Kao Releases Kao Sustainability Report 2025

Kao Corporation has released the Kao Sustainability Report 2025 on its company website,
providing a progress report on its ESG strategy, the Kirei Lifestyle Plan.

Junko Ohtani, Executive Officer in charge of Kao’s ESG Division, comments, “We are committed to solving social and environmental issues through innovation, anticipating the needs of our consumers and customers. Ensuring our products offer not only superior functional and emotional value but also social value is the key to being chosen by our consumers, helping them achieve more comfortable and sustainable lifestyles simply by using Kao products.”

Main ESG Initiatives in 2024 That Balanced Business Growth with Addressing Key Social and
Environmental Challenges
As part of its Mid-term Plan K27 and Global Sharp Top strategy, Kao aims to use unique leading-edge technologies to address pressing social and environmental challenges and grow its businesses while working to become an essential company for a sustainable world. By aligning its ESG initiatives with the Global Sharp Top business strategy, Kao is not only expanding business opportunities and reducing risks, but also contributing to society and enriching the lives of all people and the planet in line with its Kirei Lifestyle Plan. In 2024, Kao made great strides in advancing its Global Sharp Top strategy by leveraging its ESG strategy, the Kirei Lifestyle Plan.

Improved quality of life: 29% increase in sales (year-on-year) in the skin protection
business
The skin protection business is the leading initiative within the Global Sharp Top strategy, helping to improve consumers’ quality of life by combatting rising ultraviolet (UV) rays, air pollution and other environmental factors that can cause skin damage. There has been an increase in global demand in this area and sales have grown significantly. The product range includes UV care products to protect the skin from UV rays, self-tanning (safe color) products to produce a tanned look without UV exposure, and environmental skin protection such as mosquito repellents. These products harness Kao’s unique technologies to address market requirements —not just in Japan, but also Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

Making the world healthier & cleaner: 24% increase in sales (year-on-year) of products
with excellent environmental performance
Part of the ESG strategy is a commitment to “making the world healthier and cleaner.” Sales of products meeting Kao’s strict environmental conformity requirements are increasing. Just like last year, this rise is attributed to an increase in conforming products in the Attack laundry detergent and CuCute dishwashing detergent brands, which make up a high percentage of total sales and boast excellent environmental performance. Increased sales and market share for these brands also contributed to sales figures for the Fabric and Home Care Business.

Responsibly sourced raw materials: 88% traceability to oil palm farms
Kao is committed to sustainably sourcing palm oil, its most important natural resource. Traceability is essential to minimize environmental and human rights risks in the supply chain and to ensure a stable supply of raw materials. Achieving a traceability rate of 88% demonstrates steady progress towards building a sustainable palm oil supply chain.

Decarbonization: 15% reduction in lifecycle CO2 emissions (Base year: 2017)
Accelerating its efforts to reach carbon zero by 2040 and become carbon negative by 2050, Kao is helping to achieve a decarbonized society by introducing low-carbon facilities, expanding the use of renewable energy and reducing CO2 emissions throughout the entire product lifecycle.

Making the world healthier & cleaner: One of just eight companies worldwide to receive a
CDP Triple-A rating
Kao has been selected as an A-List company, the highest rating awardable, in all three surveys of Climate Change, Forests and Water Security, carried out by the international non-governmental organization CDP on more than 24,800 companies worldwide. Kao was one of eight companies to achieve the Triple-A rating in 2024, and is the only company in Japan to be selected for five consecutive years.

Effective corporate governance: One of the World’s Most Ethical Companies® for 19
consecutive years
In recognition of the ethical culture that the company has always fostered, Kao has been selected by Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies 2025®. Kao is one of only six companies worldwide and the only Asian company to have received this award for 19 consecutive years since it was established in 2007. Reporting on progress toward decarbonization, the Kao Sustainability Report 2025 includes the results of a quantitative scenario analysis conducted in line with the TCFD* framework for the first time. The analysis identifies opportunities related to climate risk mitigation, including products designed to save water and products made with less resources in the Consumer Products Business, as well as products helping to address climate change issues for customers and industry in the Chemical Business. In terms of opportunities related to climate risk adaptation, the analysis identifies new business opportunities such as the skin protection business.

* The Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, launched in 2015, provides a framework enabling companies to more effectively disclose climate-related risks and opportunities through their existing reporting processes.

To view the full report, click here.