Promotion of diversity

The Sapporo Group’s Promotion of Diversity

The Sapporo Group’s Management Philosophy is “Contributing to the evolution of creative, enriching, and rewarding lifestyles.” In order to achieve this goal, we have defined the basic philosophy of our personnel strategy as “Go beyond boundaries.” “Going beyond boundaries” means transcending one’s personal limits, going beyond organizational divides, and going beyond business and national borders. It is only when we nurture each other and acknowledge our differences to create strengths that we can go beyond boundaries—and we believe that this will lead to the realization of our Management Philosophy. To this end, the Group will continue to respect diversity—of gender, age, disability, nationality, education and work experience, employment type, values, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc.—recognize and incorporate human resources with diverse ideas and thoughts, and reinforce environments that enable each employee to fulfill his or her maximum potential.

Employment of diverse human resources

The Sapporo Group is founded on its “Open and Fair” mentality. The hiring policies of each Group company is based on this mentality, along with individual company characteristics and environments, to hire diverse human resources without distinction of nationality, gender or educational history.

See here for employment status of the Sapporo Group (819KB)

Sapporo Breweries

Sapporo Breweries believes that diversity promotion and work style reforms are the foundations on which to realize its vision of “Enriching the Lives of our Customers.”
To this end, its Medium-to-Long-Term goal is to promote diversity in the following ways: by creating a climate in which the benefits of diversity are acknowledged and utilized; by cultivating diverse human resources and providing support for them to flourish; and, by ensuring diversity influences both the market and company results.

Application and cultivation of diverse human resources

Promotion of women’s participation

The Sapporo Group creates an environment in which “women can naturally and continuously participate with a sense of satisfaction” as the gateway toward respect and application of all diversities. As a result, the Group aims to have twice the amount of female management in 2020 across the Group when compared to 2014. (Excluding overseas companies)

Sapporo Holdings

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Companies with Female Participation (Japanese)

*This link connects to an external website

Sapporo Breweries

	Fixed date	Target figures
Percentage of female employees	2025	15%
Women in management positions	2025	10%^*1
Percentage of female regular employees	2025	25%
Female adoption rate	2022	50%^*2

*1 Doubled compared to 2019, including Sapporo Holdings, Inc.

*2 Judgments are made in a fair manner based on the image of human resources sought by the Company, including abilities, capabilities, and aptitudes, regardless of gender.

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Companies with Female Participation (Japanese)

*This link connects to an external website

Cultivation and support for diverse human relations

Programs	Other than designated programs
Introduction of teleworking systems Introduction of super flextime systems Introduction of work-interval systems Introduction of NR (national/regional) systems This system enables employees to request work within certain regions for reasons of child care or nursing care. Introduction of spouse-equivalent welfare and benefit systems for employee partners Introduction of career reinstatement system	Dispatch of female employees to external organizations Diversity Forum for Different Industries held Food Industry Diversity Forum jointly held Managerial career track conversion training Introduction of child care supporters Distribution of nursing care handbooks Formulation of Manual for Balancing Medical Treatment and Work

Programs

Other than designated programs

Introduction of teleworking systems
Introduction of super flextime systems
Introduction of work-interval systems
Introduction of NR (national/regional) systems
This system enables employees to request work within certain regions for reasons of child care or nursing care.
Introduction of spouse-equivalent welfare and benefit systems for employee partners
Introduction of career reinstatement system

Dispatch of female employees to external organizations
Diversity Forum for Different Industries held
Food Industry Diversity Forum jointly held
Managerial career track conversion training
Introduction of child care supporters
Distribution of nursing care handbooks
Formulation of Manual for Balancing Medical Treatment and Work

Recognizing diversity and nurturing a climate which applies it

Programs	Excluding programs
Partial paid leave for child care Introducing “work style reform” and “diversity” elements in management evaluation	Discussion meetings with senior members of different business categories Distribution of child care guides Implementing improvement plans based on employee awareness surveys

*Each program can be applied widely and is not limited to women.

