOKUYO Group (31 companies) business offices in 2019(*1) was 23,446 tons
(previous year: 22,640 tons), and the recycling rate was 96.4% (previous year: 96.6%).
The primary reason for this year-on-year decrease was that recycling rates for overseas factories fell from 85.7% in 2018 to
81.4% in 2019.
We generated 4,150 tons of waste materials on construction sites (previous year: 3,350 tons) with a recycling rate of 85.2%(previous year: 88.0%). The responsibilities of the prime contractor with respect to the disposition of waste materials
generated on construction sites have been clarified, and the obligations of the waste-generating company have beentightened.
Efforts were made to contain waste materials in part through a review of the methods by which parts subject to processing
at construction sites are ordered. As waste materials generated on construction sites are not homogenous, there are manycases in which recycling is difficult due to the intermingling of various types of waste materials in a given batch.
Nevertheless, we will continue to properly dispose of waste materials in conjunction with the implementation of controls on
their generation and aim to achieve our medium- and long-term target of 100% for the rate at which waste materials arerecycled.
*1 Refer to CSR Data

Measures Taken at Offices

The volume of waste materials generated by offices in 2019 was 694 tons (previous year: 760 tons), and the recycling rate
was 95.9% (previous year: 97.6%).
While there are limits to what can be done at offices, we are working on measures including being thorough in the sorting ofwaste, and promoting paperless work.

Measures Taken at Factories

The volume of waste materials generated by factories in 2019 was 10,999 tons (previous year: 11,062 tons), and therecycling rate was 95.3% (previous year: 96.3%).
The KOKUYO Group had successfully achieved zero emissions in relation to industrial waste materials from its own
factories in Japan since 2009. However, Mie Plant switched from thermal recycling to material recycling for its particle
board, and this resulted in the generation of some residue. As a result, the recycling rate for industrial waste materials fell to
99.4%; however, this fall is a result of prioritizing resource circulation.
The recycling rate for overseas factories in 2019 was 81.4%. We are working to limit the discharge of waste materials andto increase recycling, while considering the different circumstances related to recycling in each country.

37

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Measures Taken by the Logistics Division

The volume of waste materials generated by the Logistics Division in 2019 was 11,753 tons (previous year: 10,818 tons),
and the recycling rate was 97.3% (previous year: 96.8%). Cardboard, wooden pallets and other packaging materials used
for packing products in the logistics process are repaired and re-used. In 2019, approximately 10 tons of cardboard andwooden pallets were re-used. We strive to continue using resources efficiently.

Reusing and Recycling End-of-Life Products

When we deliver products, we pick up end-of-life products for disposal from
customers and recycle or reuse these items depending on their condition.
KOKUYO Logitem collected 2,325 tons of office desks and chairs and other usedproducts. Approximately 190 tons of the collected products were reused, and thosethat could not be reused were dismantled and sorted for recycling.

Disassembly and separation of desks

38

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

Environment

Legal Compliance and Pollution Prevention
We are striving to prevent environmental pollution by complying with statutes and regulations relating to the environment aswell as industry guidelines to which we have subscribed and our own standards.

Summary for 2019

Twenty-eight environmental laws and regulations are currently applicable to the KOKUYO Group within Japan. In Juneevery year, we evaluate the status of our compliance with these laws and regulations. During the ISO 14001 certification
renewal inspection conducted in November 2018, an area for improvement (minor nonconformity) was highlighted. There
was a distribution center which had consigned an operator for used fluorescent lamp disposal without signing an agreement
regarding the collection, transportation, and disposal. In some divisions, we discovered insufficient responsibility transfer
due to changes in responsible personnel, or insufficient ability on the part of responsible personnel to satisfy the criteria
established by compliance evaluation. Therefore, we worked on improving the ability of responsible personnel, for example,
by increasing the frequency of briefings on laws and regulations.
In addition, it was determined that there was a possibility that timber used in some furniture products had not beenadequately confirmed for legality. They have been removed as products conforming to the Act on Promotion of Procurementof Eco-Friendly Goods and Services by the State and Other Entities (commonly known as the Act on Promoting Green
Procurement), and we take this as a result of even stricter requirements for confirming the legality of timber. Otherwise,
there were no major legal infringements.

Conducted Briefing to Subcontractors to Strengthen Compliance with the Act on Promoting Green
Procurement and the Clean Wood Act

It is said that even now, there is a significant amount of illegally-harvested timber
being distributed around the world. Illegal harvesting of timber not only destroys theenvironment of timber production regions, but may also cause a number of otherproblems.
In these circumstances, the Act on Promotion of Use and Distribution of Legallyharvested Wood and Wood Products (commonly known as the Clean Wood Act)was announced on May 20, 2016, and implemented on May 20, 2017. The act
aims to promote the distribution and use of timber—legally harvested based on the
Briefing subcontractors about the Act onlaws and regulations in Japan and countries of origin—as well as products madePromoting Green Procurement and thefrom such timber. Together with this, the Act on Promotion of Procurement of EcoClean Wood Act
Friendly Goods and Services by the State and Other Entities (commonly known as
the Act on Promoting Green Procurement) was also revised.
Information exchange in the supply chain, especially with subcontractors, is essential for confirming the legality of timber.
Therefore, a briefing was given on May 10, 2018 to subcontractors related to wood products to start the initiative in earnest.
During the implementation of this initiative, various knowledge and cases were accumulated, including the method for
confirming the legality of timber and the necessary certificates. Therefore, another briefing was conducted for
subcontractors on April 19, 2019. In addition, the Timber Legality Certification Due Diligence System Manual (Furniture
Edition Ver 1.0) was formulated to minimize the risk of procuring illegally harvested timber and products using such timber
during the procurement of timber and timber products for furniture. This manual is released on our website.
R* Related information: Biodiversity/Promoting Environmental Communications

39

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Promoting the Management of Chemical Substances Included in Products

The KOKUYO Group recognizes that the non-use of substances regulated by law
and the management and provision of information on the status of the use of
substances for which there is a potentially negative impact on the environment andpeople are social obligations shared by all companies that provide products. At thesame time, there has been a clear shift from a conventional hazard-based
management approach that used to focus only on the hazardous nature inherent inchemical substances to a risk-based management approach based on the scientificmethod. In responding to these global changes, we first set about specifying a
Checking for the presence of heavy
hazards-based list of substances in 2014 and in 2015. We then carried out
metals using an X-ray fluorescence
research based on the substance list in sequence, starting from the highest-priority
spectrometerproducts.
In 2017, based on information obtained from our research, we evaluated the toxicity of and human exposure to thecontained substances, and created the Stationery Edition of the Guidelines for Managing Chemical Substances Included in
Products. In 2018, training courses on chemical substance management was conducted within the company to more
appropriately implement chemical substance management standards. In 2019, in view of the revision to Japan’s chemical
substance regulations expected to take place in the following year, we conducted surveys on the state of regulated
substance use by subcontractors and provided them with information about the details of revision.
We will work on our ability to respond to our customers’ requirements in areas including compliance with laws andregulations related to chemical substances and disclosure of safety information.

40

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

Environment

Developing Environmentally Friendly Products and Services
The KOKUYO Group is working on new environmental technologies and green procurement in order to reduce theenvironmental load over the entire life cycle of its products.

Continuing to Ensure That No Eco-Batsu Mark Tarnishes Our Catalog

The KOKUYO Group started using the Eco-Batsu mark for products in the 2008 General Catalog. This mark is used forgroup products that are not sufficiently environmentally friendly at any stage of their life cycle, including manufacturing,
distribution, usage, and disposal. We tasked ourselves with removing the Eco-Batsu mark from all of our products in three
years, and this goal was reached in the 2011 General Catalog. No Eco-Batsu products have emerged since then, and we
strive to continue to ensure that no Eco-Batsu products can be found in the 2019 General Catalog.

“All-paper” Series That Addresses the Problem of Ocean Plastics

This is a series of filing products made fully from paper. When it was launched in
March 2004, the series received praise for being able to be disposed without
having to incur effort to separate into paper, plastic, metal and other materials. With
the recent global rise in the problem of ocean plastics, the series is again gaining
recognition from the perspective of moving away from plastic.
The All-Paper series is involved in the Plastics Smart Campaign established by
Japan’s Ministry of the Environment toward solving the global problem of ocean
plastics that supports the advancement of initiatives through the partnership and cooperation of a wide range of entities
such as individuals, local governments, NGOs, companies, and research agencies.
http://plastics-smart.env.go.jp/case/?id=1060

41

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Visualization of Product CO 2

The KOKUYO Group grasps the amount of CO2 emissions by products from creation to disposal or recycling and works on
reducing the environmental impact of products. As part of this effort, focus was placed on the Carbon Footprint of Products(CFP) method that visualizes the amount of product CO2 emissions. KOKUYO undertook the visualization of CO2 so as tobe able to provide customers with products that have little environmental impact. For details, please refer to the page below.
“Visualization of Product CO2” pageUse of Domestic and Local Lumber

Forests, which account for approximately 67% of Japan's land area, play a role in retaining water (usually referred to as soil
and sand outflow prevention and watershed protection) and in absorbing CO2, etc. Forests are also renewable resources,
40% of which are man-made. However, many of the man-made forests are unable to make the most of the abovementioned multiple functions that forests offer, as maintenance such as thinning is performed too late.
KOKUYO worked to develop furniture using timber from thinning since 1998 and started selling the products from 2000. We
believe that we can increase the demand for new timber through the active use of domestic timber (timber from thinning)and support the realization of a sustainable society where we live in harmony with forests.

Protocol Counter

The Protocol counter is a reception counter developed to also satisfy the desire to use locally harvested lumber throughout
Japan. The finish of the counter, designed by graf decorative mode no.3 design products inc., presents a clean and modern
feel. Adopting the concept of universal design, the counter provides, for example, a groove for securing walking canes anda grip for wheelchair users at the edge of the countertop.

The Protocol counter, winner of the Wood
Design Award 2017

BS+ desk system

UU chair

42

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

EF Counter with Modesty Panel Using Local LumberThis is a construction-type counter which allows functional expansion according to future reorganization and operation. It
adopts the concept of universal design, taking into consideration the elderly and wheelchair users. By using only local
lumber for the modesty panel, function and variation the same as the standard type are achieved. Similar to the Protocol
counter, the edge of the countertop has a groove for securing walking canes and a grip for wheelchair users.

Delivery Example of EF Counter with Modesty Panel Using Local Lumber (New City Office Building in Nagato
City, Yamaguchi Prefecture)

The new city office building of Nagato City, Yamaguchi Prefecture was completed in September 2019. KOKUYO
proposed and delivered an EF counter with modesty panel using local lumber for the reception counter of the newcity office building. The counter used Japanese cypress produced in Nagato City. In addition to the universal
design that takes into consideration the elderly and wheelchair users, the counter realizes an attractive reception
space by having the two aspects of versatility that can flexibly adapt to changes in reception format expected in
the future and a sense of hospitality that offers the warmth of wood to visitors.
The city office building amply uses materials produced in Nagato City. As a building of the largest scale in Japanthat combines a hybrid structure of wood and reinforced concrete with a seismic-resistant structure, it is also
adopted as a Sustainable Architecture (Wooden Architecture) Advanced Project under Japan’s Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, gathering attention from all over Japan.
Going forward, it is also expected that cases utilizing local lumber in public buildings will further increase due tothe Forest Environment Transfer Tax and other systems. Capitalizing on the expertise that it has developed over
the years, the KOKUYO Group plans to continue manufacturing and providing products that utilize local lumber
effectively, are more functional yet friendly to the environment, and are based on the concept of universal designthat is easy to use for anyone.

43

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

Environment

Consideration for Biodiversity and Promotion of Environmental
Communications
The KOKUYO Group strives to reduce its impact on ecosystems and help conserve natural habitats by carrying out
business activities that take biodiversity into account. We are proactively engaged in forest-conservation activities in the
Shimanto River basin area of Kochi Prefecture and environmental conservation activities in the area in and around Lake
Biwa in Shiga Prefecture.

KOKUYO Group's Basic Policy for Timber Procurement

In 2011, the KOKUYO Group prepared its Basic Policy for Timber Procurement and clarified its stance regarding thesustainability of forest resources that are the most significant of the Group's important raw materials. Since its founding, the
KOKUYO Group has broadened and developed its business activities using forest-derived materials, including paper
production. KOKUYO is fully aware of the roles that forests have played and will continue to play regarding global warming
and biodiversity. KOKUYO will aim to develop in harmony with forest resources while taking into consideration the legality,transparency, and sustainability of the Group's procurement of materials.

KOKUYO Group Basic Policy for Timber Procurement
The KOKUYO Group procures forest-derived materials according to the following policy and is working to makecontinued improvements.
1. Aim for highly transparent materials procurement, with an awareness of issues of illegal cutting and illegaltransactions in the timber trade.
2. Procure material through more appropriate supply chains to support sustainable use of forest resources.
3. Based on an awareness of the social value and roles of forest resources in the region, procure materials withdue consideration for maintaining the supply and preservation of resources.

Formulation of Timber Legality Certification Due Diligence System Manual (Furniture Edition Ver 1.0)

The Timber Legality Certification Due Diligence System Manual (Furniture Edition Ver 1.0) was formulated on November 1,
2019.
This manual aims to minimize the risk of procuring illegally harvested timber and products using such timber during the
procurement of timber products by the Furniture Business Division. We will conduct even stricter confirmation of legality
through implementation of this manual.
Note that this manual is released on our website.

Obtaining Certification as a Company Dealing with Matters of Legality and Sustainability

We have been certified as a company dealing with matters of legality andsustainability by the Japan Office Institutional Furniture Association (JOIFA) in linewith revisions made to the Act on Promoting Green Procurement. We endeavor topromote the use and sale of timber and wood products that have been certified aslegal and sustainable in such terms as forms control, the appointment of managers,
and usage reports in accordance with this practice code.

44

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

FSC

®

-certified Products

KOKUYO has obtained FSC® and COC certification since 2003. The Forest Stewardship Council®
(FSC) is one of several third-party organizations operating an international forestry and woodlands
certification program and aims to conserve the environment found in forests and woodlands
appropriately and promote the management of forests and woodlands in a manner that is sociallybeneficial for local communities while also being economically sustainable. The COC (abbreviation of"chain-of-custody") certification constitutes the certification of the management of the processes ofprocessing and logistics. In the KOKUYO Group, KOKUYO, Kaunet and KOKUYO Product Shiga haveobtained FSC® and COC certification and are selling copier paper, notebooks, and other FSC-certified
products. In 2016, PEFC and COC certification was also obtained. PEFC (Programme for theEndorsement of Forest Certification Schemes) is an organization that mutually approves forest
certification criteria created by each county or region.
The KOKUYO Group will strive to increase certified products in order to use sustainable forest resources. (FSC® C004748)

PPC color paper

Reeds-based photocopier paper

FUBI

Status of the Use of Wood Materials

Approximately 8,500 tons of wood materials were used by KOKUYO Furniture in the year 2019 to make products. This
figure is equivalent to 13 percent of all materials used for production (excluding packaging).
In breaking down these wood materials, 34 percent consists of solid wood, laminated wood, and other wood materials thatare made with raw lumber while 66 percent consists of wood materials that are not made with raw lumber, such as thinned
wood, waste wood, unused materials and wood boards constituting pieces fabricated from the foregoing materials (MDF
and particle boards). This information is reported annually to JOIFA as yearly handling results for certification as a company
dealing with lawful wood materials under the Act on Promoting Green Procurement. We also endeavor to ascertain thetypes of trees corresponding to wood materials that are made with raw lumber pursuant to JOIFA's guidelines on the written
declarations that are made of wood.

45

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Study on the Actual Usage of WoodKOKUYO studies the tree species, amount used and the country/ regions of origin of the wood-based materials used in its
furniture products every year.
However, it is hard to determine the country of origin for commercial components and similar items. We will continue to work
toward obtaining the information in order to use sustainable resources.

Tree species

Form of wood

Amount used(converted to m³)

Country/region of origin

Ash

Veneer, sliced
veneer

16

U.S.A.

Ayous

Sliced veneer

1

Italy, Cameroon

Oak

Veneer, sliced
veneer

4

U.S.A.

Laminated

5

Japan

Oak

Veneer, sliced
veneer1

Japan, Russia

Birch

Laminated

1

RussiaPine

Veneer, laminated
wood

80

New Zealand, Chile

Beech

Veneer, laminated
wood

53

Germany, Croatia, France

Hinoki cypress

Veneer, laminatedlumber3

Japan

Falcata

Laminated wood

52

Indonesia

Japanese beech

Veneer, laminated
wood

170

Japan, Germany, Croatia, France

Japanese
whitebarkmagnolia

Veneer, laminatedlumber23

Japan

PoplarVeneer, laminated
wood

971

U.S.A., China

Maple

Veneer, sliced
veneer

1

U.S.A.

MerantiSliced veneer,
laminated wood

10

Indonesi

Gum TreeLaminated wood

918

China

Lauan

Laminated wood

717

Indonesia, Malaysia

Japanese cedar

Total

3,025

* Information from suppliers has been included. Wood materials such as MDF that do not use raw lumber as materials have been excluded.
* Only tree species with the specified country/region of origin are shown.

46

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Yui-no-Mori ProjectIn 2006, KOKUYO named the private forest in Taisho, Shimanto-cho, Kochi
Prefecture "Yui-no-Mori" and started forest conservation with a focus on efficientutilization of timber from forest thinning. Yui-no-Mori has had FSC® (Forest
Stewardship Council®) forest management certification since 2007. (FSC®
C004748)
Currently, the applicable area of Yui-no-Mori has grown to 5,425 hectares, and thetotal thinned forest has expanded to 1,789 hectares. In addition, a CO2 absorption
certificate has been issued by Kochi Prefecture since 2007, and the amount ofabsorbed CO2 of FY2018 was 6,689 tons, raising the cumulative total to 56,314
tons. (From April 2006 to March 2019.)
Biodiversity Action Award Japan 2018
award recipients
In February 2019, the Yui-no-Mori Project received the Excellence Award at the
Low Carbon Cup 2019, and in November 2019 it received the Minister of the Environment Prize in the Corporate Categoryof the 7th Ministry of the Environment’s Good Life Award. Following its receipt of the Wood Design Award 2017 in 2017, andthe Biodiversity Action Award’s Green Wave Award in 2018, this marks the third year in succession that the Project hasreceived official recognition.
* Related information: Commendation and Recognitions from Outside the KOKUYO Group

Received CO 2 Absorption Certificates from Kochi Prefecture

On July 17, 2019, KOKUYO received CO2 Absorption Certificates from Kochi Prefecture Governor Masanao Ozaki,
certifying that it had absorbed a total of 6,689 tons of CO2—6,150 tons by KOKUYO, and 539 tons by Kaunet.
Governor Ozaki expressed his gratitude for KOKUYO's long-term contributions to various initiatives, such as environmental
conservation, forest maintenance, industry promotion, and the promotion of Kochi Prefecture. The 6,689 tons of CO2
absorbed is equivalent to approximately 17 percent of the 40,130 tons of CO2 emitted by the KOKUYO Group in 2019. Thisinitiative is not just for forest conservation but also from the perspective of preventing global warming.

