Environmental initiatives

Environmental policy of Mitsubishi Shokuhin and its related companies

Basic environmental policy

Mitsubishi Shokuhin and its related companies will strive to optimize food distribution, preserve the environment, and achieve a sustainable society to ensure stable living conditions and the affluence of the society for the sake of future generations.

Corporate Mission

• Management

  For effective initiatives to protect the environment, we set and implement environmental objectives and goals of the environmental management system conforming to ISO14001 and strive for continuous improvement and prevention of contamination.

• Compliance

  Comply with environmental laws and regulations and conduct activities in an eco-friendly manner.
  We also comply with other requirements that the organization has agreed to.

• Business activities

  With the wide cooperation and collaboration of related parties, we strive for reduction of environmental impact caused by food distribution as well as for conservation and efficient use of resources, and actively work to solve issues.

• Communication

  We thoroughly inform the staff at Mitsubishi Shokuhin and its related companies about this environmental policy and promote environmental awareness and practice on an individual basis and disclose the environmental policy to the public.

Internal control system

We have established the Sustainability Committee and Compliance Committee and are working on environmental issues company-wide.

Legal compliance

We strive to comply with the Basic Act on the Environment and other relevant laws and regulations including the Act on the Rational Use of Energy, Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act, Food Recycling Act, Fluorocarbon Emissions Control Act, Act on Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures, Food Sanitation Act, and Fire Service Act.

Response to Climate Change

With the entire world demanding that greenhouse gases be curtailed, our Group is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
While operating distribution centers generates CO2 emissions through the use of electricity and other energy sources, distribution networks, which include distribution centers, form the foundation of our Group's business activities, and a distribution network of an appropriate scale is essential.
Therefore, For in-house direct contracting in all 9 areas of the country,the Group will strive to reduce energy consumption at its distribution centers and, through policies such as switching to eco-friendly electricity procurement under its own contract starting in FY2022, aim to reduce CO2 emissions by 60% by 2030 compared to FY2016 levels.
In addition, Mitsubishi Shokuhin is considering the introduction of an Internal Carbon Pricing (ICP) system on a trial basis for energy-saving capital investments, etc. When planning capital investments involving increases or decreases in CO2 emissions, the company plans to start using the system on a trial basis as one way to make investment decisions by using the internal carbon price unit price to convert the cost into a hypothetical cost. We plan to start operating the system on a trial basis as one of the investment decisions.

Examples of CO2 Reduction Efforts

• (1) Switch to environmentally friendly power contracts

  For all electricity in the nine areas nationwide, for FY2022 contracts we have switched to environmentally friendly electricity with a CO2 emission factor of zero.

  

  CO2 emission reductions (estimated for FY2022): approx. 30,000 tons

• (2) Pilot introduction of environmentally friendly vehicles

  At the consolidated subsidiary Carytech Corporation a distribution operator, two nonfossil fuel vehicles equipped with electric motors and lithium-ion batteries have been introduced on a pilot basis.

  

  Driving range: 100 km (fully charged)

• (3) Switch from dry ice to cold storage material

  At some shipment points in the Kanto region,a portion (70%) of dry ice used during delivery has been replaced with a reusable cold storage material.

  

Initiatives for Reducing Food Waste

The Group is promoting initiatives to reduce food waste and food loss throughout the entire food supply chain through collaboration with business partners. This includes supporting initiatives to ensure that products in stores sell out and reviewing business practices, such as the relaxation of delivery deadlines and standards. Moreover, starting February 2022, we introduced an inventory optimization solution that uses AI-based demand forecasting for the order fulfillment operations of some of our dedicated centers for business partners, with the goal of reducing excess inventory volume* by approximately 30%.

*Merchandise purchased for selling purposes that has not been sold in accordance with initial forecasts and has remained unsold at the distribution center for a certain period of time or longer

Resource Utilization

We are striving to reduce the amount of plastic used in our original products as well as some products developed for our customers. Also, to use resources effectively, we are pushing ahead with contracts to sell valuable materials to recycling companies so that unnecessary cardboard and such can be used as materials for reusable products.

Switching to eco-friendly packaging materials

For some of our original products and products that we sell as a general sales agent, we are gradually working on the development of eco-friendly products, such as products with simplified packaging and products that weigh less, so that we can address environmental issues such as resource depletion and environmental pollution.

Mitsubishi Shokuhin Resource Recycling 2030 Target

Promote plastic recycling and use environmentally friendly products