About three-quarters of Japanese firms fail to address how their corporate activities impact biodiversity, an Environment Ministry survey shows.
The survey was conducted last August and September on companies listed on the Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka stock exchanges and on unlisted firms with more than 500 employees. Responses were received from 3,036 companies.
Asked whether they examine the effects their corporate activities have on animals and plants and whether they pay sufficient attention to preserving biodiversity, only 25 percent of the firms that responded provided positive answers.
Meanwhile, 66 percent responded that while the issue is important, they do not consider it affected by their corporate activities.
While parties to the U.N. biodiversity conference agreed in Nagoya in October to aim to halt the loss of biodiversity and ensure that ecosystems are resilient by 2020, one of the key points is raising corporate awareness.