External Evaluations and Awards

CDP, based in the UK, is an international NGO involved in environmental matters, for example, climate change. It requests large companies and cities to disclose how they are dealing with climate change or water management and then conducts research and evaluation.
On the basis of the CDP 2024 Climate Change, we obtained an A ranking at the leadership level for our greenhouse gas (GHG) emission-reduction activities and climate-change mitigation and adaptation activities.
Our past CDP climate-change rankings are as follows:

• CDP 2024 Climate Change Questionnaire [1.17MB]

We have been rated as a 2023 CDP Supplier Engagement Leader, the highest level of the CDP Supplier Engagement Rating. This is the fifth year in a row we have been on the Supplier Engagement Leaderboard.
458 companies, including 109 Japanese companies, were selected as 2023 CDP Supplier Engagement Leaders for their actions and strategies to reduce GHG emissions and manage climate risks in their supply chains.

This is an initiative promoted by CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and the World Resources Institute. With respect to the Paris Agreement’s target of keeping the global average temperature increase well below 2°C above preindustrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, we were certified as a company that has established reduction targets based on scientific findings. The Scope 1 and 2 targets were raised to a 1.5°C target in 2021 and re-certified as SBTi.

Our reduction targets are shown here

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Health and Productivity Management Organization jointly conduct this program to honor corporations that practice particularly excellent health management based on initiatives that meet local health issues and health promotion efforts promoted by Health and Productivity Management Organization.
Tokyo Individualized Educational Institute has been recognized in the Large Enterprise Category, while Benesse Business Mate, Benesse BE studio and Benesse Basecom have been recognized in the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Category.

Benesse Holdings has been awarded Silver certification for the second consecutive year in the PRIDE Index 2023, an evaluation index for LGBTQ and other initiatives in the workplace, developed by the voluntary organisation work with Pride. We were commended for efforts to deepen understanding of sexual diversity, including awareness-raising activities and the establishment of a dedicated consultation service for LGBTQ employees and others involved in the workplace, based on employee feedback.

Two Group companies, Benesse Style Care and Waris, also achieved Gold certification. Benesse Style Care has revised its personnel system to treat same-sex de facto marriages in the same way as legal marriages and to apply condolence money and condolence leave. In addition to e-learning training for all Benesse Group employees, the company plans to conduct Benesse Style Care’s own training for managers, as well as staff-oriented 'workplace climate building' training.

For more information on LGBTQ-related activities, see Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I).

This is a system operated by the Ministry of Health and Labor to certify companies that meet certain standards and excel in promoting the participation of women based on the Law for Promotion of Women’s Activities. Benesse Corporation achieved the highest rank (3) from April 2016.

• Benesse Corporation Action Plan【Japanese】

The Japan Institute of Information Technology presented IT awards to companies, institutions, offices, and divisions that have made outstanding efforts in "management innovation using IT" and achieved excellent results. We received the award in the Transformation category in fiscal year 2022 for our "Establishment of a business promotion system through company-wide integration of the Benesse Group’s IT and DX divisions."

The Benesse Group has established Digital Innovation Partners (DIP), a DX promotion organization under the direct control of the president, from 2021 to promote realistic digital transformation initiatives for each generation and diverse business. It has been operating with a focus on "DX promotion tailored to business phases" and to "improve the DX capabilities of the organization." This initiative was evaluated as "an initiative that focuses on DX transformation of the business itself and cross-sectional human resource development, which is the essence of DX, and should be a great benchmark for the company."

In addition, the "Development of Majikami AI," a digitalization initiative in the nursing care field, was awarded at the same time in the customer and business function area.

• News Release【Japanese】

Sponsored by Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc., in cooperation with Toyo Keizai, Inc., and supported by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare and the Tokyo Stock Exchange, this award recognizes companies that strive to develop employees’ careers and provide them with opportunities to play active roles. Benesse Holdings received the Outstanding Performance Award at the 4th Platinum Career Awards in June 2022. The reasons for the award were as follows:

• Creation of a learning culture in which employee development leads to company and business growth. The company promotes employee reskilling by providing learning opportunities to expand digital knowledge—for instance, by introducing Udemy online learning in-house.
• Creation of our Digital Innovation Partners system, which positively promotes full-scale digital transformation by utilizing digital talents inside and outside the company.
• Implementation of a system that combines goal management and learning This takes two approaches: visualizing employees’ career paths while creating opportunities for them to play active roles; and taking into account the career wishes of employees and the personnel needs of the organization through systems such as "blue paper" -- by which employees can indicate positions they wish to take -- and open recruitment.

* For more information on Benesse Holdings' career development activities, please refer to “Human Resource Development.”

• Platinum Career Award【Japanese】

The award recognizes companies that are actively implementing outstanding new initiatives in human resources. The awards are sponsored by the Japan HR Challenge Awards Executive Committee and supported by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, Japan (SMEJ), Toyo Keizai Inc., Business Publishing,Inc., HR Research Institute (ProFuture,Inc.).The awards are presented to companies whose management and human resource departments are proactively taking on challenges in the area of human resources.

