The promotion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, which form the foundation of sustainable development, is becoming increasingly important each year, and CSR activities are starting to have a significant influence on corporate value. Moreover, there is a growing appreciation for the concept of “responsible investment” in capital markets. Accordingly, there is a growing trend toward evaluating a company’s corporate value based on both financial information and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) factors.

The ESG Communication Forum was created with the objectives of investigating and researching global trends as well as promoting the understanding and implementation of responsible corporate management and ESG communication.

• 1.To create a forum through which the importance of ESG issues, a new milestone in building corporate value, can be shared among companies, the financial industry, and individuals.
• 2.To develop a method for disclosing information related to ESG issues that bridges the gap between the information that companies want to communicate and the information that the financial industry and individuals want to receive.
• 3.To propose a specific form of ESG communication that is beneficial to companies, the financial industry, and individuals.

The ESG Communication Forum works to actively release and share information regarding ESG issues, while also offering its opinions on conducting appropriate ESG communication. We are currently taking applications from prospective members. Registering as a member of the Forum is free, and members are sent our email newsletter. This email newsletter contains a wealth of content only available to members, including notices of seminars sponsored or supported by the ESG Forum and other useful information.

Further, the Forum has developed the Guideline of Guidelines (please refer to the link below for details), which compiles components of and items from various guidelines, published and used in Japan and throughout the rest of the world, that the Forum views as necessary in order to achieve the minimum level of acceptable disclosure. We are conducting systematic investigations and research related to ESG in a variety of capacities. This includes examining specific new approaches to corporate IR and CSR communication tools, as well as diverse examples of cutting-edge communication tools.

About the Guideline of Guidelines (PDF: 155KB)