ESG Investment Policy / Structure
Under our management philosophy, "Be a trustful partner for people, always being close at hand and endeavoring to protect their well-being," we consider ESG factors in all of our assets under management. At the same time, we are committed to making investments and loans that contribute to the achievement of the SDGs and the resolution of social issues in a broad range of areas. As a universal owner* that manages a wide range of assets over the long term based on the precious premiums entrusted by our customers, we aim to fulfill our social responsibility to all our stakeholders, realize a sustainable society, and improve long-term investment results.
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- An institutional investor investing large amounts and diversifying broadly across overall capital markets
▶ For more detailed information on our ESG investments and stewardship activities, please refer to the "Responsible Investment Report."
Priority Initiative Themes of ESG Investments
We focus on the "enhancement of well-being," "development of local communities and society," and "contribution to environmental protection" as priority initiative themes and make investments with "warmth" unique to Japan Post Insurance.
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ESG Investment Policy
Our ESG Investment Policy clarifies our basic approach to ESG investment. It stipulates that ESG factors should be incorporated into the investment process and that we should engage in constructive dialogue and shareholder voting with consideration to ESG factors.
We manage assets in accordance with this policy.
ESG Investment Policy
October 15, 2021
JAPAN POST INSURANCE Co., Ltd.
Under our management philosophy, "Be a trustful partner for people, always being close at hand and endeavoring to protect their well-being," we commit to "providing insurance products and services through the network of post offices covering every corner of Japan." Accordingly, we promote initiatives to address environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues facing society in order to fulfill our responsibilities to all stakeholders, and aim for sustainable improvement in corporate value and the realization of SDGs.
As a universal owner that manages diverse, long-term assets, we promote investments with "warmth" like heartwarming hospitality, unique to Japan Post Insurance. We focus on the "enhancement of well-being," "development of local communities and society," and "contribution to environmental protection" as priority initiative themes, in order to realize a sustainable society, improve investment results and reduce risks over the long term.
- We integrate various ESG factors for our entire asset portfolio when making investment decisions. We comprehensively evaluate ESG initiatives of investees and investment managers in addition to financial information when implementing investments and monitoring.
- We value engagement through appropriate stewardship activities, including conducting constructive dialogue and exercising voting rights in consideration of ESG factors. We encourage investees to contribute to the realization of a sustainable society through their business activities and to improve their corporate value. Furthermore, we ask subjects for substantial disclosure of non-financial information, including ESG factors.
- We encourage the asset management industry, including asset owners and investment managers, to endorse and practice the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), work on sharing information and ideas, and collaborate with them in order to move forward together to realize a sustainable society.
- We actively disclose the status of our ESG investments by updating our website and other disclosure materials.
- We proactively push ahead with investments that contribute to the realization of a decarbonized society, including those involving environmentally-friendly operations or power generation such as renewable energy. We measure and analyze greenhouse gas emissions from investees and take the results into account during our engagement with them, so that we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the entire investment portfolio.
Governance structure for promoting responsible investments
At Japan Post Insurance, we work to promote responsible investment, including ESG investment and stewardship activities, under the following governance structure.
Through the Responsible Investment Advisory Sectional Meeting, which includes outside experts, as well as participation in various initiatives, we fully utilize outside perspectives and continue to promote and advance responsible investment.
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- See "External Evaluation and Support for Initiatives" for details of initiatives.
Initiatives as a Signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)
We signed the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in October 2017. We promote ESG investments in accordance with the PRI and report the status of the initiatives once a year. We also designate the results of the PRI's assessment of these reports as a key indicator in our initiatives to further enhance ESG investing.
<PRI annual assessment result (2023)>
The assessment results for the Company in the 2023 annual assessment (assessment period: April 2022 through March 2023) are shown in the table below.
| Assesment item | Assessment resut | |
|---|---|---|
| Policy, governance, strategy (responsible investment approach, structure, etc.) | ★★★★☆ | |
| Assets under management (assessment by asset class of manager selection, appointment, moniterring and other initiatives) | Listed equity (passive) | ★★★★☆ |
| Listed equity (active) | ★★★★☆ | |
| Fixed income (active) | ★★★★☆ | |
| Private equity | ★★★★☆ | |
| Real estate | ★★★★☆ | |
| Infrastructure | ★★★★☆ | |
| Confidence-building Measures (approach in the review and varification of data reported to PRI) | ★★★★☆ | |
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- Assessment results are awarded up to five stars based on the status of initiatives, with five stars (★★★★★) being the highest rank.