KOKUYO has obtained FSC ® certification

Yui-no-Mori has had FSC (Forest Stewardship Council®) forest management certification since 2007.
A regular audit was conducted on October 9 and 10, 2019, and KOKUYO continues to maintain FSC® certification. （FSC®
C004748）

Presentation of a CO2 absorption certificate

CO2 Absorption Certificates

FFSC® Audit

Regular Monitoring of the Effects of Forest Thinning

The visualization of the effects of thinning is essential for carrying out forest conservation activities. In order to monitor theeffects of these activities over the long term, we conduct monitoring surveys in collaboration with the Shimanto Forestry
Cooperative, Shimanto High School, and staff members of the Kochi prefectural and Shimanto municipal governments.
On May 18, 2019, we carried out surveys regarding the water quality of the Shimanto River, and we carried out vegetation
surveys on November 16. Regarding vegetation surveys, we are continuing to conduct surveys at two specific sites.
* Related information: Report by Shimanto High school students

47

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Effective Utilization of Forest Thinning

KOKUYO Furniture has been manufacturing and selling furniture made with timber from forest thinning in collaboration withthe local Shimanto Forestry Cooperative since 2000. Catalog retailer Kaunet also began selling primarily stationery as Yuino-Mori branded products in 2007 and currently offers 12 items as of 2019. In order to promote understanding of its
activities and increase the number of supporters, Kaunet implemented a framework for donating customer points toward thethinning of Yui-no-Mori in 2008. This year alone, the company has received approximately 100 applications for thesubmission of donations. In addition, the Yui-no- Mori 1% Donation Project was commenced in February 2011 andcontinues to operate to this day. This project is to donate a portion of the sales of Yui-no-Mori products to the National Land
Afforestation Promotion Organization's Green Fund.

Surveying the water quality of the Shimanto
River

Vegetation survey participants

Kaunet's Yui-no-Mori Products

ReEDEN Project

KOKUYO Product Shiga has engaged in proactive activities for environmental conservation as the plant operates near Lake
Biwa, a place that supports the lives of people while also being a dynamic habitat for many forms of life. Particular focus
has been directed toward activities involving reeds. Reeds not only absorb carbon dioxide but also help to purify water by
absorbing nitrogen and phosphorous in the process of growing and serve as a home for organisms living in Lake Biwa.
Reeds used to be used for making reed screens, roofs, and other goods. However, the use of reeds for such purposes
disappeared as peoples' lifestyles changed, meaning that reed beds were no longer being maintained and consequently fell
into a state of dilapidation. Launched in November 2007 to promote the use of reeds and to make the state of the reeds
widely known, the ReEDEN Project marked its 12th year in 2018. In 2019, two awards were received: the Judging
Committee Special Award in the Award for Companies Promoting Experiential Activities for Youth, and the Grand Prix at
The Biodiversity Japan Award 2019. Altogether, the project has received 13 awards in five consecutive years.
KOKUYO Product Shiga was recognized for our dedication to take the lead as a local company manufacturing paper
products, and activities are steadily spreading.
*1, *2, *3:Related information: Assessments and awards received from outside the KOKUYO Group

Protecting Lake Biwa by Promoting the Use of Reeds

By harnessing production technologies developed to date and its developmental capabilities with a paper-production
company, KOKUYO Product Shiga has been using reeds as materials for producing copier paper, notebooks, and otherindustrial products and selling them at a price suitable for the market under the ReEDEN Series brand name. In addition, in
an effort to create a market that contributes to the environment through the use of reeds, business cards made with 100
percent reed pulp, reed-based brush pens, and other high value-added products were developed in 2014. Other efforts
included the release of Lake Biwa stationery series as locally made stationery with themes relating to Lake Biwa, Shiga
tours and local specialties, and the joint development by Lake Biwa Museum in Shiga Prefecture and Campus Notes. A
portion of net sales is donated to a local environmental organization for activities dedicated to the conservation of reeds

48

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

ReEDEN series

Biwako Stationery

Biwako Template

Recruiting Members of the Local Community to Protect Lake Biwa with Reeds

The Network to Protect Lake Biwa with Reeds was set up in 2009 with KOKUYO Product Shiga serving as the secretariat ofthis organization. This network aims to contribute to the conservation of the natural environment of Lake Biwa in partthrough the establishment of modest connections among various companies and organizations. It began with a handful ofcorporate members, and has since grown into an organization with a membership of 131 supporting entities. The primaryactivity of the network entails the conservation of reed beds that fulfill an important role for the Lake Biwa ecosystem andwater environment. These activities, which were initially staffed by several KOKUYO Product Shiga employees, have now
expanded significantly to activities in which members of local environmental groups and representatives of network
members from the industry, academia, and government now gather in the hundreds to participate together with more than
4,800 members in mowing the reeds. In the investigation of reed bed biomass, an initiative which started in 2017, we
collaborated with Lake Biwa Museum and Shiga Prefecture to investigate winter reed biomass, carbon content, and so on
as a new attempt. A tool to calculate the amount of CO2 recovered through reed mowing activities was developed jointly by
the industry, academia, and government as an achievement of this collaboration. This tool has been published on Shiga
Prefecture’s website. Operational testing will be conducted this season to visualize the effects of reed mowing. These
activities are being shared through network communications to disseminate their merits.

Environmental Activities Linked by Networks—From Reed Mowing to Non-native Fish Fishing Contest

The Network to Protect Lake Biwa with Reeds, consisting of various industries and organizations, is expanding its activities
year after year. Buds start to sprout in the reed beds when spring comes after reeds are mowed three times in winter. We
have held a fishing contest to remove non-native fish around the reed beds since 2011. The aim is to exterminate the blackbass and bluegill that threaten endemic species of Lake Biwa such as willow gudgeon and carassius auratus grandoculis.
This environmental activity can be enjoyed by Network members and their families together. The number of participants
increases each time, with more than 200 people participating last year. We contribute to conserving the ecosystems of Lake
Biwa together with children. These activities allow people to experience for themselves the importance of nature, andbecome excellent opportunities for communicating the importance of protecting the rich environment of Lake Biwa.

Mowing the reeds

Mowing the reeds

Fishing contest to remove non-native fish

49

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

SocialRespect for Human Rights
To respect the human rights of all stakeholders as we go about our business and CSR activities, the KOKUYO Group has
established the KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct for our employees, and the KOKUYO Group's Procurement Policy for ourpartner companies.

Kokuyo Group Code of Conduct

KOKUYO Group Procurement Policy
and Guidelines

50

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

SocialWork Style Reform

Basic Concepts

KOKUYO is generating change in the work styles of employees centered on how time is used so as to secure the ability forsustainable growth.
KOKUYO seeks to contribute toward the growth of organizations and individuals by practicing work styles that allow
employees to independently choose the time and place of work while utilizing systems such as telecommuting as well as byaddressing factors obstructing the improvement of productivity to increase “disposable time.”

Systems

Achieving a Good Work-life Balance

The KOKUYO Group is committed to providing ideal working conditions with consideration forachieving a good work-life balance.
These efforts have been recognized by the government and three of the group companies havereceived a certification logo (nickname: Kurumin Mark) as of December 31, 2019.
The Kurumin Mark is a certification logo issued by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare,which promotes the improvement of the nation's declining birth rate, based on the Law for
Measures to Support the Development of the Next Generation, to recognize corporations andorganizations taking an active stance in supporting child-raising.
[Companies that received the Kurumin Mark] As of December 31, 2019
KOKUYO Co., Ltd., KAUNET Co., Ltd.,KOKUYO Marketing Co., Ltd.

Introduction of Teleworking System and Flextime System without a Core Period

At KOKUYO, a flextime system without a core period has also been introduced to give balance and promote effective use oftime. In addition, KOKUYO has introduced a teleworking system on a daily or hourly basis for employees who haverestrictions on time or place due to child rearing or nursing care. The system allows employees to engage in both childrearing and work by using their spare time efficiently, such as the time before leaving for work in the morning or the timeafter finishing housework until going to bed. Therefore, the number of employees utilizing this system is increasing.
Furthermore, we aim to improve work-life balance and realize higher productivity by introducing a flextime system without acore period and making working hours flexible.

Re-employment System for Employees Who Left Their Jobs Due to Personal Circumstances

KOKUYO has a re-employment system for regular employees who left their jobs due to personal circumstances such as
marriage, child-bearing, childcare, family care, job relocation of spouse, study abroad, volunteer work, career change andother reasons recognized by the company.
By bringing in the experiences and knowledge developed outside the KOKUYO Group, it is hoped that these employees willfurther expand the diversity of the Group.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Handling Re-employment of Mandatory Retirees

KOKUYO has in place a system which, in principle, allows employees who wish to work at the KOKUYO Group after retiring
at the mandatory age of 60 to continue work as senior employees.
Through this initiative, we offer opportunities for employees to continue applying themselves in society after mandatory
retirement. At the same time, we can expect them to use their experience and knowledge developed so far in their work tocontribute toward developing younger employees.

2019 Initiatives

Conducting Exciting Smart Work 2019

KOKUYO continues to conduct the trial named “Exciting Smart Work” that involves
giving flexibility to the time and place of work. In 2018, the trial demonstrated
effectiveness such as reducing the stress of commuting through a teleworking
system and an increase in private time.
In 2019, building on the issues noticed during the previous year’s initiative, theteleworking initiative was further expanded to more participants over a period of
three months. In addition, new challenges in work styles were also undertaken,
such as a “Day/Time Choice” system where employees can choose the number of
Meeting that also includes employees ondays and the time of their work, and relaxing the dress code.
teleworking system
From the survey conducted after the initiative, most participants answered that they
could make effective use of their working hours. In addition, the initiative provided employees with an opportunity to change
the way they view work, and it was observed that this also led to a reduction in overtime work.

Variety and Challenge Systems (Proposal and Award Systems)“Doubling the speed of operations through variety” is a focus area under thesecond medium-term management plan. This is an activity that seeks to improve
work and achieve efficiency by having each and every employee think on their own
and undertake new challenges with a sense of speed. At the KOKUYO Group, as
one of the initiatives to promote this activity, applications were sought from April
this year for the “Variety Proposals” and “Variety Practice Award” that lead tovariety.
By December 31, the number of proposals was 4,169 against a target of 4,000.
Award ceremony
There were proposals from a variety of perspectives, including work style reform,
encouragement of communication, and IT tools.
For each proposal, directors, managing officers, and others generated feedback reports while exchanging their opinions.
Dissemination is carried out as necessary through a portal site. In addition, events to give awards to outstanding proposals
and people who practice this concept were held at each office.
Going forward, KOKUYO will continue this activity while seriously considering the proposals of employees regardless ofwhether they can be achieved.

52

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

SocialPromotion of Diversity

Basic Concepts

KOKUYO aims to create a work environment where many positions and values are mutually recognized and various work
styles are permitted, thus making it possible for each and every employee to draw on his or her innate abilities. We haveidentified the following four basic themes related to diversity.

Systems

Statutory System for the Purpose of Child-rearing and Nursing-care Support*

The KOKUYO Group is working to make improvements in its systems to create an environment where it is easy to get agood balance between work and life, such as bearing children, raising them, and caring for senior family members.(Theparts underlined are beyond the range of statutory provisions)
Maternity leave

Six weeks before childbirth (14 weeks for multiple-birth pregnancies) and eight weeks
after childbirth

Spousal maternity leave

Leave of absence granted when a spouse is giving birth. Two days for each childbirth.

Childcare leave

Childcare leave is given until the day the child reaches the age of two. (For a child bornin April, childcare leave is given until the end of April in the year the child reaches theage of two.)Childcare leave to lookafter a sick/injured child

Up to 5 days per year, or 10 days for employees with two or more children, to look after achild below school age. (Can also be obtained in half-day units)

Family care leave

Up to a total of 183 days for each person requiring nursing care. (Can be taken in up to 3
blocks)Nursing care leave

Up to 5 days per year per person requiring nursing care, or 10 days for employees with
two or more children. (Can also be obtained in half-day units)

Short working hour system

Childcare:Until child finishes their third year in elementary school.
Nursing care: Up to three years per person requiring nursing care.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Teleworking

Can be taken in 1-day units (up to 52 times in one year) or hourly units
Childcare: Until child finishes their third year in elementary school.

Nursing care: Up to three years

Re-employment system

Eligible personnel include regular employees who left their jobs due to marriage, childbearing, childcare, job relocation of spouse, study abroad, volunteer work, career change
and other reasons recognized by the company* The system is applied to KOKUYO and its principal subsidiaries (In principal, all employees are eligible for flextime work schedule. Flextime
system without a core period introduced)* Related information: "Number of Employees Taking Leave for Childbearing and Senior Care"

The KOKUYO Group's Hiring of Persons with Disabilities

KOKUYO's history of hiring persons with disabilities dates back to 1940. It started with the employment of students ofOsaka City School for the Deaf (present-day Osaka Prefectural Central Hearing Support School) at the former Imazato
Factory where the present Head Office is located.
The turning point in KOKUYO Group's hiring of persons with disabilities was the business structural reform plan announced
in 2002. The issue of how to handle the hiring of persons with disabilities by individual subsidiaries—formed from thesplitting of KOKUYO—was examined, and the special subsidiary KOKUYO K Heart was established in September 2003. In
addition, Heartland was established in December 2006 for the purpose of hiring persons with intellectual or mental
disabilities.
The KOKUYO Group's rate of hiring people with disabilities is 2.31% as of June 1, 2019.

Participating in the Iku-boss Corporation Alliance

KOKUYO has participated in the Iku-boss Corporation Alliance sponsored by
Fathering Japan since it started in December 2014.
In order for organizations to maximize the abilities of employees, management
must understand that employees have time constraints due to factors such as
childcare, care for elderly relatives and illnesses, and it is essential for the management to change their way of thinking. By
participating in the Iku-boss Corporation Alliance, participating advanced corporations with the same awareness ofchallenges can share their knowledge to make it an opportunity to reconsider their diversity management as well as working
style and workplace climate. In addition, by considering the image of ideal supervisors (Iku-boss) in the new era through thecollaboration of corporate networks with the aim of developing further, KOKUYO strives to use it for the solution tochallenges held by customers as a corporation that suggests new working styles.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

2019 Initiatives

Creating Networks for Employees Involved in Child-raising

KOKUYO conducts orientation for employees returning to work after childcare
leave so that they can continue to work with peace of mind while balancing bothchild-rearing and work.
In addition, to enable information exchange and allow concerns to be discussed,
KOKUYO also strives to create networks for employees involved in child-raising,such as lunches for fathers and mothers, and the KOKUYO Child-raising Network .
Information is exchanged on themes related to balancing work and child-rearing,
including skillful methods for utilizing the teleworking system and work styles afterchildren have entered elementary schools.

KOKUYO Logitem’s “What I’d Like to Be” Office Visited Partner Company

The “What I’d Like to Be” Office, which aims to ensure diversity promotion and theadvancement of women at KOKUYO Logitem, has been visiting partner companies
since August last year to understand the state of activities to promote theadvancement of women at other companies and obtain hints for future activities.
This time, the office visited Kanriku Express Kansai Co., Ltd. With the first female
center manager and female CFO, visitors were told that people at the company
utilizes the meticulous attention to detail and ability to respond unique to women to
conduct realistic activities. Going forward, KOKUYO hope to continue a wide range
of interactions with other companies to incorporate good points into KOKUYO.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

SocialHuman Resources Management

Basic Concepts

KOKUYO aims to continue taking on the challenge of creating new value that contributes to the realization of a sustainable
society for the issues—which change with the times—faced by customers and society. To achieve this, based on theassumption of respecting diversity, we support challenges through work and place particular attention toward facilitating the
growth of the company and each employee while bringing out the creativity of each person.

Systems

Creating an Environment that Facilitates the Growth of KOKUYO and Each Employee

The personnel system which started full-scale operation in fiscal 2018 focuses on improving the capabilities of employees.
Core employees are divided into role grades based on the size of their roles and responsibilities regardless of age andexperience, while union employees are divided into skill grades based on the level of their capabilities. KOKUYO matches
and assigns the appropriate person to the appropriate position after clarifying organizations and roles according to company
strategy. We also support the reflection of absolute evaluation for compensation in balanced manner regarding the degreeof accomplishment of targets—established through dialogue between supervisors and subordinates at the company-level
about what to do for what purpose.
In our second medium-term management plan, “Enabling sustainable growth-Smart & Sustainable Transformation 2021,”
which was started in fiscal 2019, together with improving the implementation quality of our personnel system, KOKUYO will
strengthen the development of systems that facilitate the growth of the company and each employee through promoting theassignment and appointment of the appropriate person in the appropriate position and capability development based on theassumption of acceleration in business growth in the medium- to long-term.
In fact, there are increasingly more cases of assignments and appointments unaffected by age, such as the appointing
people in their early 30s as core employees responsible for a part of management, appointing people in their late 30s as
general managers, and appointing people in their 40s as directors.
Going forward, KOKUYO will further facilitate and polish seamlessly our initiatives so far to build the foundation for realizing
our 2030 vision planned to be disclosed in 2020.

Cycle Facilitating the Growth of KOKUYO and Each Employee

Using challenges through the work of teams and individuals, KOKUYO advances initiatives aiming at spiraling up whilesolving business issues and facilitating individual growth.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Growth Management System

To support challenges through the work of teams and individuals, KOKUYO is embarking on an initiative that seamlessly
facilitates target setting and evaluation, application (assignment and appointment), and capability development with
continued development of business leaders as its pillar.

Career Center Established to Strengthen Functions Supporting New Challenges of Each Employee

As an organization that supports new challenges by individual employees based on the will and capabilities of each
employee while solving business issues and facilitating individual growth, KOKUYO established the Career Center in 2018
and is strengthening its operations. The center allows employees to utilize a system called “career challenges” where they
declare their determination about work challenges they want to undertake or capabilities they want to improve at KOKUYO
in the medium- to long-term. At the same time, the direction in which employees grow their career or skills is made more
specific through individual career interviews with expert advisors. The center supports the undertaking of new challenges by
understanding the will of each employee through individual dialogue and facilitating the assignment and appointment of theappropriate person to the appropriate position utilizing personnel data such as capabilities and career.

2019 Initiatives

Promotion of Capability Development

To support challenges through the work of teams and individuals, priority themes are set by matching against the working
style that the entire company is focusing on for the direction that business is aiming for and its realization. Capability
development is promoted with particular attention on behavioral changes at job sites.
●Conduct of KOKUYO Marketing University for Younger Employees
For KOKUYO to continue providing unique value to society even as theenvironment and customers change, it is necessary to think about marketing skills
centered on customers in all types of works—such as sales, manufacturing, anddistribution—and not just in the areas of development and planning. KOKUYO
conducts output-driven practical programs targeting younger employees who haveentered the workforce for about three to 12 years. Immediately after learning about
strategy and marketing methods, participants apply the knowledge they havelearned in proposing new business plans for KOKUYO. Under the coaching of57

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

external strategy professionals, teams polish their proposals over a period of approximately half a year, eventually
recommending their proposals to the management. This initiative started in 2017, and currently, more than 70 young
employees have taken on this challenge while the format continues to evolve.

