KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Customers

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

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 2017

Contents● KOKUYO s CSR Charter . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1● Corporate Proﬁle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3● KOKUYO Group History . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4● Key Figures about KOKUYO . . . . . . . .

6● KOKUYO's CSR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7● Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

28● Regional Communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

43● Environmental Conservation . . . . . . .

52● Corporate Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

75● Respect for Human Rights . . . . . . . . . .

88● Third-Party Assessments. . . . . . . . . . . 105

Reporting Period
January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016

Publication Period
Report published: May 2017
Next report to be published: April 2018
Previous report published: June 2016

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 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

3

Customers

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

4

Customers

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

5

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

6

Customers

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

KOKUYOʼs CSR

Into the second year of our medium-term management plan: "Self-reform focusing on value
creation - Value Transformation 2018"
In 2015, KOKUYO rejuvenated its management system and KOKUYO Co. Ltd merged with two key operatingcompanies to go beyond the framework of our existing business and to strive to create value that our clients truly desire.
To take our achievements to another level, our mission statement for the future is as follows: "KOKUYO aims to be aLife & Work Style Company that enriches society by providing value through our products and services to enhancecustomers' creativity and to deliver improvements to their Quality of Life so that they work, learn and live better."To this end, we have adopted an "operating model reform" that realizes customer-oriented value creation and the"development of sustainable profitability" to enable medium- to long-term sustainable growth, while also promoting the
medium-term management plan "Self-reform focusing on value creation - Value Transformation 2018", and in its firstyear (FY2016) we achieved 5 consecutive terms of yield increase and 7 consecutive terms of operating profit increase.
Our aim now is to accelerate these two initiatives to further increase our market share and gross margin ratio, and toachieve medium- to long-term continuous growth.

Pursuing "work style reform" that only KOKUYO can achieve
The societal issues surrounding life - such as Japan's low birth-rate and ageing population, changes in young people'svalues (work values), a focus on health management, and intensifying global competition - are becoming morediversified and complicated. Against this backdrop, both private and public sectors are promoting discussion andinitiatives related to work style reforms. Companies need to strengthen their competitive power on the assumption thateach worker chooses their place and time to work. The role of the office is now being questioned as an important devicein achieving that. What are the work style reforms that can only be made by KOKUYO, which has always pursued highvalue-added products and services for workers? There are three approaches for us to take: place (workspace), tools(stationery and furniture for work), and operation (efficient way of working). By reforming environments like these, whichenvelop workers, we would like to realize a way of working that is creative and fruitful for each one of them.

7

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

To all stakeholders
KOKUYO has built its history of more than 100 years by earnestly facing customers' issues as they changed with thetimes, and finding the solution for each one. This attitude remains the same today, though these are said to be uncertain
times as societal and commercial issues are entangled with increased complexity. Under a new management system,
we will do our utmost to provide value that contributes to the realization of a sustainable society by placing importanceon facing issues of both the customer and society at large while being flexible in the forms that solutions may take.

8

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

KOKUYOʼs CSR

KOKUYO's founder Zentaro Kuroda once said: "Business is something that we do for society, and the profit we gainfrom business 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.

Basic Concepts
Basic Concepts
The KOKUYO Group began when founder Zentaro Kuroda opened a small shop selling ledger covers made withJapanese 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 forensuring the ongoing growth of society and the KOKUYO Group has been clarified in line with five key themes: ourcustomers, 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 tostrategically 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 in a coordinated fashion. We will continue to strive to achieve sustained growth forsociety and the Group while maintaining a state of harmony with stakeholders through CSR information disclosure anddialogue.

KOKUYO's CSR Charter
While remaining profitable and honest in its business practices, KOKUYO conducts business that is necessary forsociety. 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 acorporate citizen.

9

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

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
and planning with regional communities, while respecting regional culture and customs andencouraging their advancement.

1. Concentrate the wisdom of each of our employees, and align the actions of our entire company inorder 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 ofthese 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
and environments, and decrease society's overall burden on the environment.

1. Conduct transparent, just, and free competition and business transactions while keeping sound andcorrect 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 acorporate 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 forcedlabor practices.
2. Strive to accept each and every employee's individual character and personal values, and become acompany where many different human resources can fully express their abilities and develop
themselves.

10

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Kokuyo Group Code of Conduct
Accompanying the development of KOKUYO's overseas activities, it is necessary to prepare a common code of contact
for the group by taking into account of local customs and mores. In August 2012, the KOKUYO Group enacted its
KOKUYO Group 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 othermatters 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, such as
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 andwill 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 and services.
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 andobtained 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 tofinancial, 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 with thetrading 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 not illegally
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.

11

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

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

Stakeholder Communication

Stakeholder

Main opportunities for dialogue

Examples of implementation in FY2016

Customer Support Center
Customers"Inquiries" form and Q&A page on
websiteProvision of various product information
Management of "Dealers' Guide" wherestores handling KOKUYO products canbe searched from the website

Use of intranet "VoiceClip" to share
feedback of customers with all theGroup employees
Utilization of customers' feedback indeveloping products and services
KOKUYO Fair 2017 held

Various events and seminars
Programs held to develop potential
Employees

Consultation between labor andmanagement
Various training programs
Company newsletter

Clients

Bonding Session
Various training programs (at annual
cost of 41,914 yen per employee)
Issue of company newsletter (updated
weekly)Stationery business audit ofsubcontractors

Audit of subcontractors
Various meetings and events
Holding exhibitions

Furniture business held "Meeting for
Subcontractors"
Catalog briefing held for suppliers
AGM and financial results briefings(twice a year)

Stakeholders
IR activities

IR events for individual investors

Information disclosure

Regional
Communities

Environment

Issue of various reports (Annual Report,
Investors' Guide, etc.)
KOKUYO Design Award held

Social contribution activities

Campus Art Award held

Disaster recovery activities

Plant tours held

Regional contribution activities

Local cleanup activities and blood
donationsGlobal warming preventive measures

Reduction of GHG emissions

Resource-saving and recycling

Effectively utilizing limited resources

Concern for biodiversity

Yui-no-mori project implementation

12

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

KOKUYOʼs CSR

GRI G4 content index
General Standard Disclosures

Item

Core

Description

Page

Statement from the most senior decision-maker of
G4-1○

the organization (CEO or equivalent) regarding

Top Message

compliance with sustainability and strategy thereof
G4-2

Description of key impacts, risks, and opportunities

Securities Report p15 (Japanese)

Organizational Profile
Item

Core

Description

Page

G4-3

○

Name of the organization

Corporate Data

G4-4

○

Primary brands, products, and/or services

Business Overview

G4-5

○

Location of organization's headquarters

Corporate Data

Number of countries where the organization
G4-6○

operates, and names of countries with either major
operations or that are specifically relevant to the

Locationssustainability issues covered in the report
G4-7

○

G4-8

○

Nature of ownership and legal form

Corporate Data

Markets served (including geographic breakdown,
Business Overview

sectors served, and types ofcustomers/beneficiaries).

G4-9

G4-10

○

○

Scale of the reporting organization (no. of
employees, no. of offices, sales, etc.)

Total number of employees by employment
contract and gender

13

Corporate Data
Locations

CSR Data: Society

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Item

Core

Description

Page

G4-11

○

Percentage of total employees covered by

G4-12

○

The organization's supply chain

G4-13

○

collective bargaining agreements

Securities Report p8 (Japanese)

Significant changes during the reporting period
regarding size, structure or ownership of theorganization, or the supply chain
G4-14

○

Application of precautionary approach or principle

Labor Practices/Safety and Health

G4-15

○

Initiatives to which the organization subscribes orAssessments and awards received

which it endorses

from outside the KOKUYO Group

G4-16

○

Membership of external associations

Identified Material Aspects and Boundaries
Item

Core

Description

Page

G4-17

○

List of entities included in the organization's

G4-18

○

Process for defining report content and aspect

G4-19

○

List of material aspects identified in the process for

G4-20

○

For each material aspect, the boundary within the

G4-21

○

For each material aspect, the boundary outside the

G4-22

○

Reasons for any restatements of information

G4-23

○

Changes to the Scope and Aspect Boundaries

consolidated financial statements

KOKUYO Global Network

boundaries

Defining Report Content

organization

organization

provided in previous reports

Stakeholder Engagement
Item

Core

G4-24

○

Description

Page

List of stakeholder groups engaged by theorganization

14

With Stakeholders

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Item

Core

Description

Page

G4-25

○

Basis for identification and selection of

G4-26

○

Approaches to stakeholder engagement

G4-27

○

Key topics and concerns that have been raised

stakeholders with whom to engage

through stakeholder engagement

With Stakeholders

With Stakeholders

Survey results for CSR Report 2016

Report Profile
Item

Core

Description

Page

G4-28

○

Reporting period (e.g., fiscal/calendar year) for

G4-29

○

Date of most recent previous report

CSR Report 2017 Editorial Policy

G4-30

○

Reporting cycle (such as annual, biennial, etc.)

CSR Report 2017 Editorial Policy

G4-31

○

Contact point for questions regarding the report or

G4-32

○

The 'in accordance' option the organisation has

G4-33

○

Policy and current practice with regard to seeking

Item

Core

Description

G4-34

○

information provided

its contents

CSR Report 2017 Editorial Policy

Back coverchosenexternal assurance for the report

Summary of Third-Party Inspection

Governance

G4-35

G4-36

Page

Governance structure

Basic Concepts of CSR

Process for delegating authority for economic,
environmental and social topics
Reporting line for economic, environmental andsocial topics

G4-37

Governance body and stakeholders

G4-38

Composition of governance body

G4-39

Concurrent posts held by Chair of the highest
governance body

15

Securities Report p42 (Japanese)

Securities Report p42 (Japanese)

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Item

Core

Description

Page

Nomination and selection processes for theG4-40

governance body

Securities Report p42 (Japanese)

Processes for the governance body to ensure

G4-41

conflicts of interest are avoided

G4-42

Roles in strategies, policies, and goals
Enhancement of knowledge of economic,

G4-43

environmental and social topics
Evaluation with respect to economic,

G4-44

environmental and social topics
Identification of economic, environmental andG4-45

social impacts, risks, and opportunities

Securities Report p15 (Japanese)Role in risk management for economic,

G4-46

environmental and social topics
Review of economic, environmental and social

G4-47

impacts, risks, and opportunities
Highest committee or position that reviews the

G4-48

organization's sustainability report

G4-49

Process for communicating critical concerns

G4-50

Communicated critical concerns
Remuneration policies for the highest governanceG4-51

body and senior executives

Securities Report p33 (Japanese)

G4-52

Process for determining remuneration

Securities Report p33 (Japanese)

G4-53

Stakeholders' views regarding remuneration

Securities Report p33 (Japanese)

Ratio of average remuneration for all employees

G4-54compared with highest-paid individual
Ratio of percentage increase of averageG4-55

remuneration for all employees compared with

Ethics and Integrity
Item

Core

Description

Page

16

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Item

Core

DescriptionPage
KOKUYO's CSR Charter

G4-56

○

Values, codes of conduct and codes of ethics
KOKUYO Group Code of ConductG4-57

Helplines or advice lines

G4-58

Whistleblowing mechanisms

Securities Report p35 (Japanese)

Specific Standard Disclosures

Item

Core

Description

Page

Disclosures on Management Approach (DMA)
Why the aspect is material
G4-DMAHow the organization manages the material Aspect
Evaluation of the management approach

Economy
Item

Core

Description

Page

Economic Performance
G4-EC1

G4-EC2G4-EC3G4-EC4

Economic value generated and distributed

Financial Highlights

Financial implications and other risks andopportunities for the organization's activities due
Coverage of the organization's defined benefit plan
obligations

Securities Report p73 (Japanese)

Financial assistance received from government

Market Presence
G4-EC5

Minimum wage and entry level wage by gender
Proportion of senior management hired from theG4-EC6

local community at significant locations ofoperation

17

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Item

Core

Description

Page

Indirect Economic Impacts
Development and impact of infrastructure

G4-EC7

investments and services supported

G4-EC8Significant indirect economic impacts

Procurement Practices
G4-EC9Spending on local suppliers

Environmental
Item

Core

Description

Page

Materials
G4-EN1

G4-EN2

Materials used by weight or volume
Percentage of materials used that are recycled
input materials

Environmental performance data

Environmental performance data

EnergyG4-EN3

Energy consumption within the organization

Environmental performance data

G4-EN4

Energy consumption outside of the organization

Environmental performance data

G4-EN5

Energy intensity

Environmental performance data

G4-EN6

Reduction of energy consumption

Environmental performance data

G4-EN7

Reductions in energy requirements of products andservices

Environmental performance data

Water
G4-EN8

G4-EN9

G4-EN10

Total water withdrawal by source

Reports by Business Site

Water sources significantly affected by withdrawalof water
Percentage and total volume of water recycled andreusedEnvironmental performance data

Biodiversity

18

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Item

Core

G4-EN11

G4-EN12

Description

Page

Sites in areas of high biodiversity value
Impacts on products in areas of high biodiversity
value

G4-EN13

Habitats protected or restored

G4-EN14Affected conservation list species

Emissions
G4-EN15

Direct GHG emissions (Scope1)

Environmental performance data

G4-EN16

Indirect GHG emissions (Scope2)

Environmental performance data

G4-EN17

Other indirect GHG emissions (Scope3)

Environmental performance data

G4-EN18

GHG emissions intensity

Environmental performance data

G4-EN19

Reduction of GHG emissions

Environmental performance data

G4-EN20

Emissions of ozone-depleting substances

Environmental performance data

G4-EN21

NOx, SOx, and other significant air emissions

Environmental performance data

G4-EN22

Total water discharge by quality and destination

Reports by Business Site

G4-EN23

Total weight of waste by type and disposal method

Environmental performance data

G4-EN24

Total number and volume of significant spills

G4-EN25

Weight of exported hazardous waste

Effluents and waste

G4-EN26

Environmental performance data

Biodiversity affected by the organization's
discharges of water and runoff

Products and Services
Developing Environmentally Friendly
G4-EN27

Impact mitigation of environmental impacts of

Products and Services

products and services
Environmental performance data

G4-EN28

Percentage of products sold and their packaging
materials that are reclaimed

19

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Item

Core

Description

Page

Compliance
Fines and sanctions for non-compliance with

G4-EN29

environmental laws and regulations

Transport
Environmental impacts of transporting products
G4-EN30and other goods and materials, and transporting

Environmental performance data

members of the workforce
Overall
Total environmental protection expenditure and

G4-EN31

investments

Environmental performance data

Supplier Environmental Assessment
New suppliers that were screened using

G4-EN32

environmental criteria
Actual and potential negative environmental

G4-EN33

impacts in the supply chain

Environmental Grievance Mechanisms
Number of grievances about environmental

G4-EN34

impacts

Social (Labor Practices and Decent Work)
Item

Core

Description

Page

Employment

G4-LA1

G4-LA2G4-LA3

Number of new employee hires by age group,
gender and region

CSR Data: Society

Benefits provided only to full-time employees
Return to work and retention rates after parental
leave, by gender

Labor/Management Relations

G4-LA4

Minimum notice periods regarding operationalchanges20

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Item

Core

Description

Page

Occupational Health and Safety
Percentage of total workforce represented in formal
G4-LA5

joint management-worker health and safety

Securities Report p8 (Japanese)committees

G4-LA6

G4-LA7G4-LA8

Total number of occupational injuries and diseases,
and lost days, etc.

