Glossary

Biodiversity credits are market-based instruments designed to enable businesses and other organisations to offset the impacts of their activity on biodiversity (biodiversity offset).

Specifically, when ecosystems are damaged by development projects, etc., biodiversity conservation activity are carried out in other locations to compensate for the loss, and the results are traded as credits, which promotes Funding for environmental conservation activity .

A series of processes by which companies identify, prevent, and mitigate adverse human rights impacts within their own company and throughout their supply chains, evaluate the effectiveness of their efforts, and explain and disclose information on how they address these issues. Specifically, it refers to investigating and identifying human rights risks such as forced labor, child labor, and harassment, and formulating and implementing appropriate measures.

The "Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations 'Protect, Respect and Remedy' Framework", adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council in June 2011, requires companies to fulfill their responsibility to respect human rights, and as part of this calls for the implementation of human rights due diligence.

In addition, as part of its climate change measures, the EU Battery Regulation requires that environmental protection and respect for human rights be ensured during the battery Manufacturing and distribution process, and calls for appropriate management of the risk of human rights violations, making human rights due diligence increasingly important for companies.

The stock of renewable and non-renewable natural resources provided by nature that serve as the foundation for human economic activity and life. Specifically, this includes forests, rivers, soil, minerals, air, water, atmosphere, flora and fauna, etc. This natural capital supports human welfare and economic activity through a variety of ecosystem Service (flows), such as the supply of food and raw materials, climate regulation, and water purification.

In economics, artificial capital and human capital have been attracting attention as the capital that forms the basis of production, but in recent years the importance of natural capital has been attracting attention. The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) International Integrated Framework positions natural capital as one of the 6 capitals.

In light of the importance of sustainable management and conservation of natural capital, in September 2023, the TNFD(Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures) published a framework for companies and Financial Institution to disclose information on natural capital and biodiversity.

A financing mechanism in which borrowing companies Settings sustainability targets (SPTs) and lending interest rates vary depending on the degree to which they achieve these targets. Generally, interest rates are lowered when a company sets specific environmental and social targets and confirms that they have been achieved, but they increase if they are not. This provides a strong incentive for companies to achieve sustainability targets.

After the loan is granted, the progress towards the SPTs must be measured periodically and reported to the Financial Institution. The Financial Institution will review the loan terms depending on the progress towards the SPTs.

A system that certifies greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction and absorption performance in Japan as "credits." J Credits are used as a mechanism to support the achievement of carbon offset and carbon neutrality in Japan, and GHG reduction and absorption activity such as energy conservation measures, introduction of renewable Energy , and forest conservation implemented by companies and local governments are traded on the market as credits with monetary value. Companies working to reduce emissions can purchase these credits to supplement their own GHG emission amount. In addition, sellers of credits can use the profits from sales to invest in further environmental conservation activity and technology development.

A treaty aimed at addressing ecosystem issues on a global scale, regardless of individual biological species or regions. It was adopted at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Its 3 objectives are the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of biological resources, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.

Act on the rationalization of Energy use and conversion to non-fossil Energy, etc.Businesses of a certain size or larger are required to report Energy consumption, and to develop and implement energy conservation plans.Review of initiatives and formulation of plans for energy conservation and non-fossil fuel conversion, etc.It requires:

Solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, biomass, and Energy sources that can be used repeatedly in nature. They are attracting attention as a measure against global warming because there is no need to worry about depletion and they emit little greenhouse gases. As a clean Energy that can replace fossil fuels, they play an important role in achieving both a sustainable Energy supply and environmental protection.

A system based on the Law Concerning Measures to Counter Global Warming that requires businesses that emit a certain emission amount.

It refers to the greenhouse gas emission amount of not just one business, but the entire supply chain related to business activity , and can express the total value of Scope 1 to 3.