Mid-Term Sustainability Targets as part of 2024 Mid-Term Management Plan
Material Issue 1
To enhance the value of forests and wood through sustainable forest management
Material Issue 1
Material Issue 1
To enhance the value of forests and wood through sustainable forest management
Nurturing forests to enhance and harness the value of wood and other forest resources.
Related SDGs
Basic Policy
As global environmental problems such as climate change, resource depletion, and biodiversity loss become more serious, expectations for wood and forests that produce natural resources and biological resources to solve these problems are rising. Forests not only have functions of absorbing and fixing CO2, conserving biodiversity, and producing wood building materials, fuel materials, or the like, but also have various public benefits such as water source recharge, soil conservation, and sediment disaster prevention.
Sumitomo Forestry Group has developed various businesses centered on wood, such as forestry business, timber and building material distribution and manufacturing business, housing and building business, and renewable energy business. "The Sumitomo Forestry Group utilizes wood as a healthy and environmentally friendly natural resource to provide a diverse range of lifestyle-related services that contribute to the realization of a sustainable and prosperous society. All our efforts are based on Sumitomo’s Business Spirit, which places prime importance on fairness and integrity for the good of society." In order to realize our Corporate Philosophy, we intend to enhance value of forest resources by promoting further integration of business and ESG and by conducting sustainable forest management and use of wood.
Impact on Society and the Environment
| Material Issue 1 | Impact (Influence) |
|---|---|
| To enhance the value of forests and wood through sustainable forest management Nurturing forests to enhance and harness the value of wood and other forest resources. |
Contribution to measures against global warming through CO2 fixation |
| Contributing to the protection of rare species and other conservation of biodiversity | |
| Contribution to revitalization of the forestry business by promoting forest sustainability | |
| Securing seedlings for reforestation and promoting circular use of forest resources from harvesting to replanting | |
| Contribution to greater biomass power generation (renewable energy supply) capacity in Japan | |
| Contribution to revitalization of the forestry business by utilizing domestic timber | |
| Enhancing standardization, awareness, and added value of sustainable and certified wood and wood products |
Management of Material Issue 1
In Mid-Term Sustainability Targets 2024, Material Issue 1 is divided into 9 evaluation indicators, and management is carried out by incorporating them into annual activity policies and measures of the management department. We also assess the impacts that the material issue has on society and the environment.
Management of Each Target
| Specific steps based on issues and strategies | Indicators for Evaluation | Managing department | FY2021 result |
FY2022 target |
FY2023 target |
FY2024 target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utilization of Sustainable Forest Resources | Domestic and overseas certified forest area (ha) | Environment and Resources Division | 221,971 | 242,493 | 242,493 | 242,493 |
| Area of forest plantation with in-house produced seedlings Domestic forest (ha) |
487 | 892 | 892 | 1,012 | ||
| Seedlings supplied Domestic forest (unit: 10 Thousand) |
146 | 223 | 223 | 253 | ||
| Total use of fuel chips, pellets, etc.(t)*1 |
Environment and Resources Division Timber and Building Materials Division |
1,863,870 | 1,832,890 | 2,073,948 | 2,482,964 | |
| Percentage of sustainable timber used as primary building material (%) | Housing and Construction Division | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | |
| Maintaining of SGEC certified area (%)*2 | Environment and Resources Division | - | 100 | 100 | 100 |
*1 Targets Japan Bio Energy, Okhotsk Bio Energy, Michinoku Bio Energy, Forest Service, and Sumitomo Forestry Timber and Building Materials Business.
*2 Except for land leased to Kawanokita Development and surrounding forests
| Specific steps based on issues and strategies | Indicators for Evaluation | Managing department | FY2021 result |
FY2022 target |
FY2023 target |
FY2024 target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biodiversity Conservation | Sales of native species logs (unit: trees) | Housing and Construction Division | 465,000 | 470,000 | 480,000 | 500,000 |
| Securing ratio of conservation forests in company-owned forests (%) | Environment and Resources Division | - | 30 or more | 30 or more | 30 or more | |
| Establishment of evaluation method for biodiversity conservation | - | Information collection | Examination of evaluation criteria | Establishment of evaluation method |