Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. has for the first time been selected for inclusion in the MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index, an index for institutional investors such as Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) to make ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) investments in Japanese companies recognized for emphasizing the environment and governance, as well as the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) World Index, one of the world’s foremost ESG indices. Fast Retailing has also been included for a fifth consecutive year in the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index (DJSI Asia Pacific) of companies headquartered in the Asia Pacific region.
The selection of Fast Retailing for these indices recognizes the company’s ESG efforts. In the environmental field, these include regular disclosure of greenhouse gas emission volume and other environmental load data. In the social field, the company has increased the proportion of female managers, conducts human rights due diligence among employees and discloses results, and strengthened measures to prevent work accidents. Fast Retailing also publishes details of its community investment, including calculations of support amounts, the number of people assisted, and the number of organizations supported, as a means of measuring the effectiveness of its community support activities. In the governance field, Fast Retailing was recognized for its high degree of transparency relating to management and for improvements made in the disclosure of information about information security.
In the manufacture and sale of apparel, Fast Retailing recognizes the importance of such issues as factory work environment, respect for human rights, and environmental conservation, and actively engages in efforts for the All-Product Recycling Initiative, as well as promoting the active participation of women, employing persons with disabilities, and providing support for refugees. Through its apparel business, the company continues to contribute to the sustainable development of society.
About the MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index
The MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index comprises those companies, among the top 700 Japanese companies by market capitalization, with the best ESG performance relative to their sector peers. It considers ESG-related risk in a comprehensive manner, targeting firms with exceptional ESG ratings in their industry sectors. The index comprised 227 Japanese companies at the end of June 2020.
About the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) World Index
The DJSI World Index is an ESG investment index jointly developed by U.S. firm S&P Dow Jones Indices and the Swiss company Robeco SAM. It analyzes corporate activities from environmental, social, and governance perspectives, selecting companies with exceptional sustainability performance. In fiscal 2020, the index selected 323 companies (of which, 39 are Japanese companies) from among approximately 3,500 major corporations worldwide.
