The HITOWA Group harnesses the power of people to support their lives

Led by the HITOWA Group's slogan, "For the people, with people, we advance into the future," we provide comprehensive lifestyle support services that support every stage of people's lives, from infancy to old age. Since the Group's foundation in 1997, we have worked diligently to tackle the ever-changing social issues of the times.

In our childcare and nursing care services, we provide support not only for direct users - children and senior citizens - but also for their families. By assisting with housework through our lifestyle support services, we hope to be of help to the working generation, which is busy with work, childcare, and nursing care. Since we serve as part of the social infrastructure that supports many people's lives, we have the responsibility of conducting our business steadily. Therefore, it is vital that we reinforce our foundation by carrying out sustainability initiatives.

• * As of September 30, 2023, we operate 141 nursing care facilities nationwide, 112 nursery schools and after-school child day cares, primarily in the Tokyo area, 375 catered facilities, and 2,119 franchises nationwide.

The motivation of our employees is part of a cycle of happiness for the working generation

For the HITOWA Group, which does business with a human touch, people are of supreme importance. Many of our employees aspire to engage in work that makes a significant social contribution, and I believe that their strengths lie in their aspiration to address social issues and their compassion for people and the environment.

We are working to solve social issues arising from the declining birth rate and super-aging population. The level of consciousness our employees have regarding sustainability in their daily business activities may vary from person to person. However, the very act of diligently dedicating themselves to their work helps make society better. Through our sustainability initiatives, I believe we are creating environments in which our employees in their respective workplaces, including nursing care facilities, nursery schools, and catering service facilities, can truly appreciate how their work contributes to society.

Our sustainability initiatives are not only for the sake of our employees. When the HITOWA Group's employees work happily, with a sense of pride and motivation, it also helps provide satisfaction and moving experiences to those who use our services. This creates a spill-over effect in which the working generation members of their families use our services with peace of mind. This puts smiles on everyone's faces. The HITOWA Group's sustainability initiatives are creating a cycle of happiness that extends to a growing number of people.

Establishing a sustainability promotion structure and strengthening the structure throughout the Group

The HITOWA Group is systematizing its long-standing efforts and is seeking to accelerate its sustainability initiatives. We have set up an organized promotion structure by creating a Sustainability Committee in 2021 to lead the Group's sustainability activities and establishing a Sustainability Promotion Department in 2022. Afterwards, we identified the Group's materialities (key issues) by organizing various social issues in terms of the two axes of "importance to society" and "importance to HITOWA." We have established KPIs for each of our six materialities, and the entire Group is working to achieve them.

We are also dedicating our efforts to thoroughly establishing this structure throughout the Group. In each issue of the "Sustainability Relay Talks ," which is posted on our internal portal site, several employees from Group companies share their own areas of interest and the initiatives they are carrying out. Each article is accompanied by a column on related SDGs, written by the Sustainability Promotion Department, to foster a deeper understanding among employees. These Sustainability Relay Talks can currently be viewed at our sites nationwide, such as nursing care facilities and nursery schools. We are also striving to make them available to as many employees as possible by using apps. Together with our franchise stores, we will continue to advance our sustainability initiatives, work together to think about sustainability, and put our decisions into practice.

Going forward, we will work to further deepen our sustainability activities through efforts such as disclosing our value creation model, which visualizes the value that the HITOWA Group provides to society, continuing to conduct social contribution activities in which our employees participate, and carrying out new internal awareness-raising activities. The HITOWA Group will continue to astutely respond to changes in the world, while contributing to the creation of a sustainable society through business that is aligned with people and their lifestyles.

KAIZOJI Kyoko
Head of ESG