Launch of The Japan Times ESG Consortium

Beginning in January, The Japan Times will launch two new consortiums in a bid to promote the dissemination of English information on a pair of emerging fields. These are the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Consortium and the Satoyama Consortium. These consortiums aim to help companies and organizations promote their activities through articles, symposiums and other means.

The ESG Consortium aims to promote the efforts of Japanese companies on ESG issues. Today’s investors are taking a strong interest not only in the sales volume and profits of companies, but also in their commitments to ESG affairs. While investors are interested in these areas, there is a shortage of ESG information from Japanese firms.

To better introduce the concept, we present the opinions of experts in this area on this web page.

For those who are interested in the other one, which is the Satoyama Consortium, please visit japantimes.co.jp/consortium/satoyama/special/.

Business | ESG Consortium Special Jan 1, 2018

ESG requires long-term view

by Michiyo Morisawa

Responsible investment, known as ESG investment, requires a long-term view and is based on companies' efforts on environmental, social and corporate governance, as well as financial information. ESG information is called non-financial information, but can be looked at as future financial information since it ...

Business | ESG Consortium Special Jan 1, 2018

Long-held business beliefs still true in modern times

by Ken Shibusawa

There are some things that Japan does very well. Things such as trains arriving on time, great food and anime. And the world, by and large, recognizes this. There are other things, however, that Japan does fairly well and is getting better at as time ...

Business | ESG Consortium Special Jan 1, 2018

Growing interest in ESG

by Takatoshi Kato

It's not too much to say that the growing interest in investment taking into consideration environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors among firms is an inevitable by-product of the progress of the economy's globalization. Aspects of such globalization, including the rising influence of emerging market ...

Business | ESG Consortium Special Jan 1, 2018

Lasting, sustainable growth

by Naonori Kimura

In the first half of the 1990s ? an era of continuous growth ? the basis of corporate activities lay in making continuous improvements day by day and creating advanced innovation, while strengthening productivity over the long term. Today, however, we see drastic changes in ...

Business | ESG Consortium Special Jan 1, 2018

ESG investing for innovation

by Peter David Pedersen

I imagine most people know about the U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goals and, possibly, ESG investment. From working as a strategic advisor on corporate sustainability in Japan since the mid-1990s, I feel these two concepts represent major drivers of innovation for businesses across the world. ESG ...