SESSION

セッション

While the sustainability crisis is increasingly being voiced, the market size of ESG (environmental, social and governance) finance to support corporate initiatives is forecast to be USD 7.2 trillion by 2024, and ESG assets are expected to be USD 52 trillion by 2025, potentially accounting for one third of the world's total investment assets. In responding to this, companies are expected to implement nature-positive and circular business models and to disclose non-financial information, as represented by TCFD/ TNFD, on such activities. In Japan, while initiatives of the certification of Sustainably Managed Natural Sites are under way to achieve the 30 by 30 target established under the Convention on Biological Diversity (Thirty by Thirty, which aims to effectively conserve at least 30% of the land and sea as healthy ecosystems by 2030), business initiatives for the sound use of natural capital are only just beginning. In addition, there are large quantities of items that are discarded without being sold due to various commercial practices, such as 4.72 million tonnes of food loss and 1.5 billion pieces of unsold clothing per year, so a shift to a Narure Positive, Circular business model is an urgent necessity. The Keio Research Institute at SFC and First Class Inc. will establish the ‘Natural Positive and Circular Business Consortium’ (tbd) to promote Nature Positive and Circular businesses in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders including businesses, local governments and universities to address these social issues. First Class Inc. is operating the E-commerce website ‘Closed Mart’ which is accessible only by employees of registered businesses, and is challenging to reduce the loss of products without damaging the market value of their products by selling them on "Closed Mart". This session will bring together stakeholders in the Nature Positive and Circular business to discuss the status of their efforts to improve sustainability, the possibilities and challenges for their own initiatives and collaboration with related companies, and synergies with local development through collaboration between stakeholders and the local community.

Panelist

• Tomohiro ICHINOSE

  Dean and Professor, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies

• Tomoko Kono

  Inochi and Future Strategy Headquarters Office, Policy Bureau
  Director of Business Cooperation and SDGs Promotion

• Yoshihisa TAKITA

  Senior Managing Executive Officer, Benefit One Inc.

• Kazuko MISHIMA

  General Manager for SX Promotion, Corporate Planning Dept., Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd.

• Makoto OGASAWARA

  President & Representative Director, First Class Inc.

• Shota IMAI

  Student, Faculty of Policy Management