Supporting the TCFD recommendations
Global warming severely affects the sustainability of companies. In addition, the risks of climate change could become a grave threat to future generations. Recognizing the issue of climate changes that would have significant impacts on corporate activities as one of its management material issues, the Seven Bank Group expressed an endorsement of Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) in December 2021. According to TCFD recommendations, we will strive to enhance information disclosure to stakeholders with regard to impacts of climate change-related risks and opportunities on the company’s business activities and revenues, etc., and take specific measures for them.
Governance
The Seven Bank Group has established a Sustainability Committee to discuss important matters concerning the promotion of sustainability including climate issues. The Sustainability Committee discusses the progress of efforts to resolve social and environmental issues and our future policies. It monitors the progress of activities in addressing climate change throughout the Group and reviews the Group’s policies and activities as appropriate. Matters of particular importance are reported to the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors, and the feedback received from the executives at these meetings are input to the Group’s sustainability initiatives.
With regard to risks from climate change, we check the overall status of risks based on the “Basic Policy on Risk Control,” under the risk management organization and system in accordance with our rules and regulations on risk management. As our risk management system, we have established the Risk Management Committee chaired by the officer in charge of the Risk Management Division as an advisory body to the Executive Committee, which works in cooperation with the Sustainability Committee and grasps the status of risks through regular monitoring.
Strategy
To measure the impact of climate change risks and opportunities on our core ATM platform business, we conducted a scenario analysis for the year 2030, based on our information as of the end of March 2022.
Steps for scenario analysis
Reference scenarios
| Items | The 2 degree limit scenario | The 4 degree scenario |
|---|---|---|
| Reference scenarios | (2 degree scenario)
IEA Sustainable Development Scenario IPCC RCP2.6 (1.5 degree scenario) IEA Net Zero Emissions by 2050 |
(4 degree scenario)
IEA Stated Policies Scenario IPCC RCP8.5 |
| Worldview | The scenario assumes an average temperature increase of less than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level by 2100. Policies, laws, and regulations will be more stringent than now to achieve carbon neutrality to control problems from climate change. |
The scenario assumes an average temperature increase of 3.2°C to 5.4°C (about 4°C) above the pre-industrial level by 2100. No proactive policies, laws, or regulations are put in place to mitigate problems from climate change, while extreme weather events intensify remarkably. |
Projected temperature increase by scenario
- *Source: Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Assumed climate-related risks/opportunities and our strategy
We have comprehensively identified the risks and opportunities that climate change may present to our business and qualitatively analyzed their potential financial impact. Of these, those identified as having particular impact on our business activities are listed below.
[Transition risk] Risk associated with the transition to a decarbonized society
| Item | Type | Description | Projected timeframe |
Estimated financial impact |
Seven Bank’s major initiatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5°C | |||||
| Regulations on resource recycling | Risk | ● Regulations on the distribution and use of fossil fuel-derived plastics used in ATMs will require shift to alternative materials such as bioplastics. Shift to recyclable materials and structures will be required to increase costs for adaptation | Medium to long term | Medium | ● Achieved an ATM recycling rate of about 100% by collecting the ATM parts removed from replaced fourth-generation ATMs and reusing or recycling them. |
| Opportunity | ● Financial institutions will gradually switch to recyclable ATMs. As a result, demand for our ATMs will increase for replacements. | Medium | |||
| Regulations on paper use | Risk | ● If the use and distribution of paper by industrial users are regulated for forest protection, ATM paper slips may need to be eliminated, incurring costs for response. | Medium to long term | Small | ● Eliminated ATM slips for PIN errors and insufficient balance cases ● Reduced paper use by shifting to paperless notification procedures |
| Opportunity | ● If financial institutions are required to reduce or eliminate paper bankbooks, demand for our ATMs will increase for replacements. | Small | |||
| Change in raw material costs | Risk | ● Increase in the prices of fossil fuel-derived plastics used in ATMs due to higher crude oil prices can increase manufacturing costs | Medium to long term | Medium | ● Exploring new materials and working for research and development of recycled materials in collaboration with academia |
| Change in demand for key products | Opportunity | ● Financial institutions will switch to more energy-efficient ATMs to reduce energy use. As a result, with the environmental advantages of our ATMs, our sales opportunities can increase with increase in the number of partner financial institutions. | Medium to long term | Medium | ● The newest ATM model consumes 40% less power than conventional ATM models. Replacing ATMs all over Japan with the newest model ATMs. |
| Change in energy costs | Risk | ● Increased demand for renewable energy can bring up electricity prices and increase operating costs for offices and data centers ● Higher gasoline prices will increase costs such as cash transportation costs |
Medium to long term | Small | ● Reducing electricity use based on “GREEN CHALLENGE 2050” ● Reducing the frequency of ATM cash transportation through more efficient ATM operation |
| Introduction of carbon tax | Risk | ● A carbon tax will be imposed on our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, increasing operating costs | Medium to long term | Small |
- *Not applicable to the 4 degree scenario which does not assume transition to a decarbonized society
[Physical risk] Physical risks induced by climate change
| Item | Type | Description | Projected timeframe |
Estimated financial impact |
Seven Bank’s major initiatives | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4°C | 1.5°C | |||||
