Process for Identifying Material Issues

Material Issues of the Dai-ichi Life Group

The Dai-ichi Life Group selected the following material social issues it will focus on to contribute to achieving the well-being of all.
Specifically, we evaluated the priority and importance of the social issues the Group should tackle in the context of: (i) stakeholder expectations; (ii) affinity with the Group's philosophy and/or vision; and (iii) direction of business activities, and incorporated initiatives to tackle these social issues into the business strategy in the medium-term management plan.

Selection Process for Material Issues

  • Step 1
    Identifying and organizing social issues

    • In order to study the priority and importance of the social issues to be tackled more specifically, we grouped the 17 goals and 169 targets of the SDGs according to their purposes, and came up with the 50 social issues as shown in
50 Social Issue Themes

Toward Realization of the SDGs

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The Dai-ichi Life Group will continue fulfilling our mission, “By your side, for life,” going forward, by providing products and services that help to improve peoples' quality of life and thereby contributing to the realization of the SDGs.
Specifically, in addition to economic protection, which is the traditional role of insurance, we will aim to increase the unique value provided by the Group that goes beyond the conventional insurance business model, such as promoting health and preventing illnesses from becoming serious, and aim to solve social issues such as extending asset longevity and healthy lifespans.
Additionally, Dai-ichi Life will strive to realize the SDGs by proactively engaging in ESG investment as a responsible institutional investor and solving social issues around the world and in Japan.

  • Step 2
    Evaluating Priority Level
    Evaluating Importance Level

    • We ranked the priority level of the 50 social issues based on the expectations of stakeholders, including international organizations, bodies that formulate guidelines*1, NGOs, rating agencies that provide ESG information to investors*2, and industry groups.
      • *1
        ISO, GRI, SASB, etc.
      • *2
        MSCI ESG Indexes, FTSE4Good Index Series, etc.
    • We ranked the importance level based on the social issues that insurance companies are tackling in Japan and overseas.
  • Step 3
    Selecting Material Issues

    • We identified material issues for an insurance company and incorporated relevance to Group philosophy and contribution to improving well-being of all people in to organize the positioning and expression of the individual material issues.
      After engaging in dialogue with outside experts, we selected 14 material issues.
Selection of Material Issues

Reference (2) Factors with a Big Impact on Life Satisfaction

The results of a survey on what has an impact on life satisfaction conducted by Japan's Cabinet Office listed seven factors with a big impact on satisfaction levels. Four of these factors are related to Asset Formation/ Succession, Health and Medical Care, and Enhancing Connections. The Dai-ichi Life Group believes that working to improve these factors will pave the way to improving quality of life.

Factors that Impact Overall Subjective Satisfaction

Key Issues for the Group and Reasons for Selection

Material issues
(Materiality)
Social issues our Group can address Reasons for selecting material issues
Livelihood stability through insurance Stabilization of livelihood, including for the next generation
Japan
  • Low insurance coverage among young people (60%)
  • Coverage for the working-age population is insufficient by more than ¥10 million

Japan's declining population and aging society have led to growing concerns about the nation's social security system. Against this background, we believe that the need to ensure protection based on self-help will increase going forward. In these uncertain times, we aim to help stabilize the foundations of all people's lives by co-creating life designs based on each customer's dreams and aspirations, and by providing peace of mind through financial security.

Overseas
  • 1.7 billion people (mostly in emerging economies) have difficulty accessing financing (insurance penetration is also low)
Sense of security in later life Extension of asset life
Japan
  • About 70% of respondents were concerned about their retirement funds
  • Urgent need to improve financial literacy

With the advent of the 100-year life society, people are becoming more concerned about their retirement funds. Accordingly, self-help efforts to build assets for retirement and extend asset life are regarded as social challenges. By combining and demonstrating our strengths in retirement, savings, and asset management, we will meticulously address the needs of customers from the accumulation stage of asset formation through retirement and beyond, to assets succession to the next generation. Through all stages, we will provide optimal solutions tailored to each individual's needs.

