| 1.Strategy and Analysis | page | Financial Statements | |
| 1.1 | Statement from the most senior decision-maker of the organization (e.g., CEO, chair, or equivalent senior position) about the relevance of sustainability to the organization and its strategy. | Top Message | — |
| 1.2 | Description of key impacts, risks, and opportunities. | Major products and services in fiscal 2007 | Review of operations (Japanese only) (P19-20) |
| 2.Organizational Profile | |||
| 2.1 | Name of the organization. | Corporate Profile | — |
| 2.2 | Primary brands, products, and/or services. | Benesse's Principal Businesses | — |
| Major products and services in fiscal 2007 | |||
| "Shinkenzemi Junior High School Course + i" correspondence courses | |||
| Benesse Style Care | |||
| 2.3 | Operational structure of the organization, including main divisions, operating companies, subsidiaries, and joint ventures. | Corporate Profile | — |
| 2.4 | Location of organization's headquarters. | Corporate Profile | — |
| 2.5 | Number of countries where the organization operates, and names of countries with either major operations or that are specifically relevant to the sustainability issues covered in the report. | Management Frameworks | — |
| Topics 3—Overseas Operations and International Education | |||
| 2.6 | Nature of ownership and legal form. | Corporate Profile | Corporate Governance (Japanese only) (P38) |
| 2.7 | Markets served (including geographic breakdown, sectors served, and types of customers/beneficiaries). | — | Review of operations (Japanese only) (P13-15) |
| 2.8 | Scale of the reporting organization, including: - Number of employees; - Net sales (for private sector organizations) or net revenues (for public sector organizations); - Total capitalization broken down in terms of debt and equity (for private sector organizations); and - Quantity of products or services provided |
Benesse's Principal Businesses | Corporate Data (Japanese only) (P10) Review of operations (Japanese only) (P11-15) Accounting Policys (Japanese only (P59-62) |
| Corporate Profile | |||
| Financial Date | |||
| 2.9 | Significant changes during the reporting period regarding size, structure, or ownership including: - The location of, or changes in operations, including facility openings, closings, and expansions;and - Changes in the share capital structure and other capital formation, maintenance, and alteration operations (for private sector organizations). |
Fiscal 2007 Main Activities and Topics | — |
| 2.10 | Awards received in the reporting period. | Responsibility to Shareholders and Investors | — |
| Topics 2—Benesse Art Site Naoshima Activities | |||
| 3.Report Parameters | |||
| Report Profile | |||
| 3.1 | Reporting period (e.g., fiscal/calendar year) for information provided. | Editing Policy | — |
| 3.2 | Date of most recent previous report (if any). | Editing Policy | — |
| 3.3 | Reporting cycle (annual, biennial, etc.) | Editing Policy | — |
| 3.4 | Contact point for questions regarding the report or its contents. | Editing Policy | — |
| Report Scope and Boundary | |||
| 3.5 | Process for defining report content, including: - Determining materiality; - Prioritizing topics within the report; and - Identifying stakeholders the organization expects to use the report. |
Editing Policy | — |
| 3.6 | Boundary of the report (e.g., countries, divisions, subsidiaries, leased facilities, joint ventures, suppliers). | Editing Policy | — |
| 3.7 | State any specific limitations on the scope or boundary of the report. | Skill Development and Diversity Initiatives | — |
| Environmental Activity Management System | |||
| 3.8 | Basis for reporting on joint ventures, subsidiaries, leased facilities, outsourced operations, and other entities that can significantly affect comparability from period to period and/or between organizations. | — | — |
| 3.9 | Data measurement techniques and the bases of calculations, including assumptions and techniques underlying estimations applied to the compilation of the Indicators and other information in the report. | — | — |
| 3.10 | Explanation of the effect of any re-statements of information provided in earlier reports, and the reasons for such re-statement (e.g., mergers/acquisitions, change of base years/periods, nature of business, measurement methods). | — | — |
| 3.11 | Significant changes from previous reporting periods in the scope, boundary, or measurement methods applied in the report. | — | — |
| GRI Content Index | |||
