Promotion Structure

The S Team within the ESG Promotion Department plays a central role in setting annual targets and promoting initiatives aimed at supporting employees and making social contributions. The details of activities carried out by the team are reported at regular meetings of the ESG Promotion Department held on a monthly basis and reflected in the management structure, including the Board of Directors, under the responsibility of the head of the Sustainability Promotion Department.

We have adopted a structure that promotes proactive CSR activities by on-site managers, such as activities at commercial facilities we have developed. Furthermore, with regard to employee-oriented initiatives, the ESG Promotion Group and the administrative department work together to develop internal systems and so forth.

We develop and operate the “tonarie” series of community-based commercial facilities in the form of NSCs*, such as “tonarie Yamato-Takada,” “tonarie Toga-Mikita,” “tonarie Seiwadai,” “tonarie Minamisenri,” “tonarie Utsunomiya,”and “tonarie Yokkaichi.”

We will continue to engage in community-based commercial development that would be loved by the local people and become the pride of the area in the hope of contributing to community-building and regional revitalization.

* NSC: Neighborhood Shopping Center

Acquisition of Naming Rights to New Ballpark of Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
- To Be Named “ES CON FIELD HOKKAIDO” -

We concluded a naming rights agreement for the new ballpark of Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters planned to be constructed and opened in Kitahiroshima City in Hokkaido in 2023 with Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Baseball Club Co., Ltd. and Fighters Sports & Entertainment Co., Ltd. which manages the HOKKAIDO BALLPARK F VILLAGE and owns/operates the ballpark.

The area surrounding the ballpark is an important base as a planned site for a sports park in Kitahiroshima City and is part of a large-scale development area for HOKKAIDO BALLPARK F VILLAGE (total development area: approx. 36.7 ha) with construction of a new station also planned. We are scheduled to participate in the development of various real estate in the area such as a hotel on the land of approximately 9,400 m² adjoining the ballpark. We will seize this opportunity to start also supporting sports, cultural promotion, etc. for the happiness of the residents of Hokkaido and contribute to revitalization and development of the entire community.

We established GK TSUNAGU Community Farm (“New Company”), which constructs and operates vertical farms, together with Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. and Spread Co., Ltd. on July 21, 2021.

Expectations are high for vertical farms capable of stably producing agricultural products in managed and controlled cultivation environments in response to the growing consumer needs for food ‘safety and security,’ the decrease in the number of farmers with the aging society with declining birthrate, the instable food supply due to frequent abnormal weather events and other social issues.

The New Company constructed “Techno Farm Fukuroi,” the world’s largest automated vertical farm utilizing fully artificial light and capable of producing 10 tons of lettuce per day, and made the first shipment in February 2024.

Through the New Company, ES-CON JAPAN will solve issues in the food and agricultural fields while also contributing to the realization of a sustainable and livable society and the achievement of SDGs by making efforts towards decarbonization such as the proactive use of clean energy and effective use of CO2 in the process of cultivation.

Together with LOCAL RESORTS Inc. (Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture), which opened SHONAI HOTEL SUIDEN TERRASSE with stunning rural scenery in the Shonai region of Yamagata Prefecture, and NEWGREEN Inc. (Koganei City, Tokyo), which contributes to the improvement of productivity and profitability of farmers across Japan through robot development and support for the production and distribution of organic rice, we will operate SUIDEN RESORT (tentative name), a hotel to be developed around the concept of “agriculture,” throughout Japan. Through such efforts, we will improve, protect, and cultivate local tourism resources such as abundant natural areas, agricultural activities, and locally produced and consumed food. With tourism and agriculture as the pillars, we will engage in vibrant urban development by promoting attraction of visitors to regional areas, agricultural support, creation of new jobs, and such.

In April 2021, ES-CON JAPAN invested in Ryukyu Football Club Co., Ltd. which operates FC Ryukyu, a professional soccer team.

FC Ryukyu, a professional soccer team in the J.League operated by Ryukyu FC and based in Okinawa Prefecture, is expected to further succeed in the future as it has achieved successful results such as winning the J3 League in 2018, the year of its fifteenth anniversary as a club, promotion to the J2 League in 2019, and being undefeated for 30 consecutive games at its home stadium. Ryukyu FC operates FC Ryukyu based on the management philosophy of “Becoming strong with Okinawa.” It is also conducting proactive promotion activities to realize Okinawa Prefecture’s plan to construct a new J.League stadium that can accommodate 20,000 people and be used for multiple purposes such as sports and events including soccer and rugby and is proactively involved in activities for regional revitalization in Okinawa Prefecture such as visiting primary schools in Okinawa Prefecture, holding greeting campaigns, and conducting various activities to protect the nature of Okinawa with partner companies through Yuimaru Activity,

With this investment, ES-CON JAPAN will contribute to the local community through sports promotion by securing a foothold for the creation of business opportunities in Okinawa as well as supporting Ryukyu FC ‘s regional revitalization activities in Okinawa Prefecture.