●Establishment of KOKUYO Marketing Graduate School for Mid-level Leaders
To change toward a management model that can see 10 years into the future,
KOKUYO hopes to take on the challenge of a working style that objectively
perceives the future business environment and considers strategies without being
limited by the circumstances of one’s own company. Therefore, we started a
program centered on mid-level leaders in their 30s and 40s to support them inlearning future scenario planning skills and applying them in their daily value
creation process. Under the coaching of external strategy professionals, teams
deal with themes that look 10 years into the future of KOKUYO, making
refinements over a period of approximately nine months, and eventually recommending their proposals to the management.
In fiscal 2019, the first batch of 24 participants is undertaking this challenge.

●Conduct of Business Leadership Development Program for Core Employees
KOKUYO conducts a program to improve skills—problem-solving, leadership, andorganizational management—necessary as business leaders of KOKUYO centeredon employees who were appointed as core employees after the introduction of thecurrent personnel system. In fiscal 2019, 24 employees participated in thisprogram.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

SocialCommunication with Employees

Basic Concepts

To invigorate communication between employees, dissemination through various media and development of systems arecarried out at KOKUYO. In addition to the company newsletter operated through the intranet, events are also actively
undertaken at all offices.

Systems

Employee Satisfaction Survey

To provide ideal working conditions, the KOKUYO Group conducts the Employee Survey which integrates three surveys:
employee satisfaction (ES) survey, compliance survey, and stress check.
Based on the results of this survey, KOKUYO encourages the independent resolution of various individual issues such as
by interviewing superiors and subordinates, and conducting workshops.

2019 Initiatives

Conducting Second Medium-term Management Plan Town Hall Meeting

From March 2019, KOKUYO started conducting town hall meetings to talk about“Doubling the speed of operations through variety” that is a focus area under thesecond medium-term management plan. “Doubling the speed of operations throughvariety” is an activity that seeks to improve work and achieve efficiency by having
each and every employee think on their own and undertake new challenges with asense of speed. At town hall meetings, the president and executive vice presidents
visit workplaces to exchange opinions directly with employees.
Meetings were held 61 times at offices nationwide in Japan, with a total of 1,350
participants.
At each workplace, opinions were actively exchanged about the schemes necessary for penetrating the approach of“Doubling the speed of operations through variety” and enlivening its activities as well as the current state of issues.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

"Shunjukai" Retirement Ceremony for Employees Approaching Mandatory Retirement

This retirement ceremony is to celebrate the retirement of employees of the
KOKUYO Group who are approaching mandatory retirement, in appreciation of
their many years of hard work. The ceremony is held twice a year, once each in thefirst and second halves of the fiscal year. In FY2019, 31 and 33 employees were
included in the first- and second-half ceremonies, respectively. During theceremony, the attendees revealed their recollections about life at KOKUYO and themessages they wished to convey to younger generations of employees. Chairman
Kuroda presented each retiring employee with a list of commemorative gifts, and at
the same time expressed appreciation for their many years of effort and contribution.

2019 KOKUYO Memorial Service for Deceased Employees

On August 20, 2019, the 2019 KOKUYO Memorial Service for Deceased
Employees was held at Tentokuin temple on Mt. Koyasan. This memorial service
enshrines the spirits of deceased ones from the past year with a show ofappreciation to predecessors who contributed to the development of the KOKUYOGroup. When the Group marked its 70th anniversary in 1974, a memorial
monument for the deceased employees was built on Mt. Koyasan at the suggestionof the late Shonosuke Kuroda, honorary chairman, and the ceremony has been
held every year since then. This fiscal year, 28 people were enshrined, bringing thetotal number of enshrined people since 1974 to 659.

Employees of KOKUYO Furniture (China) Co., Ltd. Visited Shibayama Plant, Shinagawa
Showroom, and SST Office

On March 7, 2019, 150 employees of KOKUYO Furniture (China) Co., Ltd.—which
has locations in places like Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen—visited Japan. At
Shibayama Plant, the first place of visit, the employees received a briefing about
the production process and shared the stance regarding craftsmanship. At thesame time, their confidence in KOKUYO products were heightened. Next, at
Shinagawa Showroom, they saw and touched furniture to experience the attention
that KOKUYO incorporates into products. At Shinagawa Season Terrace (SST), they saw an advanced office environment.
In addition, at the New Year’s party held that same day, participants deepened their interactions, and at the same time,
showed appreciation for the daily hard work of KOKUYO Furniture (China)’s employees and gave them encouragement,
renewing their beliefs as members of the KOKUYO Group.

60

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

SocialEmployees’ Safety

Basic Concepts

KOKUYO believes that creation of a safe, secure and pleasant working environment, safety measures in times of disasterand other measures are the foundations for employees to work vigorously and demonstrate their full abilities. Therefore, the
KOKUYO Group Central Safety Health Committee—which has the function of overseeing safety and health within the
KOKUYO Group—takes the lead to link the health and safety committees of our offices to establish mechanisms andsystems while actively exchanging opinions with our employees.

KOKUYO Group Occupational Safety and Health Basic Policy[Basic policy]
The KOKUYO Group promotes safety-related activities because it regards the health and safety of each employee's mind
and body as the foundation of its business.
[Code of conduct]
1. Comply with all relevant laws and regulations, including those related to the Industrial Safety and Health Law, as well asinternal guidelines and standards.
2. Encourage continuous and autonomous workplace improvement, and strive to prevent occupational accidents and healthproblems.
3. To ensure the safety and health of everyone involved in the Group's business, promote the creation of a transparent
culture in which everyone participates.

Systems

KOKUYO Group Construction and Factory Safety and Health Conference

As people all over Japan are thinking about the importance of safety during the National Safety Week* (the first week ofJuly), the KOKUYO Group also thinks about safety at all of its locations throughout Japan and holds our Safety and HealthConference with the goal of raising awareness.
●[Construction] KOKUYO Group Construction Safety and Health ConferenceWith a belief that the safety and health of its employees and partners constitute thefoundation that supports company growth, at seven locations across Japan, the
KOKUYO Construction Safety and Health Promotion Committee expressed
appreciation for the proper work of approximately 800 employees and partners
involved in the work sites of the spatial construction business across Japan. At thesame time, safety was again discussed, and initiatives reconfirmed.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

●[Factories] Safety Conferences and Safety Patrols at KOKUYO Group Factories in Japan
Safety conferences and safety patrols were held at five factories in seven locationsin Japan. At the safety conferences, as part of the initiatives to create transparent
workplaces, a letter of appreciation was presented to employees recommended byexecutives at various workplaces, and an explanation was given on aspects suchas occupational accident data and the policy for safety initiatives.
In order to pass our safety-protecting culture onto future generations, we willcontinue to provide opportunities on a site-by-site basis within the entire KOKUYOGroup to pause every year and think about safety.

●[Development] Manufacturing Safety Convention and Safety Patrol
A safety convention and safety patrol were conducted at KOKUYO's head officewith participation of employees of workshops, which conducts aspects such as
development and quality inspection for KOKUYO products, and KOKUYO K Heart,which undertakes operations such as printing and processing. Since employees ofdevelopment sites handle machinery tools and many chemical substances, we holdthe safety convention and safety patrol as events to thoroughly disseminate andreaffirm prevention of occupational accidents with employees anew.
* National Safety Week aims to promote voluntary health and safety activities in the industries, to enhance public awareness concerning
occupational safety and to ensure the firm implementation of safety activities advocated by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and Japan
Industrial Safety and Health Association.

2019 Initiatives

Initiatives during National Safety Week

● First Safety Conference Held at KOKUYO Supply Logistics Chubu IDC
As a new initiative of KOKUYO Supply Logistics, a safety conference was held
since FY2019 bringing under one roof center managers from all seven locations to
discuss about safety. The importance of putting things in order (seiri seiton or 2S)
and creating a workplace with an open culture in preventing labor accidents wasrecognized. All employees determined to aim toward creating workplaces which areeven safer and easier to work in.

Briefing about equipment● Holding Movement to Eliminate the Use of Smartphones While Walking and Working
Within the KOKUYO Group, during the National Safety Week that takes place inJuly each year, safety conferences are held at interior and construction
departments, factories, and other locations, and movements are conducted toreturn to the fundamentals of safety once each year. This year, as a theme that isfamiliar even to employees working in offices for which safety awareness issomething difficult to grasp, a summer movement to eliminate the use ofsmartphones while walking and working was conducted. Employees were madeaware about the dangers of using of smartphones while walking and working so as

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

to prevent accidents and problems as well as improve the safety awareness of
employees.

● Holding 8th KOKUYO Logitem Safety Conference in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka
The 8th Safety Conference was held at various venues in Tokyo, Nagoya, andOsaka over three days: June 17, 19, and 24. A total of 270 participated in theconference, including partner companies, KOKUYO Group employees, and
KOKUYO Logitem employees.
This year, the theme was “Knowing the Awareness Level of People and Thinking
about Effective Methods of Communication” and lectures on “5S and Human
Errors” were conducted. Participants learned about topics such as the purpose andnecessity of 5S and education, and the characteristics of human errors. They
further deepened their understanding during the group practical sessions after thelectures by discussing about human errors that occur during work. Awareness gained through the conference is helpful
toward further invigorating safety activities at the respective workplaces.

Conducting KOKUYO Group Safety Staff Get-together 2019

On October 24, the fourth get-together gathering safety staff of KOKUYO Groupfactories under one roof was held at KOKUYO Mie Plant. To expand the safety andhealth circle within the Group that transcends industry types, participants included
not only parties from factories, but also those responsible for safety in theconstruction and distribution industries. Discussions, presentations, and such wereconducted based on observations within the factory. This time, discussions werecarried out based on the theme of safety education. Details of safety education
conducted by each location and business were presented, and everyone delved
Businesses and factories presenting
into discussions around those details.
details about their respective education
Believing that the health and safety of its employees are the foundation of company
growth, the KOKUYO Group will continue to strive to maintain the safety and health of Group employees and create a work
environment and culture that enable employees to work vigorously and demonstrate their full abilities through suchactivities.

KOKUYO Logitem’s Ina Distribution Center (Ina City, Nagano Prefecture) Achieves 10,000
Continuous Days without Any Accidents

On August 1, 2019, the Ina Distribution Center located in the southern part ofNagano Prefecture achieved 10,000 continuous days without any accidents. An
award ceremony was held on August 26, welcoming many attendees from partnercompanies in addition to relevant parties within KOKUYO.
This center shows a top level of work safety even among KOKUYO Logitem’s
distribution centers, maintaining a record of continuous days without accidents.
Since opening on October 1, 1983, for approximately 36 years, the center has
continued to renew its record even today by repeatedly being thorough in the basic
tasks of 3S (seiri, seiton, seiso, or putting things in order and cleaning up), sharing
information between employees, calling out to each other, and other means.

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Staff from Ina Distribution Center

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

SocialEmployees’ Health

Basic Concepts

The KOKUYO Group is promoting safe, secure, and pleasant working environments while encouraging active exchange of
opinions with the field site as they are vital to smooth business operations.

KOKUYO Health and Productivity Management Declaration

KOKUYO believes that to secure sustainable corporate growth, it is important to have environments and systems whichallow employees to apply themselves safely and healthily in mind and body. Therefore, we undertake initiatives to maintainand promote the health of our employees.
We promote health and productivity management together with employees, labor unions, and health insurance associations
to create products and services that apply the creativity of each and every employee who are healthy in mind and body.
This is so as to contribute toward society’s vigor as well as healthy work and study, and meet the expectations of our
stakeholders through.

Systems

Major Initiatives

・Aim to continuously improve the working environments of employees so as to achieve workplaces where employees canwork safely and healthily in both mind and body.
・Strive to maintain the health of employees and prevent aggravation of illnesses by following up on health checks and theirresults as well as establishing health examination options for preventing illness.
・Strive to improve employee mental health and engagement by using the analysis results from stress checks and employee
surveys to invigorate the organization.
・Implement information dissemination and education of health promotion so that employees will think about and undertake
health promotion on their own initiative.
・Practice diverse work styles, and at the same time, implement initiatives such as promotion of telecommuting; reduction of
overtime hours; encouraging the taking of paid leave; support for child raising and nursing care; and striking a balance
between work and family.

Health Promotion Management System

To promote health and productivity management, KOKUYO has in place a health promotion management system for theentire Group based on the KOKUYO Group Occupational Safety and Health Basic Policy by the KOKUYO Group Central
Safety Health Committee. Health enhancement managers and staff are appointed in each Group company, and initiatives toimprove health within the entire Group are undertaken as one by human resource departments, labor unions, healthinsurance associations, and health management staff.

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* Specific data regarding health promotion is posted here

2019 Initiatives

Recognition as a 2020 Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding Organization (White
500) in the Large Enterprise Category

KOKUYO Co., Ltd. and Kaunet Co., Ltd. were among the organizations recognizedunder Large Enterprise Category of the 2020 Certified Health & Productivity
Management Outstanding Organization Recognition Program (White 500), selectedjointly by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Nippon Kenko Kaigi.
This is the second consecutive year being recognized as a White 500 organization,and the third time receiving this recognition.
In addition, our Group company KOKUYO Marketing Co., Ltd. was also recognized as a 2020 Certified Health &Productivity Management Outstanding Organization in the Large Enterprise Category.
The Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding Organization Recognition Program honors outstanding
enterprises, such as large enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises, engaging in health and productivity
management based on their efforts made in line with the health-related issues in local communities and health promotion
activities promoted by the Nippon Kenko Kaigi. From 2020, the format of the program has changed. The top 500 enterprises
which meet the criteria for the Large Enterprise Category of the Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding
Organization Recognition Program will be recognized as White 500 organizations, while remaining enterprises that meet thecriteria falling outside the top 500 will be recognized as Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding
Organizations.
* The Nippon Kenko Kaigi is an organization that takes practical community- and workplace-based actions, under collaboration among privateorganizations and with full administrative support, to extend healthy lifespans and to provide appropriate medical care, targeting individual
persons in Japan, a country facing a dramatically advancing aging society with fewer children. The organization aims to encourage workplaces
and communities to undertake specific measures to overcome health-related challenges under collaboration among private organizations, suchas economic associations, medical-care associations and insurers, and municipalities.
Note that the term “health and productivity management” is a registered trademark of the Workshop for the Management of Health on Company
and Employee.

KOKUYO Group Health Targets and 2019 Results

The KOKUYO Group has been promoting health activities by collaborating with the in-house Health Insurance Associationand Health Management Office in setting specific health goals from 2013 in order to prevent lifestyle-related diseases.
We have carried out a walking campaign to encourage the habit of enjoyable exercise in which employees record daily the65

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

number of steps taken and their weight, and have also held healthy eating seminars in collaboration with public healthcenters. Moreover, as cancer prevention measures, we installed mammography systems so that examinations can be
performed during regular in-house health check-ups, to promote having medical examinations for breast cancer andcolorectal cancer. Furthermore, we have actively enhanced health check options. For example, we now allow employees toundergo complete medical check-ups if desired, and have created opportunities for employees to benefit from medical
examinations and increase their health awareness.
Examples of Health Indices (from specific issues)
2018

2019

2020 targets

Percentage of employees with a BMI over 25

25%

24%

22%

Percentage of employees who smoke (from
Q&A data)

32%

31%

29%

Percentage of cancer medical examinations(colorectal cancer)

40%

70%

80%

Percentage of cancer medical examinations(gynecological examination)

20%

20%

25%

Scope: KOKUYO Co., Ltd.; Kaunet Co., Ltd.; KOKUYO Marketing Co., Ltd.; KOKUYO Logitem Co., Ltd; KOKUYO Supply
Logistics Co., Ltd.

KOKUYO's Health Activities!

Organizing “Online Walking Competition—Health Challenge Log”
This is a campaign where employees self-report the number of steps they have taken daily, and those who achieved theirgoals receive seasonal fruits. It seeks to trigger employees to aim toward building healthy bodies.

Participants

2018

2019

2020 targets

1,177 persons

1,283 persons

1,500 persons

Employees Staying Healthy with Health Examinations as the Starting Point
For FY2019, KOKUYO again explained the advantages of undergoing health examinations annually without fail, andrequested employees to actively undergo them. Health examinations are fixed point observations, and the subsequent
follow up measures are important. To prevent illnesses from becoming more severe through early response and follow up
by health management staff, employees, KOKUYO, the Health Management Office, and health insurance associations work
together as one to actively work on keeping employees health in both mind and body.
Conducting Awareness-raising Activities Together with World No Tobacco Day and No Smoking Week
Comparing the percentage of smokers in the KOKUYO Group against the Japan Smoking Rate Survey conducted by Japan
Tobacco Inc. (JT), the number of male smokers is significantly higher than the national average. Together with the World No
Tobacco Day on May 31 designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the No Smoking Week from May 31 toJune 6 designated by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, KOKUYO also prohibited smoking during this period
and conducted activities to proliferate and raise awareness about preventing passive smoking. Information is disseminatedto smokers about the health impact from passive smoking for them to review their smoking habits. At the same time, we
promote mutual understanding between smokers and non-smokers so as to create comfortable workplaces, including
prevention of passive smoking by non-smokers, proper handling of cigarette butts and such, and being considerate about
things like the smell of cigarettes on clothes.

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Conducting Physical Fitness Test “Let’s Make a BODY! For 2020 Program”
As part of the initiatives toward health and productivity management, KOKUYO
conducted physical fitness tests at Tokyo and Osaka. KOKUYO’s unique physicalfitness test “Let’s Make a BODY! For 2020 Program” incorporates the “ASICS
HEALTH CARE CHECK” developed by ASICS Corporation, and was rolled out due
to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. On the day of the event, more than 100
participants from various age groups took the test.
Going forward, KOKUYO plans to implement a variety of measures beyond healthexaminations and various vaccinations to enhance the health of employees.

Mental health initiatives

Since 2016, we have been conducting stress checks based on laws and regulations together with surveys on complianceas our Employee Survey.
In order to establish a system where each employee can receive self-care without hesitating, we are making anenvironment where we can support prevention at an early stage by introducing the EAP (Employee Assistance Program)
operated by an external institution to make the employees notice the burdens that they feel.
In addition, based on the results of the survey, we implement initiatives such as workplace improvement activities (creating
open corporate culture) as mental health responses. Using organization analysis results from the survey, we categorizeorganizations into three stages: Red, Yellow, and Green. We aim to reduce Red organizations by contributing toward theinvigoration of communication through workplace improvement activities such as holding discussions at the workplace andworkshops with Red organizations as departments prioritized for initiatives.

Percentage of Red organizations

2018

2019

2020 targets

14.4%

11.9%

10%

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

SocialWith Business Partners

Basic Concepts

The KOKUYO Group creates new value with our business partners to pursue customer satisfaction. In addition, we
formulated the KOKUYO Group Procurement Policy to build relationships of trust with business partners and grow mutually.
Furthermore, based on this KOKUYO Group Procurement Policy, we prepared the KOKUYO Group Procurement
Guidelines as matters that we hope to achieve together with our suppliers.

