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Skylark Group's Materiality

Materiality

To realize a sustainable society and improve our corporate value through the provision of food and food-related services, based on our Sustainability Policy, we have identified our materiality from an analysis of their importance, for Skylark Group and for its stakeholders.

Theme Materiality Contribution to SDGs

Society

Help All People Lead Enriched Lives Food Safety & Security
Health & Nutrition
Customer Orientation
DX
Contribute to Realizing an Enriched Society DX
Workstyle Reform
Responsible Procurement

Environment

Environmental Conservation Food Loss & Waste Reduction
Reduction of Plastic Consumption
Decarbonization
Water Resource Conservation
Biodiversity

Steps in Identifying Our Materiality

STEP1 Identifying Issues

  • Issues are identified based on social requirements such as SDGs and evaluation criteria of ESG rating agencies
  • Each division identified issues from their own business areas from a long-term perspective

STEP2 Ordering by Priority

Identified issues are then analyzed and prioritized based on their importance to Skylark Group and importance to its stakeholders.

“Importance to Skylark Group” is evaluated from the perspective of policies and strategies, social demands and issues to be addressed by capturing the nature of the business, and environmental and social considerations, while “Importance to Stakeholders” is evaluated from the perspective of trends in the world, stakeholders' expectations of the Company, and impact on the environment and society.

“Issues of Extreme Importance to Skylark Group.”
Food safety and security, responsible procurement, customer orientation, food loss reduction, decarbonization, nutrition, health maintenance and promotion, success and development of diverse human resources, improvement of working environment, DX, response to changing food preferences, health management, stable logistics.

“Issues of Very High Importance to Our Stakeholders.”
Food safety and security, responsible procurement, customer orientation, food loss reduction, decarbonization, deplasticization, pollution prevention and environmental considerations, water conservation, biodiversity, education, child and forced labor.

STEP3 Identifying Materiality

Prioritized issues are discussed by executives of relevant divisions and then at the Group Sustainability Committee before they are determined as materiality and reported to the Board of Directors.
In identifying the materialities, the company exchanged opinions with external stakeholders at executive study sessions and added “DX” and “biodiversity” to the list.

We review this same process every year and the materiality for 2024 is described below.

Skylark Group's Materiality and Risks/Opportunities

Materiality Main Risks Main Opportunities
Food Safety and Security Reduction in customer trust based on food-related accidents Gain customer trust
Health & Nutrition Reduction in customers based on late response to creating health-oriented menus Increase in customers based on creating health-oriented menus
Customer Orientation Loss of customers due to late response to customer feedback/needs Customer Overall Satisfaction Level Increase customer satisfaction
Gain customer trust
DX Decline in competitiveness due to delayed response Ensure competitive advantage in overall business
Workstyle Reform Slow growth due to lack of human resources and lack of diversity
Increase in labor costs
Acquisition of excellent human resources
Improved productivity
Improved employment and retention rates
Responsible Procurement Decline in trust in the Company and suppliers due to delayed response to social and environmental issues Stable product offerings
Increase in customers based on creating menus focused on ethical eating
Food Loss Reduction Reduction in customers based on late response to food loss Gain customer trust
Decrease in costs and increased earning capacity
Reduction of Plastic Consumption Reduction in customers based on late response to reducing plastic consumption Gain customer trust
Decarbonization Stricter regulations and increased costs related to decarbonization efforts
Business and distribution network stoppages due to natural disasters
Gain customer trust
Cost reductions based on energy-savings
Water Resource Conservation Business stoppages due to natural disasters
Reduction of product quality due to deterioration of water quality
Business stoppages due to water use limitations
Stable water use due to decrease in water risks
Cost reductions due to water conservation
Biodiversity Decrease in customers due to delay in responding to biodiversity issues
Difficulty in procuring food ingredients and rising ingredient costs
Gain customer trust
Increase in customers based on creating menus focused on ethical eating

Goals based on Materiality Issues

The Sustainability Committee conducts an annual materiality analysis and reviews the materiality-based goals.

Initiatives on Materiality Issues

KPIs related to materiality, such as decarbonization and food loss reduction, identified by the Sustainability Committee, are set for each executive officer and director (general manager level) in charge, and the achievement or failure of these KPIs is linked to individual evaluation. The evaluation of these KPIs influences the range of bonus fluctuation as well as the annual evaluation class of each individual. The KPIs set by each general manager are shared with the members of each department to promote their efforts.

Food Safety & Security
Customer Orientation
DX
Workstyle Reform
Responsible Procurement

Promotion System

Food Loss & Waste Reduction
Reduction of Plastic Consumption
Decarbonization
Water Resource Conservation
Biodiversity