Sustainability Management

Policy and Strategy

Basic Views

With companies required to implement sustainability initiatives even more than before, the IINO Group has stepped up its efforts to implement management that emphasizes sustainability.

To clarify the Group's commitment to contribute to the realization of a sustainable society by solving environmental and social problems, we formulated the IINO Group Sustainability Policy on March 28, 2024. To be a company that continues to meet the expectations of our stakeholders, we will promote sustainability initiatives based on this policy.

IINO Group Sustainability Policy

The IINO Group has our corporate philosophy of "Connecting Wishes. Building a Brighter Future. Always Safety First." In pursuit of this vision, the group is committed to addressing environmental and social issues through its corporate activities. Additionally, through a focus on sustainability in management, the group endeavors to enhance long-term corporate value and contribute to realize a sustainable society.

  1. Safety is Priority No. 1
    The IINO Group places our highest management priority on ensuring safety.
  2. Respect for Human Rights
    The IINO Group respects the human rights of all people, strives to raise awareness of human rights, and prohibits any discrimination on unreasonable grounds.
  3. Environmental Protection
    The IINO Group strives to comply with all relevant domestic and international regulations, reduce the environmental impacts arising from its business operations, and to protect the environment. Additionally, the group is actively committed to addressing climate change and protect the natural environment.
  4. Contribute to Society
    As a good corporate citizen, the IINO Group will contribute to the sustainable development of the earth and society. We aim to enhance the corporate value in a sustainable and progressive manner through our business activities, and to gain the trust of a wide range of stakeholders.
  5. Ensuring Thorough Compliance
    The IINO Group adheres to all laws and regulations in each country and region where it conducts business activities, and also establishes compliance with competition laws and antibribery measures to promote fair trade. Additionally, we will not be involved with any antisocial forces or groups that threaten the order and safety of society.
  6. Respects for Customers
    The IINO Group will stand on an equal footing with all of its business partners and strive to respond to them with sincerity, kindness, and politeness. We will respond promptly and directly to our customers' needs, always striving to improve customer satisfaction.
  7. Promotion of Diversity
    The IINO Group will develop an environment in which diverse human resources can play an active role and promote efforts to ensure that each individual maintains good physical and mental health.
  8. Disclosure of Information and Communication
    The IINO Group endeavors to consider the interests of all stakeholders and strives to engage in sufficient communication to gain understanding. Furthermore, we commit to disclosing information promptly and appropriately including information that may be unfavorable to the group.
  9. Education and Training
    The IINO Group conducts appropriate educational activities for officers and employees to ensure that the Policy permeates throughout the group and is effectively put into practice.

The Policy was approved by the Board of Directors on March 28, 2024.

March 28, 2024
IINO Kaiun Kaisha, Ltd.

Structure

Sustainability Promotion Structure

In "Be Unique and Innovative.: The Next Stage - Towards 2030," the previous mid-term management plan that was announced in 2020, the IINO Group committed to promoting ESG management. As a part of sustainability initiatives identified as a key strategy in the plan, IINO established the IINO Environmental Task Force made up of personnel from multiple Group companies and departments to drive implementation of those efforts.

In June 2022, the existing task force was reorganized with the establishment of the Sustainability Promotion Department as a dedicated department tasked with further enhancing ESG management. We also formed the Environmental Promotion Working Team and CSR Working Team within the department to promote sustainability initiatives including the environment and human resources across the IINO Group.

IINO Group's Management System

Management System Certifications (IINO LINES)

The Company obtained ISO 9001 (quality management system) and ISO 14001 (environmental management system) certifications for its Shipping Business in March 2004 to enhance customer satisfaction and reduce environmental impact. The Company also obtained ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications for its Real Estate Business in March 2005. In accordance with the Quality and Environmental Policy, the Company is working to improve operations by the quality and environmental management systems based on the ISO standards that encompass the Shipping and Real Estate businesses. At present, the Company has not been certified to ISO 45001 or OHSAS 18001. The Quality and Environmental Policies based on the management systems shall be periodically reviewed by the Sustainability Promotion Department to determine whether revisions are necessary, and all officers and employees of IINO LINES and its subsidiaries shall be informed of all changes.

Quality Policy and Environmental Policy (IINO LINES)

Quality Policy

  1. We will provide high-quality services to meet customer requirements for the safe transportation of cargo through safe ship operation and the provision of safety and comfortable rental space in rental buildings.
  2. We will develop a management system related to quality (QMS) at the company level, formulate quality goals and targets, periodically assess the state of achievement, and pursue improvements.
  3. We will conduct awareness raising activities regarding quality for Group officers and employees, and ensure that quality policies take root.
  4. We will comply with relevant legal requirements and other requirements.

