Sustainability
Sustainability
CEO Message
Digital Garage’s purpose is “Designing ‘New Context’ for a sustainable society with technology.”
Sustainability initiatives are expected to become more important considering the evolution of technology and the values of global society in response to the emergence of new social issues. The DG Group will enhance its sustainability management by incorporating “Environment,” “Social,” and “Governance” perspectives.
Since our founding, we have supported the growth of various sectors of the Japanese Internet, including payments, digital media, advertising, and startup incubation. We believe that to create a better society, it is crucial to collaborate not only with our employees who are willing to “contribute to society” and with our shareholders and investors but also with our stakeholders, including our investment partners, alliance partners, business partners, and local communities.
As a Japanese technology company, we will continue to create the context for the next generation, always considering the global-scale changes and challenges we currently face, such as global warming, increasing natural disasters, and conflicts among nations and ethnic groups.
- Representative Director, President Executive Officer and Group CEO
- Kaoru Hayashi
Our Philosophy
Sustainability Policy
Designing “New Context” for a sustainable society with technology
※The Group’s Sustainability Policy is synonymous with and equal to the Group’s Purpose, “Designing ‘New Context’ for a sustainable society with technology” and are, therefore, perfectly aligned.
In the digital field where major changes are frequently occurring, our Group has always been committed to the “First Penguin Spirit,” which is meant to encourage us to be the first to take on risky challenges with courage and strong determination. Our slogan, “Think for yourself and question authority” also pushes us to be free, independent thinkers that are not bound by conventional wisdom but are able to think outside the box. Timothy Leary’s famous quote, “Think for yourself and question authority” has been our corporate motto since our founding, and we aim to stay true to this message in our continued efforts to innovate and implement new technologies for a more sustainable and equitable society.
Based on these corporate philosophies, as well as the powerful image of “Earthshot” (aka “Blue Marble”) in which the earth as seen from space amplifies a borderless world and underscores our interdependence as a species within a shared ecosystem, our Group will continue to work towards solving the many problems that we face in realizing a more equitable and prosperous society for all. Working together with our various stakeholders, our Group will engage to promote our Sustainable Management with the aim of creating an ecosystem for a sustainable society while further increasing our corporate value.
Sustainability Promotion System
DG Group (the Group) has established the Sustainability Committee and Sustainability Management Office, a management office of the Committee, to accelerate the initiatives on sustainability management. The Sustainability Committee is held twice or more annually to accelerate the initiatives for policies on sustainability and major challenges, manage the progressive status, and periodically report them to the Management Committee and the Board of Directors.
By collaborating with the Risk Management Committee, responsible for Company-wide risk management, and the Risk Management Office, an office under the Committee’s purview, the Company has established a system to incorporate the decisions deliberated by the Management Committee and Board of Directors in formulating management strategies, managing risks, and assessing them. The President Executive Officer supervises the Sustainability Committee and Risk Management Committee, chaired by the Head of the Corporate Division with the members who are appropriately selected for accelerating the Group-wide initiatives. With the participation of the experts of outside directors in a suitable and timely manner, the Committee holds deliberations benefited from global and external expertise and cutting-edge information.
Materiality of Digital Garage Group
Materiality Identification Process
Using international frameworks and various guidelines as a starting point for understanding social issues, the Group analyzed business opportunities and risks for the Group, and then organized and identified key issues through dialogue with stakeholders.
Step
01
- Identification and Extraction of Social Issues
-
- Create a comprehensive long list of social issues by referring to international frameworks and guidelines on sustainability such as the Global Reporting Initiative, ISO26000, SASB, etc.
Step
02
- Evaluate the level of importance to our group
-
- Analyze and evaluate each item from both risk and opportunity perspectives based on the basic policies of the Purpose as well as the Medium-Term Management Plan (FY3/2024-FY3/2028).
- The items of high importance to our group were extracted from a backcasting perspective based on our future vision.
