External Recognition/Initiatives

We are included in the FTSE4Good Index Series, a major global index for socially responsible investment (SRI). The index was developed by FTSE Russell, which belongs to the London Stock Exchange Group. It is widely used as a standard for selecting investees by institutional investors who focus on the social responsibility and sustainability of companies.

Among global SRI indices, we are included in the MSCI ESG Leaders Indexes.
This index suite was developed by a US-based company, MSCI Inc., and selects companies with excellent environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance.

THE INCLUSION OF KDDI Corporation IN ANY MSCI INDEX, AND THE USE OF MSCI LOGOS, TRADEMARKS, SERVICE MARKS OR INDEX NAMES HEREIN, DO NOT CONSTITUTE A SPONSORSHIP, ENDORSEMENT OR PROMOTION OF KDDI Corporation BY MSCI OR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES.
THE MSCI INDEXES ARE THE EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OF MSCI. MSCI AND THE MSCI INDEX NAMES AND LOGOS ARE TRADEMARKS OR SERVICE MARKS OF MSCI OR ITS AFFILIATES.

KDDI has been selected as a constituent of all six domestic stock ESG indices adopted by the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) for ESG investment.

The Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) developed its own environmental rating system. The investment menu confers an environmental rating after companies are evaluated on their environmental management, outstanding companies are selected, and investment criteria are established based on their score. KDDI acquired the highest rank of A in the ratings. Furthermore, KDDI is the only company in the telecommunications industry that has earned a DBJ Environmental Rating (as of September 2022).

The company was selected as one of the "Digital Transformation Issues (DX Stocks) 2022" by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Tokyo Stock Exchange. DX Stocks are selected and introduced by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) for each industry category from companies listed on the TSE that have established internal mechanisms to promote DX (Digital Transformation) that leads to increased corporate value and have an excellent track record in the use of digital technology.

We have joined the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), which is advocated by the United Nations.
The KDDI Group endorses the ten principles of the UNGC and will contribute to the "achievement of a truly connected society, the KDDI Group Mission Statement, through efforts to ensure respect for human rights in our business activities, achieve carbon neutrality, and strengthen governance in light of the diversification of our business operations.

The KDDI Group obtained SBT certification under the international Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). In addition to the CO₂ emissions reduction targets set by KDDI on a non-consolidated basis (in Japan), the KDDI Group as a whole will further promote measures to address climate change by setting new targets. To reduce CO₂ emissions, we will promote energy efficiency and shift to renewable energy for cell phone base stations and telecommunications equipment.

We also support the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures ("TCFD") established by the Financial Stability Board ("FSB"). Based on the TCFD recommendations, we will proactively disclose information on the "risks" and "opportunities" that climate change poses to our business from the four perspectives recommended by the TCFD: governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets.

KDDI has been certified on the climate change "A List" for the second consecutive year, the highest score possible for advanced environment companies, from international environmental not-for-profit charity CDP. KDDI was recognized as a global leader for environmental activities, with its initiatives such as target setting, action and transparency in climate change operations being rated.

KDDI has joined RE100, a worldwide program for corporations that are dedicated to 100% renewable electricity.
KDDI will promote the introduction of renewable electricity with high additionality for our data centers and base stations, by procuring renewable energy power from electricity suppliers and directly sourcing renewable electricity generated by the group company.

KDDI has joined the Japan Climate Leaders Partnership (JCLP), a coalition of businesses in Japan that aim to create a carbon-neutral society, built on the idea that decarbonization is essential to economic development.
KDDI endorses the principles of the JCLP and accelerates the transition to a decarbonized society.

KDDI has joined the TNFD Forum, which supports the activities of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures. Based on the TNFD's disclosure framework, KDDI will organize the relationship between its business and natural capital (dependence and impact) as well as risks and opportunities, and promote proactive disclosure from the four perspectives recommended by the TNFD: Governance, Strategy, Risk management, and Metrics and Targets.

KDDI has joined the "30 by 30 Alliance for Biodiversity" led by the Ministry of the Environment, which aims to establish a system to achieve the goal of conserving and protecting at least 30% of the land and sea as healthy ecosystems. KDDI will contribute to the conservation and management of areas with high biodiversity by leveraging its experience in biodiversity conservation activities and IoT technology through its membership in the Alliance.

KDDI was selected for the first time as a "Sustainability Yearbook Member" in "The Sustainability Yearbook 2024", published by the American S&P Global, a global ESG investment research and evaluation company, on February 7, 2024. In addition, it was selected as an "Industry Mover" as the company that most improved its evaluation from the previous year within the industry.
S&P Global evaluates the sustainability of major companies around the world from the aspects of governance, economy, environment, and society, and selects the top 15% of companies with high evaluations in each industry as Yearbook Member every year, which are published in "The Sustainability Yearbook". In 2024, evaluations were conducted for over 9,400 companies in 62 industries, and 759 companies were featured in "The Sustainability Yearbook 2024".

KDDI has received the highest MSCI ESG rating of 'AAA' for four consecutive years since 2021. The MSCI ESG rating is evaluated by the U.S. firm MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital International) and assesses how well companies manage risks related to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors. The ratings range from 'AAA', the highest, to 'CCC', the lowest, in seven tiers, and serve as a global benchmark for ESG investment. KDDI's initiatives in human capital and data security have been highly regarded, leading to the 'AAA' rating for four consecutive years since 2021.