Benesse Business Mate received the "Innovation Award" in June 2022 for its innovation in establishing and operating a system that enables instructors and business leaders of people with disabilities to constantly improve their skills and demonstrate their abilities in the field to work with satisfaction.

• News Release【Japanese】

This is a system in which the Minister of Health and Labor certifies small- and medium-sized businesses that excel in their implementation of initiatives to promote the employment of workers such as those with disabilities and to ensure their job security. Benesse Business Mate was evaluated on its workplace development to expand the employment of people with disabilities, revolutionizing its working practices, creating a friendly working environment, and providing a motivating and supportive system for each employee. It was certified in November 2021.

• News Release【Japanese】

The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry publicly solicits corporate applications for all kinds of organizations, retailers, importers, and manufacturers working actively on product safety. The Ministry gives the PS Awards only after rigorous screening. Benesse Corporation received the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry Award in the retailer division, major companies, at the 2021 PS Awards.

• Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan　About PS Awards

Benesse Holdings, Inc. received a “Two Stars” rating as a company with a particularly excellent attitude and information disclosure on an ongoing basis in the “Information Technology Federation of Japan Cyber Index Company Survey2023,” conducted by the Information Technology Federation of Japan, a federation of Japan’s largest IT organizations involved in the IT industry, on companies comprising the Nikkei 500 Index. The survey comprehensively analyzes the companies’ cyber security efforts on the basis of information disclosed in reports such as the Annual Securities Report and the Corporate Governance Report as well as the responses to questionnaires on cyber security and personal information protection. In FY2023, 58 companies that have demonstrated outstanding commitment and information disclosure are given a star rating, and 14 companies with even more outstanding efforts and disclosures were awarded a "two-star" rating.

Information Technology Federation of Japan News Release

• Release of Cyber Index Corporate Survey 2023 by the Information Technology Federation of Japan【Japanese】

This is an evaluation system (ISMS conformity assessment system) established by the JIPDEC. To certify a company, a designated assessment body examines the company’s information security management systems for compliance with the ISMS certification standards, which are equivalent to international standards.
After ISO27001 (ISMS) certification was acquired by Benesse Corporation School Headquarters and Benesse BASE COM in May 2015, the same certification was also acquired by Benesse Holdings, Benesse Corporation (excluding some offices), and Benesse InfoShell in March 2016.
(May 25, 2015: Initial registration)
(May 24, 2027: Expiry date)

This is an international standard for environmental management systems. It provides a framework for organizations to protect the environment and respond to changing environmental conditions while balancing socioeconomic needs. Benesse Corporation has been certified since 2004 and is updating its certification for 2023.
The CO2 emissions results have been assured by Socotec Certification Japan K.K.. From 2022, in addition to GHG emissions, energy use, water use, and waste emissions will also be included in the assurance.

This is a system that evaluates businesses and other organizations that have established a system to take appropriate measures to protect personal information in conformance with Japanese Industrial Standard JIS Q 15001, “Personal Information Protection Management System – Requirements.” It grants them the Privacy Mark to indicate conformance and allows them to use the mark for their business activities.
After being assessed by JIPDEC, in November 2016 Benesse was registered as a business approved to display the PrivacyMark symbol.
(November 2, 2016: Initial registration)
(November 1, 2026: Expiry date)

A ranking assessment is conducted by Broadband Security, Inc., to evaluate the ease of use and completeness of information on the websites (ESG websites) of listed companies. This indicates the usability of Web-based public relations resources for various stakeholders including shareholders and investors.
Benesse Holdings, Inc., has been selected as an outstanding company for the 3rd consecutive year in the Gomez ESG Site Ranking 2023.
The survey items are divided into the five categories of “website usability,” “ESG common,” “E (environment),” “S (society),” and “G (governance),” and are designed to incorporate the perspectives of not only shareholders and investors, who are the main users, but also a wide range of stakeholders.

• Gomez ESG Site Ranking 2023【Japanese】

Daiwa Investor Relations Co., Ltd. evaluates and scores IR websites according to its own criteria and awards companies that have built particularly excellent IR websites and use them effectively in their information disclosure and communication activities. The Sustainability Award is given separately as a category award, and we received the Award of Excellence as one of the top 20 companies out of 4,048 companies eligible for the award.
The IR website also received an Award of Excellence in the same awards.

• Daiwa Internet IR Award 2023【Japanese】

A comprehensive survey and rating of listed companies’ sustainability websites is conducted by the Association for Sustainability Communication. The websites of all listed companies in Japan and major companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange are assessed with respect to information quality according to eight important disclosure criteria, and awards are given to the top 1% of the total for overall excellence. Benesse Holdings, Inc., received the Silver (Excellence) Award in the Sustainability Site Award 2022.