Damage to natural capital due to economic activities has increased and, if biodiversity continues to be damaged, this may become an obstacle to realization of a sustainable society. While working to improve the sustainability of natural capital, the Group is promoting nature-related disclosure as set forth in the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (“TNFD”) Disclosure Recommendations Version 1 (TNFD v.1.0) published in September 2023.

Our Company has made efforts to promote understanding of TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures) and to develop frameworks, etc., subscribing to the purpose of TNFD.

TNFD selects members from among financial institutions, corporates, etc. in 14 countries for development of disclosure frameworks. One of our employees was selected as a taskforce member and contributed to framework development.
Having released a prototype disclosure framework (beta version), TNFD proceeded with a development based on inputs and feedback from stakeholders such as financial institutions and corporates. Our company participated in the TNFD Forum and supported this initiative.
In Japan, the TNFD Consultation Group of Japan (commonly known as TNFD Japan Council) was formed in June 2022 in order to promote understanding about TNFD by companies, etc. participating in the TNFD Forum and it endeavored to increase understanding of the beta version of TNFD, inviting expression of opinions through creating opportunities for explanations on the beta version and discussions by various participants.

We participated in a pilot program which TNFD carried out in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programʼs Finance Initiative. In this program, we select one topic from among many which are based on establishment of region/industry combinations, and carry out pilot operation of risk evaluation using a method proposed by TNFD in its prototype framework. We then feed the results back to TNFD to help it further develop the framework.
Our company participated in the project in order to acquire know-how in risk assessment and disclosure, and to apply the knowledge gained through conducting pilots to framework development and TNFD Consultation Group of Japan.

Our Group has been offering various services for quantitative evaluation of impacts on natural capital in developing business units and projects within and outside of Japan for our customers’ business expansion, and products to cover economic loss caused by damage to nature.

Our Group has made biodiversity conservation one of key issues in the MS&AD Insurance Group Basic Policy on the Environment and is promoting measures such as participation in various initiatives.

Each year, the Company holds a “The Story of Biology Told by Companies” symposium.
The symposium program was launched in 2007 as an opportunity to provide information on corporate initiatives for biodiversity and, in February 2023, we hosted the 16th symposium This program has been highly rated with the symposiums featuring in the Guidelines for Private Sector Engagement in Biodiversity.

MS&AD is promoting biodiversity conservation activities in Southeast Asia in collaboration with the global non-governmental organization, Conservation International (Asia-Pacific). Our Group is working with local partners in six key Asian markets (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and two Pacific countries (Fiji and New Caledonia), to assist with activities such as reforestation, mangrove planting, conservation of rare wildlife, and monitoring of protected areas.

Over the past 18 years, starting in FY2005, we have been working with the Indonesian government to restore wildlife reserve forests and to recover tropical forests in the Special Region of Yogyakarta on Java Island. We have also been endeavoring to stimulate the local economy by, for instance, planting trees to revive degraded forests, and to form sustainable local communities, maintaining/managing protected forests and pursuing cooperative forestation initiatives with local residents by offering them technical guidance on planting and cultivating trees.

In FY 2019, we launched a tree-planting activity called the Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Forest in Bihoro Town, Hokkaido, as an activity for Connecting a Healthy Global Environment to the Future. Our environmental donation initiatives through customers’ selection of paperless insurance/Web policies, etc. are being utilized for tree-planting activities. We planted three types of moisture-resistant, broad-leaved trees (Mizunara: Quercus cuspidate, Japanese white birch: Betula platyphylla Sukaczev, and Manchurian Ash) on 15.5 hectares of land in accordance with the soil characteristics of the plantation area.

We are actively engaged in environmental conservation activities and raising awareness among employees within our Group.

MS&AD Green Earth Project is a project through which our Group has been addressing conservation/restoration of natural environments, environmental burden reduction, disaster prevention and mitigation, and regional revitalization in a unified manner. We are working to address climate change and improve the sustainability of natural capital in an integrated manner through these initiatives, including reduction of resource utilization through paperless business processes, etc. and resource circulation through recycling, and drawing out the functions of nature, such as disaster prevention/mitigation and decarbonization, by preserving the natural environment toward resolving social issues (Nature based Solutions) utilizing the power of nature.

With a view to medium- to long-term social transformation associated with the conservation of natural capital/biodiversity and decarbonization, we will analyze new risks arising out of initiatives for "responses to climate change and decarbonization" such as renewable energy from the oceans/seabed and negative emissions technologies, and “responses to digital transformation of offshore/submarine business" utilizing oceanographic data and AI, etc., and will promote development of insurance products/services that support realization of the “blue economy” through a system deployed across internal and external organizations.

The green zones surrounding Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance’s Surugadai Building and the Surugadai New Annex (Surugadai Green Spaces) are highly regarded as corporate green spaces that reflect consideration for biodiversity. Aiming to contribute to realization of "30 by 30," the Group participated in a demonstration project initiated by the Ministry of the Environment in relation to the Certification as “Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures” (OECMs), and Surugadai green spaces were certified as OECMs in October 2023. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance and MS&AD InterRisk Research & Consulting provide a "Corporate Green Space Support Package", utilizing the know-how and experience of both companies, to support corporate green space initiatives through corporate green space insurance and related services.

As marine pollution becomes an ever-increasing concern, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance has stopped using plastic cups and straws in its employee cafeterias since August 2018 in order to reduce the use of plastic and educate employees regarding the problem of plastic waste in our oceans. In July 2019, Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance installed water stands with direct faucets to promote the use of personal water bottles. Furthermore, in, during work hours, we are focusing on group-wide initiatives to reduce the use of plastic. In July 2020, for example, we provided employees with original eco-bags as an alternative to plastic shopping bags and special stickers to put on bottles to encourage employees to bring in their own water bottles, focusing on group-wide initiatives to reduce the use of plastic during work hours.

Our Group has been making a switchover to FSC-Certified* paper for pamphlets and other printed material since fiscal 2010. Using paper made with lumber sourced from properly managed forests enables us to contribute to preserve biodiversity through forest protection.
*Paper manufactured from lumber sourced from properly managed forests in the interest of sustainable forest use and environmental conservation.

We offer sustainable seafood* in the cafeterias of our buildings, the Surugadai Building from October 2019 and Chiba New Town Center from August 2020. Every month, a Sustainable Seafood Day is scheduled to provide menus using sustainably sourced seafood. Simply by allowing employees to eat sustainable seafood and transforming their own eating habits through such initiatives, we are contributing to the realization of a sustainable society. *Sustainable seafood refers to seafood that has been certified for sustainable production (fishing and aquaculture), as well as management and traceability in the processing, distribution, and sales processes.