Systems

KOKUYO Group Procurement Policy and Guidelines

As corporate activities are becoming more globalized, KOKUYO Group is well aware that managing its own company andsubsidiary companies is insufficient for fulfilling the scope of social responsibility.
In 2013, KOKUYO therefore invited 32 principal subcontractors to give an account of the procurement policy andimplemented a self-examination questionnaire for feedback to the subcontractors. In 2014, we sent the basic procurement
policy and guidelines to nearly 400 suppliers. We will strive to further build relationships of trust through these activities.

KOKUYO Group's Procurement Policy
The KOKUYO Group shares its Corporate philosophy of "Enrich the world though our products" with its suppliers
and, while working to create relationships of mutual understanding and confidence as well as fulfilling its social
responsibility, continues to contribute to social development.
Pursuit of Quality and Safety
The Group strives to maintain its position as the first choice of its customers, while responding to the special
needs of various countries and regions as well as pursuing the highest standards of quality and safety.
Mutual Development
The Group respects and observes the regulations as well as social norms of various countries and regions,while also conducting fair and transparent transactions, as it works to structure sincere relationships of mutual
trust and achieve mutual development.
Respect for Human Rights
The Group understands the culture and business customs of various countries and regions in the aim ofcreating a society where the rights of all people are respected.
Environmental Protection and Symbiosis with Local Community
The Group takes environmental protection initiatives on a global scale and, by actively participating in the lifeof the community and acting as a good corporate citizen, seeks to create mutually beneficial relationships withsociety.

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KOKUYO Group Procurement Guidelines

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

2019 Initiatives

ACW Initiatives

Action to Change Workstyle (ACW) was launched in July 2017. After the second
year, the ACW Awards was held to commend members with outstanding activities.
Currently, there are 3,400 ACW members, and the total number of workers who
have utilized the working environment diagnostic tool exceeds 30,000. Proposing
solutions to customers based on these diagnostic results is also spreading among
members. Accumulated knowledge and expertise are used to refine the proposal
tools and support for activities aimed at the sustainable growth of both KOKUYO
and retailers as well as contribute toward workstyle reforms of our customers.

Subcontractor Meetings Held by KOKUYO's Furniture Business Division

KOKUYO's Furniture Business Division holds subcontractor meetings with theexecutives of major subcontractors twice a year.
In 2019, the meetings were held in May and December. At the May meeting,
together with a tour of KOKUYO’s Shibayama Plant , participants reflected upon
the high demand season and explained their forecast for future sales trends. At theDecember meeting, participants reflected upon the current financial period, andalso explained their policies for the next high demand season and market trends.
In addition, KOKUYO expressed its gratitude by formally recognizing
subcontractors that took excellent initiatives. Their initiatives were also presented,
enabling us to learn from one another to support our coexistence and co-prosperity,and cooperate to improve the entire furniture business. In November, a study
meeting was held targeting mid-level employees in the design and development
departments of subcontractors, to share KOKUYO's approach to market trend
analysis and design concepts in our monozukuri.

Ceremony to formally recognize superior
subcontractors

Tour of Shibayama Plant

Stationery Business Conducted an Audit of Subcontractors

The Stationery business has been conducting an audit of subcontractors for the purpose of securing reliability ofenvironmental indicators in product catalogs. In FY2019, rules for conducting factory audits were reviewed. Based on the
new rules, in 2019, site audits were conducted at factories of 13 companies.
We visit our subcontractors to check for compliance with standards concerning environment-friendliness established by theGreen Purchasing Law, etc. The audit follows the audit procedure established by KOKUYO to confirm whether the ratios ofused paper and reprocessed resin conform to the standards, whether specified materials that meet the standards arousedin the production process, and whether there are any issues in the legitimacy of materials. In addition, we work with thesubcontractors to consider challenges to properly guarantee compliance with environment-conscious standards in the audit.
By exchanging information on examples of cases where reliability with regards to production control was improved, we will
strive to ensure the reliability of environmental indicators in the future.
In order to enhance the values that we offer to our customers, we will aim to achieve mutual development based on long-term
relationships of trust by sharing our strategies and policies with both our manufacturing and logistics service suppliers periodically.

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The 10th KOKUYO Logitem Held Driver Competition

On August 31, the 10th Driver Competition was held at KOKUYO Headquarters,
bringing together partner companies in charge of delivery, assembly, andinstallation at KOKUYO Logitem locations all over Japan. The competition had 356
participants from 78 companies, who went through regional preliminaries followedby block preliminaries for East and West Japan. Three teams—the two teams
which won their respective block preliminaries and another specially recommended
team—took part in the finals. Based on the concept of “impressing deliveries”
sought by KOKUYO Logitem, the competition venue was all heated up as strict
assessment was conducted on aspects such as product knowledge and delivery, product assembly, and speed of work.
Going forward, we will continue to aim for further improvement of our technologies, safety, and attitude toward service.
* The Driver Competition is a delivery contest by drivers and workers of partner companies aimed at further improving customer satisfaction
during subcontracted deliveries of KOKUYO’s products.

KOKUYO Supply Logistics (KSL) held the National Partner Conference in FY2019

On March 5, KOKUYO Supply Logistics (KSL) held the first National Partner
Conference.
This time, the participants were 81 employees from 41 partner companies. They
are in charge of work within the premises of seven locations in Japan operated by
KSL as well as transportation and delivery. Amid the drastically changing
environment surrounding logistics, this conference was conducted based on thethinking of strengthening anew trust and unity with partner companies so as tocoexist and prosper together.
KSL’s President Jun Takahashi explaining
On the day of the conference, we introduced KSL’s initiatives and our thoughts
the medium-term management plan as
about partner companies after taking stock of the current situations, such as thewell as the direction going forward
emerging problem of long working hours in the logistics industry including truck
drivers, and the normalization of changes in the natural environments as presented by the frequent earthquakes andtyphoons that happened last year. A variety of opinions and feedback were received.
Going forward, to continue to properly link more suppliers with customers, KSL will cooperate to heighten our groundcapabilities, and promote sophisticated logistics strategies that go beyond the perspective of logistics.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

SocialProviding Peace of Mind and Safety to Customers
KOKUYO always develops new products and services from the perspectives of customers, and without being satisfied withthe present conditions, we continue to improve the safety and quality of our entire product line and services.

Basic Concepts

KOKUYO always develops new products and services from the perspectives of customers, and without being satisfied withthe present conditions, we continue to improve the safety and quality of our entire product line and services.

Systems

Attainment of ISO 9001 (Quality Management System) Certification by All Companies
In April 2019, the external audit by Japan Quality Assurance Organization (JQA) wascompleted and all companies successfully achieved ISO 9001 certification in June.
Recently, there are various occurrences of cases where companies have lost customer
trust due to misconduct. KOKUYO does not see this as someone else’s problem, andtakes it as a major risk. Therefore, KOKUYO aimed to achieve ISO 9001 certification for allcompanies. The attainment of ISO 9001 certification is not the goal; it is to build astandardized craftsmanship quality management system (QMS) as KOKUYO, reduce
quality risks, achieve sustained growth, and deliver product value to customers. KOKUYO is always striving to level up andcontinue with even better craftsmanship.

KOKUYO Co., Ltd. Quality Policy
KOKUYO will continue to meet the trust of our customers and pursue their satisfaction through providing
products and services that enrich work, learning, and living.
1. We shall strive to develop products that exceed our customers’ expectations in all aspects.
2. We shall strive to provide safe products which can be used with peace of mind, and pursue even better
quality.
3. We shall comply with the relevant laws and regulations, and fulfill our social roles and responsibilities.
4. We shall sincerely accept feedback from our customers, and undertake product development andimprovement.
5. We shall adapt to changes in the environment, and undertake continuous improvements to our management
systems.
Hidekuni Kuroda, President,
KOKUYO Co., Ltd.
January 1, 2019

* However, only the KOKUYO brand articles for the stationery business and Kaunet brand articles for Kaunet Co., Ltd. are covered.

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Quality Assurance at KOKUYO Stationery

In order to deliver quality that our customers can trust, we have taken steps to systematically build, operate and improve oursystems for quality assurance.

1) Deepening the Quality Assurance System
KOKUYO has re-examined design review and safety review, which are important
processes for quality, and production trial observation as well as guidelines for chemical
management to work out the details of the contents to reflect the times. Those efforts havebeen utilized for the education of young and new employees and promoted for use as abible for employees involved in quality control, aiming to deepen the quality assurance
system.
In addition, by introducing product risk evaluation methods and implementing risk
countermeasures, we strive to enable our customers to use our products with confidence.

Introduction of robots in quality
testing2) Establishment of the inspection system on a global basis
KOKUYO has established an inspection skill evaluation method with global standards, which evaluates the skill level ofinspectors around the world and sets up a system for education and guidance with the aim of maintaining a certain level ofinspection skills. In addition, we provide necessary paraphernalia and manuals for inspections globally to maintain the levelof inspections at a certain level, thereby increasing the accuracy of discovering faulty products during inspections to preventthe outflow of faulty products.
3) Increasing the speed and accuracy of handling complaints
In addition to safety, people around the world are seeking a sense of reassurance and now anybody can receive andtransmit large amounts of information at any time. As we consider it to be essential to further increase the accuracy andspeed of handling customer complaints in the future, we have embarked on visualizing and standardizing the processes,
information for making decisions, and evaluation criteria of the course of actions that corporations should take when productrisk occurs. This will ensure the unification of decision-making process procedures within the organization and minimize thevariation of determination, as well as speed up the process.
4) Enhancement of value evaluation testing in addition to quality verification testing
While we thoroughly implement quality verification testing at the time of the renewal of existing products and developmentof new products, we make continuous efforts to maintain and improve testing quality by introducing robots. Additionally, torespond to the various needs of users, we have been working to conventionally confirm quality to see whether products are
sturdy and offered at a low price and to quantify the quality to ensure that valuable and attractive products are offered tocustomers.

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Quality Assurance at KOKUYO Furniture

KOKUYO’s furniture business acquired ISO 9001 Quality Management System certification in 1997. Based on this, we aredeveloping and thoroughly implementing process procedures covering product planning, design, production, andinstallation.
Moreover, departments related to production, delivery and installation take actions for improvement each day, and theopinions and requests from customers are used to improve overall quality.
1) Setting high in-house standards
In the process of developing new products, we conduct multi-faceted evaluations to ensure ease of use and safety. In the
production phase, we ensure compliance with the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) and other industry standards, as wellas our even more demanding in-house standards.
2) Responding when failures occur
Should a product fail while being used by a customer, that information is shared among all related departments to provide afast response. In this process, we identify the cause of the problem and incorporate corrective measures into the productand its manufacturing process in order to prevent recurrences of similar failures.
If a serious accident occurs, the Compliance Committee determines the policy to be followed, reports the issue to therelevant government authorities, and notifies the public through newspapers and websites to limit the extent of any damage.
3) Notifications regarding product safety and quality
KOKUYO Furniture uses its corporate website as a medium for making notifications
regarding product safety and quality. The most-appropriate one of the following four
sections of the website is selected, depending on the nature of the notifications.

KOKUYO corporate site
“Notifications Regarding Product
Safety and Quality”

Kaunet’s Quality Assurance

Kaunet handles an array of products from stationery, office supplies such as copy paper to beverages, food, electric
appliances, gifts, medical-related products, store operation products, made-to-order products including business cards andstamps, and office furniture from around 1,000 manufacturers. As a distributor, Kaunet has been making efforts to work
together in the value chain and improve not only the quality of the line of goods but also the customer service at call centersand delivery to offer a sense of security and safety to customers.
1) Same-day, next-day delivery services (except for certain products and services)
Except in Okinawa Prefecture, remote islands and some hilly and mountainous areas,
Kaunet delivers orders the next day if orders are placed before 6 p.m.
Same-day delivery areas may receive the order on the same day if an order is placed
before 11 a.m.
2) Promotion of simple packaging
Our efforts on simple packaging
For deliveries of products in paperboard boxes, which is the most common packaging,
Kaunet exercises its ingenuity in using as little cushioning materials as possible for protecting products. For imperious
products in a lower volume, the orders are delivered using simple packaging, such as paper bags or polyethylene bags toconserve resources.

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3) Services for selecting packaging of delivery (for online orders only)
While customers highly appreciate delivery using simple packaging, Kaunet also responds to the request for delivery using
boxes to accommodate occasions when sending orders to business partners or as a gift. When placing an order, customers
can select the packaging each time.
4) Furniture delivery with assembly services
Delivery staff specializing in furniture offer delivery, unpacking, assembling, and installation to packing material collection forthe delivery of large furniture, heavy furniture, and those requiring complicated assembly.

Office Activities in Response to Disasters

1) Developing a menu of countermeasures against earthquakes for offices
Since the Great Hanshin Earthquake, we have carried out verification of earthquake countermeasuresfor offices. However, we recognized that there were still issues of office safety and security as we
supported the restoration of our customers' offices after the Great East Japan Earthquake. There wasalso a sudden increase in consultations about earthquake countermeasures after the earthquake, andwe even received many inquiries and requests that we were unable to answer with the vibration
verification experiments we had performed.
With these experiences and consultations in mind, we carried out a wide range of verification
experiments so that we could suggest further earthquake countermeasures. Based on the large amount of data obtained
from these experiments, we determined the relationship between seismic waves and earthquake preparedness rationally todevise objective evaluation criteria for earthquake resistant furniture. We thus propose a menu of earthquake
countermeasures for offices, catering to the level and cost of countermeasures that our customers desire.
* Related information: Menu of Countermeasures Against Earthquakes for Office2) Developing a menu for introducing and utilizing emergency supplies best-suited to offices
KOKUYO is operating a disaster solution business to provide emergency supplies essential in theprocess of building an organization's BCP, as well as the expertise necessary for introducing andoperating them. Using primarily the SONAeL, a guidebook on emergency supplies, and the PARTS-FIT,a disaster countermeasure series for both normal states and during emergencies, we are assisting ourcustomers in simultaneously achieving a comfortable working environment and emergency
preparedness.

PARTS-FIT

elecabi
Emergency supplies cabinet forelevators

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

2019 Initiatives

KOKUYO Supply Logistics Held 9th KSL Improvement Case Contest

On October 19, the 9th KSL Improvement Case Contest was held at the head
office building in Osaka. There was a total of 78 participants; in addition tomembers from KOKUYO Supply Logistics (KSL) and participants from partnercompanies, there were participants from relevant departments of other KOKUYOGroup companies. The various centers and partner companies reported nine
improvement cases, of which seven were given awards including the award for themost excellent case. By sharing the details of the participants’ daily activities
through this contest, business linkages‘ssential for improving workplaces∥re being
further strengthened.

KOKUYO Logitem Participates in White Logistics Movement of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure,
Transport and Tourism

KOKUYO Logitem has decided to participate in the White Logistics Movement
being promoted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism sinceApril 2019. The White Logistics Movement is a movement that aims to ensurestable logistics and at the same time contribute toward economic growth inresponse to the worsening shortage of truck drivers.
Although there are many matters to be pursued, such as improving issues in thelogistics industry and society, increasing awareness within the company, andinvigorating organizations, KOKUYO thinks there is meaning in making an external
declaration. KOKUYO strives to work even harder than before toward realizing “touching deliveries” while thinking about
issues amid links to society as a whole and treating each and every initiative with importance.
* Related information: * Related information: KOKUYO Logitem Declaration of White Logistics Voluntary Actions

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

SocialDialogue with our Customers

Basic Concepts

We are thorough in handling customer inquiries with sincerity and care. In addition, we take feedback as valuable opinions
for improving KOKUYO's products and services, and make effort to share them across the entire company.
A System for Utilizing Feedback from Customers

At KOKUYO’s Customer Support Center, a system has been built to use customer feedback in business activities andreflect such feedback in the improvement of products and services. Through the internal website VoiceClip, words ofappreciation and complaints as well as expectations from customers are picked up and disclosed to all Group employees.
Updates are carried out weekly. In the VoiceDB database, information about inquiries and such received daily are disclosed
after removing personal information for use as hints during the project development of products and services.

Revamp of “VoiceClip” System That Shares Customer Feedback Company-wide

KOKUYO has revamped VoiceClip, the system which discloses within the company customer feedback received on a dayto-day basis by the Customer Support Center through a portal site. In addition to existing contents such as words ofappreciation and complaints, feedback on various products is consolidated into reports. Furthermore, customer feedback
picked up from social media and product reviews has also been made into contents. Besides aiming to apply such feedbackin sales and project development, this revamp seeks to strengthen Group employees’ knowledge about KOKUYO products.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO EXPO Held “KOKUYO LAND: Amusement Park for Going on a Trip”

KOKUYO EXPO, an expo that allows never-seen-before KOKUYO products to beenjoyed—was held at Tokyo’s Marunouchi for three days from March 30 to April 1,
2019. This is the seventh time the event is being held, and its theme this year was“KOKUYO LAND.” By arranging the sense of excitement found in stationery in theform of an amusement park, the event delivers enjoyable stationery experiences tofamily and friends.
The event was alive with many visitors. In addition to the sale of original products
limited to KOKUYO EXPO, such as the Lake Biwa stationery by KOKUYO Product
Shiga—the main plant for Campus Note notebooks—and the original stationery section by Tottori Prefecture’s file plant
KOKUYO MVP, there were other enjoyable programs, including art works and workshops using stationery.

KOKUYO MESSE 2019

From August 22 to 30, KOKUYO MESSE was held at the salon on the first floor of
the Shinagawa office for store buyers and wholesalers. The theme this year was“Retailtainment” (a combination of “retail” and “entertainment”). The event aimed tomake KOKUYO products and proposals an essential part of creating even more
attractive storefronts through exhibitions providing joy to shopping itself.
The Stationery Business Division is undertaking the challenge of creating productsthat resolve the troubles (issues) faced by customers due changes in the market.
At KOKUYO MESSE, explanations on product functions and how to resolve issues
are conducted to update the methods for communicating such product value. The event was well received, with feedbacksuch as “It gave hints on presentation methods at sales areas and how to sell” and “It was refreshingly new as there weremany new products that not only have functional value but also appealed to the senses.”“9th General Seminar of Reception Desk” Held for Local Governments

On July 12, Furniture TCM’s Government Office Sales Department held the“General Seminar of Reception Desk.” This seminar aims to uncover the hidden
demand in reception desk improvement and work style reform at office buildings oflocal governments as well as strengthen collaboration with companies from otherindustries with strengths in sales to local governments. The event was organizedby Jichinippo-sha Co., Ltd. and supported by companies from different industries
including KOKUYO.
In recent years, in the local government market, customer needs are gradually
expanding toward work style reform of government employees. Therefore, this time, through the mini seminar and exhibitionbooth, KOKUYO appealed to the need for enhancing both aspects of workplaces and work styles—the systems andprocesses—in work style reform of employees. Going forward, KOKUYO will further strengthen ties with other supporting
companies, and at the same time, work as one united group and aim to become the number one partner company of local
governments.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Held 2019 KOKUYO-HAKU Shanghai

From July 12 to 14, 2019, “2019 KOKUYO-HAKU Shanghai” was held at Shanghai
in China. In contrast to the theme last year which sought to allow more people toknow about KOKUYO and our products, the main targets this time were female
junior high and high school students. Under the theme “Welcome to the dessert
house created by KOKUYO!”, various products were prepared, including limited
edition products related to desserts and collaboration products. Customers wereshown hospitality with special focus on face-to-face sales.
As a result, approximately 8,810 queue tickets were handed out to limit access tothe venue, and the event concluded with a bigger success than last year. Next time, the event will be developed into an
event that only KOKUYO can organize.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

SocialDomestic contribution activities

Basic Concepts

KOKUYO strives to be a trusted corporate citizen on both regional and national levels via proactive interaction and planningwith regional communities, while respecting regional culture and customs and encouraging their advancement.