Promoting a dementia support project to help community-building among the local people and as part of support for the elderly, “tonarie Seiwadai,” a commercial facility operated by our Group, has been certified as a dementia-support business establishment by the Hanshinkita District Administration Office.

We also position this project for dementia support as being universal design in intangible aspects and are expanding similar activities to other commercial facilities, too.

[Dementia Supporter Training Seminar]

With regard to initiatives that support the resolution of social issues, we actively make contributions and give back to society through charitable donations and the like.

【Action Plan】

ES-CON JAPAN Ltd. has created the following general employer action plan based on the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children and the Act on the Promotion of Women's Active Engagement in Professional Life.

The following action plan will be formulated to encourage support for balancing work and home life among employees raising children or nursing family members and create a workplace where all human resources, including women, can continue to work and can be active.

Child Care and Nursing Care Support

We have set leave regulations for child care and nursing care to support employee work-life balance. We not only offer programs for taking leave or other periods of absence from work, but have also made work-life balance programs of various sorts available for use, such as for child care and nursing care givers to work short hours or be exempt from working outside of scheduled working hours.

To further support the work-life balance of employees doing child care or nursing care, we have newly formulated an action plan for general employers based on the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children. Going forward, we will continue to support employee work-life balance in ways such as revising our regulations on child care leave and nursing care leave so that employees can flexibly adapt their work to their care needs.

Furthermore, with the employment and active participation of a diverse range of human resources taken into consideration, we will establish a work environment where all employees can balance work and family and play an active role going forward.

Examples of Systems Supporting Child Care and Nursing Care

Preparation of Manual Regarding Maternity Leave, Child Care Leave and Nursing Care

Elderly

We provide more opportunities for senior employees with abundant experience to play an active role with a reemployment system for hiring the elderly as part-time employees after retirement.

People with Disabilities

We proactively hire people with disabilities. Our offices have multipurpose toilets and barrier-free elevators to provide a workplace where people with disabilities can also work comfortably. *Some offices do not have such facilities.

Furthermore, we are engaged in proactive recruitment of people with disabilities in regional areas, where, in comparison to urban areas, there tends to be a lack of positions and there are more people with disabilities who want to work but cannot find employment.

Initiative at Cordiale Farm

Some of the regional inhabitants with disabilities who are employed by ES-CON JAPAN work at an indoor farm operated by JSH Co., Ltd., where they are involved in tasks mainly focusing on hydroponic cultivation. By hiring people with disabilities from regional areas who find commuting to urban areas difficult, we are proactively striving to create employment for people with disabilities in these areas while also contributing to regional revitalization.

We have formulated health management regulations and take the measures necessary to maintain and improve the health of employees. We conduct periodic health checks and stress checks of all employees once a year in efforts to ensure that employees stay physically and mentally healthy.

We also hold health management committee meetings once a month and work on measures for health promotion and occupational safety of employees.

In preparation for earthquakes and other wide-area disasters, we have introduced a safety confirmation system as a means of communication between employees and the company. Along with grasping the safety condition of employees, we will communicate instructions and messages as appropriate to secure the safety of employees in the event of a disaster.

Health Management

We formed a Healthy Culture Promotion Team in July 2021 to promote health management.

Furthermore, in March 2024, ES-CON JAPAN was certified as a “2024 Excellent Health and Productivity Management Organization (Large Enterprise Category)” in which the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Nippon Kenko Kaigi jointly select corporations practicing excellent health and productivity management.

Health Management Committee

Disaster Preparedness

We are pursuing activities aimed at developing a better work environment, such as introducing various working arrangements (staggered working hour system, shortened working hour system, remote work system, etc.), rigorous implementation of one no-overtime day per week, and conducting a work environment survey since 2015.

Moreover, we encourage employees to take paid leave by offering multiple paid leave days per year. With the aim of improving the paid leave usage rate, we also promote the use of these days by planning each year’s scheduled paid leave days at the start of the year.

Going forward, with the aim of being the kind of company that society requires and maintaining stable growth, we will continue to carefully manage employees’ workloads and time spent at work, identify issues, and implement countermeasures, in order to further improve the work environment.

Fiscal 2023 Results

We pursue active internal communication by regularly organizing company trips, after-work social events, etc. In addition, club activities are conducted by volunteers to facilitate communication in the workplace and build a foundation for human relationships by sharing hobbies.

In addition, we are striving to develop a dynamic work environment for employees through the implementation of in-house training programs (training for new hires, e-learning system, etc.) and introduction of a whistleblower system.