Message from the President

Message from the President

Message from the President

Pursue the possibilities of “food” and open the way to the unknown [Photo] Shingo Hamada Representative Board Member, President & CEO Nissui Corporation

In April 2022, Nissui formulated its long-term vision, “Good Foods 2030,” to clarify our vision toward 2030 and took a new step forward with the announcement of the three-year Mid-term business plan, “Good Foods Recipe 1,” as “the first recipe” to realize that vision. At the same time, we redefined our mission and introduced a new brand symbol and tagline.

Our thoughts behind the rebranding and new corporate name

We are a corporate group that started business as a fishery, but we now develop not only the fishery business, but also a wide range of businesses such as the food business and the fine chemicals business. In the course of our deliberations on the rebranding and long-term vision, we held numerous discussions about what our stakeholders and society expected of us and what we should offer. Ultimately, we reached the conclusion that the essence of our Group is “the provision of foods” that are not confined to marine products, and that offering the good taste and abundance of those “foods” will lead to good health and a sustainable future. Our new mission expresses our continuing commitment toward the future, in addition to our global outlook and attitude toward innovation that we have nurtured throughout our history of over 110 years, as a corporate group that continues to pursue the possibilities of “food.”

On the other hand, we will never lose our gratitude toward and respect for the oceans. It is Fisheries Business that has built the foundations of our present global business, from access to marine resources to R&D, production and quality control, and marketing. We want to create the kind of synergies and value that only Nissui Group can realize, by leveraging those business foundations to deliver innovative food solutions. Sharing this aspiration as our new mission, we hope to globally develop innovative food solutions globally which can enrich our lives and help solve social issues.

So, what do we mean by the innovative food solutions that we will deliver? They are “innovative food solutions,” even by us. We do not mean the emergence of foods that have never been seen before. We see it as “discovering new possibilities of food,” such as adding value to existing foods from new perspectives and initiatives that will lead to a new food culture.

As the President, I will speak to our Group companies and share these thoughts with employees to help them to fully understand and take in our vision. In doing so, I will lay the groundwork for all of us to create innovative food solutions together. To this end, together with all our employees, we will think about and take on this challenge of innovative food solutions.

Sustainability is important in terms of both risks and opportunities

Given the Nissui Group’s high dependence on natural capital, themes related to environmental value are critical in terms of both risks and opportunities, and we need to maintain a sense of crisis in our approach to them.

Regarding actions on climate change, in November 2021, Nissui declared its endorsement of the TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) recommendations. A cross-divisional project was formed in which many discussions have been held on climate change risks and opportunities and their financial impact. According to estimates for 2030, although transition risks and physical risks such as carbon tax and capital investments will have a certain degree of financial impact, we are growing increasingly confident that we will be able to maintain growth by taking measures against risks and capturing opportunities. Going forward, the steady implementation of measures with the aim of consistent resilience will be key to advancing decarbonization throughout the entire value chain. In our long-term vision, we have set the 2030 target of reducing our CO2 emissions (Scope 1 & 2) by 30% (in total compared to the FY2018 level). We have also made the major decision to achieve carbon-neutral (Scope 1 & 2) in 2050. Realistically, achieving carbon neutrality will be an extremely difficult task for the fisheries industry. Fishing vessels, for example, will need to move away from heavy oil to alternative fuels. To achieve this goal, technological breakthroughs as well as cooperative initiatives by government, private sector and academia will be crucial. We will keep our eyes peeled for new opportunities in this regard.

Another major challenge for environmental value is initiatives to enhance the sustainability of marine resources. For this, we have set the 2030 target of 100% procurement of sustainable marine resources. In 2017, Nissui was the first large fishery company worldwide to conduct a resource status survey on wild-caught marine products procured by Group companies both in Japan and outside Japan. In our second such survey, conducted in 2020, we confirmed that resource controls were being conducted on 71% of wild-caught marine products procured. With the aim of raising this ratio to 100% by 2030, we will commence surveys of species that have never even been surveyed before. For any species of concern, where possible, we plan to replace them with other species that can be confirmed as sustainable, such as certified products. For species that will be difficult to replace, we will participate in activities to improve their marine resource status. Even with individual companies making their hardest solo efforts, this will not be enough to resolve marine resource issues completely. It will be essential for stakeholders to cooperate with each other to establish a platform for ensuring the soundness of procurement. Nissui Group will actively contribute to the building of such a platform. The business of the Group both depends greatly and has a tremendous impact on natural capital. Going forward, we will work on identifying risks and opportunities through our responses to the TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures) and on enhancing the resilience of our business by reflecting those risks and opportunities in our management. The use of plastic has a major impact on marine environmental conservation, as exemplified by the problem of marine plastics. We will address this issue by working toward the 2030 target of reducing our usage of plastic by 30% (compared to FY2015, per unit).

The first key theme of social value is the solution to health issues. We have set a goal of expanding our sales in the health category products (compared to FY2021) by 300% by FY2030. Our definition of “health category products” is products and raw materials that have clear evidence that they contribute to health, including EPA, foods that are certified as health-functional food products, such as food for specified health uses (FOSHU), and products that are sold as health-promoting foods using certain evidence, such as protein of fast-twitch skeletal muscles. Under this definition, we will work on expanding markets for such products. Further, alternative proteins have the potential to lead to a new food culture by contributing to health as well as a reduction in carbon footprint, and we expect this area to grow going forward. We ourselves will also actively work on this area.

There have been criticisms that IUU fishing, which is a problem unique to the fisheries industry, has been linked to human rights issues. We believe that respect for human rights in the supply chain will lead to the creation of social value as well as environmental value. To this end, we have set a target of assessing 100% of the Group’s primary suppliers as another target of our social value goals.

Aim for sustainable enhancement of corporate value

With 2030 as a waypoint, the Nissui Group will start on our journey toward our next 100 years. We possess a manufacturing spirit cultivated on the ocean and pride as a manufacturer. While passing that spirit and pride onto the next generation, we will transcend the frameworks of the past to deliver innovative food solutions to more people around the world and contribute to rich, healthy lives and to the realization of a sustainable society. To this end, we will enhance our four values (economic value, environmental value, social value, and value in human capital) to enhance our corporate value. I hope our stakeholders will look forward to the Nissui Group’s next leaps ahead, and I ask for your kind guidance and support.

September 2022

system, 株式会社ニッスイ サステナビリティ推進部, 外部協力者, 株式会社ニッスイ コーポレートコミュニケーション部