2019 Initiatives

KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD 2020 Held with “♡” as the ThemeThe KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD is a competition that calls for product designs thatwill create new value in working, learning, and living environments, with the aim oflaunching them as commercial products. Ever since its founding in 2002, the
KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD has been seeking designs that create new value for
KOKUYO and society as a whole.
This was the 17th iteration of the award, and “♡” is the theme. The interpretation of“♡” was intentionally left unspecified with the priority on encouraging entrants tounleash their creativity and inspiration, leaving it up to the contestants to translate
The Grand Prix: “Somewhere, Sometime,”
and understand it in their own way. By doing so, we hoped to receive amazing
the pencil with a past.
works possessing charm and power that would move people's hearts on an
intuitive level.
The Grand Prix selected from a total of 1,377 designs received from 55 countries all around the world (771 from Japan, 606
from abroad) is “Somewhere, Sometime,” the pencil with a past. Through proposing a pencil that uses building materials
from demolished buildings such as schools and stores as well as scrap wood from furniture, it creates a story that draws out
the imagination of users and poses a question to our consumer society. Its concept that the quality of an object—such as its
feel and the way it writes that comes from its utilization of used materials—increases the value of recycling was highly rated.
Many of the works, including the Grand Prix work, selected as finalists were proposals that seriously faced the social
background of “Why was this created?” even more than previous years. The results gave a sense of the times.
KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD home page >Providing the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games with Field Cast
Notebooks for 80,000 Tokyo 2020 Volunteers

As an Official Supporter (Office Furniture & Stationery) of the Olympic andParalympic Games Tokyo 2020, KOKUYO provided the Tokyo Organising
Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games with original Campus Note
notebooks for use by 80,000 volunteers—known as Field Cast—as an activity toexemplify our wish to support the people who are taking on new challenges throughCover and inside cover of the Field Cast
our stationery and tools. The Field Cast Notebook uses colors based on the same
Notebookazure color as the volunteers’ uniforms and adopts a checkered design used in theTokyo 2020 emblems. The original design for the Tokyo 2020 Organising
Committee on its cover features the Field Cast logo together with the Tokyo 2020 emblems. The notebook has incorporated
various ingenuities so that volunteers, who come from different generations and nations, can note down memories for a
lifetime.
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KOKUYO sees the preparation period before the actual event as being of the same importance as the actual Games andwill work to further enliven the event.

Booth at SHIBUYA BOSAI FES 2019

Through internal collaboration transcending departmental boundaries, KOKUYO
participated with a booth at the SHIBUYA BOSAI FES 2019 which was held from
August 31 to September 1 at Yoyogi Park and organized by Shibuya-ku. In
preparing the booth, relevant parties gave ideas under the theme “Disasterprevention & persons with disabilities,” and during the actual event, bag toilets
printed using Shibuya fonts* were given out, and visitors to the booth were given
explanations about how to provide support to disabled persons during disasters.
Today, people with and without disabilities work in the same office, leading to new
activities as KOKUYO’s disaster prevention business. Furthermore, these initiatives
are recognized, and ties with Shibuya-ku are being strengthened.

Bag toilets printed using Shibuya fonts* Fonts—released as public data—designed by students studying in Shibuya using letters and numbers written by persons with disabilities living
or working in Shibuya.

KOKUYO Team Run Flat-out at ISU-1GP Held across JapanThe ISU-1GP is a two-hour endurance race where competitors consisting of threeperson teams use office chairs. This street revitalization event organized by Japan
Office Chair Racing Association and shopping districts across Japan is held atshopping districts nationwide.
Each year, KOKUYO teams are formed with KOKUYO product retailers andagencies in various regions, helping to revitalize shopping districts through race
participation. In 2019, at the 55th race since the start of KOKUYO’s participation,
one of these teams won for the first time at the world competition when it was heldat Kyoto.
Our team became number one in the world. In addition, teams also participated at races held at Okayama, Saitama, Akita,
Hokkaido, Tokushima, Fukushima, Yamagata, Tokyo, Shiga and other locations, and actively contribute toward street
revitalization of various regions—such as cooperating with shopping districts and providing support to local high school
teams—as companies selling office chairs.

Campus Art Award 2019, a Painting Competition for Junior High and High School Students

Since 2015, KOKUYO has held the Campus Art Award for junior high and highschool students jointly with the Yomiuri Teens Newspaper (issued by the publishingcompany The Yomiuri Shimbun).
The contest theme was "My Sweet Home Town—a Great Favorite of Mine." Theaim is to create opportunities for the youth of Japan's future to turn their attention totheir local areas, to notice their attractiveness and to share that with others bytaking up the theme of local landscape, customs, traditions, events, food,confectionery, etc.
The winners for the Grand Prix, the Yomiuri Teens Newspaper Award, the
KOKUYO Award, the District Merit Awards, and other winning entries were selectedfrom the entries.

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Campus Note notebook with the winningentry on its cover

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The Grand Prix went to “Yokohama that is always in my heart” by Aya Takeno, a first-year high school student at the time of
the competition. As a supplementary prize, the winning entry was used to decorate Campus Note notebooks, and thesewere produced and given to the winners.

The Job Study Initiative

The Job Study is a cross-industry seminar held by a team of human resources
personnel from leading companies in various industries. They meet to discuss whatkind of seminar is truly useful for students and use the results to organize aseminar themselves. When it was first launched in 2005, the issue of early
resignations by newly hired university graduates, where 30% leave theiremployment within three years, was a major issue. To address this issue and toprovide an opportunity for corporations and students to come together, we havebrought about the realization of mutual communication where corporations andstudents can talk about the significance of working by planning a program based on the concept of real opinions and handmade. Since then, 15 years have passed and we have continued to face students with sincerity, and today, a total of 18
leading companies from various industries have joined the Job Study.
As of the end of 2019, the Job Study had amassed 15 years of positive results. However, changes in the environment
surrounding students and companies—such as changes in corporate employment terms and the environment of new
graduate recruitment, and the diversification in the values of students—are taking place at an extremely fast pace, and theissues being faced by both sides also continue to change. Against this backdrop, the Job Study is asking therepresentatives of the personnel departments of 18 participating companies to shun the status quo and come together andseriously consider what is required and what they would like to do as they look to the future. It is being conducted not as arecruitment event for companies but as an activity to undertake issues in recruitment.

Local Cleanup Activities and Blood Donation

The KOKUYO Group collaborates with local communities through cleanup activities
carried out at office buildings, plants, Distribution Centers, and overseas businessoffices. Cleanup activities are performed once a year around the head officebuilding in Osaka with the cooperation of the local government.
Through a tie-up with the organizers of the Osaka Marathon, Operation Osaka
Marathon Cleanup has been organized since 2011 as a cleanup activity for all
areas of Osaka so as to present a clean city to visitors to Osaka. The company
participated in this activity in collaboration with the local government.
At various sites around the country, our employees have participated in blood donation drives since 1980. In 2019,Japanese Red Cross Osaka Blood Center visited the company, and 52 employees donated blood despite this only taking
place in the afternoon.

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General Participants of Factory Tours at KOKUYO Product Shiga Exceeded 5,000

KOKUYO Product Shiga has been conducting factory tours for the general public toimprove brand value originating from the plant and to promote the creation of fans,and 2019 was the fifth anniversary of these tours. On August 10, a ceremony washeld to commemorate the milestone of more than 5,000 visitors. In addition tofactory tours, commemorate souvenirs were given out and commemorative
photographs were taken that day. A “Traffic Safety Class & Reed Stationery
Workshop”—a workshop which can be enjoyed for a full day combining the Traffic
Kids Park organized by the nearby accommodation facility Crefeel Koto Co., Ltd.
and KOKUYO Product Shiga’s reed stationery workshop—was also conducted.
Going forward, we will continue to work on creating fans through factory tours.

The milestone 5,000th factory tour
participant

Gathering in Sendai of the MICHINOKU Future Fund That Helps Orphans Continue Their
Education

On March 17, a gathering was held at Sendai International Center for the eighthbatch of students funded by the MICHINOKU Future Fund* for which KOKUYO
Tohoku Sales provides support. KOKUYO Tohoku Sales has continued to provide
support as a corporate supporter since a year after the Great East Japan
Earthquake.
The gathering this time was to celebrate the eighth batch of students’ graduationfrom high school and continuation of education as well as scholarship recipients
who have graduated and are becoming working adults. At the farewell party, wherearound 80 scholarship recipients have gone on to a new stage in life and talked about their dreams and future goals, there
were many students who could not help crying and spoke in choked voices. It was a moment where people felt that thisfund did not just provide economic support but also served as the students’ emotional support.
Nine years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, KOKUYO Tohoku Sales continues to provide support into the future.
* This is a scholarship fund founded by ROHTO Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Calbee, Inc., and Kagome Co., Ltd. to support students who lost theirparents in the Great East Japan Earthquake in continuing onto higher education (universities, junior colleges, and vocational schools) based on
the belief that “the cornerstone of recovery will be the work and support of the children growing up today.” So far, more than 800 students havereceived scholarships

KOKUYO Kitakanto Sales Became Official Supplier of the 77th National Sports Festival and 22nd
National Sports Festival for People with an Impairment

Last year, KOKUYO Kitakanto Sales continued to provide 10,000 original Campus
Note notebooks based on strawberries, a famous produce of Tochigi, to Tochigi
Prefecture as a local company. In addition, KOKUYO Kitakanto Sales has beenrecognized as an official supplier of the 77th National Sports Festival and 22nd
National Sports Festival for People with an Impairment which will be held in Tochigi
Prefecture in 2022.
Going forward, KOKUYO Kitakanto Sales will strive to gain recognition andpromote the sports festivals in various ways as the official supplier so as to makethem sports festivals capable of delivering excitement and joy.

The front cover of the original Campus
Note notebook has Tochimaru-kun, themascot of the two sports festivals, and thefestivals’ slogan “From dreams to
excitement, from excitement to the future,”
while the back cover has a design
promoting the festivals with Tochimarukun placed on various event venues on a
map.

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Held Event for Employees of Public Offices to Experience Telecommuting

To contribute toward encouraging the spread of telecommuting, an event toexperience telecommuting for employees of national ministries and agencies aswell as local governments was held as part of the TELEWORK DAYS initiative forwhich KOKUYO is a supporting organization. For a total of five days, from July 29
to 30 and August 5 to 7, THINK OF THINGS at Sendagaya and DIVERARY at the
Shinagawa Showroom were opened to these employees as satellite offices for alimited period. By experiencing a telecommuting environment that cannot be experienced at their workplaces and spaces
created from various concepts, it became an opportunity for them to again relook at their work styles.

Deaf students from Shanghai visit KOKUYO Commerce (Shanghai)’s notebook factory

At the end of March, deaf students from Shanghai visited a KOKUYO Commerce(Shanghai) Co., Ltd. factory located in the outskirts of Shanghai. With the careful
guidance of factory employees, the students were able to observe the production
process from base paper to finished notebook, and learn secrets behind the
production of their favorite KOKUYO stationery. Through this factory visit, we
communicated the warmth of society to the students.

Chasing Big Dreams with Small Notebooks!

In November, seven employees from the Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen officesof KOKUYO (Shanghai) Management Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Commerce (Shanghai)Co., Ltd. and KOKUYO Furniture (China) Co., Ltd. visited Guanghui School in
Liangshan, Sichuan Province, and interacted with approximately 800 children
there.
The employee volunteers spent a meaningful day with the children, playing gamesand doing crafts using KOKUYO stationery.
We organize these kinds of interchange activities with children every year. Seeing
the stationery they have made bring smiles to so many children's faces was an irreplaceable experience for the employees.
KOKUYO is actively having its employees participate in volunteer activities to help them personally understand the concept
of contributing to society through our products.

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Mini Science Centres Opened at Schools Near KOKUYO Camlin’s Plants

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education is arequirement for technological transformation to significantly change our society. It isa field of education pointed out for its importance globally for nurturing children’s
curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving skills.
To provide children from underprivileged families with opportunities to also directly
come into contact with the universal theories and principles of science andmathematics, KOKUYO Camlin has opened Mini Science Centres equipped withmeaningful learning tools (75 items) at five schools in the vicinity of three of thecompany’s plants through the provision of funds to the social enterprise STEM Learning amounting to 3.2 million yen.

Improvement to Project Nanhi Kali Supporting Underprivileged Girls

Project Nanhi Kali (which means “a little bud” in Hindi) is a project that started at K.C. Mahindra Education Trust in 1996 toachieve a fair and equal society as well as economic growth by supporting underprivileged girls. So far, it has reached out
to over 370,000 underprivileged girls across 14 states in India.
Girls receiving support through this project are assured of completing 10 years of education. They are provided withuniforms, school bags, and learning tools such as textbooks and stationery. They are also able to receive training toward
strengthening their learning abilities at Academic Support Centres.
KOKUYO Camlin agrees with the project’s purpose, and donated 900,000 yen as a corporate sponsor.

Art Activity Support for Injured Soldiers at Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre

Soldiers in the armed forces who have sustained serious injuries and diagnosed
with paralysis of arms or legs are transferred to the Paraplegic Rehabilitation
Centre (PRC) in the city of Pune. PRC provides 24-hour treatment support andfacilities to peacefully live out the rest of their lives. However, many soldiers fall into
deep depression. To provide these soldiers as much as possible with the will to live,
since four years ago, KOKUYO Camlin has provided acrylic paints, canvasses,
brushes and other painting tools, and conducted training on how to create paintings
by holding brushes with the mouth and technical lectures regarding the use ofcolors.
In April 2019, 24 works created at PRC so far were opened to the public, and many students and residents visited to see
the works.
This initiative was subsequently expanded to the production of greeting cards printed with these paintings. So far, more than
15,000 cards have been sold, and the entire revenue of 15 yen per card is given to soldiers and their families.

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KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

SocialNew Value Creation
Basic Concepts

With the issues facing society in recent years becoming more diversified and complex, we are striving to create KOKUYOstyle values so that our customers' work, learning, and living can become more creative and fruitful.

Birth of New Brand "Gloo" That Changes Concept of Sticking for Adhesive Products

On January 16, 2019, KOKUYO launched “GLOO,” a new brand of adhesive
products with a simple, minimal, and stylish design that pursued high functionality
and ease of use.
GLOO is a new brand that aims to be a series of products that people will feel
comfortable using and want to place near them based on the concept “Sticking has
really changed.” These products combining functionality and beauty overthrowing
existing mindsets about consumables were born by using the adhesive
technologies developed by KOKUYO so far in collaboration with the design officenendo led by CEO Oki Sato.

Birth of Novel Workstation “UPTIS”

In May, the novel workstation “UPTIS” was launched as a result of ergonomics andsurveys.
The inclination of UPTIS’s tabletop can be adjusted in eight stages up to 12°
including fully horizontal, leading to posture that places less burden on the body.
During development, together with thoroughly analyzing the behavior of KOKUYO’s
employees, including the way they use small items and accessories around theirdesks, the ideal deskwork environment was pursued through workshops. In
addition, for the desk in general, we adopted a design that leads one to think ofhealth, dynamism, and ease of growing familiar. Other concepts were also used to create a desk that fits people so thatworkers can work with healthy bodies and minds.

Launch of New Brand “KOKUYO ME” Allowing Combinations like Accessories to Be Enjoyed

In October 2019, the new stationery series “KOKUYO ME” which spans across
categories was launched.
With “Life Accessories” as its concept, KOKUYO ME is a project that aims toprovide value as accessories that can easily express individuality.
The brand targets active workers from the millennial and xennial generations,which are characterized by their particularity regarding individuality. With the easeof use and functionality that KOKUYO has been particular about, trendy CMF* wasadded to pursue excellent design.
The first batch in the series consisted 45 different products spanning 10 items, such as notebooks and pens. The lineup of
the second batch has 18 products in four items, including sticky notes that add extra writing space to notebooks.
* The three elements of an item’s surface: color, material, and finish.

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Toward the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020

KOKUYO signed an agreement to join the Tokyo 2020 Sponsorship Programme as
an Official Supporter in the “Office Furniture & Stationery” category. KOKUYO iscontributing to the Games by providing office furniture and stationery to the offices
and other locations of parties related to the Games, such as the Tokyo Organising
Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (the Organising Committee).
The Tokyo 2020 Task Force was launched as a business contact point related toTokyo 2020 to carry out information sharing and collaboration events between the
Organising Committee and corporate supporters. Within KOKUYO, name cards
and envelopes with the Tokyo 2020 emblems were introduced, and Campus Note
notebooks turned into sporting event venues were produced into original visuals
which were then used. Together with the launch of an online Tokyo 2020 page andother activities, KOKUYO has been steadily promoting activities both within andoutside the company.
In addition, KOKUYO is also seeking to nurture the Olympic mood within the
KOKUYO Group. In “KOKUYO no KOUBO,” an event held to solicit ideas forcommunicating a new KOKUYO, we gathered innovative ideas from employees notbounded by existing businesses and products, including contents that use stationery to experience sports. We are not juststopping at sponsorship, but taking on the challenge of unique initiatives with a view beyond Tokyo 2020.

Ultimate in Being Relaxed at Work Achieved by Sauna

Currently, many companies are searching for ways of work style reform. In such asituation, there are expectations placed on the new effects of sauna that breaks
existing mindsets. Within KOKUYO, the sauna club was established in 2016.
Sauna is not only a place where people take off their clothes, they also take off
their titles. More and more people are using sauna as a communication tool thattranscends both departments and positions. In addition to encouraging
communication, sauna increases the ability to concentrate—such as by helping torecover from tiredness, detoxing the body, and having a relaxing effect—and
A further sense of unity is born fromtherefore earning feedback that it has the effect of invigorating creative minds.
wearing room wear with the same design
Furthermore, in 2018, a project targeting “sauna workers” led by the head of theprovided by the spa
sauna club was broached to spa facilities, resulting in the completion of Japan’s
first coworking sauna KOOWORK at Skyspa Yokohama. An environment for working people—such as whiteboards,
projectors, power supplies for charging computers and smartphones, and Wi-Fi equipment—has been put in place at the
coworking space within the facility, earning praise from users. Possibilities continue to expand.

