Promotion of DE&I

The Fuji Oil Group formulated the Fuji Oil Group Diversity Vision in May 2020. As a forerunner to this vision, Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. established its Basic Diversity Policy in FY2015.

The Fuji Oil Group has established the Sustainability Committee^*1 as an advisory body to the Board of Directors that is chaired by the President and CEO. From a multi-stakeholder perspective, the committee deliberates on and monitors Promotion of DE&I, a priority action to address material ESG issues,^*2 and makes recommendations to the Board. The Group implements related initiatives under the oversight of the Head of Human Resources & Administration Headquarters, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), the Senior Executive Officer.

• *1 Governance, Strategy, Risk Management, Metrics and Targets > Governance

  https://www.fujioil.co.jp/en/sustainability/sustainability_management/#governance

• *2 Governance, Strategy, Risk Management, Metrics and Targets > Metrics and targets

  https://www.fujioil.co.jp/en/sustainability/sustainability_management/#index

One of the principles in the Fuji Oil Group Management Philosophy is that “we will respect the diversity and individuality of Fuji Oil Group employees.” This exemplifies our efforts to create fulfilling workplaces that are free from discrimination and harassment, to respect the basic human rights, diversity, personality and individuality of everyone who works with us, and our approach to proper and fair evaluation of employee efforts and achievements. The Fuji Oil Group Diversity Vision was formulated based on this principle, and it guides us as we open up opportunities for positions and projects widely, regardless of nationality, gender or age, and objectively evaluate performance and potential to make the most of our diverse human resources. In recent years, the variety of work style choices has been increasing, and as the ways to contribute to the company diversify, we strive to remove the barriers experienced by people from disadvantaged communities and to provide the opportunities and conditions that empower everyone to succeed.
As a corporate group operating globally, our Group has a significant social responsibility to respect the diversity of our employees’ values and attributes. Moreover, harnessing the diverse strengths of our employees into organizational strength is vital for fusing technologies and working with customers to solve issues, which are key ways to achieve our vision that “we will co-create a sustainable future for food, based on plant-based ingredients that are both delicious and healthy” as outlined in the Fuji Oil Group Management Philosophy. Failing to address issues from a DE&I perspective would lead to business risks such as negatively affecting employee turnover that could lead to lower productivity, reputational risk that could lead to losing investors and customer contracts, as well as the risk of losing the ability to create new value for the future. Conversely, responding in a way that fully leverages all employees’ individuality and abilities could bring opportunities to create new value to help our Group grow.
Moving forward, we will continue to promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) in the management of our business so that we can harness the power of diverse human resources and build a corporate culture where everyone feels that they belong and that their voice is valuable.

The Fuji Oil Group systematically manages risks and opportunities related to Human Capital and Occupational Safety, an area of sustainability matters that address the material ESG issues, in alignment with Group significant risks.

• Group significant risks
  Risk type: Disasters and accidents/ Environment and human rights/ Procurement/ Labor and human resources

  https://www.fujioil.co.jp/en/ir/policies_and_systems/risk/

Employee engagement

At the Fuji Oil Group, we began conducting employee engagement surveys in FY2023.
For employees of Fuji Oil Co., Ltd., surveys are conducted twice annually, numerically visualizing nine key drivers measuring employees’ job satisfaction in order to identify and assess company-wide and organization-specific issues. The four surveys conducted to date have indicated that the company’s strengths are “interpersonal relationships” (represented by “interdepartmental cooperation," one of the elements of “organizational culture”) and “a culture of delegation” (as indicated by the high scores for “decision-making authority," one of the elements of “work”). We believe these strengths form the foundations for team-driven results and co-creation which are two of the goals of the new system, showing that we have a strong culture on which to base our efforts to create value through fusing technologies and working with customers to solve issues. Meanwhile, one company-wide issue that has been identified is the low score for “philosophy and strategy.” Although the overall score is improving each time, this trend has not changed.
We also conduct an annual global engagement survey for employees of Group companies outside Japan. Based on the survey results, each Group company creates an action plan for improvements, aiming to boost HATARAKIGAI or job satisfaction. The results of the two surveys conducted to date have indicated strengths including collaboration and teamwork which show our solid foundation for team-driven results, which is a strength of our Group as a whole, including Japan.
On the other hand, Group-wide results indicate that at management level, there is a lack of skills and attitudes required of new leaders today, such as respecting individuals and supporting their growth. The ability of leaders to communicate our mission, vision, policies and strategies also appears to be insufficient ― a trend which is seen throughout the Group. We understand that changing our culture through leadership training is a major challenge for our Group as a whole.
These results led us to recognize that the challenge of respect for the individual ties in closely with promoting diversity, and deepening understanding and acceptance of management policies and business strategies contributes to inclusion. This is why we have linked promotion of DE&I with improving employees’ job satisfaction, working on these two themes together through a cycle of identifying issues, taking action, and checking the progress of improvements. In particular, we are aware that sharing our mission and vision, and deepening understanding and acceptance of management policies and business strategies are priority issues where management must take the lead. To this end, we have taken steps such as creating opportunities for direct dialogue between management and employees. We will work on this further as a material ESG issue in the next medium-term management plan.
Using the engagement survey results, we will step up our efforts to promote DE&I and build a working environment that improves employees’ job satisfaction so that our employees can find value in being a part of the Fuji Oil Group and take pride in their work, enabling both individuals and the Group to grow and develop.