CSR Data: Society

Workers with high incidence or high risk of
diseases related to their occupation
Health and safety topics covered in formal
agreements with trade unions

Training and Education
G4-LA9G4-LA10G4-LA11

Average hours of training
Programs for skills management and lifelong

Human Resource Development

learning

Program

Percentage of employees receiving performance
reviews

Diversity and Equal Opportunity

G4-LA12

Breakdown of employees according to gender, agegroup, and other indicators of diversity

CSR Data: Society

Equal Remuneration for Women and Men

G4-LA13

Ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women
to menSupplier Assessment for Labor Practices

G4-LA14

G4-LA15

Suppliers that were screened using labor practices
criteria
Actual and potential negative impacts for labor
practices in the supply chain

Labor Practices Grievance Mechanisms
G4-LA16

Number of grievances about labor practices

21

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Social (Human Rights)
Item

Core

Description

Page

Investment

G4-HR1

G4-HR2

Total number and percentage of investment
agreements and contracts that include human
Total hours of employee training on human rights

Non-discrimination

G4-HR3

Total number of incidents of discrimination andcorrective actions taken

Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining

G4-HR4

Operations and suppliers identified in which theright to exercise freedom of association is at riskChild Labor

G4-HR5

Operations and suppliers identified as having risk

With Business Partners: Basicfor incidents of child labor

Concepts

Forced or Compulsory Labor

G4-HR6

Operations and suppliers identified as having risk

With Business Partners: Basicfor incidents of forced or compulsory labor

Concepts

Security Practices

G4-HR7

Percentage of security personnel trained in humanrightsIndigenous Rights
G4-HR8Violations involving rights of indigenous peoples

Assessment

G4-HR9Total number and percentage of operations thathave been subjected to human rights reviews

Supplier Human Rights Assessment

G4-HR10

New suppliers that were screened using humanrights criteria

22

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Item

Core

G4-HR11

Description

Page

Actual and potential negative human rights impacts

With Business Partners: Basicin the supply chain

Concepts

Human Rights Grievance Mechanisms
G4-HR12

Number of grievances about human rights

Social (Society)
Item

Core

Description

Page

Local Communities

G4-SO1

G4-SO2

Percentage of operations with implemented local
community engagement

Domestic contribution activities
Foreign contribution activities

Operations with actual and potential negative
impacts on local communities

Anti-corruption
G4-SO3Operations assessed for risks related to corruption

G4-SO4Training on anti-corruption

G4-SO5KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct

Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions
taken

Public Policy
G4-SO6

Total value of political contributions

Anti-competitive Behavior

G4-SO7

Total number of legal actions for anti-competitive
behavior

Compliance

G4-SO8Fines and non-monetary sanctions for noncompliance with laws and regulations

Supplier Assessment for Impacts on Society

G4-SO9Suppliers that were screened using criteria forWith Business Partners: Basic

impacts on society

Concepts

23

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Item

Core

Description

Page

Actual and potential negative impacts on society in

G4-SO10the supply chain

Grievance Mechanisms for Impacts on Society
G4-SO11

Number of grievances about impacts on society

Social (Product Responsibility)
Item

Core

Description

Page

Customer Health and Safety
Quality Assurance at KOKUYO
Stationery
G4-PR1

Percentage of products for which health and safety
impacts are assessed

Quality Assurance at KOKUYOFurniture
Kaunet's Quality Assurance

Total number of incidents of non-compliance with
G4-PR2

regulations and voluntary codes concerning thehealth and safety impacts of products and services

Product and Service Labeling
G4-PR3G4-PR4G4-PR5

Type and percentage of product labeling
Total number of incidents of non-complianceconcerning product labelingResults of surveys measuring customer
satisfaction

Dialogues with our Customers

Marketing Communications
G4-PR6

Sale of banned or disputed products
Total number of incidents of non-compliance with

G4-PR7

regulations and voluntary codes concerningmarketing communications

Customer Privacy

G4-PR8

Total number of substantiated claims regarding
breaches of customer privacy

24

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Item

Core

Description

Page

Compliance
Fines for non-compliance with laws and regulations
G4-PR9concerning the provision and use of products andservices

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

IssuesSubjects

Page

Top Message
CSR Management Basic Concepts
System for the Promotion of CSR
KOKUYO CSR Charter
KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct
With Stakeholders
Organizational
governance

Issue 1: Organizational governanceCorporate Governance and Risk
Management: Basic Concepts
Operation of a Whistle-blower System,KOKUYO Group Hotline
Commencement of Risk Management
Promotion in the Entire Group
Formulation and Implementation ofBusiness Continuity Planning (BCP)KOKUYO CSR Charter
KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct
System That Links Company's Growth

Human rights

Issue 1: Due diligencewith Individual Growth Basic Concepts

Issue 2: Human rights risk situations

System That Links Company's Growth

Issue 3: Avoidance of complicity

with Individual Growth

Issue 4: Resolving grievances

Policy of Human Resource

Issue 5: Issues relating to discrimination andDevelopment Program

vulnerable groups

Human Resource Development

Issue 6: Civil and political rights

ProgramIssue 7: Economic, social, and cultural rights
Issue 8: Fundamental principles and rights at
work

Program Basic Framework for
Diversity＿Basic Concepts
Achieving a Good Work/Life Balance
Employees' Safety and Health: Basic
Concepts

25

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Labor Practices/Safety and HealthCommunication with EmployeesWith Business Partners: Basic
Concepts
CSR Data: Society
KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct
System That Links Company's Growthwith Individual Growth Basic Concepts
System That Links Company's Growthwith Individual Growth
Issue 1: Employment and employment

Policy of Human Resource

relationships

Development Program

Issue 2: Conditions of work and social
Labor practices

protection

Human Resource Development
ProgramIssue 3: Social dialogue

Basic Framework for Diversity＿Basic

Issue 4: Health and safety at work
Issue 5: Human Resource Development
Program and training in the workplace

Concepts
Achieving a Good Work/Life Balance
Employees' Safety and Health: Basic
Concepts
Labor Practices/Safety and HealthCommunication with Employees
CSR Data: Society
KOKUYO CSR Charter
KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct
With Business Partners: Basic
Concepts
Initiatives in India

Environment

Issue 1: Prevention of pollution

Environmental Management

Issue 2: Sustainable resource use

Global Warming Preventive Measures

Issue 3: Climate change mitigation andResource-saving and Recycling

adaptation

MeasuresIssue 4: Protection of the environment,

Compliance with the law and thebiodiversity, and restoration of natural

prevention of pollution

habitats

Developing Environmentally-friendly
Products and Services
Biodiversity/Promoting Environmental
Communications
Environmental performance data
Reports by Business Site
CSR Management Basic Concepts

Issue 1: Anti-corruption
Issue 2: Responsible political involvement
Fair businesspractices

System for the Promotion of CSR

Issue 3: Fair competition

KOKUYO CSR Charter

Issue 4: Promoting social responsibility in

KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct

the value chain

With Business Partners: Basic

Issue 5: Respect for property rights

Concepts

26

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Corporate Governance and Risk
Management
Issue 1: Fair marketing, factual and

KOKUYO CSR Charter

unbiased information, and fair contractual

Quality Assurance at KOKUYO

practices

Stationery

Issue 2: Protecting consumers' health andQuality Assurance at KOKUYO

safetyConsumer

Furniture

Issue 3: Sustainable consumption
Issue 4: Consumer service and support andresolution of complaint
Issue 5: Consumer data protection and

Kaunet's Quality Assurance
A System for Utilizing Feedback from
Customers
Customer Support and Services

privacy
Issue 6: Access to essential services

Dialogues with our Customers

Issue 7: Education and awareness

Survey results for CSR Report 2016

KOKUYO CSR Charter

Community
involvement
anddevelopment

Issue 1: Community involvement

KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct

Issue 2: Education and culture

New Products and Services in 2016

Issue 3: Employment creation and skills

Human Resource Development

development

ProgramIssue 4: Technology development andDomestic contribution activities

accessForeign contribution activities

Issue 5: Wealth and income creation

Assessments and awards received

Issue 6: Healthfrom outside the KOKUYO Group

Issue 7: Social investments

Biodiversity/Promoting Environmental
Communications

27

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

Customers

The KOKUYO Group strives to maintain and improve quality in order to ensure that customers can use our products
safely and securely. As the ratio of overseas production such as in Asia increases, we work closely with overseas
production factories, pass on production technology and know-how, and share and thoroughly implement our quality
standards.

Quality Assurance at KOKUYO Stationery
In order to deliver quality that our customers can trust, we have taken steps to systematically build, operate and improveon our systems for quality assurance.

Quality Maintenance and Improvement
1) Deepening the Quality Assurance System
KOKUYO has re-examined design review and safety review, which areimportant processes for the quality, and production trial observation as wellas guidelines for chemical management to work out the details of thecontents to reflect the times. Those efforts have been utilized for theeducation of young and new employees and promoted for use as a bible 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 ourcustomers to use our products with confidence.
2) Establishment of the inspection system on a global basis

Introduction of robots in quality testing

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 levelof inspection skills. In addition, we provide necessary paraphernalia and manuals for inspection globally to maintain thelevel of inspection at a certain level, thereby increasing the accuracy of discovering faulty products during inspection toprevent the outflow of faulty products.

28

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 20173) Increasing the speed and accuracy of handling complaints
In addition to safety, people around the world seek a sense of reassurance; moreover, anybody can receive and transmit
much information anytime. As we think it is essential to further increase the accuracy and speed of handling customer
complains 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 product risk occurs. This
will ensure the unification of decision-making process procedures within the organization and minimize the variation ofdetermination, as well as to 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 anddevelopment of new products, we make continuous efforts to maintain and improve testing quality by introducing robots.
Additionally, to respond 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 to customers.

Quality Assurance at KOKUYO Furniture
The KOKUYO Furniture business has acquired ISO9001Quality Management System certification. Based on this, wedevelop and thoroughly implement the process procedures covering product planning, design, production, andinstallation. Moreover, each department related to production, delivery and installation takes actions for improvement
each day, and the opinions and requests from customers are used in order to improve overall quality.

Enabling Customers to Use KOKUYO Products with Confidence
1) Setting High In-House Standards
In the process of developing new products, related departments hold meeting from the planning and design stages andhave discussions, as well as make assessments of product safety, including ease of use. When new products are to becommercialized, thorough examinations are conducted to ensure compliance with Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS),
industry, and other specifications as well as even more demanding in-house standards.
2) Responding when Accidents Occur
In the rare cases where accidents occur, related departments work together to give a fast response. In the event ofmajor accidents also, reports are made to management and the Compliance Committee, and appropriate measures aretaken promptly. In addition, reports are made to the relevant government authorities, and notifications are issued innewspapers and via the Internet as well as other media to prevent the possible spread and recurrence of accidents. In
addition, corrective measures are taken and policies implemented to prevent the occurrence of similar accidents
horizontally across product lines.
3) Notifications Regarding Product Safety and Quality
KOKUYO Furniture uses its corporate website as a media for making
notifications regarding product safety and quality. The most-appropriate oneof the following four sections of the website is selected, depending on thenature of the notifications.
1. Important notice regarding product safety
2. Important notice regarding defective quality
3. Announcement regarding the safety and proper use of a product
4. Other announcement regarding product safety and quality29

Web page for KOKUYO FURNITURE
Co.,Ltd.
Notifications Regarding Product Safety andQuality

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

4) Full Set of Initiatives through to Delivery
To give customers who have purchased KOKUYO Furniture products an even higher level of satisfaction than they had
expected, at each stage of the value delivery process from manufacturing to delivery and then to installation, efforts are
made to provide maximum quality. For example, KOKUYO Furniture has instituted an in-house qualifications system for
employees who interface with customers, including delivery vehicle drivers and other delivery personnel. The number ofqualified staff under this system is being increased daily, and a National Contest for Delivery Service Quality is held
together with partner companies who deliver products on a subcontracting basis. The aim of these activities is to make"Inspiring Deliveries" and raise the awareness among employees of the importance of high service quality.

On September 10, the finals of the National Driver Competition
were held. This is a delivery contest to judge the abilities of
product assembly and customer service when employees of
KOKUYO Logitem and employees of partner companies deliver
their products, and it is aimed at improving customer
satisfaction when delivering furniture products. The theme thisyear was "Plus One". Employees competed in heated battles
with the goal of making inspiring deliveries adding the "Plus One
value" of the mental aspect to their technique. We will aim to392 delivery drivers in 196 pairs
participated in the 2016 Driver

improve the quality of products and delivery of the entire Group

Competitionby spreading the ingenuities of delivery that were obtained
through this competition, and we are sharing the opinions of delivery sites in order to improve theproducts and packing.

KOKUYO Logitem, the company responsible for the Group's
distribution functions, has since 2012 conducted a customer
survey twice a year on the quality of delivery. Based onfavorable comments from customers, we select partnercompanies and delivery centers that add value to delivery, andshow our gratitude by giving letters of appreciation containing
heartfelt comments to the drivers. We aim to improve
KOKUYO's delivery quality by sharing customers' opinions withpartner companies who are operating on the front line ofproduct delivery so as to motivate them.

30

The Moving Comment Award is chosenfrom favorable comments in a survey
held by internal voting

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Kaunet Quality Assurance
Kaunet handles an array of products from stationery, office supplies such as copy papers to beverages, food, electric
appliances, gifts, medical related products, store operation products, made-to-order products including business cards
and stamps, and office furniture from 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 callcenters and delivery to offer a sense of security and safety to customers.

For product deliveries (Main services)
1) Same-day, next-day delivery services (Except for certain products andservices)
Except Okinawa Prefecture, remote islands and some hilly and mountainous
areas, Kaunet delivers orders the next day if orders are placed before 6 p.m.
The same-day delivery areas may receive the order on the same day if anorder is placed before 11 a.m.
2) Promotion of simple packaging
For deliveries of products in a paperboard box, which is the most common

Our efforts on simple packaging

packaging, Kaunet exercises its ingenuity in using cushioning materials forprotecting products as little as possible. Besides, for imperious products in a lower volume and the orders are delivered
using simple packaging, such as paper bags or polyethylene bags, in an effort to conserve resources.
3) The services for selecting packaging of delivery (For online orders only)
While customers highly appreciate the 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 form each time.
4) Furniture delivery with assembly services
Delivery staff specializing in furniture offer delivery, unpacking, assembling, and installation to packing material collection
for the delivery of large furniture, heavy furniture, and those requiring complicated assembly.

Collection services
Kaunet promotes resource conservation and recycling outdated Kaunet catalogues and cardboards for shipping, as wellas the collection services for used toner cartridges.

Office Activities in Countermeasures for Disasters

1) Developing a menu of countermeasures against earthquakes for officeSince the Great Hanshin Earthquake, we have carried out verification of earthquake countermeasures for offices.
However, we recognized that there were still issues of office safety and security as we supported the restoration of ourcustomers' offices after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Furthermore, there was a sudden increase in consultations
about earthquake countermeasures after the earthquake, and we even received many inquiries and requests that wewere unable to answer with the vibration verification experiments we had performed. With these experiences and

31

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

consultations in mind, we carried out a wide range of verification experiments in order tobecome able to suggest further earthquake countermeasures. Based on the large amount ofdata obtained from these experiments, we determined the relationship between seismic
waves and earthquake preparedness rationally to devise objective evaluation criteria forearthquake-resistant furniture. We thus propose a menu of earthquake countermeasures foroffices, catering to the level and cost of countermeasures that our customers desire.
※ Related information: Menu of Countermeasures Against Earthquakes for Office2) Proposing stockpiling of emergency supplies to corporations
How to stockpile emergency supplies is a necessary part of BCP for organizations. KOKUYO
is, therefore, developing a disaster-proof solution business, which includes offering proposals
for disaster countermeasures tailored to the needs of individual customers. Both KOKUYO's
guidebook, SONAeL, for companies on stockpiling of emergency supplies and KOKUYO's
Disaster Countermeasure Expert Series original products for coping with disasters have beenhighly appraised. These provide practical and workable solutions to disaster issues, and theirapproach is from the perspective of analyzing and improving office storage conditions.

Emergency supplies cabinet for elevator

Mobile rescue equipment set

Toppling-resistant belt for paper shredder

3) Raising the level of awareness
KOKUYO is working aggressively to raise awareness of the need to beprepared for disasters. These include holding seminars around Japan on thetheme of earthquake countermeasures for offices. Subjects covered in theseseminars included the difficulties faced by management immediately after
the Earthquake (using KOKUYO Tohoku Sales Co., Ltd., as an example),the continuous development of the selection-distribution-managementrenewal cycle as companies move from the "stockpiling" stage to the"continue to stockpile" stage 5 years after the earthquake as a measure to
stockpile emergency supplies from the perspective of business continuity

Seminars on disaster countermeasures forplanning (BCP), and the creation of offices that can withstand strong

corporation

earthquakes (KOKUYO Furniture).

32

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

Customers

KOKUYO Group values dialogue with customers. We sincerely accept opinions, requests, and suggestions from
customers we receive on various occasions and strive to use these for development and improvement of our products
and services and for improvement of customer satisfaction.

Release of "Difficulties Solution BOOK" which Provides Solutions to Our
Customers' Difficulties with Original Products Based on Unique Perspective

The Kaunet mail and online order business focuses on the ease of selecting items and awareness of ourcatalogues and website that provide product information to customers, and takes measures to provide easily
understandable information. In February 2016, we published the "Difficulties Solution BOOK" at the same time as
the publication of the Spring/Summer catalogue. Kaunet has been focusing on the development of original
products in the Kaucore Premium Series, which has for a long time been thoroughly dedicated to resolving thedifficulties of our customers. We identify existing and potential customer needs through Kaunet Monika, themonitoring survey website, to investigate the actual situation of offices and difficulties, and aim to develop items
which are visibly beneficial to customers, and we have been developing and marketing about 2,100 items until
now. This booklet focuses on providing solutions to the difficulties that customers face on a daily basis and it only
lists Kaucore Premium items. The booklet has 100 pages and lists 350 items. There are contents that customers
can enjoy and use to learn about products, such as Before/After, which describes what kind of difficulties
customers could resolve before and after using a product, back-stories of the product development, and pictures ofcustomers who use the products. In addition, the index, which was sorted in alphabetical order or by productcategories in the former catalogues, was changed to a "24 Difficulties Index" in which the products are sorted by
the difficulties of customers, and it provides product information that makes it easier for customers to look for
products found in the booklet, on the website or in the catalogue, and we take into consideration the resolution ofdifficulties in searching for and purchasing a product. Kaunet strives to continue developing products that meet thedemand of many customers and devises information dissemination to convey the value of products.

"Before/After", which clearly explains the difference between
before and after using the products with pictures and illustrations"24 Difficulties Index", which allows customers to search for
products based on the difficulties of customers such as "Difficult
to find" or "Can't tidy up"

33

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

A System for Utilizing Feedback from Customers
In order to share customer feedback across the entire group, we use the intranet, VoiceClip, to share feedback ofcustomers with all the group employees (customer personal information is excluded beforehand). Both angry complaints
and words of appreciation from customers are updated weekly on VoiceClip. Since 2012, we have been working to
improve visualization by displaying customer feedback on the top page of the Group's intranet. Additionally, thecustomer feedback submitted to the customer support center is summarized in a database (personal information
excluded), VoiceDB, so that Group employees can access the database to freely navigate through previous feedback asneeded.

