Suntory to donate $200,000 to environmental charities as part of first of first global employee health and wellness initiative

Suntory to donate $200,000 to environmental charities as part of first of first global employee health and wellness initiative

Tokyo – September 20, 2017 -- Employees of the Suntory Group will be getting something extra in return for their exercise this October – donations to charities of their choice!
The Suntory Group promotes health management with the view that the source of its competitiveness as a company lies in its employees’ health and wellbeing. To accelerate global health management, the company is organizing “One Suntory Walk” for all employees globally. This program will enable the participants to raise health awareness as a team and cultivate a fit lifestyle while competing for the most number of steps walked in a month.

Based on Suntory Group’s Sustainable Water Philosophy*, Suntory Holdings Limited, Suntory Beverage & Food Limited and Beam Suntory Inc. selected three charities focused on water and nature for this program. Participants can select the charity they would like to support with their exercise, and Suntory will award these charities based on the total number of steps walked. The donation amount to each of the three charities will depend on the average number of steps the employees who chose them walked during October. The total donation amount is $200,000 (about \21.8 million)*.

 Name of event                     One Suntory Walk
 Application period             September 11, 2017 (Monday) - September 30, 2017 (Saturday)
 Event period                          October 1, 2017 (Sunday) - October 31, 2017 (Tuesday)
 Eligible participants           All Suntory Group employees (about 38, 000 people)

Charitable Organizations

(1) charity: water (US)
Overview: A non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries
Area of operation: Africa, Asia, Central and South America

(2) The Nature Conservancy (US)
Overview: A non-profit organization working to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people
Area of operation: North America, Central and South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia

(3) Organizations Managing National Parks Specified by the Ministry of the Environment (Japan)
Overview: Organizations which, based on the law, manage national parks specified by the Minister of the Environment as natural environments representative of Japan
Area of operation: National parks in Japan

Donation amount

For first ranking charity                          $80,000 USD (about \8.7 million)
For second ranking charity                   $70,000 USD (about \7.6 million)
For third ranking charity                         $50,000 USD (about \5.5 million)
Total amount                                               $200,000 USD (about \21.8million)

Suntory’s Health Management

Suntory Group has been promoting health management since 2016. In Japan, we have started “Suntory Health-Ma Challenge”, which includes health camps, seminars, health mileage* and other programs, to ensure proactive and continuous health promotion, with the objective of improving the lifestyle of each employee.
Moreover, in fall 2016, Suntory Beverage & Food Limited developed and introduced the “Suntory GREEN+”* points service linked to vending machines and smartphone applications, to support the company’s health management. A first in the vending machine industry, this service has been receiving a lot of appreciation.

Suntory’s Environmental Management

The company’s environmental management is driven by its corporate mission of “To create Harmony with People and Nature” and corporate tagline of “Follow Your Nature.” We undertake various activities in Japan, such as forest preservation in “Natural Water Sanctuaries,” reduction in the weight of containers and packaging, and Suntory Mizuiku – education program for nature and water. We have also been contributing forest conservation activities at the Maker’s Mark Distillery in Kentucky and Suntory Mizuiku – education program at Vietnam.

*1 The company’s basic philosophy for all water related activities. Formulated in January 2017.
*2 $1 = \109
*3 A system that allows employees to accumulate points on a portal site for their endeavors toward health promotion (radio exercise or walking) and working style reform (obtaining paid leaves etc.). The accumulated points can be redeemed for prizes.
*4 A point service for vending machines available in our offices. Employees receive points when they buy from the vending machines or walk. They can accumulate these points and exchange them for FOSHU beverages.