YKK Corporation has signed the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) COP15 Business Statement for Mandatory Assessment and Disclosure by 2030, convened by Business for Nature. Business for Nature was established in 2019 by 13 international organizations, including the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the World Economic Forum (WEF), as an international coalition calling on businesses to take comprehensive action to recover from the destruction of nature and protect ecosystems. This corporate statement, issued in anticipation of COP 15 in December 2022 in Montreal, Canada, is a call for heads of state to urge all major corporations and financial institutions to assess and disclose their impacts and dependencies on nature by 2030.
YKK adopted the YKK Group Environmental Pledge in 1994. In 2019, the YKK Group Environmental Vision 2050 was set with four themes, including “Symbiosis with Nature.” In October 2020, the “YKK Sustainability Vision 2050” was established, translating the YKK Group’s environmental vision into specific numerical targets for the fastening business. YKK discloses the state of its achievement each year in “This is YKK” (YKK Integrated report). YKK is working toward achieving the goals in the five themes of climate change, material resources, water resources, chemical management, and respect for people, as well as the 10 corresponding SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), and the company discloses its progress toward achieving these goals each year.
By signing the Business Statement, YKK is declaring the following four actions:
COP15 Business Statement for Mandatory Assessment and Disclosure by 2030 (action pledge) and YKK Initiatives
(1) Assess impacts and dependencies on nature
YKK conducts company-wide risk assessments, and within these assessments, it evaluates the impact on the natural environment, such as the discharge of harmful substances into bodies of water and the air and the contamination of soil. Furthermore, YKK uses an original checklist to assess and understand water risks at each manufacturing site.
(2) Disclose important information related to nature
Important data on nature and the environment, including biodiversity, is published each year in the This is YKK (YKK Integrated Report) Databook.
(3) Commit to prioritizing the most critical issues within the business, value chain, and portfolio, and to disclosing avoidance and reduction of negative impacts
YKK made its commitment in the YKK Group Environmental Vision 2050, which outlines the Group’s long-term direction in relation to its environmental initiatives up to 2050. Furthermore, the Group formulated the YKK Sixth Mid-term Environmental Policy based on the Vision and has disclosed it in the This is YKK (YKK Integrated Report) Databook.
(4) Transform business strategies and models to restore and rehabilitate nature and work collaboratively in river basins, on land, and in the sea
By switching to the use of sustainable materials for fastening product materials and packaging, YKK is working to prevent the destruction of nature when virgin materials are harvested. At YKK’s Kurobe manufacturing center, the company is working to recreate the original landscape of Kurobe by developing forests and waterside areas to realize the ideal of “a factory in the forest” envisioned by YKK founder Tadao Yoshida.
In addition to continuing and improving the initiatives YKK has taken so far, YKK will work even harder to realize a sustainable society through its core business under the Cycle of Goodness YKK philosophy.