Otona Campus Series, Dotted Ruled Lines Notebook
A dotted ruled lines Campus Notebook was launched in 2008 as a
notebook developed through research of the notebooks used by
students who passed the entrance examinations at the Universityof Tokyo. We are glad that we have been able to expand the
product line-up with the support of many people. However, there
were only notebooks with 30 sheets, and we were receiving
requests for commercializing a dotted ruled lines notebook withmore sheets - mainly from business users who said: "30 sheets
are not enough. If there were notebooks with more sheets, wewouldn't need to make additional purchases so often, and it could
be used more conveniently for work." This was in line with the

Otona Campus Series, dotted ruled lines notebook

thinking of the division responsible for expanding the Campus
Notebook, targeting adults who use notebooks in business scene, and we launched the dotted ruled lines Campus
Notebook with more sheets (50 sheets) in June 2016 as part of the Otona Campus Series.

34

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Customer Support and Services
Showroom and Live Office Tour for the Members of the Customer Support Center
From August 23 to September 29, thirty members of the Customer
Support Center visited the Umeda Showroom and Umeda Live
Office. The number of inquiries the Customer Support Center
received reaches 110,000 a year and the customer service here is
the key to improving customer satisfaction. This tour is aimed atfurther improvement of accuracy and satisfaction of the response
to customer inquiries by learning features, functions, and usage of
products, especially furniture products, from hands-on experience.
The Customer Support Center is determined to utilize the productknowledge acquired through this tour for our customers.
A visit to the live office focused on understanding thefurniture business

On-Site Experience-Based Training that Allows Employees to Listen to the Voice ofCustomers
On May 1, on-site experience-based training at the Customer
Support Center was offered to some of the new employees of the
KOKUYO Group. This training includes skill training where thenew employees learn how to handle phone calls mainly inclassroom lectures, and experience-based training where they
respond to actual phone calls from customers. In the experiencebased training, the new employees who were uneasy at firstbegan to relax as they worked in tandem with experienced
operators. At times, they received words of appreciation from
customers. This training is offered not only to new employees but
also to employees of all companies of the KOKUYO Group. It is a

Responding to an inquiry submitted to the Customer

valuable opportunity for employees who work in various divisions

Support Center

to hear opinions directly from customers and apply it to their work.

Revision of the Skill Index of the Customer Support Operators
The Customer Support Center is making efforts to improve the call-handling skills of operators so that each customer
who contacts us will become a loyal customer. In 2016, we revised the skill evaluation form that is used as an indicatorof call-handling skills improvement. In particular, we considered that understanding the true needs of customers andproviding answers that truly satisfy them will lead them to become loyal customers, so we have strengthened theindicators of obtaining requests and customer satisfaction. The call-handling skills training is based on annual
development plans such as lectures and individual guidance through observation.

35

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Review of the "FAQ" on KOKUYO's Website
A question - "Was this page useful?" - was set up for each question and answer in the "FAQ" on KOKUYO's website,and many people had evaluated the FAQ throughout the year. The Customer Support Center carefully reviewed
questions and answers one by one referring to the results of the survey. In addition, it was made easier to search
directly from general search sites such as Google by including product names or subject words in question sentences,
so that customers who are not on KOKUYO's website will also be able to find answers. As a result, we were able toimprove the ratio of customers who found it helpful by 15% over the last year. We will continue to listen to theevaluations of our customers and strive to disseminate information.

Dialogues with our Customers
KOKUYO Fair held to experience the new products of 2017 under the theme of "WELL-LINK"
From November 21 to 25, the 2017 KOKUYO New Products Fair
was held at the Tokyo Showroom for visitors to experience thenew products, with furniture products taking center stage. The
theme was "WELL-LINK: A comfortable office enhances
motivation of employees. Working style goes to a new dimension."
We proposed strengthening human resources and enhancing
motivation, which are important issues in corporate management,
and detailed our vision of new places (spaces) and tools(products) that will contribute to improving employees' creativity
and the companies' competitiveness. The 2017 KOKUYO Fair
Osaka was held at Umeda Live Office and Umeda Showroom
from December 8 to 9 under the same theme.

Exhibition of issues surrounding offices and the new
products that resolve them, which is the key behind"WELL-LINK"

Supporting the "General Seminar of Reception Desk" - Providing the Latest Information about
Improving Service at Reception Desk to Local Governments
The "General Seminar of Reception Desk" organized by
Jichinippo-sha Co., Ltd. has been held with the aim of providing
information to local government, which is considering improving
resident services at the reception desk and exchanging
information as operational reforms of local governments that havebeen promoted in recent years. In 2016, the 6th seminar was held
and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications gave the
keynote address under the theme "Operational reform starts here:
Service at reception desk advances by using private sector
enterprises" - and Nagano City and Amagasaki City gave lectures
on examples of improvement of services at the reception desk.
The short seminars by supporting companies introduced trends
such as utilizing IT and consignment of services at the reception
desk, and more than 90% of the participants answered in a survey

Toshihiro Yakami from Solution Group, Government
Office Business Division, Government Office Sales
Department gave a lecture under the theme "Creating a
reception desk that is pleasant, peaceful and quick"that it was helpful or very helpful.

36

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Exhibition for Shops with Small Trading Area to Connect Customer Opinions to ProductDevelopment
From May 18 to 20, an exhibition for shops with small trading
areas was held, targeting customers such as supermarkets. The
number of small stores has been increasing in recent years to
respond to the needs of consumers who purchase by small
portion in high frequency. For their store operation, it is necessary
to lower the breakeven point and create a more efficient sales
floor. KOKUYO has been developing products for small stores for
two years in order to provide solutions to these customers' issues,
and at this exhibition the visitors were able to experience a
product line that is under development. We will utilize theimportant opinions we received in future product development andimprovement.

Survey about developing products was conducted
through interviews, and customers' underlying needs
were identified.

37

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

Customers

February 15th,2016

March 19th, 2016

Mail-order Business / Retailing

Stationery businessNew release of Difficulties Solution BOOK,

Launch of Ninja Sticky Note andwhich only contains our original products

Poem-cards Letter Paper

April 1st, 2016

April 1st, 2016

CSR

Stationery businessRe-conclusion of the partners' agreement

KOKUYO EXPO, the promotional shop,of Shimanto Yui-no-Mori Project

was held at Tokyo City Eye,the basement floor of KITTE

April 6th, 2016

End of April 2016

Furniture business

Furniture business

KOKUYO launches a new educational

Expansion of sound absorptive panel

websitecalled Sound Absorption

38

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

May 10th, 2016

June 6th, 2016

Stationery business

Stationery business

Launch of the first notebook for

New Chubu IDC (provisional name)practicing Japanese in the Vietnam market

started operating from June

June 13th, 2016

June 23rd, 2016

Furniture business

Release of Delica Bag Case, a special

Stationery business

Launch of Notebook ReEDEN PREMIUM

case for plastic bags used withprepared foodJuly 13th, 2016

July 13th, 2016

Furniture business

Launch of CAMPUS Cover Notebook

Furniture business

Launch of LABO Labe, a dedicated label
for microtubes

39

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

July 13th, 2016

July 27th, 2016

Furniture business

Furniture business

Exhibition at Work Style Reform EXPO

Opening of Live Office at JP

and Office Service EXPO

Tower Nagoya

End of July 2016

August 10th, 2016

Furniture business

Stationery business

Full-scale distribution of DAYS OFFICE

Launch of WITH +, an easy-to-carry

was started

pen case that also serves as apen trayAugust 10th, 2016

August 15th, 2016

Stationery business

Launch of DOTLINER WIDE, which is

Mail-order Business / Retailing

Wash and reuse whiteboard eraser brush

ideal for gluing large envelopes

40

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

August 15th, 2016

September 1st, 2016

Mail-order Business / Retailing

Portable Meeting Whiteboard

Furniture business

Establishment of KOKUYO &Partners Co., Ltd.

October 12th, 2016

October 12th, 2016

Mail-order Business / Retailing

Stationery business

Launch of My Number Obtainment andLaunch of Enpitsu Sharp TypeS, which

Management Kit, an easy way ofis ideal in business scenes

managing in paper form

October 25th, 2016

October 31st, 2016

Furniture business

Exhibited at Orgatec 2016

Furniture business

Release of a shopping cart,
Shopping Partner 2

41

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

November 21st, 2016

December 1st, 2016

Furniture business2017 KOKUYO New Products Fair was held

Stationery business

Launch of a stylish and easy-to-store-away
bag for workers who work at hot-desking
offices

December 20th, 2016

Furniture business

Zabuton (floor cushion) for outdoor use!?
Stoop appeared

42

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

Regional Communities

KOKUYO Design Award Creates Products which Offer Ways of Living
and Lifestyles

KOKUYO Design Award, which marked its 12th year in 2016, isa design competition that promotes commercialization of
products from the users' perspective by soliciting works fromthe general public and commercializing the winning designs. It
is aimed at contributing not only to enhancement of the design
ability of KOKUYO but also that of Japan through a process ofsoliciting designs from a broad range of sources with particularfocus on the perspectives of users and the needs of the time.
Past winners include such hit products as Kadokeshi (eraser)
and the PARACURUNO Campus notebook that makes daily life
convenient and fun. The number of applicants from overseas isincreasing in recent years as works have been able to be

Grand Prix Winner:
Raw Stationery (pencils, rulers and erasers)
Winner: AATISMO (Daiki Nakamori/Keita Ebidzuka)
This rod-shaped stationery that can be cut to any length.

submitted not only by mail but also via our website, and
KOKUYO Design Award is now entering a new phase as a
global competition.

This work considers products as raw materials, andusers can think of ways to use it that meet their needs,

The theme for 2016 was HOW TO LIVE. From further insight

so it is well suited to the theme of HOW TO LIVE.

into the theme for 2015, Beautiful Lifestyle, we solicited
proposals for stationery, furniture, and household goods thatare items used in our everyday lives as product designs that lead people to focus on users' ways of living and lifestyles.
Moreover, we added a new rule to accept not only a single item but also works composed of a combination of a numberof products for the first time. The aim is to encourage applicants to think more deeply about the relationship between
products and people by offering an environment where two or more products can be pictured in their mind.
As a result, we received 1,307 works from Japan and overseas, and one Grand Prix winner and three Merit Awardwinners were selected. The winning designs have ideas that make our lives fun and enriched through products that arefamiliar to us, and we received works that were evaluated by judges as being of the highest level in recent years.
KOKUYO Design Award will mark its 15th year in 2017, which will be a major milestone. We will actively endeavor to
become a place where products that propose better ways of living and lifestyles for the future are created.

43

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Campus Art Award 2016, a Painting Competition for Junior High and High School Students
Since 2015, KOKUYO has held the Campus Art Award for juniorhigh and high school students jointly with the Yomiuri Teens
Newspaper (issued by the publishing company The Yomiuri
Shimbun).
The contest theme was "My Sweet Home Town - a Great Favorite
of Mine." The aim is to create opportunities for the youth ofJapan's future to turn their attention to their local areas, to notice
their attractiveness and to share that with others by taking up thetheme of local landscape, customs, traditions, events, food,confectionery, etc. The winners for the Grand Prix, the Yomiuri
Teens Newspaper Award, the KOKUYO Award, and the District
Merit Awards were selected from 2,269 entries. The Grand Prix

Campus Notebook with the cover of the Grand Prix
winning work "YOSEGI in Hakone" was sold as a limited

went to "YOSEGI in Hakone" by Yuta Sone.

edition item on KOKUYO's official online shop

The Job Study Initiative
The Job Study is a cross-industry seminar held by a team of human resources personnel from leading companies invarious industries. They meet to discuss what kind of seminar is truly useful for students and use the results to organize
a seminar themselves. When it was first launched in 2005, the issue of early departure for newly hired college
graduates, where 30% leave their employment within three years, was a major issue. To address this issue and toprovide an opportunity for corporations and students to come together, we have brought about the realization of mutualcommunication where corporations and students can talk about the significance of working by planning a program on
the concept of real opinions and hand-made. Since then, 11 years have passed and we have continued to face students
with sincerity, and today, a total of 21 leading companies from various industries have joined the Job Study.
As of the end of 2016, the Job Study had amassed 12 years of positive results. At the 4th Career Education Awards, theJob Study received the Award for Encouragement for sharing philosophies regarding the broad range of challenges
students face just prior to entering the workforce by a wide variety of companies and flexibly dealing with thesechallenges. However, the environment surrounding students and companies, such as economic fluctuations andchanges of graduate recruitment environment, is rapidly changing. There are numerous issues between them, and they
are changing with the times. Against this backdrop, the Job Study is asking the representatives of the personnel
departments of 21 participating companies to shun the status quo and come together and seriously consider what isrequired and what they would like to do as they look to the future.

I have the feeling that the number of new challenges facing
students, corporations and universities have increased andchanged because of the rapid changes of the graduate
recruitment environment in recent years. Because it is an era
when needs and difficulties have diversified, the program wehold is not standardized. We carry out programs thinking about
who and what will benefit, as well as the schedule and contents.
While KOKUYO as a single company can only do so much on

Hiroki Yamamoto
Personnel Department,

its own, the 21 companies that comprise this program are

Corporate Administrationscommitted to joining forces to create new value and opportunities that others cannot provide.

44

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Contribution Activities Deeply Rooted in Regional Communities
Logistics Rationalization Effort Award Received at All-Japan Convention for Logistics
Improvement Case Studies 2016
On April 21 and May 27, KOKUYO Supply Logistics Co., Ltd.
(KSL) and KOKUYO Product Shiga Co., Ltd. (KPS) gave apresentation of improvement activities at All-Japan Convention for
Logistics Improvement Case Studies 2016, held by Japan Instituteof Logistics Systems. In particular, the joint presentation of KSL
and KPS of the efforts that went as far as the processes of bothcompanies, by going beyond the boundary of manufacturers andlogistic company, were evaluated as outstanding in both contents
and results. As a result, KOKUYO Supply Logistics Co., Ltd.
received the Logistics Rationalization Effort Award for the Logistic
Management Division. We will continue to develop group business

There was appreciation for improvement activities

from the perspective of logistics by focusing not only on businessthrough active involvement in supply chain within theGroup.

responsibilities but also on activities that involve other companies.

Warehouse Tour for Elementary School Students to Learn about Logistics Site
KOKUYO Supply Logistics Metropolitan Area IDC, which performs
logistics business, held the Summer Vacation KOKUYO Logistics
Warehouse Tour for Parents and Children. This tour was held forthe first time by Okumoto Irohado, which is one of the vendors,
together with KOKUYO Marketing and KOKUYO Supply Logistics.
We had 15 elementary school students (27 in total, including
parents) attending the tour, and they experienced digital picking
operation. We hope many children will love KOKUYO through thistour.
Children concentrating on their first experience oflogistics operation

Letter of Appreciation Given to KSL Kinki IDC for Promoting Regional Development andSupporting Regional Disaster Drills
Since the launch of the Distribution Center in 2007, KOKUYOSupply Logistics Kinki IDC has considered itself as a resident of
Suminoe-ku, Osaka City and Port Town, and has cherished its
connection with neighborhood residents. In addition, we havearranged a meeting through the Community Development
Committee of Suminoe-ku to discuss disaster prevention, andcarried out observation of our disaster drills and tours of the
facility, as well as actively strengthening disaster prevention
awareness and taking measures for crime prevention. In
recognition of these activities, we have received a letter ofappreciation for promoting regional development and supporting

With the members of Nanko four towns' joint council

regional disaster drills by the Nanko four towns' joint council

district assembly

district assembly of Suminoe-ku. We will actively participate in disaster and crime prevention activities for elementaryand junior high schools from now on, and further deepen our interaction with the community.

45

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKYUO Participates in JFMA Forum 2016 with Aim of Disseminating Facility Management
JFMA FORUM was held from February 24 to 26. This forum isheld annually by Japan Facility Management Association (JFMA)
with the aim of promoting the dissemination and establishment of
FM in Japan, and KOKUYO participates in it as a member of
JFMA every year. This time, the main participation was by The
Work Style Research Institute and the Proposal Marketing
Department of the Furniture Business Division, and KOKUYO
promoted and exhibited the latest case studies of our own
activities and gave lectures at various seminars. We will actively
promote the dissemination and establishment of FM in Japan
while working with industry associates.