Analysis

Since FY2022, we have appointed a person responsible for DE&I in each region or company, aiming to reduce business risks for the Group and improve returns by creating new value through local DE&I initiatives. Because they each have their own unique background and business characteristics, we did not set targets that apply uniformly to all Group companies. Instead, since FY2024 each region and company has set its own targets and implemented actions based on the results of the previous year’s engagement survey.

External recognition

By the end of June 2025, we received the following external recognition for our diversity initiatives:

• * External Recognition

  https://www.fujioil.co.jp/en/sustainability/evaluation/

Next steps

With our transition to an operating holding company structure, one of our key management strategies for the new medium-term management plan period starting from FY2025 is the group-wide integration. We have been integrating the former Fuji Oil Holdings Inc. and Fuji Oil Co., Ltd., which have merged, as well as strengthening the links between Group companies in Japan and other countries. Promoting DE&I and building a working environment that improves employees’ job satisfaction are the leading areas for the integration. We will work on the following measures, aiming to achieve the KPI set for each.

Initiatives at Fuji Oil Co., Ltd.GRI: 404-2

Supporting continued active career development

Support for the active participation of people with disabilities

As of April 1, 2025, Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. has 29 persons with disabilities under our employment, which does not meet the statutory employment rate. We have been collaborating with local schools, offering hands-on work experience programs, and exchanging information with leading companies in this field. Since FY2015, we have been focusing on creating workplaces where they can take active roles. Since FY2022, we have also provided regular consultations with occupational physicians in an effort to create comfortable workplaces with an eye toward long-term employment. Going back to the fundamental principle of providing employees with opportunities to play an active role while taking into consideration their characteristics has also changed the attitude of managers in charge of training.
Past efforts have shown that workplaces mainly for people without disabilities are not necessarily comfortable working environments for people with disabilities, so from FY2024 we have begun employing people with disabilities on external farms. The openness of farms and farm work provide an environment where many people with disabilities can continue working long-term, promoting their active participation.

Promoting non-regular employees to regular employees

The Group conducts a test once a year for highly motivated non-regular employees wishing to become regular employees. In FY2024, 13 non-regular employees have passed the test. We will continue to actively promote talented and highly motivated individuals to regular employee status through this system.

Work style reform

At Fuji Oil Co., Ltd., in FY2016 we launched the Creative Work Project to promote work style reform, which is essential for achieving diversity. Aiming to reduce the total work hours by raising productivity and improve work-life balance, we have implemented four reform initiatives over the roughly five years through April 2022: attitude reform, operational reform, system reform, and workplace reform.
As part of these reforms, we have been exploring new work style possibilities. For example, since FY2017 we have been gradually expanding our telework system and introduced a satellite office. We also facilitated active communication and promoted paperless operations by introducing robotic process automation (RPA), digitizing application procedures, and actively using video conference systems. In FY2024, around 40% of all direct employees used our telework system.
We will use IT effectively to firmly establish a system that allows employees to produce results regardless of time and place of work.

Global DE&I management

Each company in the Fuji Oil Group operates within a unique regional context and has a unique history and business characteristics. For this reason, in FY2022 we appointed a person to be in charge of advancing DE&I in each region or company. They identify DE&I-related issues in their locale and set targets and propose measures to address them. We also set up a process in which the measures they propose are reviewed and monitored by the Sustainability Committee. Rather than setting targets that apply uniformly to all Group companies, we work to strengthen DE&I management across the Group by empowering each region or company to carry out their own DE&I initiatives in the spirit of the Fuji Oil Group Management Philosophy.
In order to implement a more effective engagement cycle based on the results of the employee engagement surveys conducted since FY2023, we brought in a new system in FY2024. In the new system, managers participate in results briefings for each area or company, survey results are shared within each company, and the HR department of Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. monitors the cycle of creating action plans while identifying strengths and issues from the survey results and setting out improvement measures and putting these plans into action. From FY2025 onwards, we will establish a Cross-Border Engagement Team to further focus our efforts to build a working environment that improves employees’ job satisfaction and promote DE&I based on the survey results.