Morinaga & Co., Ltd. is making efforts to realize a sustainable society through food and resolve social issues through its business activities by pursuing initiatives such as choosing FSC®-certified paper when procuring raw materials, and biomass plastics and inks, and reducing its use of plastics.
The Company considers its key tasks as a food manufacturer to be delivery of safe, reliable products to customers and procurement of sustainable raw materials that are not harmful to the global environment or society. Accordingly, it has now set medium-term targets for its products in Japan.
The Company will continue coordinating and collaborating with its stakeholders to pursue sustainable procurement throughout its supply chains.
Morinaga Group Procurement Policy
Cacao beans, a key raw material for chocolate, are associated with a range of social issues including poor working conditions for cacao farmers, poverty, child labor, and global warming due to deforestation. During FY 2020 (the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021), the Company started using certified cacao beans (Cocoa Horizons*-certified cacao supplied by the Barry Callebaut Group) in some of its chocolate products. These certified cacao beans contribute to resolving the social issues described, facilitating sustainable procurement. The Company aims to switch 100 percent of the cacao beans used in its products in Japan to beans from sustainable sources by FY 2025 (the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2026).
Although palm oil is used in a wide range of products including processed foods and detergents, environmental destruction and human rights problems in producing regions have become social issues. Like other companies, the Company uses palm oil in many of its products, and regards it as necessary to switch to certified palm oil (e.g., RSPO*-certified) that contributes to sustainable procurement. The Company aims to switch 100 percent of the palm oil used in its products in Japan to palm oil from sustainable sources by FY 2023 (the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2024).
Japan relies on imports for around 70 percent of the paper raw materials it uses, and the incorporation of illegal timber products into these raw materials has become an issue. The Company aims to help prevent global warming by making effective use of timber resources that are not associated with illegal logging or destruction of ecosystems, and are not harmful to the environment or local communities. To that end, it has started environmentally conscious procurement of raw materials such as FSC®*1-certified paper*2 and recycled paper. The Company aims to switch 100% of the paper (for product packaging*3) used in its products in Japan to paper from sustainable sources by FY 2022 (the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2023).
The Company considers its key tasks as a food manufacturer to be delivery of safe, reliable products to customers and procurement of sustainable raw materials that are not harmful to the global environment or society.
“I wish to provide delicious, highly nutritious Western confectionaries to the people of Japan.” Morinaga & Co., Ltd. was launched with this strong desire as expressed by Taichiro Morinaga, the company’s founder.
The Morinaga Group is aware of various social issues that it faces at every stage of its value chain (planning and development, procurement, production, distribution and sales, and consumption/disposal) and is promoting measures to resolve them.
Society as a whole is becoming increasingly health-conscious and there is a growing need to take proper nutrients in an easy and functional way. The Morinaga Group has been working on the development of wellness products that can help people lead a healthy and happy life.