| 3.12 | Table identifying the location of the Standard Disclosures in the report. | GRI Guidelines | — |
| Assurance | |||
| 3.13 | Policy and current practice with regard to seeking external assurance for the report. If not included in the assurance report accompanying the sustainability report, explain the scope and basis of any external assurance provided. Also explain the relationship between the reporting organization and the assurance provider(s). | — | — |
| 4.Governance, Commitments, and Engagement | |||
| Governance | |||
| 4.1 | Governance structure of the organization, including committees under the highest governance body responsible for specific tasks, such as setting strategy or organizational oversight. | Corporate Governance | Corporate Governance (Japanese only) (P52-55) |
| 4.2 | Indicate whether the Chair of the highest governance body is also an executive officer (and, if so, their function within the organization's management and the reasons for this arrangement). | Corporate Governance | Corporate Governance (Japanese only) (P52-56) |
| 4.3 | For organizations that have a unitary board structure, state the number of members of the highest governance body that are independent and/or non-executive members. | Corporate Governance | Corporate Governance (Japanese only) (P52) |
| 4.4 | Mechanisms for shareholders and employees to provide recommendations or direction to the highest governance body. | Corporate Governance | Corporate Governance (Japanese only) ( P54) |
| 4.5 | Linkage between compensation for members of the highest governance body, senior managers, and executives (including departure arrangements), and the organization's performance (including social and environmental performance). | — | Corporate Governance (Japanese only) ( P56) |
| 4.6 | Processes in place for the highest governance body to ensure conflicts of interest are avoided. | — | Corporate Governance (Japanese only) ( P52-55) |
| 4.7 | Process for determining the qualifications and expertise of the members of the highest governance body for guiding the organization's strategy on economic, environmental, and social topics. | — | — |
| 4.8 | Internally developed statements of mission or values, codes of conduct, and principles relevant to economic, environmental, and social performance and the status of their implementation. | Compliance System | — |
| Environmental Activity Management System | |||
| 4.9 | Procedures of the highest governance body for overseeing the organization's identification and management of economic, environmental, and social performance, including relevant risks and opportunities, and adherence or compliance with internationally agreed standards, codes of conduct, and principles. | — | Corporate Governance (Japanese only) ( P52-57) |
| 4.10 | Processes for evaluating the highest governance body's own performance, particularly with respect to economic, environmental, and social performance. | — | — |
| Commitments to External Initiatives | |||
| 4.11 | Explanation of whether and how the precautionary approach or principle is addressed by the organization. | Compliance System | — |
| In Cooperation With Business Partners | |||
| Environmental Activity Management System | |||
| 4.12 | Externally developed economic, environmental, and social charters, principles, or other initiatives to which the organization subscribes or endorses. | Compliance System | — |
| Work-life Balance | |||
| 4.13 | Memberships in associations (such as industry associations) and/or national/international advocacy organizations in which the organization: - Has positions in governance bodies; - Participates in projects or committees; - Provides substantive funding beyond routine membership dues; or - Views membership as strategic. |
— | — |
| Stakeholder Engagement | |||
| 4.14 | List of stakeholder groups engaged by the organization. | Our Relationship With Stakeholders | — |
| 4.15 | Basis for identification and selection of stakeholders with whom to engage. | Our Relationship With Stakeholders | — |
| 4.16 | Approaches to stakeholder engagement, including frequency of engagement by type and by stakeholder group. | Communicating With Customers | — |
| In Cooperation With Business Partners | |||
| Interaction Among Employees, Management and the Business Front Lines | |||
| Responsibility to Shareholders and Investors | |||
| Coexistence With Communities | |||
| Topics 2—Benesse Art Site Naoshima Activities | |||
| Topics 3—Overseas Operations and International Education | |||