New office chairs were exhibited at the venue

Tying the Environment, Welfare, and the Community Together with Photocopier Paper: theEco-Lab Heart Shiga Initiative
KOKUYO Marketing and KOKUYO Product Shiga are engaged ingreen purchasing activities and have been participating in the
Shiga Green Purchasing Network (Shiga GPN), a local network
program, since June 2006. The KOKUYO Group has been
involved since the beginning with the Eco-Lab Heart Shiga
initiative, which was developed by Shiga GPN's Research Society
for Green Purchasing Evaluation Techniques and is presently
operated by NPO Shiga Prefecture Social Employment Business
Promotion Center. This initiative constitutes a system forrequesting the use of plastic boxes in place of cardboard boxes todeliver photocopier paper for daily use to approximately 150

Delivery using a plastic box instead of a cardboard box

cooperative workshops within Shiga Prefecture where disabled
persons are employed. It was begun in 2007 with two aims: environmental (reducing unnecessary packaging) andwelfare (promoting and employing disabled persons). By using photocopier paper manufactured at KOKUYO Product
Shiga, a model consisting of elements based entirely in the local community is in place.
The Eco-Lab Heart Shiga initiative is highly regarded in terms of uniqueness, sustainability and development, and it won
the grand prize of the "13th Green Purchasing Award" in 2011. With the increase in participating corporations andorganizations, not only is there a reduction in rubbish, but also the income of the disabled people working in theworkshops can be improved through delivery of photocopier paper, other eco products and products made in theworkshops. To companies and organizations with offices in Shiga Prefecture, would you like to participate in the original
CSR activities of Shiga Prefecture, the advanced prefecture in terms of environment and welfare?

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 business offices. Cleanup activities are performed once a year around thehead office building 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 organizedsince 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 once again in 2016 in collaboration with the local government. On October 19, fifty people,
including local volunteers, took part in this activity in spite of the early morning hour at which it was held.
At various sites around the country, our employees have participated in blood donation drives since 1980. In 2016, 46
employees donated blood on an occasion when the Japanese Red Cross Osaka Blood Center visited the company.

46

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO Team Run Flat-out at ISU-1 Grand Prix Held Across JapanThe ISU-1 Grand Prix is a two-hour endurance race wherecompetitors consisting of three-person teams use office chairs. As
a street revitalization event organized by Japan Office Chair
Racing Association, ISU-1 Grand Prix is held across Japan, and
KOKUYO actively participates in it as a company that sells officechairs. In 2016, the KOKUYO Marketing Kyushu selected teamparticipated in the Kyushu tournament (in Omura City, Nagasaki)
and won 3rd place, and KOKUYO Sanyo-Shikoku Sales
participated in the Okayama tournament (in Mizushima, Kurashiki
City) and won 1st place in a very close race with a one-lap
advantage over the team in 2nd place. In addition to these, there
were a lot of noteworthy results: KOKUYO Hokkaido Sales won

The 2nd Okayama tournament held at a speciallyprepared course in Tokiwa Town shopping district in

2nd place after the Self-Defence Force team in the Hokkaido

Mizushima Area, Kurashiki City

tournament (in Chitose City), KOKUYO Tohoku Sales won 2nd place in the Ichinoseki tournament (in Ichinoseki City,
Iwate), and KOKUYO Hokuriku Niigata Sales competed for the first time, finishing in 4th place (the best in theprefecture) in the Fukui tournament (in Sabae City). We will continue participating in the ISU-1 Grand Prix actively as
part of our effort to help rejuvenate local communities.

Initiatives of KOKUYO Tohoku Sales
Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, we have continued various reconstruction support activities, mainly
concentrating on activities to support children.

Providing Support for the Michinoku Future Fund
KOKUYO Tohoku Sales provides support for the MICHINOKU
Future Fund Charitable Foundation as a corporate supporter. This
fund provides tuition fees (maximum 3 million yen annually) which
are not required to be repaid when high school students orphanedby the Great East Japan Earthquake pursue higher educationsuch as university, college, and vocational schooling with the
purpose of helping children who will build the future of Tohoku,
which is the real basis of recovery, to grow up without abandoning
their dreams and hopes. Agreeing to that purpose, KOKUYO
Tohoku Sales has been supporting the fund since 2012.
This fund does not stop at simply providing scholarships: it is also

In March, an event to celebrate new students' entrance tooperated with the heart-warming thought that children who

schools of higher grade and enrolled students' graduation
was held with supporters and the people involved.

experienced painful experiences will not be alone through periodic
events and annual interviews.
Upon the relocation of the fund office in July, we donated furniture
and accessories as well as designing space where scholarshipstudents can casually gather.

After relocation of the office, it became a place where
many scholarship students stop by freely.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Decoration Notebook Workshops
Decoration Notebook Workshops, one of the reconstruction
support activities of the Great East Japan Earthquake, has
marked the 5th year since its start in 2011. This is an event
organized by our employees with the desire to have the children
write down their present feelings in a one-of-a-kind notebook thatthey decorated by themselves and use this as a basis for future
growth and development, and it is also based on the idea thatcreative activities, such as writing down words and drawing
pictures, help to relieve stress. In 2016, it was held in Fukushima
City and Sendai City. Children decorated Campus Notebooks
energetically and earnestly with ideas that adults may never havethought about. A total of more than 1,300 children participated,
and we can sense that both children and parents are getting backto their normal lives.

Discussion of Remembering the Great East Japan Earthquake Held by KOKUYO Tohoku Sales
KOKUYO Tohoku Sales always has in mind that we must notforget the Great East Japan Earthquake. In 2016, which marked
the 5th year since the earthquake, we held a discussion anddisaster prevention drills aimed at sharing awareness of
employees and digging out problems. In the discussion, in which
all employees from the Sendai Area participated, we shareddetailed stories such as various experiences and reflections on
aspects of work and life. Employees who were students at thattime listened attentively to the stories told by predecessors about
them and their customers. It is important to proceed with drills or
distribute manuals for disaster prevention, but more important isthat each one of us is aware of disaster prevention. The fact that

Our colleagues' stories made us recall things, and wehelped each other to bring memories to mind.

we don't know where and when earthquakes will occur has beenhighlighted again due to the Kumamoto earthquakes. Tohoku
should not think that we are safe because this disaster occurred 5
years ago, and we continue to plan measures to minimize troubles
during disasters for safety and security in the future.

At the disaster prevention drill, we establishedheadquarters for restoration activities at the Ichibancho
Office - as we did after evacuation at the time when theearthquake occurred.

48

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

Regional Communities

Camel Art Foundation Contributes to Art Promotion in India

Camel Cart Foundation (CAF), established by KOKUYO Camlin in 1997, has contributed to the growth of art andculture in India through a spectrum of activities such as the art shows held every year in various regions toevaluate works of art students, professional artists, and young artists. The main purpose of the activities of thisfoundation is to promote art activities and to provide a foundation for future growth to future artists, as well as tohelp professional artists to gain popularity by holding exhibitions and thus raising the standard of India's art scene.
In 2016, there were 7,254 entries from all over India for the contest organized by CAF.

49

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Initiatives in China
Grassroots Support Activities: Gifts of Notebooks to Children Living in Underprivileged Areas
To meet the diverse needs of developing countries, KOKUYO has
participated in the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human
Security Projects (hereinafter referred to as the "Grassroots
Gratuitous Cooperation") since 2006, which was introduced by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1989. The Grassroots Gratuitous
Cooperation is an activity aimed at creating opportunities and theenvironment where children in China's disadvantaged areas canreceive the same education that children in cities receive. With the
grants donated by a number of sponsoring companies, theorganization built school buildings and provided children withschool supplies, offering a place and tools to help them receiveChildren receiving Campus Notebooks from a teacher

fair education. KOKUYO is participating in this cooperative effort
through the donation of Campus Notebooks, and in 2016, some 30,000 notebooks were donated to 50 schools. Since
the start of these activities in 2006, KOKUYO has donated more than 560,000 notebooks to this cause in the last 10
years.

Chasing Big Dreams with Small Notebooks! ― Supporting Activities for Children with Futures
From November 27 to 29, six employees from the Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen offices of KOKUYO (Shanghai)Management, KOKUYO Commerce (Shanghai) and KOKUYO Furniture (China) gathered together to visit Liufang
Primary School in the town of Mingkou in Leping City, Jiangxi, and interacted with the children there. The children gave
a warm welcome to the KOKUYO employees who visited from afar, and it was a meaningful time for the employees aswell. On this visit, in addition to KOKUYO's stationery and sports equipment, we donated about 200 pieces of winterclothing collected from all employees of KOKUYO Group in China. Children drew their future dreams using KOKUYO's
stationery and each one of them presented their dreams. In addition, we took pictures of children presenting their
dreams with smiles and created original notebooks of dreams with their pictures on. We organize these kinds ofinterchange activities with children every year while visiting different elementary schools each year.

An address at the presentation ceremony

Children drawing their dreams using
KOKUYO stationery

50

Children wearing the clothes we donated

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Initiatives in India

Tree Planting Event on World Environmental Day
Scheduled to coincide with the World Environmental Day,
KOKUYO Camlin holds a tree-planting event together withchildren on June 5 every year. In 2015, 100,000 trees wereplanted in 20 minutes with the cooperation of the army andchildren in the Pithoragarh district of Northern India, setting a new
Limca Book record (Indian version of Guinness Book of Records).
In 2016, a total of 717,333 young trees were planted with thecooperation of the army, Forest Department, and children in theState of Uttarakhand. We will focus on developing products withlow environmental impact as environmental protection activities.

Support for Childhood Cancer Patients with NGO
KOKUYO Camlin held an event for children who are fighting
childhood cancer with NGO Gadge Maharaj Dharamshala. Mental
health care as well as the treatment of the body is very importantfor children who struggle against the disease at hospitals. At thisevent, KOKUYO Camlin provided drawing material products suchas crayons and paints, and we had a pleasant time drawing
pictures together with children.

51

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

Environmental Conservation

With an understanding that solutions to the problems of global warming, deforestation, and other issues affecting the
global environment are urgently required, our entire workforce is committed to combining our collective wisdom in orderto engage in actions designed to resolve these issues.

Environmental Management
The Group's Vision for the Environment
Building a sustainable society will require creating a recycling-oriented, low-carbon society that can coexist with nature.
The KOKUYO Group Vision for the Environment consists of an environmental philosophy and an environmental policy
with seven specific activities: 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. Based on this vision, all group companies havedeveloped goals that reflect the characteristics of their business activities and are working on reducing theirenvironmental impact.

52

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Medium- to Long-Term Environmental Action Plan

Medium- to long-term environmental action plan (fiscal year 2020)
Environmental

MeasurespolicyPrevention of global
warming

Fiscal 2016 performance

Fiscal 2020 goals

Cut CO2 emissions

Reduced by 11.2%

Reduce by 30% (in(vs. FY 1990)(in Japan)

Japan)

Reduced by 16.4%

Reduce by 10%(unit energy(unit energy

consumption)

consumption)

94.5％

100％

Prevention of
globalwarming

Energy conservation Cut energy consumption(unit energy
consumption)

Resource

Resource-savingsaving andand recycling

recyclingmeasures(vs. FY 2010)※ average 1% reduction per
year

Increase the rate ofrecycling in relation to thetotal volume of emissions※ incl. waste materials

Migration to ISO14001:2015
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 systemis structured to reflect the level of the environmental impact while preserving consistency across the KOKUYO Group.
Companies and factories with a relatively large environmental impact are classified as individual units. Companies witha relatively small impact are classified as common units. In addition, the environmental management system reflects theunique aspects of the activities of each group company. This allows companies to perform environmental managementthat matches their operations, such as by establishing goals based on each company's business plan. While MELON, adatabase system for the management of environmental documents and records, was previously introduced, weenhanced the functionality of this system in July 2013 in an effort to expand the scope of target sites and achieve
improvements in terms of the user-friendliness, efficiency, and accuracy of document management and browsing.
In December 2016, we received and successfully completed an inspection based on migration to the 2015 version.

53

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

54

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

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 andregulations is the highest priority of these audits. Group audits also undergo ISO 14001 third-party inspection and the
CSR Report is checked by a third party. For fiscal year 2016, primary audits were conducted between July 1 and 29,
secondary audits were conducted between August 1 and 30, and third-party inspection was carried out between
November 29 and December 2.

Internal audits
FY in which
conducted

Third-party inspection (ISO14001)
2015

FY in

2016

which
conducted

Sites subject tomonitoring

72

65

2015

2016

(periodic)(periodic/migration)

29

24

Sites subject
to・Primary audits

57

50

examination

・Secondary audits

15

15

Matters cited for improvement

Matters cited

53

36

・Minor pointsofnonconformity

・Minor points ofnonconformity

6

0

0

31

21

Strong points

00Good points

8

4

8

・Improvement
・Corrections

47

opportunities

28

55

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Summary of Third-Party Inspection
Environment load data and scope 3 emissions for 31 KOKUYO Group companies have been subject to verification at
KOKUYO's head office. On-site examinations relating to data measurements and management methods have also been
conducted at 4 sites in Japan: KOKUYO MVP Tottori Plant, Aoya Plant, Sapporo Distribution Center, and KOKUYO
Hokkaido Sales, and one overseas site: KOKUYO Commerce (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., Shanghai Plant. This process
yielded a number of matters that were pointed out: a total of 9 assessable points, 10 opportunities for amelioration, 18
requests for modifications, and 27 requests for clarification. The requests for modification and clarification were dealt
with during the verification period. For the verification of scope 3 emissions, we received findings relating to theelaboration of data on the materials invested in manufacturing and improvement of data accuracy at KOKUYO factories
overseas. Based on these matters that were pointed out to us, we endeavor to enhance the disclosure of informationencompassing the entire supply chain and improve the precision of such information.

ISO14001

ISO14001

Environmental performance data third-party

Third-party audit (KSL Metropolitan Area
IDC)

Third-party audit (Shibayama Plant)

verification (KOKUYO's head office)56

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

Environmental Conservation

We are developing an environmental management system with the goal of becoming an Asian company. In order to cut
the amount of greenhouse gases significantly with a view to achieve a low-carbon society, we expanded the scope ofour reporting targets.

Summary for 2016
If calculated for the existing scope of operations using the electricity emissions factor of 0.378 kg-CO2 /kWh (which is theoverall power average in 2000 as reported by the Federation of Electric Power Companies), the KOKUYO Group's CO2
emissions in 2016 totaled 25,342 tons, 603 tons (2.3%） less than in the previous year. Based on estimates, there wereemission reductions of 660 tons due to operational improvements and 350 tons due to equipment improvements.
Manufacturing operations and the closing and consolidating of facilities raised emissions by 410 tons. As a result, there
was an effective reduction in CO2 emissions of 1,010 tons from a combination of operational and equipment
improvements. Consequently, excluding the impact of production activities, emissions were down 3.0% from theprevious year to allow us to meet our goal of a 1.4% reduction.
Looking at sources of CO2 emissions, there was an increase of 200 tons at factories due to an increase in production.
However, as there was a decrease of 830 tons due to higher manufacturing efficiency and other improvements, factories
recorded a net decrease in emissions of about 6300 tons. For distribution activities, although emissions increased by
180 tons because of a higher volume of operations, there was a reduction of 70 tons due to heightened measures toconserve electricity and other energy use, resulting in a net decrease in emissions of 110 tons. In the offices, emissions
were down approximately 80 tons thanks to the more efficient use of heating and cooling systems and the effective useof heat storage. Additionally, to use energy more efficiently, we oversee unit energy consumption, which is obtained by
dividing energy consumption by sales. In 2016, our unit energy consumption was 3.1% less than in the previous year.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Comparison of cases with a fixed electricity emission factor and cases with separate
emission factors for each electricity company and country
If the 2012 emission coefficients for each of the various countries on the greenhouse gas (GHG) protocol website madepublic by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the World Resource Institute (WRI)
are adopted as the figures for the CO2 emission coefficients and added to the Japanese CO2 emission coefficients
based on the Act Concerning the Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures (for 2016, actual emission coefficientsfor each electricity company for 2014 and 2015), then the total rises by 6,705 tons to 32,047 tons.

Scope of Reporting
While 16 companies were included in the scope of CO2 emission reporting (reporting scope A *1 ) until 2011, allconsolidated subsidiaries came to be included in the scope of reporting starting in 2012 (for 2016, 32 companies;
reporting scope B *2 ). As a result, CO2 emissions totaled 42,942 tons (including 1,592 tons at non-consolidated sales
companies). The changes to the emission coefficient and the extension of CO2 emission reporting to the supply chain
have resulted in significant changes for the KOKUYO Group. Consequently, we believe that the medium-term goals foremissions will have to be re-examined.
※1 : A: KOKUYO Co., Ltd., 12 consolidated subsidiaries, and 3 affiliated companies※2 : B: KOKUYO Co., Ltd., 20 consolidated subsidiaries, and 10 affiliated companies (KOKUYO S&T and KOKUYO Furniture were
integrated with KOKUYO Co., Ltd. in October 2015)※ Related information: "Changes in CO2 emissions"58

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Measures for the prevention of global warming in Offices
Offices lowered CO2 emissions by 80 tons over the previous year.
To accomplish this, we conducted a review of the methods bywhich heating and cooling systems were being operated, a review
of working styles, promotion of no-overtime days and activities
that encourage employees to go home early, and reduction ofelectricity use, such as by replacing lighting fixtures with LEDs. At
our Shinagawa office, an electric power visualization system isused to lower electricity use during on-peak hour of daytime
through the efficient operation of heating and cooling systems andheat storage tanks. In addition, a program that encourages people
to use public transportation for sales activities cut gasoline use by

Solar panels installed at our Shinagawa officeabout 6% compared to the previous year, which represents a
reduction in CO2 emissions of 90 tons. In 2016, the cool biz and warm biz campaigns were combined into a smart biz
campaign that was in effect all year long.

