Systematic Indexing of Corporate Non-Financial Information to Promote a Sustainable Society in Japan

Toward Systematic Indexing of Nonfinancial Information in Corporations

CSR used to be thought of as an axis of opposition to economic activities, but the idea of integrating economic and social activities is finally taking root in Japan. The Corporate Governance Code (corporate governance guidelines) and the Stewardship Code (guidelines for institutional investors) issued by the Financial Services Agency as part of the Abenomics Strategy for the Revitalization of Japan are about to change CSR in a major way. We are currently conducting research on ESG, which is attracting attention as a new corporate evaluation axis.

ESG is an acronym for "Environment," "Society," and "Governance," based on the concept that addressing global environmental and social issues contributes to economic development and the formation of a sustainable society. The term "environment" includes global warming countermeasures for products and manufacturing processes, "society" includes diversity and collaboration with NPOs, and "corporate governance" includes a management system that promotes a long-term vision. We aim to systematize ESG investment and create indicators to analyze the quality of management. At the root of Professor Hasegawa's desire is the concept of sustainability, which he has long advocated.

Is economic efficiency the only value of a company?　In recent years, there has been a strong tendency toward short termism, where corporate value is measured in terms of profits over a period of two to three years, but corporate efforts to address social issues create the foundation for a future society. If an ESG investment index can be developed that encourages companies to take on social issues through business over a long-term span of 20 to 30 years, investment in beneficial initiatives will increase, and we believe that both the resolution of social issues and corporate growth can be achieved.

Along with the construction of this index, we are also researching the history of Japanese companies at the same time. In fact, there are many Japanese companies that have taken similar initiatives," he said. I would like to make the most of this research so that the index can be adapted to suit Japanese companies.

• This is the first book to summarize the results of our research into corporate history. It analyzes the efforts of Suzuki's founder, an automobile manufacturer, from multiple perspectives, including management strategy, entrepreneurship, and labor disputes, and unravels the foresight and management skills that nurtured the company from an automatic loom manufacturer to the automobile manufacturer that continues to grow today. Professor Hasegawa says, "Entrepreneurs are artists" as the selection and concentration of businesses for the future, which includes unpredictable matters, is based on the sensibility of the managers themselves.

Nikkei STOCK League and the best academic paper award - cultivating the research skills of numerous students in his charge in a visible way.

Professor Hasegawa has led many of his students to win academic and research awards, including the Nikkei Stock League Grand Prize and Special Jury Prize, the Japan Environmental Management Association Grand Prize, and the Sumitomo Science and Engineering Student Essay Award Grand Prize. Although he is admired by his students who say, "I don't think there is any other professor who teaches us with such enthusiasm," he recalls, "I had no intention of becoming a teacher or a researcher (laughs).

After graduating from the University's Faculty of Law, he joined Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance Co. After working in sales at the Shizuoka Branch and in the Financial Planning Department and Equity Department at the Tokyo Head Office, he was transferred to Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Asset Management (Sompo Japan Asset Management), where his asset management experience became the source of his current research.

While on assignment at Sompo Japan Asset in the late 1990s, I was assigned to develop an investment trust that invested in stocks of companies that were actively addressing environmental issues, as a project under the direct supervision of the president of Sompo Japan itself," he says. It was the first of its kind in Japan at the development stage, although it was the second in Japan of its kind, now called SRI (Socially Responsible Investment) or ESG investment, because its release was a few weeks later than other companies. Although there were some who took a skeptical view, we felt a positive response from the research stage. In addition to the financial information we needed for our business, we were interested in the history and philosophy of the target companies, and through our own independent research, we were able to see how much of an impact they had on the management side.

Sompo Japan Green Open, nicknamed "Beech Forest," recorded sales of 18 billion yen at the time of its launch, despite the fact that 3 billion yen was considered a success. I was surprised to see the sales grow to 25 billion yen, but it showed me that there is a place for ESG in Japan," he said. His motivation for research was boosted and he decided to become a researcher and faculty member at Faculty of Sustainability Studies University of Yamanashi, where he applied for a position to check his market value.

• Left: With seminar students from Faculty of Sustainability Studies who won the 14th Nikkei STOCK League.
• Right] Professor Hasegawa loves classical music so much that he seriously wanted to become a conductor when he was in junior high school. He still enjoys classical music as a "living conductor" with a score in his hand between research sessions.

In April 2016, the Major in Sustainability Studies was established in Graduate School of Public Policy and Social Governance

Since 2015, Professor Hasegawa has served as the Chair of the Preparatory Committee for the establishment of the Major in Sustainability Studies Graduate School Graduate School of Public Policy and Social Governance and is working hard toward its opening in 2016.

The Graduate School of Public Policy and Social Governance has offered courses in CSR and other subjects in the past, but the Major in Sustainability Studies plans to establish an integrated educational program that crosses administrative, legal, management, environmental, and other fields. A fundamental review of social systems and a multifaceted approach are essential to solving the world's complex issues. We will conduct research and education to build a sustainable society in which the human environment and the natural environment are in harmony through a new academic system with sustainability as its keyword.

The program targets not only public officials, researchers, and those in the non-profit sector, but also corporate executives and employees. Just as Yamato Transport's CSV (Creation of Common Value) project to support the elderly in Otoyo Town, Kochi Prefecture, in collaboration with the local government and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was born from a proposal from a sales representative, we believe that the ability of those involved in the field to identify and solve problems is the first step toward a sustainable society, which in turn will lead to the growth of Japanese industry. We believe that this is the first step toward a sustainable society and, in turn, the growth of Japanese industry.

An open lecture commemorating the opening of the graduate school is scheduled to be held on the same day as the graduate school's entrance counseling session, Saturday, December 5. Mr. Toshio Arima, President of Trustee United Nations Global Compact Network Japan and former president of Fuji Xerox, will also speak at the lecture. Interested parties should check the Graduate School of Public Policy and Social Governance website for more details after early November.

• Hosei University Graduate School Graduate School of Public Policy and Social Governance Website

• Reprinted from HOSEI ONLINE