| 4.17 | Key topics and concerns that have been raised through stakeholder engagement, and how the organization has responded to those key topics and concerns, including through its reporting. | Communicating With Customers | — |
| In Cooperation With Business Partners | |||
| Interaction Among Employees, Management and the Business Front Lines | |||
| Responsibility to Shareholders and Investors | |||
| Coexistence With Communities | |||
| Topics 2—Benesse Art Site Naoshima Activities | |||
| Topics 3—Overseas Operations and International Education | |||
| 5.Management Approach and Performance Indicators | |||
| Economic | |||
| Management Approach | Management Frameworks | — | |
| Economic Performance Indicators | |||
| Aspect: Economic Performance | |||
| CORE EC1. |
Direct economic value generated and distributed, including revenues, operating costs, employee compensation, donations and other community investments, retained earnings, and payments to capital providers and governments. | Financial Date | — |
| CORE EC2. |
Financial implications and other risks and opportunities for the organization's activities due to climate change. | — | — |
| CORE EC3. |
Coverage of the organization's defined benefit plan obligations. | — | — |
| CORE EC4. |
Significant financial assistance received from government. | — | — |
| Aspect: Market Presence | |||
| ADD EC5. |
Range of ratios of standard entry level wage compared to local minimum wage at significant locations of operation. | — | — |
| CORE EC6. |
Policy, practices, and proportion of spending on locally-based suppliers at significant locations of operation. | — | — |
| CORE EC7. |
Procedures for local hiring and proportion of senior management hired from the local community at locations of significant operation. | — | — |
| Aspect: Indirect Economic Impacts | |||
| CORE EC8. |
Development and impact of infrastructure investments and services provided primarily for public benefit through commercial, in-kind, or pro bono engagement. | — | — |
| ADD EC9. |
Understanding and describing significant indirect economic impacts, including the extent of impacts. | — | — |
| Environmental | |||
| Management Approach | Environmental Activity Management System | — | |
| Environment Performance Indicators | |||
| Aspect: Materials | |||
| CORE EN1. |
Materials used by weight or volume. | Environmental Activity Management System | — |
| CORE EN2. |
Percentage of materials used that are recycled input materials. | — | — |
| Aspect: Energy | |||
| CORE EN3. |
Direct energy consumption by primary energy source. | — | — |
| CORE EN4. |
Indirect energy consumption by primary source. | Environmental Activity Management System | — |
| ADD EN5. |
Energy saved due to conservation and efficiency improvements. | — | — |
| ADD EN6. |
Initiatives to provide energy-efficient or renewable energy based products and services, and reductions in energy requirements as a result of these initiatives. | — | — |
| ADD EN7. |
Initiatives to reduce indirect energy consumption and reductions achieved. | — | — |
| Aspect: Water | |||
| CORE EN8. |
Total water withdrawal by source. | Environmental Activity Management System | — |
| ADD EN9. |
Water sources significantly affected by withdrawal of water. | — | — |
| ADD EN10. |
Percentage and total volume of water recycled and reused. | — | — |
| Aspect: Biodiversity | |||
| CORE EN11. |
Location and size of land owned, leased, managed in, or adjacent to, protected areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas. | — | — |
| CORE EN12. |
Description of significant impacts of activities, products, and services on biodiversity in protected areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas. | — | — |
| ADD EN13. |
Habitats protected or restored. | — | — |
| ADD EN14. |
Strategies, current actions, and future plans for managing impacts on biodiversity. | — | — |
| ADD EN15. |
Number of IUCN Red List species and national conservation list species with habitats in areas affected by operations, by level of extinction risk. | — | — |
| Aspect: Emissions, Effluents, and Waste | |||
| CORE EN16. |
Total direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions by weight. | Environmental Activity Management System | — |
| CORE EN17. |
Other relevant indirect greenhouse gas emissions by weight. | — | — |
| ADD EN18. |
Initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reductions achieved. | — | — |
| CORE EN19. |
Emissions of ozone-depleting substances by weight. | — | — |
| CORE EN20. |
NO, SO, and other significant air emissions by type and weight. | — | — |
| CORE EN21. |