Measures for the prevention of global warming in our plants
A reduction of 520 tons in CO2 emissions was achieved at ourplants thanks to operational improvements attributed in part to ashortening of the time required to make changes in product types,
the thorough application of rules for the operations of production
equipment, the conducting of inspections, the elaboration of
production schedules, and a reduction of waste made possible
through energy checks. In addition, a reduction of 200 tons in CO2emissions was achieved by embracing energy-saving equipment,
including switching from LPG to LNG, adapting systems to enable
the installation of inverters, and switching to LED lights. While anincrease in production resulted in an increase in CO2 emissions ofSolar panels installed at Shiga factory

680 tons on a year-on-year basis, there was a net reduction of
630 tons in CO2 emissions (reduction of 515 tons domestically and a reduction of 115 tons overseas) resulting from a
reduction of 830 tons attributed to the above operational improvements and equipment improvements.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Measures for the prevention of global warming in the area of logistics
In the area of logistics (storage and shipping), CO2 emissions
increased by 110 tons compared to the preceding year. A
reduction of 35 tons in CO2 emissions due to operational
improvements attributed to the promotion of energy-saving
activities carried out on a day-to-day basis was achieved. In termsof equipment improvements, a reduction of 35 tons in CO2emissions was achieved thanks to the introduction of energysaving lighting fixtures and a review of the optimal luminance ofthe distribution center. In operating an automated threedimensional warehouse, KOKUYO Logitem's Ina Distribution
Center adopted an electricity demand meter as part of efforts toHybrid streetlights installed at our Metropolitan Area

reduce peak electricity consumption in response to tight demand-

Integrated Distribution Center (IDC)

and-supply conditions for electricity. While CO2 emissions increased by 180 tons due to an increased rate of operationsin 2015, the net increase of 110 tons in CO2 emissions was achieved by way of a reduction of 70 tons due to operational
improvements and equipment improvements.

Ascertaining GHG emission volumes for the entire supply chain
In recent years, a movement to engage in carbon

Emission volumes by scope

disclosure projects (CDP) and to manage and externallydisclose Scope 3 (encompassing production, shipping,business trips, commutation, and other categories)
emissions generated through supply chains that indirectly
emit GHG has been gaining momentum. While the
KOKUYO Group has also engaged in such actions incertain areas such as shipping, actions started to betaken in 2014 in accordance with the Ministry of theEnvironment's Basic Guidelines on Calculating Volumesof Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
Generated through Supply Chains. The volume of GHG
emissions for the entire supply chain in year 2016 was
378,670 tons of CO2 . Scope 3 emissions accounted for approximately 90 per cent of this figure with 70 per cent thereof
attributed to "Category 1 purchased products and services". Since data has not yet been fully collected from allcooperating plants, this percentage figure is expected to rise. Given that there are also problems in other categories,
improvements will be made from next term. Third-party verification services provided by Bureau Veritas Japan have also
been secured to ensure the reliability of disclosed information and data.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

Environmental Conservation

To promote the growth of a recycling-oriented society, we are endeavoring to reduce, reuse, and recycle by effectively
utilizing limited resources.

Summary for 2016
Improving the accuracy of data on waste materials
The volume of waste materials generated by KOKUYO Group business offices in 2016, including all consolidated
subsidiaries, was 19,456 tons (including 154 tons at non-consolidated sales companies). This was a decrease of 56
tons.

Measures taken at the factory
The recycling rate in factories in 2016 was 95.9%. The KOKUYO Group has already achieved zero emissions in relation
to industrial waste materials from our own factories in Japan. The recycling rate for overseas factories in 2016 was
84.5%. We are working to limit the discharge of waste materials and to increase recycling, while considering thedifferent circumstances relating to recycling in each country.

Measures taken by the Logistics Division
The recycling rate in 2016 for the Logistics Division was 98.6%. Cardboard, wooden pallets and other packaging
materials used for packing products in the logistics process are repaired and re-used. In 2016, 53 tons of cardboard andwooden pallets were re-used. We strive to continue making efficient use of resources.

Treatment of waste materials at construction sites
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 been tightened. In 2016, efforts
were made to contain waste materials in part through a review of the methods by which parts subject to processing atconstruction sites are ordered. As a result, we determined that we generate approximately 3,560 tons of waste materials
on construction sites with a recycling rate of approximately 81.6%. Waste materials generated on construction sites are
not homogenous, so there are many cases in which recycling is difficult due to the intermingling of various types ofwaste 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 shall aim to achieve our medium- and long-term target of
100% for the rate at which waste materials are recycled.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

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.
In 2016, KOKUYO Logitem collected 1,800 tons of office desks
and chairs and other used products. 100 tons were reused and970 tons were dismantled and sorted for recycling.

Desk disassembly

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

Environmental Conservation

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

Summary of 2016
As of 2015, some 31 environmental laws and regulations were applicable to the KOKUYO Group within Japan.
However, we have reviewed them all since some laws and regulations had been no longer applicable to us, and newlaws and regulations have become effective. As a result, 28 environmental laws and regulations are applicable. In April
2016, there was a matter in Mie Plant where untreated water overflowed from the drainage facility to the rainwater
gutter. However, it was confirmed that there was no abnormality as a result of conducting PH measurement and so on in
the presence of administration. Apart from these, there were no major offenses.

Proper disposition of chemical substances
The KOKUYO Group endeavors to properly manage and handle chemical substances. Based on the implementation of
the revised mandatory for risk assessment of chemical substances in June 2016, we are working on further safety
management and environment improvement at each work place.
For example, at KOKUYO Furniture's Shibayama Plant, the company is converting safety data sheets (SDS) for
purchased paint and other items into a database in which warnings for usage and references to related laws andregulations are included in order to enable required information to be checked when needed. In addition, efforts arebeing made to prevent accidents by posting panels indicating warning levels for toxicity, hazardousness, andflammability as divided by color (green, yellow, and red) based on the content of chemical and other substances at sites
where paint and other items are used and by making warnings more visible for handlers at the time that such
substances are used.

Training sessions were held in each office

Strict enforcement of proper management

Panels posted for toxicity and(KOKUYO Headquarters)

and handling(KOKUYO MVP Tottori Plant)

hazardousness to be known to all(KOKUYO Shibayama Plant)

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Soil Survey of the West Wing of the Osaka Office was Conducted
In October 2015, with the West Wing of the KOKUYO Osaka Office (previous Osaka showroom) relocating to the
Umeda showroom, we voluntarily conducted a soil pollution survey in order to do a usability analysis. The soil pollution
survey was conducted on the first and second types of specified hazardous substances and the PCB of the third
specified hazardous substance regulated under the Soil Contamination Countermeasures Act. The results showed thatfluorine and its compounds as well as lead and its compounds were detected. However, in October 2016, thecontaminated soil was removed and it was backfilled with uncontaminated soil. In order to confirm that groundwatercontamination did not occur by this work, groundwater monitoring survey was conducted, and it was confirmed thatgroundwater contamination did not occur. In December, the building was demolished and countermeasures of soil
contamination were carried out.

Soil pollution survey

Backfilling

Groundwater survey

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

Environmental Conservation

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.

2016 Activities
Continuing to Ensure That No Eco-Batsu Mark Graces 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: manufacturing,
distribution, usage, and disposal. We tasked ourselves with removing the Eco-Batsu mark from all of our products inthree years. This goal was reached in the 2011 General Catalog and no Eco-Batsu products have emerged since then.
We strive to continue to ensure that none can be found in the 2017 General Catalog. Our Eco-Batsu initiative was anopportunity for reviewing manufacturing processes and getting employees not directly involved with manufacturing toreview their own approaches to work, office environments, and proposals made to clients. Since reaching our goal ofzero Eco-Batsu marks, we have been pursuing the development of eco-friendly products that over-deliver to customers
in accordance with the watchword: eco + creative.

Improving verifications
Verification of conformity to standards has been more thoroughly undertaken since 2012. As a result, we found thatcountry of origin shown on packages of some of the products (5 categories, 37 items) was not accurate. The products
concerned are being produced in multiple countries. The country of origin should be a country in which a treatment ofprocess effects substantial change to the substance of the goods made, but wrong countries of origin were shown. We
will strive to further enhance the management system and implement thorough measures to prevent recurrence.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Promoting the Management of Chemical Substances Included in Products
In recent years, regulations governing chemical substancesincluding the RoHS Directive and REACH in Europe have beenstrengthened worldwide and demands for reports on the status of
the use of a wide range of chemical substances have been
received from the market. The KOKUYO Group recognizes thatthe 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 potentially a negative impact on theenvironment and people are social obligations shared by allcompanies that provide products. At the same time, there has
been a clear shift from a conventional hazard-based management
approach that used to focus only on the hazardous nature

Checking for the presence of heavy metals using an
X-ray fluorescence spectrometer

inherent in chemical substances to a risk-based management approach based on the scientific method. In responding tothese global changes, we first set about specifying a hazards-based list of substances in 2014 and in 2015, and we
carried out research based on the substance list in sequence, starting from the highest-priority products. In 2016, basedon the information obtained from the research, we identified substances required for risk-based management andstarted to revise the management standards.

FSC®-certified products
KOKUYO has obtained FSC® and COC certification since 2003.The Forest StewardshipCouncil® (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 amanner that is socially beneficial for local communities and economically sustainable. COC(short for "chain-of-custody") certification constitutes the certification of the management of
the processes of processing and logistics. In the KOKUYO Group, KOKUYO, Kaunet and
KOKUYO Product Shiga have obtained FSC® and COC certification and are selling copierpaper, notebooks, and other FSC-certified products. In 2016, PEFC and COC certification
was also obtained.
PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes) is an organizationthat mutually approves forest certification criteria created by each county or region. The KOKUYO Group will strive toincrease certified products in order to use sustainable forest resources.

PPC color paper

Reeds-based photocopier paper

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FUBI UU chair

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Protocol counters made with domestic timber
Protocol counters were made by harnessing the advantages of timber from forest thinning, thoroughly verifying functions
and usability to ensure that counters are used by visitors and staff members alike, and keeping the following points inmind:1) Ensuring that strength will not be affected by wood quality
By using a steel frame, the strength of the counters is guaranteed and thus any changes to layouts can beaccommodated. The top board takes into account the ease of use and is selected from timber from forest thinning andmelamine board.
2) Adopting universal design
Designed by taking usage by an unspecified large number of visitors (such as the elderly, persons in wheelchairs, andcolor-blind persons) into account.
3) Design that dispels the negative image of furniture made with timber from forest thinningFeatures a design that presents an upscale image premised on the use of straight lines and that evokes a sense of thelateral expansion of space.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

Environmental Conservation

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.

Yui-no-Mori: The Outcomes of Activities over the Past 10 Years

In 2006, KOKUYO named the private forest in Taisho, Shimanto-cho, Kochi Prefecture "Yui-no-Mori" and started
forest conservation with a focus on efficient utilization of timber from forest thinning. Yui-no-Mori has had the FSC(Forest Stewardship Council)'s forest management certification since 2007. In the same year, KOKUYO concluded
the partnership agreement of "Collaborative Reforestation Project with Environmentally Progressive Companies"(Shimanto Forest Cooperative /Shimanto-cho/Kochi Prefecture) by Kochi. With the expiration of the partnershipagreement in 2016, the agreement was revised and re-concluded under a condition of renewal every year on April 1,
2016. Yui-no-Mori is about 100 hectares, and the thinned forest area was 2 hectares when it was started. After 10
years, the applicable area became 5,425 hectares, and the total thinned forest area has expanded to 1,251 hectares.
In addition, a CO2 absorption certificate has been issued by Kochi Prefecture since 2007, and the amount ofabsorbed CO2 of FY2015 was 7,194 tons raising the cumulative total to 36,460 tons. (From April 2006 to March 2016)

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO Group's Basic Policy for Timber Procurement
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 Kōchi Prefecture and environmental conservation activities in the area in and around Lake
Biwa in Shiga Prefecture.

The KOKUYO Group procures forest-derived materials according to the following policy and is working to
make continuing improvements.
1. Aim for highly transparent materials procurement, with an awareness of the illegal cutting and illegaltransactions issues 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, procurematerials with due consideration for maintaining supply and preservation of resources.

Use of Domestic and Local Materials
Forests, which accounts for approximately 67% of Japan's landarea, play a role in retaining water (usually referred to as soil andsand outflow prevention and watershed protection) and inabsorbing CO2 , etc. Forests are also renewable resources, and
40% of which are man-made. However, many of the man-madeforests are unable to make the most of the above-mentioned
multiple functions that forests offer as maintenance such as
thinning is done too late. KOKUYO worked to develop furniturefrom timber from thinning since 1998 and starting selling themfrom 2000. We believe that we can increase the demand for new
timber through the active use of domestic timber (timber from

BS+ desk systemthinning) and support the realization of a sustainable society
where we live in harmony with forests.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Obtaining certification as a company dealing with matters of legality and sustainability
We have been granted certification as a company dealing withmatters of legality and sustainability by the Japan OfficeInstitutional Furniture Association (JOIFA) in line with revisions
made to the Green Purchasing Act. We endeavor to promote theuse and sale of timber and wood products that have been certified
as legal and sustainable in such terms as forms control, theappointment of managers, and usage reports in accordance withthis practice code.

Status of the use of wood materials
Approximately 4,800 tons of wood materials were used by KOKUYO Furniture in the year 2016 to make products. This
figure is equivalent to 8 per cent of all materials used for production (excluding packaging). In breaking down thesewood materials, 33 per cent consists of solid wood, laminated wood, and other wood materials which are made with raw
lumber while 67 per cent consists of wood materials which 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 Green Purchasing Act. We also endeavor to ascertain the types 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.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Study on the actual usage of wood
KOKUYO 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 andsimilar items. We will continue to work towards obtaining the information in order to use sustainable resources.

Tree species

Form of wood

Amount used

Country/region of(converted to m3)

Ayous

Solid wood

34.5

Cameroon, Indonesia

Kapur

Solid wood

29.4

Malaysia, Indonesia

Oak

Solid wood

3.0

RussiaBeech

Solid wood

38.5

Germany, France, Croatia

Hinoki

Solid wood

0.7

Japan

PoplarSolid wood

41.8

America, Canada, Indonesia

White Oak

Solid wood

0.4

America, Canada

Gum TreeSolid wood, veneer

77.0Australia

Rubberwood

Solid wood, veneer

38.5

Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia

Lauan

Laminated wood

200.5

Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines

Total

464.3

※ Information from suppliers have been included. Wood materials such as MDF that do not use raw lumber as materials have been
excluded.

※ Only tree species with specified country/region of origin are shown.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

2016 Activities of Yui-no-Mori ProjectRe-conclusion of the Partnership Agreement of the Collaborative Reforestation Project by
Kochi Prefecture and CO2 Absorption Certificate Presentation Ceremony
On July 26, the partnership agreement of "Collaborative
Reforestation Project with Environmentally Progressive
Companies" was re-concluded and CO2 absorption certificate
presentation ceremony was held in the Kochi Prefectural Office.
We received an absorption certificate for 7,194 tons of CO2 from
Kochi Prefectural Governor Ozaki. He expressed his gratitude forre-concluding the agreement and contributions to various aspects
such as the environmental conservation, forest maintenanceindustry promotion, and promotion of Kochi Prefecture over many
years.
Presentation of CO2 absorption certificate

KOKUYO has obtained FSC certification
Yui-no-Mori has the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)'s forest management certification since 2007. The certificate
renewal audit was carried out on August 26 and 28, and it continues to maintain FSC certification.

Tours for Fully-fledged Certified Employees
Over 2 days on September 24 and 25, a Yui no Mori experience tour to commemorate employees' fully-fledged
certification was held for employees in their 4th year at the company who had cleared certain requirements and taken
their fully-fledged certification. Beginning in 2008, this was the 9th time the tour was held. Through various activities
such as surveying the water quality of Shimanto, commemorative tree planting and gathering with the local Shimanto
Forest Cooperative and the Shimanto High School, the tour aimed to improve employees' environmental awareness andincrease their interest in KOKUYO's environmental activities.

Monitoring activities
The visualization of the effects of thinning is essential for carrying out forest conservation activities. In order to monitor
the effects of these activities over the long run, we conduct a monitoring survey once a year in collaboration with the
Shimanto Forestry Cooperative, Shimanto High School, and the staff members of the Kōchi Prefectural and Shimantomunicipal governments. A monitoring survey was conducted for the 10th time on November 13. As part of this survey, avegetation survey is ongoing at two specific sites.

FSC Audit

Tours for fully-fledged certified employees

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Monitoring activities

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Effective Utilization of Forest Thinning
In order to effectively take advantage of forest thinning, KOKUYOFurniture has been manufacturing and selling furniture made withtimber from forest thinning in collaboration with the local Shimanto
Forestry Cooperative since 2000. Catalog retailer Kaunet alsobegan selling primarily stationery as Yui-no-Mori branded products
in 2007 and currently offers 28 items as of 2016. In order topromote understanding of its activities and increase the number of
supporters, Kaunet implemented a framework for donating
customer points for the thinning of Yui-no-Mori in 2008. This year
alone, the company has received approximately 90 applications
for the submission of donations. In addition, the Yui-no-Mori 1%

Kaunet's Yui no Mori Products

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.

