Fast Retailing Co Ltd

Fast Retailing has established a Sustainability Committee to promote sustainability activities in tandem with our business operations. Sustainability Committee meetings are attended by our internal directors (including our representative director as the chairperson of the committee), external directors, audit & supervisory board members, external experts, and relevant executive officers, and involve discussions regarding various sustainability policies, measures plans, targets and issues and directions of individual activities from a variety of different perspectives, and also, based on progress reports on each area, including environment, human rights, and social contribution, serve as opportunities to provide advice, recommendations, and supervision to departments executing business operations. Meetings for the Committee were held four times this consolidated fiscal year, and were host to discussions regarding sustainability activities pertaining to matters like climate change, biodiversity, circular economy, respect for human rights, social contribution, communication, and EU regulatory compliance. The Committee also discussed how best to communicate with customers and other stakeholders in order to solicit their participation in our social contribution activities. [...] At Fast Retailing, the Company Chairman and President, who occupies the highest position of authority in terms of sustainability, appoints directors and executive officers in charge of sustainability. To enable them to evaluate and manage the impacts, risks, and opportunities presented by their specific areas of responsibility, those directors and executive officers supervise relevant departments, receive reports on a regular basis, and make management decisions. Additionally, evaluation standards of variable remuneration for directors and executive officers in charge of sustainability-related matters include the evaluation of results pertaining to quantitative and qualitative goals set for the matters for which they are responsible. [...] Managers of each operation and company play a central role in implementing initiatives in cooperation with the Sustainability Department in order to facilitate the steady and integrated pursuit of sustainability activities and business growth. For example, we have positioned sustainability activities as a priority issue within Fast Retailing's transformative Ariake Project. Each department involved in supply chain management, including in-store and e-commerce sales, production, and distribution, appoints a person in charge of individual sustainability issues ranging from reducing greenhouse gas emissions, eliminating waste, developing products using recycled materials, and establishing traceability. Metrics and targets have been set, and various initiatives are being pursued.

Describe the process(es) your organization has in place to ensure that your engagement activities are consistent with your overall climate change strategy[…]As our response to climate change, we respect the 2050 long-term GHG emissions reduction goals in the Paris Agreement under the UNFCCC, set up concrete targets and are working to reduce GHG emissions in all business activities from production to disposal of products to achieve such targets. In January 2020, we signed and formally joined the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action promoted by the Secretariat of the UNFCCC. This Charter supports the goals of the Paris Agreement, and specifies measures for the entire fashion industry to contribute to the realization of the goals. Through participating in the Charter, we seek to promote scalable solutions to the fashion industry as a whole, from decarbonizing production process including selecting low-carbon materials to promoting consumer dialogue and awareness. We also participate in important initiatives in the apparel industry and are promoting dialogue with various stakeholders depending on the country/region and issues. For example, we regularly participate in meetings with industry groups such as the Fashion Industry Charter and Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), and the Sustainability Department confirms that their approach and directions are consistent with our climate-related policy. In addition, we report our environmental initiatives to the industry groups and exchange information with them to strengthen the collaboration.

Recognizing that it is necessary for the entire apparel industry to collaborate on a global scale, our Sustainability Department at Headquarter in Japan plays a central role in collecting and sharing relevant information, and reviews consistency or inconsistency between our climate change strategy and engagement activities of global sustainability members and other relevant departments. The Sustainability Committee discusses and clarifies our policy and approach to climate-related strategy, initiatives by business divisions and each office including engagement activities. Based on the results, the Sustainability Department monitors that the efforts including engagement activities of business divisions and each office are aligned with the company's climate change strategy.

Does your organization have a public commitment or position statement to conduct your engagement activities in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement?[…]No, and we do not plan to have one in the next two years