Step
03
- Understanding the level of importance to our various stakeholders
-
- Evaluation based on interviews with internal and external directors and employees (management/career/recent hires).
- Evaluation based on interviews with shareholders, business partners, local governments, and experts.
Step
04
- Organize priority social issues
-
- Identify high-priority social issues based on Step1-3.
Step
05
- Validity assessment and identification of materiality
-
- Discuss the identified materiality at the Sustainability Committee.
- Finalize the materiality after deliberation and approval by the Board of Directors.
Materiality
| materiality issue | materiality | |
|---|---|---|
| Creating a sustainable ecosystem through technology and innovation. | Exploring, pursuing and innovating new technologies for a better future. | Our strength is that we have always pursued new technologies and implemented them in society while capturing their essence, and we have and will continue to explore new technologies without being bound by existing systems and concepts. |
| Creating a more prosperous society through the utilization and application of FinTech. | The widespread use of fintech in society, which is easy for everyone to use, will contribute not only to the economy but also to the realization of a prosperous society by stimulating the flow of funds, improving accessibility and inclusiveness, and reducing environmental impact. | |
| Contributing towards a more sustainable society through co-creation efforts with a variety of business partners and alliances. | Our company will continue to work with various partners to create new businesses, believing that creating sustainable businesses together with startups and business partners in which we invest will contribute not only to the growth of our group’s business but also to the realization of a sustainable society. | |
| Creating an environment in which all employees can thrive and play an active role. | Creating and organizing a system in which an inclusive and diverse workforce can grow and thrive together. | We respect the diversity of each and every employee, and we believe that creating a positive and rewarding work environment and systems, etc., will help us meet the diverse needs and challenges of society, and we will continue to promote initiatives for human resources. |
| The implementation of Human Capital Management initiatives that help to unlock a brighter future through the education and support for talent growth. | We believe that fostering employees who are brave enough to take on the challenges of a changing social environment while leveraging their individual strengths will enable our employees to build independent careers and enrich their own lives. We also believe that this will lead to the growth of our group, and we will continue to develop employees who can proactively take on new challenges. | |
| Cultivating trust in order to move forward hand-in-hand with society. | Promoting responsible, transparent and compliant corporate activities. | As a company active in society and the environment, we will promote our business activities with a commitment to sound and transparent governance, compliance with laws and regulations, and consideration for the local and global environment. |
| Co-existing in harmony with society while respecting all human rights. | We will respect the human rights of all people involved in our group and value chain, and strive to coexist in harmony with society. | |
| Supporting individuals and society through the operation of highly secure, private, trustworthy and stable systems. | As a group that operates businesses that serve as critical infrastructure for society, it is our responsibility to provide and operate safe and secure systems without interruption, and we will continue to strive to improve the robustness and safety of our systems. | |
Materiality KPIs and Impact Stories
Our Group has established KPIs for each of the eight materiality items across three identified areas.
Each responsible department has developed “Impact Stories” that visualize the impact on society and business, with value creation (outcomes) in mind, and has set KPIs for each materiality item.
Moving forward, we will continuously implement the PDCA cycle using these KPIs as indicators to enhance the effectiveness of our sustainability management.