ReEDEN Project
KOKUYO Product Shiga is a main plant for the KOKUYO Group where notebooks and other paper products are
manufactured. As the plant operates near Lake Biwa, a place that supports the lives of people and that is a dynamic habitat
for many forms of life, KOKUYO Product Shiga has engaged in proactive activities for environmental conservation. Focus
has been especially directed towards activities involving reeds. Reeds could not only absorb carbon dioxide but also help
purify the 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, such uses
disappeared with changes in lifestyles, such that reed beds were no longer being maintained and consequently fall into astate 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 is in its 10th year in 2017. Activities have been steadily increasing in line with the desire of
KOKUYO to spearhead such activities as a local company engaged in the production of paper products.

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 to produce copier paper, notebooks, and other industrial
products and selling them at a price suitable for the market under the ReEDEN Series brand name. In addition, in aneffort to create a market that contributes to the environment through the use of reeds, business cards made with 100 per
cent reed pulp, reed-based brush pens, and other high value-added products have been developed. 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 sales is donated to a local environmental organization for activities dedicated to the conservation of reeds.

ReEDEN series

Lake Biwa stationery (new products)

Fish of Shiga reed-based notebook A6 (left),
1/6 plain book (right)

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

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 thesecretariat of this organization. This network aims to contribute to the conservation of the natural environment of Lake
Biwa in part through the establishment of modest connections among various companies and organizations. This
network, which began with a handful of corporate members, now boasts a membership of 116 supporting entities. The
primary activity of this network entails the conservation of reed beds that fulfill an important role for the Lake Biwa
ecosystem and water environment. The activity that was initially staffed by several KOKUYO Product Shiga employees
has expanded significantly to one where members of local environmental groups and representatives of network
members gather in the hundreds to participate in now, and more than 3,000 members have participated in mowing thereeds. We will collaborate with experts to investigate biomass of reed bed as our next attempt. We will demonstrate theachievements of the activities by investigating biomass, carbon content, and so on. These activities shared along
through network communications alongside topics relating to local environmental by specialists and introductions ofenvironmental activities of member companies to increase camaraderie.

Expanding Activities: External Fish Fishing Contest and Reed Bed Observation on Canoe
Event
The Network to Protect Lake Biwa with Reeds, consisting of various different industries and organizations, is expanding
its activities year after year. The reeds are mowed in winter, and buds start to sprout in the reed bed when the springcomes. We have held a fishing contest to remove external fishes around the reed bed since 2011. Its aim is toexterminate the black bass and bluegill that threaten endemic species of Lake Biwa such as willow gudgeon andcarassius auratus grandoculis. It is an environmental activity that Network members and their families can enjoy
together. The number of participants increases every time, and about 170 people participated last year. We contribute toconserving the ecosystems of Lake Biwa together with children. The reed bed observation on canoe event is an event toobserve thick reed beds from the lake surface in summertime by riding canoes through a maze-like waterway. Whenparticipants stroll around the reed bed, where they cut and take reeds from the surface of the lake onto their canoes,
their voices of delight and amazement echo.

Fishing contest to remove external fishes

Observation of reed beds from canoes

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Cutting reeds at Lake Inaba

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

Corporate Activities

Active Development of the Spread of KOKUYO Group Code of
Conduct Overseas

The top management keeps up a regular visit every year even to factories in remote places.

In order to comply with laws and regulations and carry out
business activities in accordance with social ethics, the KOKUYOGroup implements initiatives to promote compliance that is
consistent with the local situation at the overseas bases. In
addition to the KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct, which is a setof common provisions applicable to the KOKUYO Group, the
KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct Handbook with
supplementary points based on business practices, laws, andother matters that differ depending on the country or region isprepared, and we strive to promote it in each country. KOKUYO
Camlin, which mainly develops art supplies in India, hasSouth area sales team listening attentively to thepresented the business plan of the new fiscal year and explained

explanation for 4 hours

the KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct to all employees every
year since 2013. For the 4th year, in 2016, this was carried out at all 9 bases in India: the headquarters (Mumbai), all sales
bases (Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, and Mumbai), and all our plants (Tarapur, Taloja, Vasai, and Jammu).
At the KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct explanation conference, all 11 provisions of the KOKUYO Group Code of
Conduct Handbook are read aloud. After specific examples of violations are explained by applying published cases of
disciplinary punishment, we obtain pledges from all our employees. The KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct Handbook
distributed in India is available in the national language of Hindi, second national language of English, and Marathi, which isused in Maharashtra State where the headquarters and 3 out of 5 plants are centralized. Srikanth, chief executive officer,
appeals to the employees saying, "What is written in the KOKUYO Group Code of Conduct Handbook is not to be obeyed
because we have been told by the parent company (KOKUYO). This is our company, and we must always be aware of it
and obey it in order to protect each one of our employees (and their families)." As the managers of KOKUYO Camlin takeinitiative and explain it directly to the employees every year, the thorough understanding of the importance of the businessplan and compliance is progressing. We aim to penetrate it more thoroughly into our employees by continued raising ofawareness.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Basic Concepts
Corporate Governance StructureWith the aim of ensuring the reproducibility and continuity of transparent, apt, and efficient business administration, weestablished a structure for corporate governance. In order to ensure that business and operations are carried out without
improprieties, without mistakes, and efficiently, we developed and are operating a system of internal control that we are
striving to improve and enhance on an ongoing basis. Headed by various board members, key committees linked tointernal control appoint members from among multiple related sections and endeavor to systematically promote andfortify responses to important issues concerning CSR on a group-wide basis.

Board of Directors, Audit & Supervisory Board Members, and Managing Officers
Members of the Board
Representative Director of the Board,

Akihiro Kuroda

Chairman
Representative Director of the Board, President

Hidekuni Kuroda

and CEO
Director of the Board, Vice Chairman

Yasuhiro Kuroda

Director of the Board

Takuya Morikawa

Director of the Board

Nobuyuki Miyagaki

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Independent Director of the Board

Hisao Sakuta

Independent Director of the Board

Hiroshi Hamada

Independent Director of the Board

Taketsugu Fujiwara

Audit & Supervisory Board Members
Outside Audit &Kazutoshi Maeda

Supervisory Board Member（Full-time Outside Audit &Supervisory Board Member)
Outside Audit &Morihiro Murata

Supervisory Board Member
Outside Audit &Hideyuki Yasue

Supervisory Board Member

Managing Officers
President and CEO

Hidekuni Kuroda

Senior Managing Officer

Takuya Morikawa

International Business Division
Senior Managing Officer

Nobuyuki Miyagaki

Corporate Administrations
Managing Officer

Naotaka Umeda

Corporate Planning Office
Managing Officer

Kozo Sakagami

Furniture Business Division
Managing Officer

Kenichiro Takahashi"Kaunet" Business Division(President & CEO,
Kaunet Co.,Ltd.)Managing Officer

Takuji Yaso

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO's Basic Policy of Intellectual Property Rights
As one of the strategies to differentiate ourselves from competitors, the KOKUYO Group promotes the following
initiatives to encourage the acquisition of intellectual property rights, and at the same time, to respect intellectual
property rights of others:
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 the 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 products ofour competitors on a daily basis for the acquisition of rights in inventions, design, and trademarks; executes thoroughpreliminary surveys to prevent a violation of the intellectual property rights of others; and protects our intellectual
property rights. In addition, in cases where there is a conflict with competitors, the group corresponds to such a situation
through cooperation with the management by taking a rapid and optimal approach for resolution.
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.
3) Promotion of Creation and Utilization of Intellectual Property Rights
The intellectual property group and development division 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. 33 of the Patents Act and establish an
incentive system for employee invention as an internal rule, aiming to increase customer satisfaction and encourage
inventions that strengthen the Group's development.

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 in overseas offices.

Commencement of Risk Management Promotion in the Entire GroupThe KOKUYO Group took the opportunity of the integration in 2015 to establish an organization and start taking steps topromote risk management. The aim of this activity is to establish a risk management circle from the Group's point ofview. First, we started with recognizing what kind of risk exists in the entire KOKUYO Group, and considered policy ofprioritization and measures from a perspective of what is best for the Group as a whole, and promoted it. We will clarify
the particularly important themes or themes related to the entire organization, and aim to improve the effectiveness andefficiency of risk management by advancing the activity across the entire Group.

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KOKUYO Logitem has held compliance training every year
since 2012. The General Affairs and Human Resources
Department conducts the training, which is held for all
employees. The aim of this training is to help the employees toacquire legal knowledge that must be observed when caring out
our business. From the issues such as power harassment andsexual harassment, we chose the themes Waste Disposal andPublic Cleaning Law and the Act against Delay in Payment of
Subcontract Proceeds, which are closely related to the
KOKUYO Logitem's business, and the Labor Standards Act, especially the 36 Agreement, and we areworking hard to observe the compliance.

Formulation and Implementation of Business Continuity Planning (BCP)
Business Continuity Planning (BCP) defines action plans to continue business operations to the best of our ability after
the occurrence of unforeseen circumstances, such as disasters and accidents, as well as action plans to recover andresume business in as little time as possible where interruption is unavoidable. In order to product supply with greater
stability even in critical times such as disaster or outbreak of infectious disease, KOKUYO Group is thorough in its
Group-uniting crisis management and will continue to promote continuous business management.

Early Response Measures during Disasters
To ensure all employees can restore calm behavior in the event oflarge-scale disaster, we distributed survival cards that list
procedures to be followed during times of disaster and ask all theemployees to carry the cards with them at all times. The survival
card provides three rules to follow during disasters - (1) to ensure
one's personal safety, (2) to remain calm, and (3) to report one's
own condition - as well as information about how to browse
disaster message boards offered by cell phone companies and an
information section for identification in case of unexpectedcircumstances. In addition, the emergency action plans for
employees that provide a full detail of the survival card are posted

Survival cards (left) and emergency action plans foron the intranet to raise awareness of measures against disasters.

employees (right)

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Creation of a safety confirmation system and implementation of practice
To make quick confirmation of the safety of Group employees in times of disasters, in 2006, we set up a safety
confirmation system using cell phones, PCs, fixed line telephones and other means of employee communication.
Immediately after the earthquake in March 2011, it was temporarily not possible to use telephones and e-mail. At
present, however, no other alternative systems seem to be able to confirm the safety of a large number of employees atthe same time. For the time being, we will continue to require all employees to register their cell phones and othercontact addresses, and make sure that all employees receive notification and that contact information is kept up to dateand in a usable state. (In 2016, practices were implemented twice with approximately 6,000 participants.)

Implementation of Emergency Drills at Business Locations
To ensure that all employees take safety precautions on their own
in an emergency, along with regular countermeasures forearthquakes, we are conducting periodic training and drills thatsimulate a large-scale earthquake on weekdays. In 2016, theOsaka Headquarters and the Shinagawa Office held an
evacuation drill simulating the situation after receiving an early
earthquake warning. Actions for maintaining safety by taking
cover under desks are applied. There were also initial firefighting
training and reporting to the fire department and disaster center,through to the evacuation after terminating initial firefighting,based on a scenario of an office fire after earthquake. Also, theAn emergency drill held at the Osaka Headquarters

Shinagawa Office held training to rescue trapped employees
using a ladder truck. The KOKUYO Group will continue to increase the Group-wide crisis-response capability in the
future.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

Corporate Activities

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

Notebook for Practicing Japanese, Created from the Idea of Trainees

The idea of the trainees was commercialized through communication with responsible staff members of KOKUYO Vietnam Trading

KOKUYO Vietnam Trading invented a notebook forpracticing Japanese for Vietnamese students of Japanese
together with Kansai University. Kansai University has been
providing a Global Company Experience Program for its
students since 2014, and KOKUYO Vietnam trading has
been participating in the program as a host company fromthe beginning. The trainees interviewed 500 Vietnamesestudents of Japanese. As a result, they thought of the idea
for this product because the number of students of Japanesein Vietnam is increasing, yet there was no notebook suitable
for learning kanji.

Cover photo: Nemophila-covered hillside at Hitachi
Seaside Park in Ibaraki Prefecture81

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Basic Concepts
Building Stronger Relationships of Trust with Our Suppliers
As corporate activities are becoming more globalized, KOKUYO Group is well aware that managing its own company
and its subsidiary companies is insufficient to fulfill the scope of social responsibility. In 2013, the Group therefore invited
32 principal subcontractors to give an account of the procurement policy and implemented a self-examinationquestionnaire for feedback to the subcontractors. In 2014, we sent the basic procurement policy and guidelines to nearly
400 suppliers. We strive to further build relationships of trust through these activities.

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 thespecial needs of various countries and regions as well as pursuing the highest standards of quality andsafety.
Mutual Development
The Group respects and observes the regulations as well as social norms of various countries andregions, 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 and aims fora society where the rights of all people are respected.
Environmental Protection and Symbiosis with Local Communities
The Group takes environmental protection initiatives on a global scale, and, by actively participating in thelife of the community and acting as a good corporate citizen, seeks to create mutually beneficial
relationships with society.

KOKUYO Group Procurement Guidelines
The Kokuyo Group fulfills its social responsibilities throughout its supply chains. To contribute to society through its
business activities, the Group has prepared its Kokuyo Group Procurement Policy and the Kokuyo Group Procurement
Guidelines.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

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KOKUYO MESSE 2016
KOKUYO MESSE 2016 was held at the Shinagawa Showroom
during the 3 days from July 6 to 3. KOKUYO Partner's Messe,
which had been held as an event of the Stationery business tointroduce new products to volume retailers and retailers, wasgiven a complete overhaul and relaunched as KOKUYO MESSE.
We expanded the purpose, removed the boundary of business,and established it as a place for suggestions to help customers
solve problems. As for exhibited products, we prepared many
proposals of not only new products but also our traditional
products (Mono) in connection with customers' problems (Koto),
for which we received favorable reviews.

Stationery Business Conducted an Audit of Subcontractors
The Stationery business has been implementing an audit of subcontractors for the purpose of securing reliability ofenvironmental indicators in product catalogs. In 2016, we conducted a factory audit of 90 companies. We visit our
subcontractors to check for compliance with standards concerning environment-friendliness established by the Green
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 areused in the production process, and whether there are any issues in the legitimacy of materials. In addition, we workwith the subcontractors to consider challenges to properly guarantee compliance with the environment-conscious
standards in the audit. By exchanging information on examples of cases where reliability with regards to production
control was improved, we strive to ensure the reliability of environmental indicators in the future. In order to enhance thevalue we offer to our customers, we 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.

Furniture Business Held Subcontractor Meetings
The Furniture business holds subcontractor meetings with major subcontractors twice a year. In 2016, the meetings
were held in May and December. At the May meeting, participants reflected upon the previous year and shared theircurrent term's business strategy. At the December meeting, the Furniture business explained their production, sales andinventory policies for the 2017 demand season and sought the cooperation of the subcontractors. In addition, in theexecution of business strategy, KOKUYO expressed its gratitude by recognizing subcontractors that took excellent
initiatives as POWER* subcontractors. Their initiatives are also presented so that we can learn from one another for coexistence and co-prosperity, and cooperate to improve the entire Furniture business.
*POWER is derived from the initial letters of 5 indicators: professionalism, ownership, wisdom, external focus and revolution.

Subcontractors

Explanation by Mr. Sakagami, GroupManaging Officer and Head of Furniture

A toast at the get-together

Business

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Kaunet Agent Meeting that deepen its ties with distributors
On February 17 to 26, Kaunet held an Agent Meeting at 5
locations across Japan to explain the key points of the 2016
Spring/Summer catalog and management policies to the agents
who are Kaunet distributors. In addition to the explanation of thesales strategy and media of Kaunet, Kaucore Premium items,
which are original Kaunet products with unique creativity, havebeen explained by the product development group to small groups
as a new approach, and we thus tried to deepen agents'
understanding. We will engage in various activities to synchronize
the activities of agents and of Kaunet.
Explanations were made to small groups in order foragents to see the items more closely

KiSPA* 2017 Catalog and @office 2017 Catalog Information Session for Suppliers
On April 20, the KiSPA 2017 Catalog and @office 2017 Catalog
Policy Information Session was held to strengthen our
relationships with our suppliers and to increase the value of thecatalogs, and 234 people from 166 suppliers attended. KiSPA
catalog and @office catalog are catalogs for corporate customers
where all products necessary for offices are available in one
volume, and besides products of KOKUYO, the suppliers provide
products from stationery to daily necessities and furniture. At thepolicy information session, we explained the issues of retailers
who promote the catalogs and the direction of KOKUYO's
solutions, as well as the policy and improvements of the 2017
issues. We will continue to work to grow together with the
suppliers by creating catalogs that customers and retailers will
choose by increasing the catalog value (product line-up andcontent) with the cooperation of our suppliers.
*KiSPA is the abbreviation for "KOKUYO is YOUR PARTNER" - it expresses
KOKUYO's desire to be the best partner with customers and stationery
retailers.

2017 issues of both catalogs

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KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

Corporate Activities

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

Basic Concepts
Policy and Achievements Regarding Dividends
We are working towards sustainable business growth to maximize corporate value in the medium- to long-term and toincrease dividends paid to shareholders, and aim to realize a payout ratio of 25% by the period ending December 31,
2018 as a return to shareholders. In FY2016, we offered an annual dividend of 22.0 yen per share (7.5 yen as an interim
dividend and 14.5 yen as a year-end dividend). Retained earnings are actively employed to make investments for future
growth.