Furniture Business Established Local Subsidiary in Indonesia

KOKUYO’s furniture business has established the local subsidiary PT. KOKUYO Furniture Indonesia, with operationscommencing in April 2019. KOKUYO had been conducting sales through a representative office in Indonesia since 2012,
but is now shifting to a new system of using a local subsidiary to sell directly due to recent increases in local firms’
purchasing power and appetite for investing in offices. With this change, KOKUYO aims to add the growing demand fromlocal firms in Indonesia to its revenue base of Japanese customers and achieve sustainable growth in Asia.

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“Uki City & KOKUYO” Partnership Agreement Signed

On June 3, Uki City in Kumamoto Prefecture and KOKUYO signed acomprehensive partnership agreement. This agreement promotes collaborative
activities that effectively use human and material resources of both parties toward
invigorating Uki City and optimizing the management of public administration. It
also seeks to transform offices for work style reforms, promote the transfer plan of
Uki City’s Ogawa Branch Office, and invigorate the region as a whole.

Contributing to Work Style Reforms of Other Companies through Proposals Using Labor Union
Activities

Currently, the rectification of long working hours and promoting the taking of paid
leave are issues being faced by labor unions of many companies. KOKUYO’s labor
union has ties to the labor unions of other companies. To help these labor unions
acquire knowledge related to the work space and work style necessary forundertaking the resolution of these issues, KOKUYO’s labor union actively create
opportunities to introduce KOKUYO’s products and services through the activities
of its labor union.
Through such actions, the activities of KOKUYO’s labor union are adeptly fusedwith KOKUYO’s main business of creating working environments, and support work style reform initiatives by the labor andmanagement of other companies.

KOKUYO’s loT Stationery “Shukudai Yaruki Pen” That Makes People Want to Write and Praise

On July 17, 2019, KOKUYO launched the IoT stationery “Shukudai Yaruki Pen” forstudents in the first to fourth grades of elementary school. By fixing it to a normal
pencil, it visualizes the students’ daily hard work by analyzing their efforts for study.
Shukudai Yaruki Pen visualizes children’s efforts for study as “motivation” by fixing
it to pencils sold on the market and linking it to a dedicated smartphone app. The
LED’s color changes according to accumulated motivation. In addition, thecharacter in the smartphone app will receive power to move forward in the “Gardenof Motivational Power” that has 18 stages in the style of the board game sugoroku.
It serves as impetus for children to undertake learning at home, and makes it easier for guardians to praise their children.
As a product that develops motivation through smooth communication between parent and child, it is receiving a lot of
support.

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Opening of Limited Period Store at eslite spectrum Nihonbashi

The large composite select store eslite spectrum Nihonbashi—which originatesfrom Taiwan—made its first entry into Japan at the new COREDO Muromachi
Terrace retail facility that opened on September 27. KOKUYO opened a limited
period store here from September 27 to November 14. This store was realized due
to empathy with KOKUYO’s history of developing standards in Japan and ourinnovative challenges. In line with eslite spectrum Nihonbashi’s concepts of “theThe concept was “From standard to thenext standard”
intersection of past and present” and “the fusion of old and new,” specially selected
old and new items evolving with the times—including the long-selling Sokuryo
Yacho notebook, new brands such as GLOO, KOKUYO ME and others—were selected and exhibited at the limited period
store.

Launch of Sustainable Notebook “Campus & Starbucks” Made from Milk CartonsStarbucks and KOKUYO jointly developed the “Starbucks Campus Ring Notebook.”
The front and back covers of the notebook used recycled paper made using milk
cartons as its main raw material. As an activity aimed at contributing toward a
recycling-oriented society, Starbucks has continued to recycle milk cartons since2010. Milk cartons individually cleaned, dried, and collected at more than 1,500
stores nationwide exceed more than approximately 1,000 tons annually. KOKUYO
agrees with the thinking behind this activity. This notebook that is filled withmeticulous details was created using ideas refined by transcending departmental
boundaries together with the spirit and technologies of craftsmanship developed sofar.

“Starbucks Campus Ring Notebook” born
through collaboration between Starbucks
and KOKUYOKOKUYO Furniture (China) Opened Flagship Store on China’s Leading Online Retail Platform

KOKUYO Furniture (China) has opened its flagship store on the online retailplatform Tmall.com which is under the umbrella of the Alibaba Group, a leading
Chinese corporation. Tmall.com is China’s largest e-commerce website with anactive monthly user base of 500 million people. At the sale held once each year on
November 11, approximately five trillion yen in sales are recorded over three days.
On October 25, an opening event was held at a KOKUYO Furniture (China)
dealer’s showroom in Hangzhou together with Tmall.com announcing the openingof the store to many media outlets. The store started operation on November 11.

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KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

GovernanceCorporate Governance

Basic Concepts

The Group we want to be in the future is a Life & Work Style Company that enriches society by providing value through our
products and services to enhance customers' creativity and to deliver improvements to their Quality of Life so that they canwork, learn and live better. Our idea is to be a company group providing constant support for the intellectual activities of ourcustomers through our products and services.
The Group believes that ensuring efficient, transparent and fair management is an essential element to sustainably lifting
corporate value over the long term. For that reason, we are constantly working to enhance these qualities in the building
and operation of our administrative systems.

Systems

Corporate Governance Structure

KOKUYO is a “Company with a Board of Directors.” At least one third of our Board of Directors are outside directors withindependence. The Nominating and Compensation Committee is established as an advisory body for the Board of
Directors. A majority of its members are outside directors or outside experts. Among other duties, the committee assesses
the candidate selection criteria and compensation for directors and corporate executive officers. KOKUYO adopts a
corporate officer system where the HQ Management Board—comprising the heads of Group companies appointed by the
Board of Directors—seeks to speed up decision making as well as accelerate and make efficient the execution of duties
through implementation of our regulations on responsibilities and authority that defines the board’s approval of decisionmaking authority and scope of reporting.

For details, please refer to→ " IR > Strategy > Corporate Governance " in KOKUYO corporate homepage→ Corporate Governance Report (Japanese only)（228kb）

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Directors

Name

Date ofbirth

CareerJanuary
10,
1976

April 2001
July 2005
June 2007
March 2009
March 2009
March 2011
March 2014
March 2015
January 2019

Representative Director
and President Hidekuni
KurodaMarch 9,1958

April 1981
April 2002
October 2004
January 2011

Representative Directorand Executive Vice
President
Kozo Sakagami

March 2015
March 2015
January 2019
January 2020
March 2020
(incumbent)

October 7,
1959

Director and Executive
Vice President
Takuya Morikawa

April 1982
June 2005
June 2005
March 2011
March 2014
March 2015
January 2019

March 10,1956

April 1978
March 2012
March 2015
January 2019

Director and Executive
Vice President
Nobuyuki Miyagaki
May 30,1959

April 1982
January 1995
August 2000

Outside Director *1
Hiroshi Hamada

May 2006
April 2008
November 2011
March 2014
May 2015
September 2015

Joined KOKUYO
Director and Executive Officer, KOKUYO Office System Co., Ltd.
Director and Managing Executive Officer, KOKUYO Office System Co.,Ltd.
Director, KOKUYO
Representative Director and President, KOKUYO Furniture Co., Ltd.
Managing Executive Officer, KOKUYO
Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer, KOKUYO
Representative Director and President and CEO, KOKUYO
Representative Director and President, KOKUYO (incumbent)

Joined KOKUYOManager of International Procurement Division, KOKUYO (Service inHong Kong)
Representative Director and President, KOKUYO International Co., Ltd.
Director and Executive Officer, Managing Officer of International Business
Division, KOKUYO Furniture Co., Ltd.
Group Executive Officer, Managing Officer of Furniture Business Division,
KOKUYO
Representative Director and President, KOKUYO Furniture Co., Ltd.
Senior Executive Officer, Managing Officer of Furniture Business Division,
KOKUYO
Senior Executive Officer, Head of Spatial Value Domain, KOKUYO
Representative Director and Executive Vice President, Head of Spatial
Value Domain, KOKUYO (concurrent)

Joined KOKUYO
Director, KOKUYO
Representative Director and President, KOKUYO S&T Co., Ltd.
Managing Executive Officer, KOKUYO
Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer, KOKUYO
Director, Group Senior Executive Officer, Managing Officer ofInternational Business Division, KOKUYO
Director and Executive Vice President, Special Officer in Charge ofOverseas Business and M&A, KOKUYO (incumbent)
Joined KOKUYO
Audit & Supervisory Board Member, KOKUYO
Director, Group Senior Executive Officer, Managing Officer of Corporate
Administrations, KOKUYO
Director and Executive Vice President, Company-Wide Risk Management
Officer, KOKUYO (incumbent)

Joined Yamashita-Shinnihon Steamship Co., Ltd. (currently Mitsui O.S.K.
Lines, Ltd.)
Joined Dell Computer Inc. (currently Dell Japan Inc.)
Representative Director, President, Dell Japan Inc. and Vice President,
Dell Computer Corporation
Representative Partner, Revamp Corporation
Executive Officer, President and Chief Operating Officer, HOYACORPORATION
Director, Representative Executive Officer, President and Chief Operating
Officer, HOYA CORPORATION
Outside Director, KOKUYO (incumbent)
Chairman, Representative Director and CEO, ARUHI Group Corporation(currently ARUHI Corporation) (incumbent)
Chairman, President, Representative Director, CEO and COO, ARUHI
Group Corporation (incumbent)

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

February
19,
1947
Outside Director *1
Taketsugu Fujiwara

April 1969
June 2000
June 2003
October 2003
June 2009
April 2010
June 2014
March 2015
June 2015
June 2018

January 6,
1963Outside Director *1
Mika Masuyama

April 1985
November 1992
June 1997
January 2004
October 2016
March 2017
March 2019
June 2019

October
26,
1951
Outside Audit &Supervisory Board
Member (Full-time) *2
Kazutoshi Maeda

April 1974
April 2003
June 2004
October 2006
April 2007
April 2008
April 2009
June 2011
June 2015
March 2017

September3,
1949
Outside Audit &Supervisory Board
Member*2
Hideyuki Yasue

April 1973
June 1991
April 2001
July 2001
April 2005
April 2007
June 2008

June 2009
January 2014
June 2015
March 2017
May 20,1958

April 1981
December 1990

Outside Audit &Supervisory Board
Member*2
Yoko Toyoshi

July 2008
July 2013

Joined Asahi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. (currently Asahi Kasei
Corporation)
Director, Asahi Kasei Corporation
Senior Executive Officer, Asahi Kasei Corporation
Presidential Executive Officer, Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corporation
Director, Vice-Presidential Executive Officer, Asahi Kasei Corporation
President and Representative Director, Presidential Executive Officer,
Asahi Kasei Corporation
Vice Chairman, Asahi Kasei Corporation, and Outside Director,
SHIMADZU CORPORATION (incumbent)
Outside Director, KOKUYO (incumbent)
Outside Director, IHI Corporation (incumbent)Counsellor, Asahi Kasei Corporation (incumbent), and Outside Director,
Konica Minolta, Inc. (incumbent)

Joined the Bank of Japan
September 1991 International Marketing Director, Cap Gemini Sogeti
Senior Consultant, Gemini Consulting Japan
Joined Egon Zehnder
Partner, Egon Zehnder
President and Representative Partner, Masuyama & Company LLC.
(incumbent)
Outside Director (Audit and Supervisory Committee Member), Suntory
Beverage & Food Limited (incumbent)
Outside Director, KOKUYO (incumbent)
Outside Director, Konoike Transport Co., Ltd. (incumbent)

Joined ITOCHU Corporation
Manager of Legal Affairs, ITOCHU Corporation
Executive Officer, ITOCHU Corporation
Deputy Chief Administration Officer (legal, general affairs, CSR,
compliance), ITOCHU Corporation
Managing Executive Officer, ITOCHU Corporation
Managing Executive Officer, Deputy Chief Administration Officer,
Manager of Personnel, ITOCHU Corporation
Managing Executive Officer, Deputy Chief Administration Officer(personnel, general affairs, legal), ITOCHU Corporation
Full-time Audit & Supervisory Board Member, ITOCHU Corporation
Advisory Member, ITOCHU Corporation (incumbent)
Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member, KOKUYO (incumbent)

Joined Marubeni Corporation
Admitted as an attorney in the State of New YorkManager of Legal Affairs, Marubeni Corporation
Admitted as an attorney in United Kingdom
Managing Executive Officer, Manager of Legal Affairs, Marubeni
Corporation
Managing Executive Officer, Deputy Officer of Risk Management andLegal Affairs, Marubeni Corporation
Representative Director, Managing Executive Officer, and Officer ofGeneral Affairs, Risk Management, and Legal Affairs, Marubeni
Corporation
Audit & Supervisory Board Member, Marubeni Corporation
Joined the Tokyo-Marunouchi Law Offices as Counsel
Outside Director (Audit and Supervisory Committee Member), TATSUTAElectric Wire and Cable Co., Ltd.
Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member, KOKUYO (incumbent)
Joined the Bank of Fukuoka, Ltd.
October 1989 Joined Asahi Shinwa & Co. (currently KPMG AZSA LLC)
Joined Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (currently Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
LLC)
Appointed partner, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (currently Deloitte Touche
Tohmatsu LLC)
Appointed Chief Certified Public Accountant Audit Inspector, Certified
Public Accountants and Auditing Oversight Board, Financial Services
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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

July 2016
June 2018
March 2020

Joined Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC
Outside Director (Audit and Supervisory Committee Member), AlpsElectric Co., Ltd. (currently ALPS ALPINE CO., LTD.) (incumbent)
Outside Director, KOKUYO (incumbent)*1: As defined in Article 2, Item 15, of the Companies Act*2: As defined in Article 2, Item 16, of the Companies Act

Officer Remuneration

1. Basic Policy
KOKUYO’s officer remuneration system is designed to fulfill our responsibilities to explain and manage to stakeholders—
including shareholders and employees—which are transparent and rational as well as guarantee the medium- to long-term
improvement of corporate value beyond short-term results. Our remuneration standards are set at figures which allow us toappoint outstanding talents, motivate, and retain them.
2. Procedure
The remuneration, etc. of directors are approved by the Board of Directors after deliberation and review by the Nominating
and Compensation Committee which is an advisory body of the Board of Directors comprising outside directors and outside
experts. The remuneration, etc. of Audit & Supervisory Board members are decided by discussion among themselves.
Meetings of the Nominating and Compensation Committee were held nine times this fiscal year, and the officer
remuneration policy for fiscal 2019 was approved at the meeting of the Board of Directors held on March 28, 2019 after
discussion by the committee.
3. Composition of Remuneration
Remuneration of directors comprises fixed remuneration in the form of base compensation and variable remuneration thatis linked to the Company’s performance. However, from the perspective of roles and independence, remuneration of outside
directors and Audit & Supervisory Board members only comprises base compensation.
(1) Base compensation
The amount of base compensation is determined according to role taking into consideration industry standards based on
surveys by external expert agencies.
(2) Performance-linked remuneration
Performance-linked remuneration comprises short-term incentive (STI) remuneration and long-term incentive (LTI)
remuneration. The basic amount is determined using a remuneration composition ratio set based on roles. The system isdesigned such that the higher the position, the higher the ratio of performance-linked remuneration in the overall
remuneration.
i) Short-term incentive (STI) remuneration
The payout rate for short-term incentive remuneration is determined based on annual financial indicators for the company
and scope of responsibility as well as individual performance evaluation that looks at the degree of achievement in strategic
targets that cannot be measured by financial performance figures alone, such as rebuilding of business foundation towardrealization of sustainable growth.
ii) Long-term incentive (LTI) remuneration
Long-term incentive remuneration is given for the purpose of providing incentive toward sustainable improvement of
KOKUYO’s corporate value as well as for the further sharing of value between applicable directors and shareholders.
Transfer-restricted shares are given for a period from 30 to 50 years as determined by KOKUYO’s Board of Directors.
The transfer-restricted share remuneration system was approved at the 72nd Annual General Meeting of Shareholders heldon March 28, 2019.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

a. Total amount of remuneration, etc. for each category of officer, types of remuneration, etc., and number of eligible officers

Officer category

Total amountof
remuneration,etc.
(million yen)

Total amount of remuneration, etc. by category(million yen)Basecompensation

Short-term
incentive
remuneration

Long-term
incentive
remuneration

Retirement
bonusesNumber of
eligible officers

Directors(excluding
outsidedirectors)

295

202

76

15

－

5

Outsidedirectors

56

56

－

－

－

4

Audit &
Supervisory
Board members(excluding
outsidemembers)

－

－

－

－

－

0

Outside Audit &Supervisory
Board members

36

36

－

－

－

3

Notes
1. KOKUYO eliminated the retirement bonus system in 2005.
2. There are no directors who receive salaries as employees in addition to their remuneration, etc. as directors.
3. The amount of remuneration, etc. paid directors is within the scope of maximum director remuneration (no more than
40 million yen per month) set by resolution at the 57th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on June 29,
2004.
4. The amount of remuneration, etc. paid to Audit & Supervisory Board members is within the scope of maximum Audit &Supervisory Board member remuneration (no more than 6 million yen per month) set by resolution at the 42nd Annual
General Meeting of Shareholders held on December 21, 1989.
b. Total amount of remuneration, etc. paid to each officer
There are no officers in the consolidated group who received total remuneration, etc. in excess of 100 million yen, andaccordingly, no information is provided.
c. Amount of officer remuneration, etc. or policy on determinations relating to the method of calculation
KOKUYO's remuneration systems are transparent and reasonable in order to fulfill our responsibilities regarding
accountability and for consequences to shareholders, employees, and other stakeholders and are designed to provide
motivation over the medium to long term. Remuneration is set at levels that enable us to hire outstanding humanresources and motivate and retain human resources. Specifically, officer remuneration comprises fixed remuneration in
the form of base compensation and variable remuneration that is linked to key indicators (sales, operating income, etc.)of the Company's performance and individual performance evaluations. A certain portion of the variable remuneration ispaid through monthly acquisition of KOKUYO shares in accordance with certain rules, which are reserved during an
officer's employment with the Company. From the perspectives of roles and independence, however, the remunerationof directors who do not concurrently serve as corporate executive officers and Audit & Supervisory Board members
comprises only base compensation.
The amounts of remuneration paid to individuals are determined by the Board of Directors based on findings submitted
by the Nominating and Compensation Committee. At the 72nd Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on March
28, 2019，a resolution was adopted to limit the amount of director remuneration to no more than 600 million yen
annually. In addition, a resolution was adopted to introduce a long-term incentive program that will grant no more than
100 million yen of transfer-restricted shares to directors (excluding outside directors) and corporate executive officers
each year for the purpose of further promoting shared interests with shareholders.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Initiatives

Initiatives to Strengthen Corporate Governance

KOKUYO has been strengthening corporate governance through the introduction of a corporate officer system and theappointment of outside directors. Our appointment of outside directors at an early stage has also earn us recognition fromthird parties.
To further enhance the level of corporate governance toward sustainable improvement of corporate value, we have
implemented the following initiatives aimed at promoting the separation of supervision and execution as well as creating asystem which allows the Board of Directors to properly supervise execution based on vibrant discussions.
Chairperson of Board of Directors meetings changed to outside director
The chairperson of Board of Directors meetings, which was previously ex-Chairman Akihiro Kuroda, was changed to
Outside Director Taketsugu Fujiwara.
Appointment of younger directors
Ex-Chairman Akihiro Kuroda and ex-Vice Chairman Yasuhiro Kuroda stepped down after long years of service as directors
and were appointed as Chairman (part-time) and Special Advisor (part-time) respectively.
Outside Director Hisao Sakuta, who made significant contributions such as strengthening KOKUYO’s corporate
governance, stepped down after serving eight years.
Kozo Sakagami was newly appointed as Representative Director of the Board and Executive Vice President to further
strengthen the management.
Change in Director Composition (Corporate/Outside)95

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

Governance

System for the Promotion of Compliance

Basic Concepts

Various laws and regulations—related to aspects such as product quality, transactions, the environment, labor, safety,
hygiene, accounting standards, and taxes—apply to the KOKUYO Group as we go about our business activities. We
enacted the KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct, which is to be observed by all employees, so that we comply with laws andregulations, and carry out business activities in accordance with social ethics. KOKUYO is working on building a compliancesystem and its adherence through spreading the KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct.
KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct

Systems

Operation of a Whistle-blower System, KOKUYO Group Hotline

The KOKUYO Group Hotline is a hotline where employees can seek advice on problems related to compliance andcorporate ethics that are difficult to counsel and resolve within the workplace. It is a global system that can be used not only
by employees in Japan but also by the employees of the KOKUYO Group at overseas offices.