【Business】 Create a sustainable ecosystem through technology
| Materiality | Materiality KPI | Achievement Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Pursue new technologies for a better future | ・Number of products & services positively impacting society | Annually |
| Create a prosperous society through Fintech | ・Payment transaction volume ・Number of payment transactions |
Annually |
| Business co-creation efforts to contribute to a sustainable society | Invest in startups related to ESG ・Direct 50% of funds in Open Network Lab ESG 1 Investment Limited Partnership to ESG-related startups ・20% of investment targets in the same fund to be related to climate change |
Annually |
| Impact Story ＜Social Impact＞ | Impact Story ＜Business Impact＞ |
|---|---|
| ・Contribute to economic revitalization and market creation by providing information and commercial transaction environments that respond to diverse values. ・Contribute to solving climate change issues by digitalizing existing social systems and further promoting energy-saving and resource conservation. ・Foster a secure and trustworthy society through services that reduce security risks. ・Contribute to correcting inequalities caused by regional, economic, and financial disparities through improved financial and commercial transaction access via digital technology. ・Contribute to solving the social issue of serious labor shortages by providing services that promote labor-saving and productivity improvement through digitalization. ・Contribute to realizing a sustainable society by promoting innovation in social and environmental fields through investment in ESG-related startups and co-creating new businesses and industries. |
Achieve stable business growth by developing businesses that address medium- to long-term social and environmental challenges. |
【HR】 Create an environment in which all employees can thrive & play an active role
| Materiality | Materiality KPI | Achievement Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Create a system in which a diverse workforce can thrive together | ・Engagement Index ‘Total Engagement’ of 4.0 points or higher ・Female leadership representation: 30％ or more |
By March 31, 2028 |
| Train capital capable of unlocking a bright future | ・Engagement Index ‘Talent Development Index’ improvement of +1.0 points | By March 31, 2030 |
| Impact Story ＜Social Impact＞ | Impact Story ＜Business Impact＞ |
|---|---|
| Contribute to society by accelerating innovation and creating innovative services. | By establishing an environment and systems where employees with diverse backgrounds can thrive, fostering employee attachment and job satisfaction, we promote productivity improvement and new idea generation, leading to retention of excellent talent and enhanced recruitment capabilities. |
| Contribute to society by creating businesses that lead to solving social issues. | Continuous upskilling to create advanced technologies and businesses enhances both individual employee growth and overall organizational productivity and competitiveness, becoming a vital source of business growth. |
【Foundation】 Cultivate trust in order to move forward hand-in-hand with society
| Materiality | Materiality KPI | Achievement Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Promote responsible corporate activities | ・Further improve governance disclosure & dialogue with stakeholders | Annually |
| ・Compliance training for 100% of the workforce | Annually | |
| ・50% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to fiscal year 2021 (ending in March 2022) ・Achieve carbon neutrality across the entire value chain compared to fiscal year 2021 (ending in March 2022) |
FY2030 FY2050 |
|
| Co-exist with society while respecting all human rights | ・Formulate and release DG’s Human Rights Policy by October 2025 ・Harassment prevention training for 100% of the workforce |
By October 2025 Annually |
| Stable operation of systems underpinning society | ・Cybersecurity management system coverage ・Cybersecurity training for 100% of the workforce |
Annually |
| Impact Story ＜Social Impact＞ | Impact Story ＜Business Impact＞ |
|---|---|
| Promote sustainable economic development by correcting information asymmetry through proactive information disclosure, enhancing fairness and transparency in capital markets, and improving the quality of investor decision-making and capital market credibility. | By enhancing risk management capabilities and transparency, gain trust from stakeholders including investors and business partners, realize stable business operations, identify business opportunities to reduce risks, and achieve long-term enhancement of corporate value. |
| Support sound and sustainable growth by revitalizing markets through fair competition. | By ensuring all employees understand fundamental compliance knowledge and behavioral guidelines, reduce risks of legal violations and misconduct, enhance trust from investors and business partners, and achieve continuous maintenance and improvement of corporate value. |
| Contribute to realizing a sustainable society by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and suppressing the progression of global warming. | Enhance corporate value through improved corporate reputation and investor evaluation, as well as cost reduction and risk management perspectives. |
| Contribute to realizing a fair and sustainable society by fostering social diversity and a culture of coexistence. | Integrating human rights considerations into management contributes to gaining social trust, reducing risks, and improving employee engagement, thereby enhancing corporate value from multiple perspectives. |
| Provide a foundation for smooth economic activities and deliver peace of mind and safety by supporting critical social infrastructure. | By reducing risks of incidents such as information leaks and avoiding serious damage from system troubles including business disruptions and loss of credibility, enhance customer trust and achieve management stability. |