Making Management More Transparent
1)IR Activities
We strive to fairly and accurately convey the KOKUYO Group businesses, corporate attitude and vision for the future, as
well as achieve two-way communication. In 2016, we held the following IR activities:■For institutional investors:
The financial results briefing was held twice last year where the President and CEO spoke about the Group's results
and strategies. We also explained the Group's status through individual visits, small meetings, and foreign investor
conferences.
■For individual investors:
In addition to explanations on the Group, the person in charge of product development introduced the productdevelopment process to help increase their understanding of the Group and to foster a sense of familiarity.
We will continue to proactively engage in IR activities to raise our corporate value.
2)Information Disclosure:
We disclose information in accordance with the rules established by the Tokyo Stock Exchange for the timely disclosureof corporate information by issuers of listed securities (hereinafter referred to as the "rules of timely disclosure"). And theinformation that may not be subject to the rules of timely disclosure we also endeavor, as a matter of basic policy, topromptly disclose as proactively and fairly as possible by way of appropriate methods so as to help investors tounderstand our company better.
※ Related information: IR News86

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Shareholder Special Benefit Plans
To respond to the continuing support of KOKUYO shareholders
and with the aim of significantly deepening the understanding of
the KOKUYO Group by having shareholders actually use Group
products, KOKUYO has established a shareholder special benefit
plan. Under this plan, KOKUYO Group products are sent once a
year to holders of 500 shares or more.

KOKUYO Group products sent to shareholders at theend of December, 2016

An IR event was held for individual investors titled "Company
information session: Story of 'Dotliner' tape glue development"
on August 19, 2016 to secure loyal stockholders and around
100 people participated.
In general, individual investors invest in shares to gain profits
through stock dealing and to get dividends. As such, the holding
period of shares is unstable. However, we believe that bymaking the individual investors loyal fans of KOKUYO, theinvestors will become great customers for our products andservices and will end up holding the shares for a longer period of time. Therefore, in addition to theprovision of information such as the company overview and future business strategies through thestandard investor information sessions, we held the IR event to convey the stories relating to products sothat investors will understand KOKUYO better and be better acquainted with the company.
The first part of the company information session described KOKUYO's history, overviews of eachbusiness, financial status, strategies for the future, target for the period ending December 31, 2016. In thesecond part, the person responsible for the Stationery business introduced the development process thattook about 3 years and the product line-up of the Glue Tape "Dot Liner", which was launched in 2015 andachieved cumulative sales of 80 million. Of the individual investors who attended the event, somerequested for more detailed information relating to the business and finances while many shared opinions
and thoughts on KOKUYO's focus in the creation of Campus notebooks.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

Respect for Human Rights

In order to bring out the motivation and creativity of our employees, KOKUYO is making efforts to change the goal
setting and evaluation systems and methods in the Personnel System.

Basic Concepts
Creating an Environment that Facilitates the Growth of Each Employee
The KOKUYO Group is promoting the development of a mechanism and an environment where capable andenthusiastic employees can play an active role in the workplace, and where they are appreciated for their performance
regardless of nationality, race, gender, age, religion or academic background. As a part of this, we provide a fairassessment of employees' job skills and performance after clarifying the duties and roles of employees, and not only do
we reflect the assessment appropriately in their treatment and compensation, but we also further review the results of
the assessment to link it to the growth of employees. In 2016, we started three new approaches to change the goal
setting and evaluation systems and methods in the Personnel System as a part of the medium-term management plan"Value Transformation 2018". In the medium-term management plan, we are undertaking operation model reforms torealize customer-orientated value creation, and the goal is to bring about changes in the relationship between people
and the company, and to bring out the motivation and creativity of the employees.
[Three approaches that cause changes in the relationship between people and the company](1) Change of the goal setting system(2) Change of the evaluation system(3) Clearer reflection of evaluation in employee treatment
Our aim is that all employees will make effort to achieve the goals of the company and to create a cycle that links thecompany's growth to individual growth.

A system that links the company's growth with individual growth
Making a system in which each employee can understand the purpose of making effort
In April 2016, the 2016 First Half Fiscal Year Goal SettingWorkshop was held, and about 60 managers and members of top
management attended this event. This workshop was held toincrease awareness of the issues concerning goal setting for thesecond half of the fiscal year by developing greater understandingof the purpose of goal setting and how we approach the goal upon
actually experiencing the new goal setting system started in thefirst half of 2016, and sharing what was achieved this time, whatchanges were made, what difficulties were faced, and whichaspect did not go as planned. This workshop is also a part of themedium-term management plan "Self-reform focusing on value

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

creation - Value Transformation 2018" that was started by
KOKUYO together with efforts to change the goal setting andevaluation systems, as well as methods that bring out the
motivation and creativity of our employees. The new system aims
to ensure that the entire company, from management to generalemployees, can communicate with consistency. In the previous
commitment-type communication, in which supervisors tell thegoal unilaterally, the goal tended to be set in place, leaving
employees unable to fully understand the purpose. By switching toconsensus-type communication, where supervisors andsubordinates repeatedly discuss why this high priority theme
should be addressed and what goal they want to set for

President Hidekuni Kuroda himself explained the
purpose and key points of this initiative, practicing

themselves in accordance with that, we have aimed to make anconsensus-type communication

environment where all employees can set their goals after understanding the purpose. Through this workshop, themanagers and members of top management again gave reminders that the purpose will be clarified by sharing
recognition among supervisors and subordinates through this goal setting, and we aim to clarify what we need to workon by making clear the connection between the people around us. With this realization in mind, we will continue
promoting efforts to establish the new system.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

Respect for Human Rights

We are implementing initiatives that can maximize the motivation and ability of every individual employee as we seek tobecome a company where all employees, from new employees to management, constantly learn and progress.

Policy of Human Resource Development
The KOKUYO Group is promoting systematic individual development centered on three elements - job site, feedback,and training - with the goal of maximizing the individual value of each employee. Training is given mainly by profession
at each turning point for businesspersons to provide them with different opportunities to develop their potential throughtraining for selected employees and optional training, offering strong support for employees willing to accept suchchallenges.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Human Resource Development Program
Open Challenge Program that Expand Visions through Interactions with Human Resourcesfrom Different Industries
The Open Challenge Program (hereinafter referred to "OCP") is across-industry exchange training program that the KOKUYOGroup has been participating in. Employees within the Group are
invited to participate voluntarily. The aims of the OCP are theexpansion of visions (to become aware of their own potential);acquisition of knowledge, skills, and mindset required for future
career formation; and meeting new people (building of external
network). The secretariats of participating companies give
opinions and carefully choose the high-quality program, and theresult of the questionnaire given to the participants shows the highdegree of satisfaction. Great benefits of this program include the

In 2016, a total of 16 companies participated in theinspiration of different values from KOKUYO's and the interaction

program in Osaka and Tokyo.

with human resources from different industries. It is a good opportunity to form valuable personal connections.

Product Workshop for Sales Assistants to Increase Customer Satisfaction
On August 22, the Furniture Business Division and KOKUYO
Logitem held a product workshop for sales assistants of the
Customer Front Department. One of the operations of the sales
assistants is to understand demands of customers correctly andlead these to supply our products. The workshop using actual
products was held to respond to customers with deeper productknowledge and complicated delivery process knowledge, and tosend accurate information to places of delivery. We will continue
to hold this type of training in order to have smoothcommunication with our customers, and we would like to gain
more loyal customers by responding accurately to their inquiries.

Changes to the top, bottom and back of the structure of
the storage, as well as important reminders whenordering parts, were introduced in an easy tounderstand manner.

Joint Female Employee Workshop of 3 KOKUYO Group Companies as a First Attempt
We held a joint female employee workshop of 3 companies forselected female employees from KOKUYO Furniture Business
Division, KOKUYO Logitem, and KOKUYO Engineering &Technology over two days in September and November. The
purpose of this workshop is to strive to improve motivation byrecognizing employees' sense of value and thinking about thesignificance of working. Furthermore, we achieved synergy byholding the workshop jointly. The contents of the workshop were
things that the participants do not usually have chance to think
about - such as reflection on the past, the appeal of their current
jobs, and what they want to do in the future. However, they
deepened their thinking on their futures by discussing them at

16 female employees from 3 Group companies held
discussions for 5 hours

places away from work, and received mutual encouragement through cross-company interaction.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Support to Acquire Difficult National Qualifications by Taking Advantage of the Subsidy
System of Japan
KOKUYO Engineering & Technology (KET), which performs
interior finishing and installation construction for offices, organized
the Qualification Acquisition Promotion Committee in 2012 for the
purpose of creating construction engineers, and in 2015 began
initiatives that take advantage of the subsidy system of Japan.
The employees who participated in this initiative tackled the firstclass building operation and management engineer qualification,
which is a difficult national qualification, and 15 employees in thefirst year and 9 in the second year passed the qualification exam.
The examinees had various problems, such as not being able totake time to study because of work, and the results of the trial
exams did not improve. However, this accomplishment is theRegular study meeting using video-conferencing system
connecting different regions of Japan

result of creating an environment where the entire company gives support by sharing study methods among examinees
and coordinating operations with their superiors.

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KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

Respect for Human Rights

The KOKUYO Group promotes diversity as an essential initiative for sustainable growth and development. We aretaking steps with the belief that diversity means creating a work environment where many positions and values aremutually recognized and various work styles are permitted, thus making it possible for each and every employee to draw
on his or her innate abilities.

Management of Japan's First Agricultural Production Corporation with the
Aim of Increasing the Job Scope Available for Disabled People

Since the period prior to World War II, KOKUYO has supported disabled
employees based on the company's founding spirit. KOKUYO hasremained firm in its belief of that time, which is to train human resources
who are capable of making the most of their innate abilities without treating
people with disabilities any differently. A special subsidiary*, KOKUYOHeartland, was founded in 2006, and 19 people including 7 disabled people(intellectually and mentally) belong to it. We are engaged in hydroponic
cultivation of spinach for salad as an Agricultural Production Corporation asa special subsidiary company, which is the first of its kind in Japan. Whenwe were looking for a new business model in order to increase the job
scope available for disabled people, we came to know about agricultural
production corporations that hire disabled people. The disabled employees
are engaged in most of the work, such as seeding, harvesting, weighing,packing, shipping and washing cultivation beds and tanks after harvesting,Spinach for salad can be eaten fresh without
cooking because it has the mild taste
by exercising ingenuity such as instructing repeatedly using as simple words
peculiar to spinach.
as possible, and positing necessary information for easy viewing. Since weeven ask nearby facilities for the disabled people for help in weighing andpacking, contributing to promote the employment of disabled people. The primary feature of KOKUYO Heartland's spinach
is its quality. It stays beautiful longer by removing the perishable lower leaves and roots by hand and shipping only edible
leaves. Intellectually and mentally disabled employees have a strong point of being able to do one thing continuously. The
fact that disabled employees do their work accurately and carefully leads to assured quality. We gained our reputation
through these activities, and the current annual shipment is 52 tons. We sell this product to volume sellers, department
stores and restaurants. In the future, we plan to ensure stable supply of the product and stable employment while keeping
the high quality, which is not subject to price competition, by presenting the appeal of spinach for salad through recipes andother ideas. Furthermore, we will support the independence and growth of disabled employees from different aspects byproviding guidance necessary for social life such as greeting, cleaning and grooming.
*A special subsidiary company is a subsidiary company established with approval from the country upon fulfilling certain requirements
pursuant to the provisions of the Act on Employment Promotion for the Disabled. As a special rule, employees of subsidiaries are
deemed to be employed by the parent company and can be included in calculating employment ratios.

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Basic Concepts
Basic Framework for Diversity
We believe that diversity means creating a work environment where many positions and values are mutually recognizedand various work styles are permitted, thus making it possible for each and every employee to draw on his or her innate
abilities. KOKUYO has identified the following four basic themes related to diversity:

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Establishment and Penetration of Support Systems
The KOKUYO Group is working to make improvements in its systems that will create an environment where it is easy to
get a good balance between work and life, such as bearing children, raising them, and caring for senior family members.
(The parts underlined are beyond the range of statutory provisions)

Statutory system for the purpose of child-rearing and nursing-care support*
Maternity leave

Spousal maternity leave

14 weeks before and after childbirth (22 weeks for multiple-fetus pregnancy)
A leave of absence granted when a spouse is giving birth. Two days for eachchildbirth.
A childcare leave is given until the end of April after a child reaches the age of 1,
or until the child reaches the age of one and a half, whichever longer. (For thoseChildcare leave

who were born in April, it is given until the end of April when the child reaches theage of two) *Including the Additional Leave for Mom & Dad (Extension of period
when both parents take a childcare leave)

Sick/Injured childcare
leave

Family care leave

Nursing care leave

Short working hour system

Up to 5 days per year, or 10 days for two or more children, to look after a childbelow school age. (Can also be obtained in half-day units)
Up to a total of 183 days for each person requiring nursing care. (Can be taken in
up to 3 blocks)
Up to 5 days per year per person requiring nursing care, or 10 days for two or
more. (Can also be obtained in half-day units)Childcare: Until a child finishes its third year in elementary school.
Nursing care: Up to three years per person requiring nursing care.
Can be taken in 1-day units (up to 52 times in one year) or hourly units

Teleworking

Childcare: Until a child finishes its third year in elementary school.
Nursing care: Up to three years
Eligible personnel include regular employees who left their jobs due to marriage,

Re-employment systemchild-bearing, 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"95

KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Achieving a Good Work/Life Balance
The KOKUYO Group is committed to providing ideal working conditions withconsideration for achieving a good work/life balance. These efforts have beenrecognized by the government and four of the group companies have received acertification logo (nickname: Kurumin Mark) as of December 31, 2016. 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 and organizations taking an active stance in supporting child-raising.
[Companies that received the Kurumin Mark] As of December 31, 2016
KOKUYO Co., Ltd., KAUNET Co., Ltd., KOKUYO Marketing Co., Ltd.,KOKUYO Engineering & Technology Co., Ltd

Introduction of Teleworking System and Flextime System without a Core Period
KOKUYO has introduced a teleworking system on a daily or hourly basis for employees who have restrictions on time orplace due to child rearing or nursing care. The employees can put effort to engage in both child rearing and work byusing their spare time efficiently, such as the time before leaving to work in the morning or the time after finishinghousework until going to bed. Furthermore, we aim to improve work-life balance and realize higher productivity byintroducing a flextime system without a core period and making working hours flexible.

1-Day Trial of Onsite Childcare Support During Winter Holiday Attempted as Part of New Wayof Working
On December 26, the Furniture Business Division held a 1-day
trial of onsite childcare support in Shinagawa Office forelementary school children of the employees working in
Shinagawa and Sekigahara. This is a part of the trial of the new
ways of working that we have been promoting. Unlike nurseryschools, elementary school has long vacations such as summer
vacation and winter holiday, and children who do not go tochildcare support center spend more time alone. On the other
hand, it is difficult for parents to take long leave as their children
do. In response to such a background, Onsite Childcare Support
Trial Office held this 1-day trial as an attempt to reduce the stressof elementary school children and parents and create working

A child studying by himself in the workplace of his
motherconditions where they can work continuously with peace of mind.
Many children commented in the survey that it strengthened their feeling of support for their working parents. We willtake a variety of initiatives by making use of the experienced gained from this trial and the results of the survey.

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Cross-industry Initiatives
We strive for collaborations beyond industry boundaries in order to promote diversity.

KOKUYO has participated in the Iku-Boss Project Alliancesponsored by Fathering Japan since it started in December
2014. In order for organizations to maximize the abilities of
employees, the management must understand that employees
have time constraints due to childcare, care of elderly relatives, illnesses and more, and it is essential forthe management to change their way of thinking. By participating in the Iku-Boss Corporation Alliance,
participating advanced corporations with the same awareness of challenges can share their knowledge tomake 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 thesolution to challenges held by customers as a corporation that suggests new working styles.

KOKUYO participates in the Diversity Western Japan Workshop, in which about 40 companies located in
the Kansai region gather to share information and establish networks. Diversity promotion managers fromvarious companies gather and exchange opinions on themes such as reforms in the way of working,support for disabled people to take active roles, and support for a balance between work, child care andnursing care, and we make use of what we have learned in our own companies.

For the purpose of making a working environment where each and every employee can play an activerole, 4 companies with the same awareness of issues established a group to think about the ideal way ofworking. In 2016, a discussion meeting for female employees who are concerned about work-life balanceenjoyed an event with role models with experience of raising children. Concern and worry for managing
both things were reduced, and this provided an opportunity for the participating employees to think about
their careers. We plan to hold a cross-industrial exchange seminar for male employees in the future.

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KOKUYO K Heart - Aiming to Becoming a Business Improvement Partner Essential for theGroup
Since the start of employment of disabled people at the main
factory in 1940, the KOKUYO Group has been continually creatinga workplace where we all work together. In 2003 we founded a
special subsidiary, KOKUYO K Heart, with the aim of employing
disabled people. At its establishment, it was one of thesubcontractors that print catalogs and leaflets. However, it is
growing now from a company that hires disabled people as amember of the KOKUYO Group into an essential company as abusiness improvement partner. Progress is being made withtransfer of operations from the Stationery Business Division, suchas documentation of development and market analysis, and we

There are 86 employees, including 39 disabled ones (asare promoting various businesses that overturn the concept thatof the end of March 2016).

the work managed by disabled people is simple.