| Intensification of extreme weather events | Risk | ● ATMs and other equipment may be damaged or swept away and cash transportation networks may be disrupted, resulting in reduced revenues due to shutdowns, claims for damages from partner banks, and restoration costs ● Employees are unable to come to work, which impedes operations and reduces revenues. ● The number of ATM transactions decrease as people go out less, resulting in lower income |
Short to long term | Large | Medium | ● Established an arrangement to ensure business continuity by having system bases in eastern and western Japan. ● To minimize damage, we will cooperate with the store management teams in the disaster area in advance and utilize the store information sharing system “7VIEW” to grasp the situation in real time and take early action. ● We have established a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) and regularly conduct practical drills ● Install flood barrier plates to prevent flooding into stores on the initiative of Seven-Eleven Japan |
| Opportunity | ● Partner banks will install more of our ATMs to hedge climate change risks, which will increase our income opportunities ● Demand for mobile ATM vehicle dispatch services as disaster response measures will increase ● Increased need for cash in the event of a disaster will increase the number of transactions |
Medium | Small | |||
| Rise in average temperature | Risk | ● Air-conditioning costs for offices and data centers will increase | Short to long term | Medium | Small | ● Promoting casual office attire and reducing power consumption by heating and cooling equipment |
| Opportunity | ● Rising temperatures will increase the number of customers visiting convenience stores and increase opportunities to use ATMs | Medium | Small | |||
Definitions concerning transition risks and physical risks
| Timeframe | Definition |
|---|---|
| Short term | 0 - 1 year |
| Medium term | 1 - 5 years |
| Long term | 5 - 30 years |
| Financial impact | Definition |
|---|---|
| Large | Expected to have a significant impact on our business and finances |
| Medium | Expected to have a less significant impact on our business and finances |
| Small | Expected to have a minor impact on our business and finances |
Calculation of potential financial impact from risk items
We analyzed financial impact on our business activities in multiple scenarios, which are one assuming a maximum increase of 2°C and the other assuming an increase of 4°C by 2030.
The decarbonation scenario
Additional costs due to the introduction of a carbon tax for transition to a decarbonized society and projected increase in electricity purchase prices
| Assumptions | Calculation | Calculation result (in millions of yen/year) |
|---|---|---|
| Financial impact on Seven Bank with a tax imposed on GHG emissions (Scopes 1 and 2) generated by its business activities in the scenario assuming a maximum of 2°C increase by 2030 | Calculated based on our GHG emissions and future carbon pricing rate
|
15.4 |
The global warming scenario
Our scenario analysis estimates that the damage to ATMs installed by us due to intensified severe extreme weather events and the associated impact will cause the greatest impact.
| Assumptions | Calculation | Calculation result (in millions of yen/year) |
|---|---|---|
| In both the 4-degree scenario and the 2-degree scenario, as of 2030, physical damage from floods and storm surges increases due to intensified severe extreme weather events. We have a large number of ATMs nationwide and expect to have a significant financial impact from the increasing frequency of floods and storm surges. |
The following items are estimated based on the Manual for Economic Evaluation of Flood Control Investment (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) and other references. ● Damage to ATM asset due to flooding ● Recovery cost ● Losses due to shutdown
|
805 to 1,408
|
In light of the potential impact of climate change risks on our business activities and finances, the Seven Bank Group has been taking various actions. Our efforts to reduce CO2 emissions related to our core ATM business include developing the fourth-generation ATM model which consumes 40% less power to realize a decarbonized society, reusing and recycling ATMs removed from and collected from stores, and reviewing specifications for printing ATM slips (see “Environmentally- friendly ATMs” on the next page).
To cope with the increasing risk of natural disasters, we have established a structure to ensure business continuity by decentralizing our relay system, and equipped ATMs with an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to prepare for power outages due to disasters. In the unlikely event of a large-scale disaster that disables ATM operations over a wide area, we will dispatch mobile ATM vehicles to help the affected communities through the provision of settlement infrastructure.
Risk management
Climate change risks are incorporated into the company-wide risk management system as part of the process of identifying and managing climate-related risks, as the section on the overall risk management policy in the “Basic Policy on Risk Control” requires the Bank to practice agile risk management by responding immediately to changes in the external and internal environment based on risk assessment results and monitoring.
Metrics and Targets
Seven Bank is making strong efforts to reduce environmental loads in order to achieve the target of “substantially no CO2 emission associated with store operation” set in the Seven & i Group’s environmental declaration “GREEN CHALLENGE 2050.” To quantify the load we impose on the environment, we calculate our CO2 emissions for each fiscal year.
The amount of CO2 emissions produced in FY2022 at the four dedicated offices of the Bank and three directly-managed Seven Bank ATM locations are as shown below.
Scope 1 Direct GHG emissions of the reporting company itself (e.g., fuel combustion, industrial processes) 0 t-CO2
Scope 2 Indirect emissions from use of electricity, heat, etc. supplied by other companies 663 t-CO2
Scope 3 Indirect emissions other than Scope 1 and Scope 2 (emissions by other companies related to the reporting company’s activities) 17,787 t-CO2
Climate initiatives
- Seven Bank’s Sustainability
- Top Message
- Sustainability Management
- ESG
- Environment
- Social
- Corporate Governance
- Materiality
- Materiality top Designating and Addressing Material Issues
- Materiality 1
- Materiality 2
- Materiality 3
- Materiality 4
- Materiality 5
- Social Contribution Activities
- For Future Generations
- Social Contribution Activities
- Other Corporate Information
- Investor Relations
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