Environmental Policy

  1. We will develop a management system related to the environment (EMS) at the company level, establish environmental goals and targets, periodically assess the state of achievement, and pursue improvements.
  2. We will conduct environmental awareness-raising activities for Group officers and employees and try to instill environmental policies so that each employee has stronger environmental awareness and can executive business from the perspective of environmental conservation.
  3. We will engage in initiatives such as reducing the use of resources including natural resources, recycling, reducing waste, conserving energy, reducing water usage, and switching to renewables, and strive to improve energy efficiency in the Shipping Business and Real Estate Business.
  4. We will avoid having an impact on biodiversity and seek restoration should any impact occur. In addition, we will curb greenhouse gas emissions, respond to the impact on climate change by reducing emissions, and pursue investments in tangible and intangible assets that help reduce the impact on the environment in order to cut air pollutant emissions.
  5. We will engage in communication with stakeholders to reflect their feedback in environmental conservation activities, and collect and disclose environmental information. In addition, we will collaborate with stakeholders as a member of local communities to actively implement environmental conservation activities.
  6. We will comply with relevant legal requirements and other requirements.

Yusuke Otani
President and Representative Director
Established October 7, 2003
Revised October 1, 2017
Revised December 6, 2022
Revised April 1, 2023

Management System Certifications (Group Companies)

In addition to the IINO Group, IINO Marine Service Co., Ltd. (IMS) (ship management) and IINO Building Technology Co., Ltd. (IBT) (building management) have obtained ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications in our Group companies. Combined, the sales generated by these three companies account for approximately 90% of IINO Group revenue.

IINO Marine Service's Initiatives

IMS has integrated its management systems based on ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 in accordance with its business philosophy on Health, Safety, Security, Environment, and Quality. IMS has incorporated the principles underlying ISO requirements in its services for the management of ships (34 vessels as of December 31, 2024) contracted by its customers (ship owners) and is working to achieve continuous improvement of its operations.

Moreover, IMS became the first company in Japan to obtain the Green Award certification* in 2004. IMS has continued to maintain outstanding quality management and environmental management for environmental conservation, In October 2024, A ship equipped with LPG dual-fuel main engines, which can significantly reduce carbon dioxide and other emissions compared to conventional fuel oil-fueled ships, will be added to the list of eligible ship types, bringing the number of ships eligible for Green Award certification to three.

Against the backdrop of serious global environmental issues, the shipping industry is facing stricter environmental regulations, such as the enforcement of the Ship Ballast Water Management Convention and regulations for controlling NOx and SOx emissions. Through the implementation of management systems based on ISO standards, IMS is committed to ensuring compliance with environmental regulations in Japan and overseas and will promote initiatives to reduce environmental impacts.

* Certification granted to vessels that combine high levels of quality, safety, and environmental performance and the companies that manage them by the Green Award Foundation, which was established in 1994 by the Dutch Ministry of Transport and Rotterdam Municipal Port Management.

IINO Building Technology's Initiatives

IBT is applying integrated management systems based on ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 to the buildings it manages （four buildings as of December 31, 2024） so that its operations reflect ISO requirements.

Regarding environmental protection, IBT emphasizes energy saving and resource saving in its building management and is contributing to the minimization of environmental impacts through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The Group's flagship IINO Building has reacquired Top-level Facility certification for the third compliance period (FY2020 - FY2024) of the global warming countermeasures conducted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

Regarding safety, we obtained the fire safety building certificate (commonly called Excellent Mark) from the Tokyo Fire Department for the IINO Building and the certification was renewed for the third time in 2024. In addition, starting in FY2020 we established accident review meetings. These meetings are an initiative to ensure that tenants and visitors can be provided with safety and security by conducting detailed analyses of the accidents that have occurred in the buildings we manage each month, while taking steps to prevent recurrences.

Initiatives

IINO Group's Initiatives for ISO 9001/14001 Requirements

The IINO Group's basic approaches to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 are described below.

  1. First, an organization identifies problems in an area subject to management (i.e., operational quality for ISO 9001 and reduction of environmental impact for ISO 14001), prioritizes identified problems according to the degree of risk mitigation and expected results, and sets its challenges and goals.
  2. Next, the organization develops a plan to solve the identified challenges (Plan) and puts the plan into practice (Do).
  3. After implementing it, the organization checks if the plan solved its challenges, reviews the outcome of the plan as necessary (Check), and makes improvements (Act) by such means as changing a way of implementing the plan for future activities.

ISO standards require organizations to make continuous improvements by implementing this PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, and Act) cycle in their activities.

ISO standards have been revised as necessary. Recent major revisions include the following. In response to these revisions, Group companies that acquired certification also made major revisions to their quality and environmental management systems in October 2017.

  • Emphasis on delivering intended results
  • Strengthening of leadership and commitment of the top management
  • Integration of business processes and ISO standards
  • Recommendation to adopt the process approach

In order to pursue the provision of high quality service (IINO Quality) stated in the IINO Group's current mid-term management plan, the Group is promoting continuous improvement of its entire operations by implementing the PDCA cycle based on the above-mentioned concept of the ISO standards.