Total water discharge by quality and destination. | — | — |
| CORE EN22. |
Total weight of waste by type and disposal method. | Environmental Activity Management System | — |
| CORE EN23. |
Total number and volume of significant spills. | — | — |
| ADD EN24. |
Weight of transported, imported, exported, or treated waste deemed hazardous under the terms of the Basel Convention Annex I, II, III, and VIII, and percentage of transported waste shipped internationally. | — | — |
| ADD EN25. |
Identity, size, protected status, and biodiversity value of water bodies and related habitats significantly affected by the reporting organization's discharges of water and runoff. | — | — |
| Aspect: Products and Services | |||
| CORE EN26. |
Initiatives to mitigate environmental impacts of products and services, and extent of impact mitigation. | Promoting Environmental Activities | — |
| CORE EN27. |
Percentage of products sold and their packaging materials that are reclaimed by category. | — | — |
| Aspect : Compliance | |||
| CORE EN28. |
Monetary value of significant fines and total number of non-monetary sanctions for noncompliance with environmental laws and regulations. | — | — |
| Aspect : Transport | |||
| ADD EN29. |
Significant environmental impacts of transporting products and other goods and materials used for the organization's operations, and transporting members of the workforce. | — | — |
| Aspect : Overall | |||
| ADD EN30. |
Total environmental protection expenditures and investments by type. | — | — |
| Social Performance Indicators | |||
| Labor Practices and Decent Work | |||
| Management Approach | Utilizing Human Resources and Creating Better Working Environments | — | |
| Labor Practices and Decent Work Performance Indicators | |||
| Aspect: Employment | |||
| CORE LA1. |
Total workforce by employment type, employment contract, and region. | — | — |
| CORE LA2. |
Total number and rate of employee turnover by age group, gender, and region. | — | — |
| ADD LA3. |
Benefits provided to full-time employees that are not provided to temporary or part-time employees, by major operations. | Work-life Balance | — |
| Aspect: Labor/Management Relations | |||
| CORE LA4. |
Percentage of employees covered by collective bargaining agreements. | — | — |
| CORE LA5. |
Minimum notice period(s) regarding operational changes, including whether it is specified in collective agreements. | — | — |
| Aspect: Occupational Health and Safety | |||
| ADD LA6. |
Percentage of total workforce represented in formal joint management?worker health and safety committees that help monitor and advise on occupational health and safety programs. | — | — |
| CORE LA7. |
Rates of injury, occupational diseases, lost days, and absenteeism, and number of workrelated fatalities by region. | — | — |
| CORE LA8. |
Education, training, counseling, prevention, and risk-control programs in place to assist workforce members, their families, or community members regarding serious diseases. | — | — |
| ADD LA9. |
Health and safety topics covered in formal agreements with trade unions. | — | — |
| Aspect: Training and Education | |||
| CORE LA10. |
Average hours of training per year per employee by employee category. | — | — |
| ADD LA11. |
Programs for skills management and lifelong learning that support the continued employability of employees and assist them in managing career endings. | Skill Development and Diversity Initiatives | — |
| ADD LA12. |
Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and career development reviews. | — | — |
| Aspect: Diversity and Equal Opportunity | |||
| CORE LA13. |
Composition of governance bodies and breakdown of employees per category according to gender, age group, minority group membership, and other indicators of diversity. | — | — |
| CORE LA14. |
Ratio of basic salary of men to women by employee category. | — | — |
| Human Rights | |||
| Management Approach | — | — | |
| Human Rights Performance Indicators | |||
| Aspect: Investment and Procurement Practices | |||
| CORE HR1. |
Percentage and total number of significant investment agreements that include human rights clauses or that have undergone human rights screening. | — | — |
| CORE HR2. |
Percentage of significant suppliers and contractors that have undergone screening on human rights and actions taken. | — | — |
| ADD HR3. |
Total hours of employee training on policies and procedures concerning aspects of human rights that are relevant to operations, including the percentage of employees trained. | — | — |