Employee Education for Understanding and Spread・Training and e-learning on compliance in general
・E-learning and discussion-based training regarding prevention of collusion
・E-learning regarding construction industry

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

2019 Initiatives

Implementing KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct Training during Business Plan Presentation of
KOKUYO-IK (Thailand)

On January 4, KOKUYO-IK (Thailand) held its business plan presentation which
was attended by 224 participants. The annual KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct
training was also implemented together with this event. At this training, employees
who joined the company in 2018 gave their explanations about each of the 11
articles in the Code of Conduct.
KOKUYO-IK (Thailand) seeks to improve employees’ awareness about compliancethrough such training.

Employees choose one out of the 11
articles in the KOKUYO Group Code of
Conduct and wrote about how they apply
it in their actions

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

GovernanceRisk Management

Basic Concepts

The KOKUYO Group took the opportunity of the integration in 2015 to establish an organization and started taking steps topromote risk management.
The aim of this activity is to establish a risk management circle from the Group's point of view. First, we started withrecognizing what kind of risk exists in the entire KOKUYO Group, and considered policies for prioritization and measuresfrom a perspective of what is best for the Group as a whole, and then promoted these measures.
We will clarify the particularly important themes or themes related to the entire organization, and aim to improve theeffectiveness and efficiency of risk management by advancing the activity across the entire Group.
Related information: " Risk Factors "Systems

Initiatives Regarding Management of Intellectual Property Rights

As one of the strategies to differentiate ourselves from competitors, the KOKUYO Group promotes the following initiatives toencourage the acquisition of intellectual property rights, and at the same time, to respect intellectual property rights ofothers:1) Management and Operational Structure of Intellectual Property Rights
The KOKUYO Group aims to standardize and centralize utilization and strategies for intellectual property rights bycontrolling operations related to the intellectual property rights of subsidiaries and affiliated companies in Japan andoverseas centrally within the intellectual property rights group of the legal department.
The Group monitors the products of our competitors on a daily basis for the acquisition of rights in inventions, design, andtrademarks; as well as executing thorough preliminary surveys to prevent a violation of the intellectual property rights ofothers; and protecting our intellectual property rights. In addition, in cases where there is a conflict with competitors, theGroup responds to such a situation through cooperation with the management by taking a rapid and optimal approach forresolution.
2) Protection and Legal Compliance of Intellectual Property Rights
The KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct stipulates that we respect the intellectual property rights of others while theintellectual property group establishes and operates the system for research, analysis, and close investigation to prevent
and avoid the violation of rights held by others. In addition, awareness-raising activities for respecting the intellectual
property rights of others and improving awareness of legal compliance are conducted for development departments throughtraining as the necessity arises and as part of daily work.
3) Promotion of Creation and Utilization of Intellectual Property Rights
The intellectual property group and development departments work closely from the early stage of development to increase
the superiority of the products in the market and focus on creating and discovering inventions that contribute todifferentiation from competitors' products. We also aim to adhere to Sec. 35 of the Patents Act and establish an incentive
system for employee invention as an internal rule, in the aim of increasing customer satisfaction and encourage inventions
that strengthen the Group's development.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Initiatives Regarding Information Security

The KOKUYO Group undertakes the establishment of an information security management system, adherence with
relevant laws and regulations, and safety management of confidential information (customer information, personal
information, etc.) in our possession obtained as part of our business.
1) Laws and ordinances regarding information security and other standards are adhered to.
2) Personal information is managed according to the Personal Information Protection Policy defined by the KOKUYOGroup.
3) Appropriate safety measures are taken in order to prevent unauthorized access to information assets, as well as loss,
falsification and leakage, etc. of information assets.
4) Regulations and rules regarding the management and use of information assets are formulated and revised, andeducation is continually conducted to employees about these regulations and rules.
5) Inspections and improvements are continually conducted on the management system and initiatives related to
information security.

Formulation of Business Continuity Planning (BCP*)The KOKUYO Group anticipates disruptions to occur in our factory and office
functions due to events such as natural disasters. We formulate our BCP toachieve stable product supply, and continuously revise our plans. In addition,
regarding earthquake, storm and flood damage, fire, and outbreaks of infectious
diseases—which may bring major disruptions to business activities and are on arising trend in recent years—we reaffirm the importance in business continuity of
taking appropriate initial response to minimize damage. We are working on
improvements to preparations that allow each employee to take early action toprotect their lives centered on the key points and flow of initial response for eachtype of disaster (including emergencies).

Experiencing the Japanese seismic
intensity of 7—the intensity during theGreat East Japan Earthquake—throughthe latest earthquake simulator of theTokyo Fire Department

2019 Initiatives

Conducting BCP Workshop 2019 by Stationery BusinessIn October, BCP training under the name “ST_BCP Workshop 2019” was conducted. On the day of the training, a total of 32
members from seven divisions related to the stationery business making up the committee participated in the training. In thefirst part of the training, sharing was conducted on the plan of the system for limiting impact to business when an incident
has occurred. In the second part, each team identified issues and carried out discussion using walk-throughs in accordancewith existing action procedure manuals. Many issues were noticed through the lively exchange of remarks and opinions.
Going forward, KOKUYO will continue to improve by working on measures for the issues identified this time, and at thesame time, aim for even more practical BCP.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Conducting Risk Assessment Training for Equipment Safety

In August and September, safety managers from KOKUYO Product Shiga,
KOKUYO MVP, and Iwami Paper Industry gathered for risk assessment training to
improve equipment safety. As many accident risks occur at manufacturing plants,risk assessment activities are essential to promote making production sites safe. In
addition, knowledge about craftsmanship and knowledge related to risk
assessment activities themselves are both required in these activities.
The training this time therefore aimed to enable risk assessment activities being
carried out so far at each office to be conducted even more logically and efficiently
to make them effective. Going forward, study groups and workshops will continue to be conducted, and at the same time,
KOKUYO hopes to utilize these activities in activities to reduce the risk of occupational accidents.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

GovernanceWith Stakeholders

Basic Concepts

KOKUYO is aware that increasing corporate value is our responsibility to shareholders and investors. KOKUYO strives toimplement accurate and timely disclosure of corporate information in order to maintain transparent and sound corporate
management.

Systems

Policy and Achievements Regarding Dividends

In our second medium-term management plan which ends in FY2021, KOKUYO aims for a dividend payout ratio of 40% by
2021 as we continue to steadily increase the payout in our efforts to return profit to shareholders.
At the same time, we will strive to enable sustainable growth and improve corporate value while seeking to enhanceretained earnings that are necessary capital for capital spending, R&D, M&A deals and so on needed for medium- to longterm growth.
The total annual dividend for the 73rd fiscal year was 39.0 yen per share; the interim dividend was 18.5 yen per share, while
the year-end dividend was 20.5 yen per share. For the 74th fiscal year, we expect a payout ratio of 34.6% with a dividend
per share of 45.0 yen.
Note that KOKUYO is a company to which consolidated dividend regulations apply.

Making Management More Transparent

1) Investor Relations (IR) Activities>We strive to fairly and accurately convey to all investors—including our shareholders—the KOKUYO Group businesses,
management strategy and vision for the future, as well as achieve two-way communication between investors and us. In
2019, we conducted the following IR activities:■For institutional investors:
The financial results briefing was held twice last year. At the briefings, the President spoke about the Group's results andstrategies. We also worked to promote understanding about the Group’s status through means such as the conduct ofindividual meetings and participation in conferences for foreign investors.
■For individual investors:
Explanations regarding the Group and financial results were given in easy to understand ways to help increase
understanding of the Group and to foster a sense of familiarity.
We will continue to proactively engage in IR activities to increase our corporate value.
2) Information Disclosure
We disclose information in accordance with the rules established by the stock exchange on which we are listed for thetimely disclosure of corporate information by issuers of listed securities (hereinafter referred to as the "rules of timely
disclosure"). With regard to information that may not be subject to the rules of timely disclosure, we also adhere to the fairdisclosure rules stated in the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act and endeavor, as a matter of basic policy, to promptly
disclose as proactively and fairly as possible by way of appropriate methods so as to help investors to understand ourcompany better.
* Related information: IR News101

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Shareholder Special Benefit Plans

To respond to the continuing support of KOKUYO shareholders and with the aim ofsignificantly deepening the understanding of the KOKUYO Group by having
shareholders actually use Group products, KOKUYO has established ashareholder special benefit plan. Under this plan, KOKUYO Group products aresent once per year to holders of 500 shares or more.

KOKUYO Group products sent toshareholders at the end of December,
2019

2019 Initiatives

Conducting Financial Results Briefing for Institutional Investors

On August 1, 2019, the “Briefing of Financial Results for the Second Quarter of
FY2019” was held for institutional investors and analysts at the Daiwa Conference
Hall. Approximately 60 institutional investors and analysts attended the briefing thatday. The participants raised various questions, including topics such as the
progress of the medium-term management plan and the trend of overseas
businesses. Going forward, we will continue to work on disseminating informationand encouraging communication so as to allow even more investors to understand
KOKUYO and hold expectations about our growth.

Conducting Company Briefing for Individual Investors

On February 26, the “Company Briefing for Individual Investors” was held forindividual investors at Hotel new Hankyu Osaka. The briefing was attended byapproximately 400 individual investors that day. Questions raised by theparticipants touched on topics such as the future prospects of KOKUYO’s
respective businesses and the strengths of our businesses. Going forward, we willcontinue to work on effectively disseminating information and encouraging
communication so as to allow even more investors to understand KOKUYO andhold expectations about our growth.

102

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

Third-Party Assessments

Third-Party Assessments

Rankings and Recognitions

Name of recognition

Time ofannouncement

Results

14th Toyo Keizai CSR Ranking (Toyo KeizaiInc.)

February 2020

Overall ranking: 250th

CDP2019January 2020

Climate Change C (Awareness)
Forests B- (Management)

MSCI Japan Empowering Women Index(WIN)

December 2019

Selected for inclusion in index

1st Nikkei SDGs Management Survey (Nikkei
Inc.)

December 2019

3rd Nikkei Smart Work Management Survey(Nikkei Inc.)

November 2019

FTSE ESG Rating 2019

September 2019

2.5（E:2.8; S:2.2; G:2.6）

MSCI ESG Rating 2019

August 2019

A

SNAM Sustainability Index

June 2019

Overall score: 175.6（E:60.1 S:59.1 G:56.4）

22th Environmental Management Survey(Nikkei Inc.)

May 2019

Overall ranking: 132th (manufacturingindustry)
Score: 405/500

S&P/JPX Carbon Efficient Index

March 2019

Decile classification: 10th

Score: 57.0
Ranked 3.5 out of 5 ranks
Score: 59.3
Ranked 3.5 out of 5 ranks

CSR-related Awards

Recognition as White 500 Organizations Under the 2020 Certified Health & Productivity Management
Outstanding Organizations Recognition Program (February 2020)

KOKUYO Co., Ltd. and Kaunet Co., Ltd. were recognized as White 500
organizations under the 2020 Certified Health & Productivity Management
Outstanding Organizations Recognition Program selected jointly by the Ministry of
Economy, Trade and Industry and the Nippon Kenko Kaigi, while KOKUYO
Marketing Co., Ltd. was recognized under the 2020 Certified Health & Productivity
Management Outstanding Organizations Recognition (Large Enterprise Category) Program.
The Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding Organizations Recognition Program honors outstanding

103

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

enterprises, such as large enterprises and small- and medium-sized enterprises, engaging in health and productivity
management. KOKUYO was recognized under the Large Enterprise Category that target large-scale companies, medical
corporations, and other organizations.
* The term “health and productivity management” is a registered trademark of the Workshop for the Management of Health on Company and
Employee.

KOKUYO Design Award Product Project Received Excellence Award at Mécénat Awards 2019

The design competition KOKUYO Design Award organized by KOKUYO received
the “Stationery Beyond Stationery Award” for excellence at the Mécénat Awards
2019 organized by the Association for Corporate Support of the Arts (Kigyo
Mecenat Kyogikai). The award ceremony was held on November 20. The MécénatAwards assess factors such as impact, contribution to society, uniqueness, andcontinuity in a wide range of genres, including music, art, literature, traditional arts,
architecture, fashion, and manufacturing.
The award received this time recognized that the KOKUYO Design Award projectutilizes the company’s resources to widely solicit ideas from the general populace and create opportunities to take onchallenges such as developing new stationery. The project was also recognized for establishing themes in line with thetimes and attempting the development of products going beyond existing mindsets unbounded by the frame of stationery.

ReEDEN Project Received the Grand Prix at The Biodiversity Japan Award 2019

On September 26, KOKUYO Product Shiga’s ReEDEN Project received the GrandPrix at the award ceremony of The Biodiversity Japan Award held at the U ThantInternational Conference Hall of the United Nations University in Tokyo. This was
the sixth iteration of the award since it was established in 2010, with 72
submissions this time. The Grand Prix is given to the most outstanding project fromamong the five organizations selected for the Excellence Awards, making it Japan’s
pinnacle environmental award in the field of biodiversity.
The ReEDEN Project has received various recognitions so far, and will continue to
steadily carry on with activities and communicating them without giving up.

“Protect Lake Biwa with Reeds” ReEDEN Project Received the Judging Committee Special Award in
the Award for Companies Promoting Experiential Activities for YouthOn February 20, 2019, 10 years of activities by the Network to Protect Lake Biwa
with Reeds were recognized by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology with an award. This award recognizes companies
implementing excellent experiential activities for youths as part of their social
contribution activities, and follows the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
Award received at the Japan Water Prize in June of the previous year.
The Network to Protect Lake Biwa with Reeds established by KOKUYO Product
Shiga has gone beyond the company to cover the local community widely,
including companies, schools, organizations, and the local government. The network organizes events such as reedmowing and fishing contests to remove non-native fish. It was recognized for its continued practical activities deepening theties between parents and children amidst the rich nature found around Lake Biwa.
Going forward, we will continue with activities so as to improve the corporate value of KOKUYO Product Shiga as well as
KOKUYO nationwide, increase the number of KOKUYO fans, and solidify our business foundation.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Yui-no-Mori Project Received Commendation Award at Low Carbon Challenge Cup 2019

This year was the ninth iteration of the Low Carbon Challenge Cup. By widely
introducing the distinctive global warming prevention activities being undertaken by
citizens, companies, schools, local governments, and other organizations in Japan,
it aims to share knowledge and information, and become the opportunity for
generating collaboration and desire for even better activities.
On February 8, 28 finalist organizations which passed the first round of screening
Receiving the commendation award
out of 1,425 organizations which took part gave presentations at Culttz Kawasaki
shieldand received their commendation award shields. For the Yui-no-Mori Project, this was the third consecutive year receiving
awards in the environmental field, following the Wood Design Award 2017, and the Biodiversity Action Award Japan 2018’s
special award “Green Wave Award.”

Yui-no-Mori Project Received Award in Corporate Category of Minister of the Environment Prize at
Good Life Award

The Good Life Award is a project that aims to achieve a society that is friendly tothe environment. It introduces, recognizes through awards, and supports activities
and initiatives related to lifestyles that are friendly to the environment and society
being implemented all over Japan. This time, KOKUYO received the award fromamong a record number of 243 submissions, achieving the receiving of consecutive
awards following the commendation award at the Low Carbon Challenge Cup
2019. On November 30, the award ceremony was held after companies andorganizations receiving awards gave their presentations. At the award ceremony,
KOKUYO received recognition from a member of the judging panel for activities so far, who also spoke about expectations
for strong leadership from KOKUYO in forest-related business. Going forward, KOKUYO will aim to create a virtuous circle
between the environment and the economy, and continue with Good Life activities.

Shibayama Plant Received Awards from Chairman of Chiba Federation of Labour Standards
Associations

On October 21, the Chiba Prefecture Industrial Safety and Health Convention washeld at Chiba City Civic Hall. Shibayama Plant received the chairman’s award forbeing a workplace that is excellent in safety management from the Chiba
Federation of Labour Standards Associations as well as an award forachievements in safety management given to safety managers. These wererecognitions of Shibayama Plant’s initiatives for safety and health as well as its
record of zero accident. The awards were received based on the recommendationsof the Togane Labour Standard Inspection Office and the Togane Labour Standards Association.
We will undertake the never-ending safety and health activities seriously with the participation of all employees, continue toimprove our safety skills, and aim to create workplaces where people can work with peace of mind.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Other Awards

KOKUYO Received iF DESIGN AWARD 2019 for Four Products

The world’s prestigious design award iF DESIGN AWARD 2019 was announced,
and the 360° gliding chair “ing,” conference room table “CALM,” and the “TrueRuler” which received the Merit Award at KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD 2014 wereselected in the “Product” design category, while the office disastercountermeasures storage system “PARTS-FIT” was selected for the “Packaging”
design category.
The iF DESIGN AWARD organized by iF International Forum Design GmbH is anaward with a history longer than half a century, selecting excellent industrial
designs from around the world. This year, recipients were selected from more than 6,400 submissions received from 50
countries in the world.

KOKUYO Received 2019 Good Design Awards for Nine Products

The Good Design Awards, a comprehensive design promotion system organizedby the Japan Institute of Design Promotion, were announced on October 2, withnine KOKUYO products receiving awards. Among these nine products, theconference room chair “Any” received high evaluation and was selected for the
GOOD DESIGN BEST 100. These products were on special display at the GOOD
DESIGN EXHIBITION 2019, an event held at Tokyo Midtown for five days starting
October 31 that brought together all the latest winning works of the Good DesignAward.

Conference room chair “Any” selected for
the GOOD DESIGN BEST 100

Office Chair “ing” Received Red Dot: Best of the Best at Red Dot Award 2019

The office chair “ing”—which allows the seat to be freely rotated 360° in all
directions together with the body’s movements—received for the first time the Red
Dot: Best of the Best award, given out for exceptional designs, at the world’s
prestigious German design award Red Dot Award: Product Design 2019.

