November 08, 2022

– Accelerating Engagement in Activities related to Biodiversity Under YKK's "Symbiosis with Nature" Principle –

YKK Corporation has signed the UN Biodiversity COP 15 Business Statement for Mandatory Assessment and Disclosure by 2030 as convened by Business for Nature.

Business for Nature was formed in 2019 by 13 international organizations, including the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the World Economic Forum (WEF), as an international coalition calling on corporations to take comprehensive action to recover from the destruction of nature and protect ecosystems. This Business Statement, being made toward COP 15 to be held in December 2022 in Montreal, Canada, is a call to Heads of State to require all large businesses and financial institutions to assess and disclose their impacts and dependencies on nature by 2030.

The YKK Group adopted the YKK Group Environmental Pledge in 1994. In 2019, it established the YKK Group Environmental Vision 2050 with four themes, including "symbiosis with nature." In October 2020, it established the "YKK Sustainability Vision 2050," which converted the YKK Group Environmental Vision into concrete numerical targets for the Fastening Business. YKK is working toward achievement of goals under the five themes of Climate Change, Material Resources, Water Resources, Chemical Management, and Respect People, as well as 10 corresponding SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), and the company discloses its progress in achieving these goals every year.

By becoming a signatory of the Business Statement, YKK declares the following four actions:

■ COP15 Business Statement for Mandatory Assessment and Disclosure by 2030 (action pledge) and YKK Initiatives

(1) Assess impacts and dependencies on nature

YKK conducts company-wide risk assessments, and within these assessments, it evaluates the impact on the natural environment, such as the discharge of harmful substances into bodies of water and the air, and the contamination of soil. Furthermore, YKK uses an original checklist¹ to assess and understand water risks at each manufacturing site.

(2) Disclose important information related to nature

Important data on nature and the environment, including biodiversity, is published each year in the This is YKK (YKK Integrated Report) Databook.

(3) Commit to prioritizing the most critical issues within the business, value chain, and portfolio, and to disclosing avoidance and reduction of negative impacts

YKK made its commitment in the YKK Group Environmental Vision 2050, which outlines the Group's long-term direction in relation to its environmental initiatives up to 2050. Furthermore, the Group formulated the YKK Sixth Mid-term Environmental Policy based on the Vision and has disclosed it in the This is YKK (YKK Integrated Report) Databook.

(4) Transform business strategies and models to restore and rehabilitate nature and work collaboratively in river basins, on land, and in the sea

By switching to the use of sustainable materials for fastening product materials and packaging, YKK is working to prevent the destruction of nature when virgin materials are harvested. At YKK's Kurobe Manufacturing Center, the company is working to recreate the original landscape of Kurobe by developing forests and waterside areas to realize the ideal of "a factory in the forest" envisioned by YKK founder Tadao Yoshida.

YKK Center Park "Furusato no Mori"

In addition to continuing and enhancing the initiatives that YKK has been taking up to now, YKK will work even harder toward achievement of a sustainable society through its core business under the Cycle of Goodness YKK Philosophy.

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■ YKK Sustainability Vision 2050 and Status of Achievement

YKK Corporation's sustainable target for the achievement of climate neutrality by 2050. YKK is working to achieve goals under five themes – Climate Change, Material Resources, Water Resources, Chemical Management, and Respect People – in addition to 10 related SDGs. YKK discloses the state of their achievement each year in "This is YKK" (YKK Integrated report.)

■ Promotion of the conservation of ecosystems

With a focus on YKK Center Park activities, in March 2022, YKK received the "Superlative Stage" (final stage) certification under the Social and Environmental Green Evaluation System (SEGES²) Sodateru Midori Category.

■ Participation in the 30by30 Alliance for Biodiversity

Through participation in this alliance and the pilot program in Japan, YKK aims to contribute to the achievement of global targets by obtaining an Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) certification for YKK Center Park Furusato no Mori.

¹ Prepared using the World Resources Institute's "Aqueduct" and the "Setting Site Water Targets Informed by Catchment Context" international guidelines for setting water targets.

² The only green space evaluation system of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and the Ministry of the Environment.