Promoting the health of people everywhere Extending healthy life expectancy and optimizing medical expenses
Japan
  • Widening gap between healthy life expectancy and increased life expectancy (9 years for men and 12 years for women)
  • One in 4 of the population has no intention of improving their exercise and eating habits

Medical costs for the government and health insurance associations are increasing every year due to advances in medical technology and Japan's aging society. While life expectancy is increasing, healthy life expectancy is not keeping pace with this growth, resulting in a widening gap that represents a serious social issue for the nation. To address the social issues of increasing medical costs and the widening gap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, we aim to help people maintain good health from the pre-disease stage, in addition to financially guaranteeing medical expenses after the onset of disease.

Overseas
  • Maintain health to help reduce economic burden
Building a safe and secure community Improving emotional well-being
Japan and overseas
  • One of the greatest factors in determining longevity is "enhancing connections"

Amid a declining birthrate, an aging population, an increasingly digital society, and diversifying lifestyles, we are entering an era in which people seek spiritual enrichment in addition to physical enrichment. The spread of COVID-19 has also reaffirmed the importance of "enhancing connections" between people. We will advance diverse initiatives that foster the enrichment of people's hearts and minds as a member of the community and society, together with local governments and business partners.

Japan
  • About 30% of respondents do not have many friends in the community
  • More than 30% of respondents are concerned about the future of the region (decrease in caregivers, transportation, and employment)
Optimal experiential values that meet customer needs Improving customer loyalty

Amid diversification of values and behaviors, including those of the digital native generation, "asymmetry of information" has disappeared while the commoditization of products is progressing in various fields. The same applies to the life insurance sector, where in addition to the value that products and services provide, emotional values such as a customer's psychological satisfaction will be emphasized going forward. By carefully grasping customers' diversifying values and needs, we are committed to delivering experiences and impressions that exceed their expectations at every point of contact.

Responding to climate change Preventing irreversible environmental change due to global warming

We recognize that environmental measures, such as the need to mitigate climate change and improve efficient energy use, must be addressed by the international community as a whole. This is an important business management issue that could have a significant impact on the lives and health of our customers, as well as corporate activities and the sustainability of society. As a global insurance group, we will resolve this issue from our perspective as both an insurance provider and an institutional investor.

Japan and overseas
  • Future temperature increase due to global warming is estimated to be as high as 4.8°C
Improving efficiency of energy use
Promoting clean energy
  • Dissemination and probability of new energy systems
Japan Dependence on fossil fuels for energy higher than 80%
Promoting the advancement of women
Improving corporate governance and risk management
Improving human capital diversity as a Japanese company considering global standards

To address the ever-increasing speed of changes in business conditions, our most important management resource for corporate transformation is our human capital. We believe that utilizing the diverse personalities of employees and maximizing their abilities will lead to our sustainable growth. We are committed to building an organization where every one of our 60,000 group employees can play an active role in demonstrating their individuality, while making diversity a corporate strength.

Japan
  • In the Gender Gap Index, Japan ranked 116th out of 146 countries surveyed
  • The percentage of female executives in listed companies is about 7.5%
Initiatives toward human rights for all Creating job satisfaction Improving job satisfaction across generations, occupations, etc.

Respect for human rights is becoming increasingly important for companies as various risks arising from neglect of those issues materialize. Such respect is a crucial prerequisite for achieving our Group goal, which is to ensure the well-being of all, including future generations, and realize a sustainable society, which we recognize to be our corporate social responsibility. By promoting human rights due diligence in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, we will respect the human rights of all stakeholders, including those in our supply chain, and create job satisfaction for our employees.

Japan
  • About half of respondents do not feel "job satisfaction" at their current workplace
  • The ratio of non-full-time employees is about 40%
Contributing to the development of society through responsible investment and lending
Regional development Building a safe and secure community
Helping create innovation through investment and lending

As members of local communities, and companies are increasingly expected to play a role in addressing the various issues facing such communities. To date, we have helped meet social challenges through investment management services that foster the development of new industries and the transformation of social infrastructure. We have also worked to resolve issues through our life insurance business, with business presence all over Japan, while forming various partnerships. We are committed to creating affluent and secure lifestyles and communities and moving forward sustainably together with local and international communities.

Japan and overseas
  • Urgent need to foster industries and technologies that support a sustainable society
Ensuring the sustainability of local communities
Japan
  • Shortage of labor force and stagnation of industry in rural areas due to depopulation
  • Problems caused by the concentration of population in urban areas (e.g., diluted communities, children on daycare waiting lists)
  • Aging social infrastructure