Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. (TSE 6098) ("Recruit Holdings") announced an annual update today regarding its Commitment to Sustainability, a corporate strategy first announced in May 2021. Recruit Holdings and its subsidiaries — hereafter referred to as the Company, Recruit Group, We, or Us — has made solid progress toward its fiscal year (FY) 2030*¹ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals that are aimed at achieving a better future. 

Ayano "Sena" Senaha — Chief Operating Officer, Managing Corporate Executive Officer, Director of the Board, and responsible for Recruit Group's sustainability commitments and ESG goals — is confident regarding the Company’s drive for integrating a transformative approach to sustainability. She states, "The world has been facing continued turmoil brought about by major events such as the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. At Recruit Group, we remain focused on delivering a long-term positive impact on society and the environment through our corporate activities. Along with our stakeholders, we believe we can and should all be able to prosper together." 

Environmental: Reach Carbon Neutrality 

We only have one planet, and everyone has a responsibility to protect the health and longevity of our home. Recruit Group is committed to protecting our environment by focusing on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions — a key issue we need to address to take action against climate change. 

We expect to have achieved our short-term goal as we planned by reaching carbon neutrality throughout our business activities in FY2021*². Our long-term goal is to achieve carbon neutrality across our entire value chain by FY2030*².  In order to accelerate our efforts toward the long-term goal, we have set a three-year reduction target*³ that aligns with the science-based 1.5°C pathway*⁴ — which aims to limit the increase in global average temperature to less than 1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial era. 

Alongside this drive toward carbon neutrality, we have conducted scenario analysis of the Company's key risks and opportunities associated with climate change, in line with the TCFD*⁵ framework, and plan to disclose the findings within our FY2021 annual report, translated from “Yukashouken Houkokusho.”

Social: Shorten Job Search Duration by Half

Having a job is one of the most important facets of life for many people. According to an OECD study, approximately 40% of people could fall into poverty by not having income for three months*⁶. As a leading global HR matching company, Recruit Group wants to help eliminate poverty and economic vulnerability by reducing the time it takes job seekers to get hired. We aspire to make the hiring process simpler and faster. 

Over the past year, as part of its commitment to halve the time it takes to get jobs by FY2030, Recruit Group has worked to better define job search duration. While the time it takes for individual job seekers to get hired varies, analysis of job seeker data on Indeed indicates that it takes approximately 15 weeks until most job seekers get hired*⁷. We have also found that there are specific segments of job seekers who need more help than others to find a job faster. Our proprietary global labor force research on jobs and employment conducted across 30 countries revealed that approximately 50% of survey respondents reported that their job search duration was longer than the amount of time that they could pay and cover their personal expenses*⁸. To address this problem, Recruit Group will further work to improve its products on Indeed to identify and understand the job seekers who need the most help. In turn, we will develop and execute plans that shorten the job search and make it easier to access jobs.

Social: Help 30 Million Job Seekers Facing Barriers Get Jobs

Job seekers from underrepresented or vulnerable groups face various barriers to securing a job. These barriers are difficult to remove through improved matching efficiency alone. For this reason, Recruit Group is committed to leveling the playing field for 30 million job seekers*⁹ by reducing the barriers to entry through our technology and partnerships by FY2030. 

Progress to date includes placing a particular focus on barriers such as criminal records*¹⁰ and lack of access to resources such as transportation and technology that are critical to finding a job*¹¹. With increased clarity on barriers to entry, we are able to identify and engage in beneficial partnerships, develop and strengthen technology-based support, and engage with enterprise clients to support their growing inclusive hiring needs*¹².

Social:  Achieve Gender Parity Across the Employee Base 

Recruit Group's diverse employee base has been the source of our value creation from the very beginning. Betting on passion and ideas of our employees has been our competitive advantage, and the reason why our management prioritizes and continues to roll out further initiatives to promote a diverse, equitable and inclusive (DEI) workforce that empowers individuals and fosters innovation. We are focusing on diversifying our management and assigning roles regardless of factors such as gender, nationality, age, and recruitment route.

To strengthen our ongoing DEI efforts, we have set ourselves an ambitious target — to achieve an approximately 50% representation of women in senior executive positions, in managerial positions, and total employees within the Company by FY2030. During FY2021, each SBU*¹³ studied their gender gap and analyzed the respective root causes of this gap, and is proactively hiring to address any imbalances. This bold and proactive stance is already bearing fruit. The ratio of senior executives, which represents the ratio among CEOs of main subsidiaries as well as executive officers of SBUs, has increased from approximately 10% to 21%*¹⁴ as of April 1, 2022. As we drive toward the FY2030 goal, we have set a three-year target*³ to accelerate growth in this area. 

Governance: Achieve Gender Parity of the Board 

Diversity in the boardroom is also critical to ensure higher quality decision-making, greater transparency and soundness in a company’s governance structure. To this end, Recruit Holdings continues to enhance its diversity in skills, experience, and background and is committed to achieving approximately 50% women representation among the members of the Board of Directors and Audit & Supervisory Board by FY2030. In FY2022, Recruit Holdings aims to propose candidates for election at its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to be held in June 2022, and if the proposed candidates are elected, women will account for approximately 27%*¹⁵ of the members of the Board — up from 20% the previous year. Recruit Holdings has set a three-year target*³ to accelerate growth. 

The Board of Directors has resolved to set mid-term targets over a three-year period for both GHG and gender parity, and beginning in FY2022 Recruit Holdings has linked the achievement of these targets to a percentage of the long-term incentive compensation*¹⁶ for the executive directors and corporate officers in charge of driving and realizing these ESG goals.

In addition to the above, the Company positions data security and privacy, corporate ethics and compliance, human rights, and employee engagement as material foundations for its corporate activities and will prioritize related initiatives. As the Company makes progress toward these ESG goals, it will be monitored by the Board. Led by Sena, the Company will advance related initiatives based on dialogue with various stakeholders and through advisory bodies to the Board of Directors, such as the Sustainability Committee.

Please refer to the website below for more details regarding our commitment to sustainability and related initiatives.  https://recruit-holdings.com/en/sustainability/