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KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

Respect for Human Rights

KOKUYO believes that creating a safe, secure and pleasant working environment, health management of theemployees, and safety measures in times of disaster are the foundation for employees to work vigorously anddemonstrate their full abilities. We establish systems and structures while actively exchanging opinions with employees.

Safety and Health Discussion Meeting where Employees Review
Worker Safety

The KOKUYO Group has constantly taken health and safety initiatives based on our belief that the foundation that
supports the growth of the company is the health and safety of the employees. In 2016, vice chairman Yasuhiro
Kuroda became the chairperson of the Central Safety Health Committee, which is in charge of promoting thecross-sectional health and safety of the Group. Furthermore, management committed to safeguard the health andsafety of employees and partners and is accelerating the evolution and strengthening of the initiatives. The
activities covered by health and safety vary because there is a wide range of operations in the KOKUYO Group,
such as manufacturing, construction and transportation, and there is also a variety of working environments suchas offices, factories and construction sites. Therefore, we have to conduct health and safety activities that conformto the characteristics of the operations. Members who are in charge of safety management in the construction
business field and at the main 5 factories exchanged their opinions as an opportunity for employees to review thehealth and safety of the KOKUYO Group. In the construction business field, the construction area is expanding andconstruction contents have become more sophisticated as products diversify, so logically we must improve thesystem of safety management and create a safety-critical corporate culture. In addition, the safety management
activity is a closely connected and important activity for production plants where large machines are always inoperation. However, it was recognized that there is no perfectly correct way, and thus such matters can becomeroutine - and people become caught up in a dilemma between strict adherence to quality and deadlines, andmodification of unsafe situations at the field. In addition, we were also able to share countermeasures, as well as
issues, to make each and every worker conscious of protecting their own safety, and to do so, create a transparent
work environment that enhances the trustworthy relationship firmly between safety managers and onsite workers.
Safety for the KOKUYO Group is not something we maintain while weighing it against profits and productivity, butsomething we must guarantee as a basis for work. With the detail of this discussion meeting in mind, we,especially the Central Safety Health Committee, will promote a working environment where employees can behealthy and safe, and work vigorously.

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Basic Concepts
The KOKUYO Group is promoting safe, secure and pleasant working environments while encouraging active exchangeof opinions with the workplaces, as they are vital to smooth business operations.

KOKUYO Group Health Targets and 2016 Results
The KOKUYO Group has been promoting health activities by collaborating with the in-house Health Insurance
Association and Health Management Office in setting specific health goals from 2013 in order to prevent lifestylediseases. We have carried out a campaign to encourage the habit of enjoyable exercise by recording daily the numberof steps taken or weight, and we have also held backache prevention seminars. Moreover, as preventive measures forcancer, we installed an apparatus for mammography so that examination can be performed during the regular in-house
health check-ups in order to promote having medical examinations for breast cancer and colorectal cancer. We haveactively enhanced health check items of this sort, and have created opportunities for employees to benefit from medical
examinations with health awareness.
KOKUYO Group data

Percentage of employeeswith a BMI over 25
Percentage of employees who
smoke (from Q&A data)

2013

2014

2015

2016

21%

23%

23%

23%

26%

26%

27%

26%

Specific Steps We Have Taken in 2016
1) Implementation of health campaign
It was the 3rd year of the walking campaign that is held jointly by KOKUYO and KOKUYO Health Insurance Association
for all employees. This health activity, called the GG campaign, is based on the concept of "enjoy becoming fit andreceive rewards!" Each employee self-reports the number of steps they have taken daily, and those who achieved theirgoals receives seasonal fruits. We will strive to increase health awareness by continuing this activity, for which thenumber of participants is increasing every year.

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Number of participants of the GG campaign
2014Participants

2015

2016

340

670

853

personpersonperson2) Infection control measures
In order to reduce the risk of severe illness, we are expanding the opportunities (places) to have flu vaccinations within
the company. In addition, we are expanding the opportunities (places) to have vaccinations both inside and outside thecompany by offering subsidies from the Health Insurance Association.
Number of people who had vaccinations
2014

No. of people receiving vaccinations

2015

2016

2,487

2,749

2,852

personpersonperson3) Mental health initiatives
Since 2016, we have been conducting stress checks based on laws and regulations. In order to establish a system
where each employee can receive self-care without hesitating, we are making an environment 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 they feel.
4) Certified Health and Productivity Management Organization
KOKUYO (Headquarters: Osaka City, President: Hidekuni
Kuroda) was selected as a Certified Health and Productivity
Management Organization sponsored by the Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry. This certification is to honor large enterprises,
SMEs and other organizations engaging in initiatives for overcoming health-related challenges or for promoting healthconscious activities.

Labor Practices/Safety and Health2016 KOKUYO Group Construction Safety and Health Conference/Safety Conference and
Safety Patrol at KOKUYO Group factories
The 2016 KOKUYO Group Construction Safety and HealthConferences were held at 7 venues from Hokkaido to Kyushu as apreparatory period for the 89th National Safety Week* (July 1 to7). Vice chairman Yasuhiro Kuroda, who became the chairpersonof the Central Safety Health Committee from April, delivered theopening address at each conference. He expressed appreciation
to the employees involved in delivery and construction sites aswell as to partners, and conveyed his strong desire to create acompany in which employees can work with peace of mind.
Furthermore, during National Safety Week, safety conferences
and safety patrols were held at 5 plants in 7 locations: Mie Plant,

Chairperson Yasuhiro Kuroda delivering the opening

Shibayama Plant, KOKUYO Product Shiga (Shiga Plant),

address (picture taken at Chubu District Construction
Safety and Health Conference)

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KOKUYO MVP (Tottori Factory, Aoya Factory), and Iwami Paper Industry (Head Factory, Ato Factory). We will continue
conducting the activities related to health and safety especially by each Safety Health Committee, including the Central
Safety Health Committee.
*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, Labour and Welfare andJapan Industrial Safety and Health Association.

Transportation
Group companies carry out daily checks to ensure that theworkplaces are clean and orderly, as well as monthly safety
patrols. In addition, to make transportation sites in the KOKUYOGroup safer, there are regular training sessions such as safety
education for operating forklifts. We conduct initiatives for safety
and quality in collaboration with partner companies on a daily
basis and we strive to provide logistics services that satisfy ourcustomers. In addition, we conduct awareness campaigns that fit
the characteristics of each center. KOKUYO Supply Logistics
takes elaborated measures each year for part-time workers of thecenters so that they can endure work in summertime. There are

Distributing ice creams as prevention of heat stroke

about 400 part-time workers in the centers. In the past we have

(Kinki IDC)

distributed cooling scarves, gym towels, salt candies and sports drinks. In recent years, we have temporarily stopped
operation all together and distributed ice creams so that workers can cool off in the hot summer while having a break.
We aim for smooth operation of the centers by using this as an opportunity to engage in communication with part-timeworkers.

Disaster Drills at Shinagawa Office and Osaka Headquarters
For disaster preparedness, the offices in the east and west
regularly implement disaster and evacuation drills to ascertain theroles of organizations and individuals in an emergency.
Shinagawa Office held a disaster drill on May 25, 2016 at 10 a.m.
based on the scenario where a low magnitude 6 earthquake with
its epicenter off Tokyo Bay occurred in Tokyo. At the Osaka
Headquarters, a disaster drill was held on November 9 with thebasic themes of "Understanding safety procedures and rules
established for large earthquakes and fires" and "Confirmation ofbasic behavior to ensure personal safety for each employee". In
addition, safety confirmation via emails to KOKUYO Group staff

Rescue by means of a ladder car (Shinagawa Office)throughout the country was carried out in conjunction with disaster
drills. At both Osaka Headquarters and Shinagawa Office, 3 days'
worth of food and water are stocked in preparation for disasters.
In order to prevent the need for employees to go to the disasterprevention warehouse to obtain the necessary items, a disasterprevention cabinet that can accommodate a day's worth of food,water, towels, etc. has been installed on every floor and is stockedwith selected essential items. Furthermore, there is a "KOKUYO
disaster prevention" page on the company network that holds anemergency manual for employees, survival cards and more sothat employees know how to respond and act in times ofdisasters.

Gathering at evacuation site (Osaka Headquarters)

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First aid and AED training event held for workers in Metropolitan Area
On October 25, we held a first aid and AED training event for theemployees of metropolitan area at showroom facility of
Shinagawa Office. The Tokyo Disaster Prevention and Emergency
Medical Service Association undertook lectures and training on
cardiopulmonary resuscitation (first aid) and how to use AED. In
addition, we received an explanation of how to remove foreign
matter from the respiratory tract, and haemostatic technique.
Taking measures while waiting for an ambulance has a great
effect in saving lives because it takes an average of 7 to 8
minutes for an ambulance to arrive after a 119 call in Tokyo. We
are planning to hold a similar training event next year. On

AED training using dolls

September 12, prior to the training course, we received a letter ofappreciation from the Takanawa Fire Department for striving to increase the knowledge of emergency aid.

Communication with Employees
Activities of KOKUYO Labor Union with the key phrase "Work, Live, Advance ↑"On August 31, the KOKUYO Labor Union held a beer party afterwork at Shinagawa Showroom. The aim was to ensure smooth
operation by communicating with each other outside of work. A
wide variety of people - not only union members but also
managers, temporary employees and part-time workers participated in the event, and it was a huge success. The
KOKUYO Labor Union has been promoting various activities from2014 with the key phrase "Work, Live, Advance↑". We aim to linkpersonal growth to the Group's growth by implementing the circle
that involves working efficiently by raising the value of work, andraising the value of life by spending free time more enjoyably, andthen raising the value of work by knowledge acquired during free

A record-high 270 employees participated in the beer
party, which was being held for the first time in 2 years.

time.

2016 Retirement Ceremony
Retirement ceremonies were held on April 26 for 30 people who
retired in the first half of the year and on October 5 for 33 people
who retired in the second half of the year. The retirement
ceremony is to celebrate the retirement of employees of the
KOKUYO Group who are approaching mandatory retirement inappreciation of their many years of hard work. At the ceremony,
their memories with KOKUYO and what they want to convey tothe next generation were read out when the Chairman, Akihiro
Kuroda, gave a list of gifts to each attendee. Gratitude was thus
expressed for their many years of effort.

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"What I'd Like to Be" Office Held a Tanabata Festival
On July 4 and 5, a Tanabata Festival was held by the "What I'dlike to be" Office, which aims to ensure diversity promotion andsuccess of women at KOKUYO Logitem. Many employees put
their wishes on colorful paper slips, and these were dedicated to
Hiraoka Shrine, which is located close to the company.
"What I'd like to be" Office is planning a variety of training
programs and events. KOKUYO Logitem will continue aiming fordiversity promotion and the success of women.

This event was held at the Headquarters New Building
XT (Kurosuto) and Mie Distribution

2016 KOKUYO Memorial Service for Deceased Employees
On August 19, the 2016 KOKUYO memorial service for deceased
employees was held at Tentokuin Temple on Mt. Koyasan. This
memorial service is to enshrine the spirit of the deceased ones
from the past year with a show of appreciation to predecessors
who contributed to the development of the KOKUYO Group.
When the Group marked its 70th anniversary in 1974, a memorial
monument for the deceased was built on Mt. Koyasan at thesuggestion of the late Shonosuke Kuroda, honorary chairman,
and the ceremony has been held every year since then. A total of
31 people - 29 employees and ex-employees, and 2 distributors were enshrined this fiscal year, bringing to 586 the total number of

The Chairman Akihiro Kuroda, the chief mourner, andenshrined people since 1974.

the bereaved families attended.

Furniture Business held 2016 Bonding Session to strengthen the value chain
From July 21 to August 26, the Furniture Business bonding
session was held. The bounding session was started in 2012 withthe purpose of strengthening the value chain by having members
related to the Furniture Business gather together, and it marked its
5th year in 2016.
The highlight of the bonding session is the "That's Great! Award"
award system of the Furniture Business. This is a system toaward model employees in terms of their behavior such as selfreproach, unity, and ability to respond to changes, and teams or
employees that contributed to or achieved a high-impact project.
We hope to strengthen our unity through events like this with

Commemorative photo of winners of the Good Job!

appreciation for a variety of people who support the long valueAward in the Business Category of That's Great! Award
2016 (Tokyo)

chain that is peculiar to the Furniture Business.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

Third-Party Assessments

AwardsSmoked Oil from Actus was Selected for THE WONDER 500™, Japan's Excellent Local
ProductsSØHOLM is a restaurant in Tennozu, Shinagawa that serves wild
game cuisine, wine and selected seasonal items. It was opened in2014 by Actus, which sells interior products and small items. The
homemade smoked rice bran oil called SØHOLM SMOKED OIL,
which was used for a small touch for the dishes provided there,
was selected for The Wonder 500™*.
Normally, the aroma of smoked oils does not last, but this oil ischaracterized by a long-lasting aroma and flavor thanks to thecooperation of kazusa-smork, which has a patented technology.
※ The Wonder 500™ project is a regionally-driven Cool Japan project
designed to discover "local products that are the pride and joy of Japan but
not yet known outside of Japan," and then promote them around the world.

A new seasoning idea that was created thanks to therestaurant's small twist of smoking a seasoning

5 Products from KOKUYO Received the 2016 Good Design Award
Winners of the Good Design Award, which is the comprehensive
design promotion system organized by the Japan Institute of
Design Promotion, were announced on September 29, and 5
products of KOKUYO received the award:
2016 Good Design Award winning products- Meeting Table "VIENA" (image: top left)- Electric Elevator Type Table Series "SEQUENCE" (image: top
right)- Office Chair "Duora" (image: bottom left)- Staple-less Stapler "Harinacs Press" (image: bottom middle)- Glue Tape, Dot Liner Series (image: bottom right)
In addition, "VIENA" was selected for the "GOOD DESIGN BEST 100" - which received high praise from juries among
all the Good Design Award winners.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Reed-based Brush Pen ReEDEN Selected in Hanayaka Kansai Selection 2016
To mark the 70th anniversary of the foundation of Kansai
Economic Federation, local specialties recommended forinternational visitors to the Kansai region's ten prefectures wereselected as Hanayaka Kansai Selection 2016*. The Reed-based
Brush Pen ReEDEN from KOKUYO Product Shiga was selected
as a representative of Shiga Prefecture. Each pen is meticulously
crafted by hand, with a carefully selected natural and beautifully
shaped reed from Lake Biwa and the Yodo River System used as
its barrel, making it a one-of-a-kind pen in the whole world. This
received high praise for giving a good opportunity to experience
Japanese culture, such as calligraphy and ink painting, whichleads to environmental maintenance of Lake Biwa and the Yodo
River System utilizing reeds. Above all else, the design, whichmakes people want to pick it up, was highly rated.

The pen was developed as a part of the ReEDEN
Project, which aims for growth and protection of reeds
that play an important part in the environmental
maintenance of Lake Biwa.

※ Kansai Economic Federation is aiming to vitalize the entire Kansai region
by widely disseminating the attractiveness of the 10 prefectures in Kansai area in collaboration with the Union of Kansai Governments and
The Foundation for Kansai Region Promotion.

KOKUYO Received the Award of Excellence at the 20th Environmental Communication
Awards for the 2nd Consecutive Year
KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2016 received the Award of
Excellence at the 20th Environmental Communication Awards
hosted by the Ministry of the Environment and the Global
Environmental Forum for the 2nd consecutive year. The KOKUYOGroup received the Merit Award at the 6th, 7th and 13th Awards,
and the Excellence Award at the 19th and 20th, and this is the 5thtime it has received it. It was deemed to be edited according toISO26000 and GRI, scope 3 initiatives were started, and it wasverified by a third-party that editing of reports such as Highlights of2015 was easy to understand for the readers, and we arecontinuing with our unique effort in biodiversity by means of
ReEDEN. Encouraged by receiving the award, we will strive tofurther enhance the disclosure of information.

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

Assessments
Assessments by external organizations received during FY2016 are as follows.

11th TOYO KEIZAI CSR Ranking (TOYO KEIZAI INC.)

Overall Ranking: 245th

15th Corporate Honesty and Transparency (Ethical and Social) Survey(IntegreX)

Comprehensive Evaluation:
340/1000SNAM Sustainability Index (SOMPO RISK MANAGEMENT & HEALTH CARE)

Beech Tree Forest Survey (SOMPO RISK MANAGEMENT & HEALTH CARE)

Overall Score: 224.1
Comprehensive Evaluation:
Rank A

CDP Climate Change

B（Management）

CDP Forests

B（Management）

19th Environmental Management Survey (Nikkei Inc.)

Overall Ranking: 57th

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KOKUYO Group CSR Report 2017

KOKUYO s CSR Charter

Corporate Proﬁle

KOKUYO Group History

Key Figures about KOKUYOKOKUYO s CSR

Regional Communities

Environmental Conservation

Corporate Activities

Respect for Human Rights

Third-Party Assessments

Customers

Third-Party Assessments

The KOKUYO Group conducted an online survey to gather feedback from a wide range of people from both within andoutside of the company in order to improve on our activities and reports. In appreciation for everyone's cooperation, we
hereby present the survey results for the CSR Report 2016.

Attribute of the respondents

Survey results

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