Office Chair “ing” Received Silver Award at Design Intelligence Award

The office chair “ing” received a Silver Award at the Design Intelligence Award
2019, China’s international design award. More than 7,000 works from 50 countries
in the world were submitted to the Design Intelligence Award. The Silver Award isgiven to the top 12 entries. There are three stages of evaluation, and in the final
evaluation held one day before the award ceremony, the top 22 entries carry out
presentations to the judges. The Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards are determined at the final evaluation, where thepresentations were carried out under a tense atmosphere, being broadcast live on an Internet streaming program to twomillion viewers.
This time, KOKUYO was able to showcase our product strengths, high level of creativity, and other qualities beyond our
products due to coverage by various local media.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO’s Disaster-countermeasure Product “PARTS-FIT” Received Gold Award at International
Design Award “German Design Award 2020”

The office disaster-countermeasures storage system “PARTS-FIT”—a series ofdisaster-countermeasure products that fit the work space—received the top Goldaward at the German Design Award 2020 organized by the German Design
Council in recognition of its ability to address the social issue of disaster preventionin addition to its high level of design.

KOKUYO Commerce (Shanghai) Received Safe Production AwardOn March 4, 2019, KOKUYO Commerce (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. took part in the 2019
Conference on Economic Work organized by the Shanghai Comprehensive
Industrial Development Park attended by 450 participants from 280 companies. At
the event, KOKUYO Commerce (Shanghai) received a safe production award fromthe Shanghai Comprehensive Industrial Development Park.
This is a result of the hard work of KOKUYO Commerce (Shanghai) to penetrateawareness regarding safety first into all its employees on a daily basis. It can also
be said to be proof of recognition as a company that seriously fulfills its social
responsibilities while contributing toward the economy.
Safety is a fundamental area in the healthy, long-term development of a company.
Going forward, we will continue to improve our safe production management
capabilities while maintaining an even higher level of awareness regarding healthand safety.

107

The 2019 Conference on Economic Work
organized by the Shanghai
Comprehensive Industrial Development
Park was attended by a total of 450
participants from 280 companies

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

Third-Party Assessments

CSR Report 2019 Survey Results
The KOKUYO Group conducts a survey on our website that asks people both inside and outside the company for theiropinions so that we can utilize the results to improve our future activities and reports. The results of our survey on the CSR
Report 2019 are summarized below. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to all those who participated in thesurvey.

Attributes of those who participated in the survey

Number of valid responses: 211

Survey results*Each respondent selected three topics
Most memorable or interesting topics
The survey showed that respondents had great interest in environmental topics.
Consequently, in this year’s report, we have compiled a special feature on“Safeguarding Biodiversity,” an initiative that KOKUYO is particularly focused on.
For further details, please visit the following page:“Focus Initiatives for 2019, No.2: Safeguarding Biodiversity”

108

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Topics most in need of improved information disclosure
We received feedback requesting more concrete information when it comes to the
Message from the President, topics related to the environment, and work stylereforms. As a result, this year we have provided greater detail about our Yui no
Mori Project and other social contribution activities—which the Message from the
President touches upon—as well as our work style reform initiatives, and we havepresented them in the form of special features.
For further details, please visit the following pages:“Focus Initiatives for 2019, No.1: Creating an Organization Capable ofWithstanding Changes in Market Environments”“Focus Initiatives for 2019, No.2: Safeguarding Biodiversity”
Topics which it is hoped the KOKUYO Group’s unique business characteristics will help resolve
Respondents have high hopes that the KOKUYO Group can contribute toenvironmental improvements. We intend to incorporate these expectations in our
future initiatives.

109

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

KOKUYO's CSR
Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO's CSR

Focus Initiatives
for 2019

KOKUYO's Main
Business Domains
Environment

KOKUYO's Initiatives
and History
SocialInitiatives for Futureand Society

KOKUYO's Various
Initiatives

Introduction of KOKUYO s
Initiatives in 2019

Governance

Third-Party
Assessments

Content Index

Message from the
President

Content Index

GRI Standards content index

Description

Core
QuestionsStandards

GRI Standards Questions

Page

General Disclosures
102: General Disclosures
○

102-1

Name of the organization

Corporate Data

○

102-2

Activities, brands, products, andservices

Business Overview

○

102-3

Location of headquarters

Corporate Data

○

102-4

Location of operations

Affiliated Companies(Japanese Only)

○

102-5

Ownership and legal form

Corporate Data

○

102-6

Markets served

Business Overview
Corporate Data

1.Organizational
profile○102-7

Scale of the organization

Affiliated Companies(Japanese Only)
Earnings Highlights
Financial Position

○

102-8

Information on employees andother workers

CSR Data: Society

○

102-9

Supply chain

With Business Partners○

102-10Significant changes to theorganization and its supply chain○

102-11

Precautionary Principle orapproach

Employees’ Safety○

102-12External initiatives

Commendation and
Recognitions from Outside○

102-13

Membership of associations

110

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Description

Core
QuestionsStandards○
2.
Strategy○

GRI Standards Questions

Page

102-14

Statement from senior decisionmaker

Message from the President

102-15Key impacts, risks, andopportunities

Securities Report p12(Japanese)（548KB）
Business and other risks102-163.
Ethics and integrity

4.
Governance○Values, principles, standards, andnorms of behavior

Corporate philosophy
KOKUYO's CSR Charter
KOKUYO Group Code of
Conduct

102-17

Mechanisms for advice andconcerns about ethics

Securities Report p27(Japanese)（548KB）

102-18Governance structure

Corporate Governance102-19Delegating authority

102-20Executive-level responsibility foreconomic, environmental, andsocial topics

102-21

Consulting stakeholders on
economic, environmental, andsocial topics

102-22Composition of the highest
governance body and its
committees

Securities Report p25(Japanese)（548KB）

102-23Chair of the highest governancebody

Securities Report p25(Japanese)（548KB）

102-24

Nominating and selecting thehighest governance body102-25

Conflicts of interest

102-26

Role of highest governance bodyin setting purpose, values, andstrategy102-27

Collective knowledge of highest
governance body102-28

Evaluating the highest governancebody's performance102-29Identifying and managing
economic, environmental, andsocial impacts

111

Securities Report p12(Japanese)、25（548KB）KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Description

Core
QuestionsStandards

GRI Standards Questions

Page

102-30Effectiveness of risk management
processes

102-31

Review of economic,
environmental, and social topics

102-32Highest governance body's role insustainability reporting

102-33

Communicating critical concerns

102-34Nature and total number of criticalconcerns102-35

Remuneration policies

Securities Report p37(Japanese)（548KB）

102-36

Process for determining
remuneration

Securities Report p37(Japanese)（548KB）

102-37

Stakeholders' involvement inremuneration

Securities Report p34(Japanese)（548KB）

102-38Annual total compensation ratio

102-39Percentage increase in annual
total compensation ratio○

102-40

List of stakeholder groups

With Stakeholders○

102-41

Collective bargaining agreements

Securities Report p8(Japanese)（548KB）○

102-42

Identifying and selecting
stakeholders

With Stakeholders
With Stakeholders

5.
Stakeholder
engagement○102-43

Approach to stakeholder
engagement

Dialogue with our Customers
Communication with
Employees
With Business Partners
Social Contribution
CSR Report 2019 Survey
Results

6.
Report○102-44

Key topics and concerns raised

CSR Report 2019 Survey
Results○

102-45

Entities included in the
consolidated financial statements

Securities Report p7(Japanese) （548KB）112

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Description

Core
QuestionsStandards○

102-46

Defining report content and topic
Boundaries○

102-47

List of material topics○

102-48

Restatements of information○

102-49Changes in reporting○

102-50

Reporting period

CSR Report p2（14.0MB）○

102-51

Date of most recent report

CSR Report p2（14.0MB）○

102-52

Reporting cycle

CSR Report p2（14.0MB）○

102-53

Contact point for questions
regarding the report

For questions regarding thereport, please contact below.

○

102-54Claims of reporting in accordancewith the GRI Standards○

102-55

GRI content index

Content Index○

102-56External assurance

Environmental Management

103-1

Explanation of the material topic
and its Boundary

103-2

The management approach andits components

103-3

Evaluation of the management
approach

201-1

Direct economic value generated
and distributed

201-2

Financial implications and otherrisks and opportunities due toclimate change

201-3

Defined benefit plan obligations
and other retirement plans

201-4

Financial assistance received fromgovernment

GRI Standards Questions

Page

103: Management Approach

Material topics
200: Economic：

201
Economic
Performance

113

Earnings Highlights

Securities Report p7(Japanese) 1（548KB）KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Description：

Core
QuestionsStandards

：

：

204
Procurement
Practices：

205
Anti-corruption：

206
Anti-competitive
Behavior

Page

202-1

Ratios of standard entry level
wage by gender compared to local
minimum wage

202-2

Proportion of senior management
hired from the local community

203-1

Infrastructure investments andservices supported

203-2

Significant indirect economic
impacts

204-1

Proportion of spending on local
suppliers

205-1

Operations assessed for risks
related to corruption

205-2

Communication and training aboutanti-corruption policies andprocess

205-3

Confirmed incidents of corruption
and actions taken

206-1

Legal actions for anti-competitive
behavior, anti-trust, and monopoly
practices

301-1

Materials used by weight orvolumeEnvironmental Performance
Data

301-2

Recycled input materials used

Environmental Performance
Data

301-3

Reclaimed products and theirpackaging materials

302-1

Energy consumption within theorganization

Environmental Performance
Data

302-2

Energy consumption outside of theorganization

Environmental Performance
Data

302-3

Energy intensity

Environmental Performance
Data

302-4

Reduction of energy consumption

Environmental Performance
Data

202
Market Presence

203
Indirect Economic
Impacts

GRI Standards Questions

300: Environment：

301
Materials：

302
Energy114

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Description

：

303
Water

：

304
Biodiversity：

305
Emissions

Core
QuestionsStandards

GRI Standards Questions

Page

302-5

Reductions in energy
requirements of products andservices

303-1

Interactions with water as ashared resource

303-2

Management of water dischargerelated impacts

303-3

Water withdrawal

Reports by Business Sites

303-4

Water discharge

Reports by Business Sites

303-5

Water consumption

Reports by Business Sites

304-1

Operational sites owned, leased,managed in, or adjacent to,protected areas and areas of highbiodiversity value outside
protected areas

Yui no Mori

ReEDEN Project304-2

Significant impacts of activities,
products, and services on
biodiversity

304-3

Habitats protected or restored

304-4

IUCN Red List species andnational conservation list species
with habitats in areas affected byoperations

305-1

Direct (Scope 1) GHG emissions

Environmental Performance
Data

305-2

Energy indirect (Scope 2) GHG
emissions

Environmental Performance
Data

305-3

Other indirect (Scope 3) GHG
emissions

Environmental Performance
Data

305-4

GHG emissions intensity

Environmental Performance
Data

305-5

Reduction of GHG emissions

Environmental Performance
Data

305-6

Emissions of ozone-depleting
substances (ODS)115

Yui no MoriKOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Description：

306
Effluents and Waste：

307
Environmental
Compliance：308
Supplier
Environmental
Assessment

Core
QuestionsStandards

GRI Standards Questions

Page

305-7

Nitrogen oxides (NOX), sulfur
oxides (SOX), and othersignificant air emissions

Environmental Performance
Data

306-1

Water discharge by quality anddestination

Reports by Business Sites

306-2

Waste by type and disposal
methodEnvironmental Performance
Data

306-3

Significant spills

306-4

Transport of hazardous waste

306-5

Water bodies affected by water
discharges and/or runoff

307-1

Non-compliance withenvironmental laws andregulations

308-1

New suppliers that were screenedusing environmental criteria

308-2

Negative environmental impacts inthe supply chain and actions taken

401-1

New employee hires andemployee turnover

401-2

Benefits provided to full-time
employees that are not provided totemporary or part-time employees

401-3

Parental leave

402-1

Minimum notice periods regarding
operational changes

403-1

Occupational health and safety
management system

Employees’ Safety
Employees’ Health403-2

Hazard identification, risk
assessment, and incident
investigation

CSR Data: Society

403-3

Occupational health services

Legal Compliance and
Pollution Prevention

400: Social：

401
Employment：

402
Labor/Management
Relations：403
Occupational
Health and Safety

116

CSR Data: Society

CSR Data: Society

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Description：

404
Training and
Education：

405
Diversity and Equal
Opportunity：406
Non-discrimination

Core
QuestionsStandards：

408
Child Labor

Page

403-4

Worker participation, consultation,and communication on
occupational health and safety

Initiatives during National
Safety Week

403-5

Worker training on occupational
health and safety

Initiatives during National
Safety Week

403-6

Promotion of worker health

Employees’ Health403-7

Prevention and mitigation ofoccupational health and safety
impacts directly linked by business
relationships

Employees’ Health403-8

Workers covered by an
occupational health and safety
management system

Securities Report p8(Japanese)（548KB）

403-9

Work-related injuries

CSR Data: Society

403-10Work-related ill health404-1

Average hours of training per year
per employee

404-2

Programs for upgrading employee
skills and transition assistanceprograms

404-3

Percentage of employees
receiving regular performance andcareer development reviews

405-1

Diversity of governance bodies
and employees

405-2

Ratio of basic salary andremuneration of women to men

406-1

Incidents of discrimination andcorrective actions taken

407-1

Operations and suppliers in which
the right to freedom of associationand collective bargaining may be
at risk

408-1

Operations and suppliers at
significant risk for incidents of child
labor

：

407
Freedom of
Association andCollective
Bargaining

GRI Standards Questions

117

Human Resource
Development Program

CSR Data: SocietyWith Business Partners

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Description：

409
Forced orCompulsory Labor：

410
Security Practices：

411
Rights ofIndigenous Peoples：

412
Human Rights
Assessment：

Core
QuestionsStandards

409-1

Operations and suppliers at
significant risk for incidents offorced or compulsory labor

410-1

Security personnel trained inhuman rights policies orprocedures

411-1

Incidents of violations involving
rights of indigenous peoples

412-1

Operations that have been subject
to human rights reviews or impact
assessments

412-2

Employee training on humanrights policies or procedures

412-3

Significant investment agreements
and contracts that include humanrights clauses or that underwent
human rights screening

413-1

Operations with local community
engagement, impact
assessments, and development
programs

413-2

Operations with significant actualand potential negative impacts on
local communities

414-1

New suppliers that were screenedusing social criteria

414-2

Negative social impacts in the
supply chain and actions taken

415-1

Political contributions

413
Local Communities：

414
Supplier Social
Assessment：

415
Public Policy

GRI Standards Questions：

416
Customer Healthand Safety

416-1

Assessment of the health andsafety impacts of product andservice categories

Page

With Business Partners

Social Contribution

With Business Partners

Quality Assurance at
KOKUYO Stationery
Quality Assurance at
KOKUYO Furniture
Kaunet Quality Assurance

118

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Description：

417
Marketing andLabeling：

418
Customer Privacy：

419
Socioeconomic
ComplianceCore
QuestionsStandards

GRI Standards Questions

416-2

Incidents of non-complianceconcerning the health and safety
impacts of products and services

417-1

Requirements for product andservice information and labeling

417-2

Incidents of non-complianceconcerning product and service
information and labeling

417-3

Incidents of non-complianceconcerning marketing
communications

418-1

Substantiated complaints
regarding concerning breaches ofcustomer privacy and losses ofcustomer data

419-1

Non-compliance with laws andregulations in the social andeconomic area

119

Page

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

ISO26000

Information about issues concerning the following core subjects of ISO26000 can be viewed in the following sections of thisCSR report.
ISO26000
Core Subjects

IssuesOrganizational
governance

Issue 1: Organizational
governance

Human rights

Issue 1: Due diligence
Issue 2: Human rights risk
situations
Issue 3: Avoidance of complicity
Issue 4: Resolving grievances
Issue 5: Discrimination andvulnerable groups
Issue 6: Civil and political rights
Issue 7: Economic, social andcultural rights
Issue 8: Fundamental principles
and rights at work

Labor
practices

Issue 1: Employment andemployment relationships
Issue 2: Conditions of work andsocial protection
Issue 3: Social dialogue
Issue 4: Health and safety atwork
Issue 5: Human development
and training in theworkplace

Page

Message from the President
CSR Management
Corporate Governance and Risk Management
CSR Management
KOKUYO's CSR Charter
KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct
Work Style Reform
Human Resource Development
Employees’ Safety and HealthRespect for Human Rights
Basic Framework for Diversity
With Business Partners
CSR Data: Society

KOKUYO's CSR Charter
KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct
Work Style Reform
Human Resources Management
Employees’ Safety and HealthRespect for Human Rights
Basic Framework for Diversity
With Business Partners
CSR Data: Society
CSR Management
KOKUYO's CSR Charter

Environment

Issue 1: Prevention of pollution
Issue 2: Sustainable resourceuseIssue 3: Climate change
mitigation and adaptation
Issue 4: Protection of theenvironment, biodiversity
and restoration of natural
habitats

KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct
With Business Partners
Environmental Management and Third-party Inspection
Global Warming Preventive Measures
Resource-saving and Recycling Measures
Compliance with the law and the prevention of pollution
Developing Environmentally-friendly Products and Services
Biodiversity/Promoting Environmental Communications
Environmental Performance Data
Reports by Business Site
Yui no Mori
Eco-Batsu Activities

Fair operating
practices

Issue 1: Anti-corruption

CSR Management
System for the Promotion of CSR

120

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Issue 2: Responsible politicalinvolvement
Issue 3: Fair competition
Issue 4: Promoting social
responsibility in the value
chain
Issue 5: Respect for property
rightsConsumerissuesCommunity
involvement
anddevelopment

Issue 1: Fair marketing, factualand unbiased informationand fair contractual
practices
Issue 2: Protecting consumers'
health and safety
Issue 3: Sustainableconsumption
Issue 4: Consumer service,support, and complaintand dispute resolution
Issue 5: Consumer dataprotection and privacy
Issue 6: Access to essential
services
Issue 7: Education andawareness
Issue 1: Community involvement
Issue 2: Education and culture
Issue 3: Employment creationand skills development
Issue 4: Technology development
and access
Issue 5: Wealth and income
creationIssue 6: Health
Issue 7: Social investment

KOKUYO's CSR Charter

KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct
With Business Partners
Corporate Governance and Risk Management

KOKUYO's CSR Charter
Providing Peace of Mind and Safety to Customers
CSR Report 2019 Survey Results
CSR Data: Reflecting the views of customers
Eco-Batsu Activities

KOKUYO's CSR Charter
KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct
New Products and Services in 2019
Human Resource Development
Social Contribution
Commendation and Recognitions from Outside
Biodiversity/Promoting Environmental Communications
CSR Data: Society

121

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2020

Office Furniture & Stationery
As a Tokyo 2020 Official Supporter(Office Furniture & Stationery),
KOKUYO contributes to thesuccess of the Olympic andParalympic Games.

2019- 094