| Aspect: Non-discrimination | |||
| CORE HR4. |
Total number of incidents of discrimination and actions taken. | — | — |
| Aspect: Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining | |||
| CORE HR5. |
Operations identified in which the right to exercise freedom of association and collective bargaining may be at significant risk, and actions taken to support these rights. | — | — |
| Aspect: Child Labor | |||
| CORE HR6. |
Operations identified as having significant risk for incidents of child labor, and measures taken to contribute to the elimination of child labor. | — | — |
| Aspect: Forced and Compulsory Labor | |||
| CORE HR7. |
Operations identified as having significant risk for incidents of forced or compulsory labor, and measures to contribute to the elimination of forced or compulsory labor. | — | — |
| Aspect: Security Practices | |||
| ADD HR8. |
Percentage of security personnel trained in the organization's policies or procedures concerning aspects of human rights that are relevant to operations. | — | — |
| Aspect: Indigenous Rights | |||
| ADD HR9. |
Total number of incidents of violations involving rights of indigenous people and actions taken. | — | — |
| Society | |||
| Management Approach | — | — | |
| Social Performance Indicators | |||
| Aspect: Community | |||
| CORE SO1. |
Nature, scope, and effectiveness of any programs and practices that assess and manage the impacts of operations on communities, including entering, operating, and exiting. | — | — |
| Aspect: Corruption | |||
| CORE SO2. |
Percentage and total number of business units analyzed for risks related to corruption. | — | — |
| CORE SO3. |
Percentage of employees trained in organization's anti-corruption policies and procedures. | — | — |
| CORE SO4. |
Actions taken in response to incidents of corruption. | — | — |
| Aspect : Public Policy | |||
| CORE SO5. |
Public policy positions and participation in public policy development and lobbying. | Benesse's Principal Businesses | — |
| ADD SO6. |
Total value of financial and in-kind contributions to political parties, politicians, and related institutions by country. | — | — |
| Aspect: Anti-Competitive Behavior | |||
| ADD SO7. |
Total number of legal actions for anticompetitive behavior, anti-trust, and monopoly practices and their outcomes. | — | — |
| Aspect: Compliance | |||
| CORE SO8. |
Monetary value of significant fines and total number of non-monetary sanctions for noncompliance with laws and regulations. | — | — |
| Product Responsibility | |||
| Management Approach | — | — | |
| Product Responsibility Performance Indicators | |||
| Aspect: Customer Health and Safety | |||
| CORE PR1. |
Life cycle stages in which health and safety impacts of products and services are assessed for improvement, and percentage of significant products and services categories subject to such procedures. | Compliance System | — |
| Communicating With Customers | |||
| ADD PR2. |
Total number of incidents of non-compliance with regulations and voluntary codes concerning health and safety impacts of products and services during their life cycle, by type of outcomes. | — | — |
| Aspect : Product and Service Labeling | |||
| CORE PR3. |
Type of product and service information required by procedures, and percentage of significant products and services subject to such information requirements. | — | — |
| ADD PR4. |
Total number of incidents of non-compliance with regulations and voluntary codes concerning product and service information and labeling, by type of outcomes. | — | — |
| ADD PR5. |
Practices related to customer satisfaction, including results of surveys measuring customer satisfaction. | Communicating With Customers | — |
| Aspect : Marketing Communications | |||
| CORE PR6. |
Programs for adherence to laws, standards, and voluntary codes related to marketing communications, including advertising, promotion, and sponsorship. | — | — |
| ADD PR7. |
Total number of incidents of non-compliance with regulations and voluntary codes concerning marketing communications, including advertising, promotion, and sponsorship by type of outcomes. | — | — |
| Aspect : Customer Privacy | |||
| ADD PR8. |
Total number of substantiated complaints regarding breaches of customer privacy and losses of customer data. | — | — |
| Aspect: Compliance | |||
| CORE PR9. |
Monetary value of significant fines for non-compliance with laws and regulations concerning the provision and use of products and services. | — | — |
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