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- In the 2023 annual assessment, no assessment was carried out for in-house investments approaches by asset owners, including the Company.
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- For details about assessment results, please refer to the following PRI reports.
Initiative Participation
We participate in domestic and international initiatives that align with our objectives and focus on ESG investment, impact investment, climate change, human rights, and other social issues, gathering and disseminating information and opinions as we promote and advance our efforts.
Engaging with Sustainability Issues as an Institutional Investor
As a responsible institutional investor, we seek to leverage our investments to solve sustainability issues in order to bring about a sustainable society. Among sustainability issues, we place particular emphasis on the following themes that we see as important both for society and our Company. Furthermore, as we engage with our investee companies through purposeful dialogue, we encourage ever-greater disclosure and various actions.
Initiatives for Climate Change
As an institutional investor, we actively implement investment to contribute to the realization of a decarbonized society, in accordance with our ESG Investment Policy, and engage in the following initiatives:
• Implementation of ESG integration
• Implementation of Stewardship activities
• Measurement and management of GHG emissions from the investment portfolio
• Promoting investments that contribute to the decarbonization of society
See "Initiatives for the TCFD Recommendations" for details of these initiatives.
<Reference: Targets as an institutional investor>
| Reducing GHG emissions from the entire investment portfolio | We have set targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from our investment portfolio to promote its decarbonization. We aim for carbon neutrality by 2050, and we are working toward a 50% reduction in GHG emissions from FY2020 levels by the fiscal year ending March 31, 2030, as an interim target.
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| Establishing a KPI for total power output of renewable energy facilities | As a KPI in the Medium-Term Management Plan, we aim to increase the total power output of renewable energy facilities from 600,000 kW as of March 31, 2021 to 1,500,000 kW by March 31, 2026. |
Initiatives for Natural Capital
As a responsible institutional investor, we are committed to the following:
• Taking natural capital and biodiversity into consideration when making investment decisions and engaging in dialogue with investee companies
• Analyzing the "nature-related risks and opportunities" and "impact and dependence on nature" of our investment activities
See "Initiatives for Biodiversity Conservation" for details of initiatives.
Initiatives for Human Rights
As a responsible institutional investor, we engage in the following initiatives:
• We give consideration to human rights when making investment decisions and in dialogue with investee companies
• We endorsed Advance, a stewardship initiative where institutional investors work together to take action on human rights and social issues
See "Human Rights" for details of initiatives.
<Reference: Endorsement of collaborative stewardship initiative "Advance">
"Advance" is a stewardship initiative established by PRI where institutional investors work together to take action on human rights and social issues.
As a responsible institutional investor, we will give consideration to human rights in our investment decisions and stewardship activities in order to promote a positive impact on human rights and social issues.
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- Japan Post Insurance is an Advance endorser and does not participate in any engagement activities in Advance.
Initiatives for Human Capital
We have formulated the "Three Basic Principles of Human Capital Management" to achieve sustainable growth by becoming a company that is trusted and chosen by our customers and by providing insurance services that impress customers.
Additionally, as a responsible investor, we also give consideration to human capital in asset management as well as encourage human capital initiatives and enhanced related information disclosure in our engagement with investee companies and other undertakings.
Raising Awareness of ESG Investment and Disseminating Information
As a universal owner that contributes to the sustainable growth of society as a whole, we want ESG investment to spread and develop. To this end, we promote efforts to raise awareness of ESG investment and disseminate information about it.
| Lectures at universities and other educational institutions | To contribute to the development of the next generation of financial professionals, we hold lectures on ESG investment at universities and other educational institutions. We keep the content practical, explaining the significance of ESG investment, describing our specific initiatives and their results, and sharing other information with investment case studies. For more information about this initiative, read about our "Social Contribution Activities." |
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| Spreading information in multiple directions | We use a variety of media to share information on our ESG investment initiatives with our stakeholders in ways that are easy to understand. <Reports> - Annual Report - Sustainability Report - Responsible Investment Report <Online Media> - Japan Post Insurance Junction (in Japanese) - JP CAST (in Japanese)  |
Responsible Investment Report
We publish a Responsible Investment Report to provide more detailed information on our sustainable investment and stewardship activities.
<Backnumber>
- Responsible Investment Report (FY2022)
- Stewardship Activities Report (2020.7～2021.6)
- Stewardship Activities Report (2019.7～2020.6)
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- Accompanying the expansion of its content, the "Stewardship Activities Report" was renamed the "Responsible Investment Report" in FY2022