Sapporo Breweries

As a gateway to respecting and utilizing all forms of diversity, the Sapporo Group aims to create a situation in which it is natural for women to continue to play active roles with job satisfaction. In recognition of these efforts, we were selected as a "Quasi-Nadeshiko" company in 2021 by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which jointly selects companies that excel in promoting the activities of women.

POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage

POKKA SAPPORO believes that promoting diversity is a key management strategy for realizing its management vision.

The company seeks both to recognize and to take advantage of the diversity of each of its employees, and so create an environment in which they experience both comfortable working conditions and job satisfaction as they develop; at the same time, as a company that contributes to the realization of sustainable societies, POKKA SAPPORO implements a variety of personnel systems and measures with the aim of continually providing new values required by its customers.

Programs	Excluding programs
Teleworking system Superflex system Planned paid leave acquisition system NA conversion (a system that enables employees to work at their preferred workplaces for reasons of child-raising or care-giving) Planned job rotation	Holding training and seminars Attending external seminars Career support consultations Recruitment of diverse human resources Public relations activities and information sharing

POKKA SAPPORO receives “Eruboshi” certification for promoting women’s advancement and participation in the workplace

Pokka Sapporo Food & Beverage is working to revise its personnel system, support career development, and establish wholesome working environments in order to support the activities of its employees. With regard to the promotion of women's activities, we have been conducting career support interviews for employees who are raising children, seminars for female managers, etc. In recognition of the environment in which women can work comfortably and the status of their activities, in 2020, it received “Eruboshi (second level)” certification, given to companies that promote women’s advancement and participation in the workplace.

Employment of individuals with disabilities

All companies within the Sapporo Group have initiatives toward employing individuals with disabilities. Sapporo Breweries actively promotes employment of individuals with disabilities in office positions such as marketing, general affairs, or accounting, and have attained the statutory employment rates as of 2004. As of the end of December 2017, the employment ratio of individuals with disabilities is 2.4% (46 employees).

See here for number and ratio of employed individuals with disabilities (819KB)

Major activities

Questionnaires for employees with disabilities and their supervisors
Employment of individuals with mental disabilities
Training for managers hiring individuals with disabilities

Re-employment of mandatory retirees

As the population ages and more baby boomers retire, each company in the Sapporo Group has established programs to re-employ mandatory retirees, based on the Act on Stabilization of Employment of Elderly Persons, and with the aim of handing down the experience, knowledge and technical expertise of seniors to the next generation.

Sapporo Breweries

POKKA SAPPORO introduced its Retiree Re-employment Program in 1993. In April 2006, this was revised to become the Partner Program; it was then revised again into the New Partner Program in April 2013, to address the increase in pensionable age. In order to expand the choice of work styles it offers, in June 2020 the company made revisions to its Continued Employment Program. This program promotes employment of senior citizens past the age of 60, with continued employment of retirees and re-employment training and support for those who do not wish for continued employment.

Sapporo Lion

The “Meister Employee Project” was incorporated in March 2006 to rehire individuals after mandatory retirement, with the aim of actively applying their experience and expertise in “food preparation and service technique”. Support for re-employment preparation is provided, such as seminars related to careers and pension programs before retirement, also consultation desks for life planning for individual consultation. Furthermore, a restart holiday lasting approximately one month is provided upon retirement.

SAPPORO REAL ESTATE

Promotion of senior employment at 60 years old and older, with a “Retiree Re-employment Program” like Sapporo Breweries

Consideration of employment of foreign individuals

Sapporo Lion

More than half of the employed foreigners are part-time staff who are studying abroad in Japan or are foreign students. It is mandatory for these students to have permits along with other requirements, to engage in activity other than their education. There are many Chinese students working as food preparation support staff, and thorough sanitation activities such as sanitation management manual videos with Chinese subtitles are being taken to eradicate any risks in hygiene due to differences in cultural habits. Furthermore, students working as servers who have an especially good command of Japanese play an active part in serving tourists from Asian countries.