THE USE BY KDDI CORPORATION OFANY MSCI ESG RESEARCH LLC OR ITS AFFILIATES ("MSCI") DATA, AND THE USE OF MSCI LOGOS, TRADEMARKS, SERVICE MARKS OR INDEX NAMES HEREIN, DO NOT CONSTITUTE A SPONSORSHIP, ENDORSEMENT, RECOMMENDATION, OR PROMOTION OF KDDI CORPORATION BY MSCI. MSCI SERVICES AND DATA ARE THE PROPERTY OF MSCI OR ITS INFORMATION PROVIDERS, AND ARE PROVIDED 'AS-IS' AND WITHOUT WARRANTY. MSCI NAMES AND LOGOS ARE TRADEMARKS OR SERVICE MARKS OF MSCI.

On December 2, 2022, KDDI received the Grand Prize of the HR Transformation (HRX) of The Year 2022 award for its "KDDI Version Job Style Personnel System and Other Initiatives for Human Resource-First Company".
HRX of The Year was established in April 2022 by the HR Executive Consortium (President: Yuu Kusuda), an executive network for next-generation human resources, to encourage the promotion of HR transformation in Japanese companies. The purpose of the award is to contribute to the HR transformation of Japanese companies as a whole by publicizing and spreading awareness of outstanding initiatives in the HR field.

On February 2024, KDDI was selected as one of the top 8 companies out of 233 participating companies and organizations in the "Human Capital Survey 2023" (HR Technology Consortium and others), which was conducted among Japanese companies and organizations.
KDDI has positioned the transformation into a "Human Resource-First Company" in which a diverse range of professional human capital plays an active role as one of its key management issues, and is promoting the three-pronged reform of introducing KDDI Version Job Style Personnel System, internal DX, and work style reform. We will continue to evolve our past efforts and implement human capital management by implementing data-driven HR strategies, such as promoting diverse human resource activities and DE&I through the penetration of the HR system, improving DX skills of all employees and fostering professional human resources, and improving engagement through the penetration of new work styles.

<Reference>"Human Capital Leaders 2023" announced (external website, in Japanese only)

We were recognized by the Nippon Kenko Kaigi for our outstanding health management initiatives that consider the health of our employees from a management perspective and which are strategically carried out. This led to being recognized as a Health and Productivity Management 2024 company in the large enterprise category (White 500) (as of March 2024). Our group companies, OKINAWA CELLULAR TELEPHONE COMPANY and KDDI Engineering have been also recognized as Health and Productivity Management 2024 company in the large enterprise category (White 500), and many group companies have been recognized as Health and Productivity Management 2024 company in the large enterprise category and Health and Productivity Management 2024 company in the small and medium-sized enterprise category.

We received the top gold rating on the PRIDE Index, which evaluates corporate efforts related to LGBTQ+ and other sexual minorities, for eight consecutive years (as of November 2023). The PRIDE Index was established by a private organization, work with Pride, with the aim of promoting the creation of inclusive workplaces for LGBTQ+ in companies.
KDDI has received the Gold Award for the eighth consecutive year since fiscal 2016 in recognition of its ongoing efforts, including the "Family Partnership Application," which was introduced in June 2020 to treat children of same-sex partners as "family members" under the company's internal system, as well as the awareness-raising education and events held within KDDI.

KDDI obtained the "Eruboshi" and "Kurumin" certifications from the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare in 2023.
"Eruboshi" is a system where companies that have formulated and reported action plans based on the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace, and have excellent implementation of initiatives related to women's active participation, can receive certification from the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.We have met the four criteria in the five evaluation items ("hiring", "continuous employment", "working hours and other ways of working", "management ratio", "diverse career paths"), and have received level 2 certification.
"Kurumin" is a system that certifies companies that have formulated general employer action plans based on the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children, and have taken high-level initiatives in child-rearing support.

KDDI was recognized as a 5-star company for the four consecutive year in the 7th Nikkei Smart Work Management Survey (November 2023), which selects leading companies taking on the challenge of productivity revolution through work style reforms. The survey, which has been conducted by Nikkei Inc. since 2017, targets listed companies and leading non-listed companies nationwide, and defines "smart work management" as efforts to maximize organizational performance through three elements: the realization of diverse and flexible work styles, a system for creating new businesses, and the ability to develop markets. In addition to the three elements, corporate governance and other management foundations are also included in the evaluation, which is based on a five-star scale. Of the 834 companies that responded to the 7th survey, KDDI received high ratings in innovation capability and market development capabilities.

The Nikkei SDGs Management Survey, conducted by Nikkei Inc. since 2019, defines "SDGs Management" as efforts to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through business and enhance corporate value, and evaluates companies based on four perspectives: SDG strategy and economic value, social value, environmental value, and governance. The fourth annual survey was conducted by 899 companies in Japan. In the fifth survey, 899 companies responded, and KDDI received high marks in "SDG Strategic and Economic Value" and "Social Value," and was certified with 4.5 stars for four consecutive years.