CSuO Message

In the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2026, environmental risks such as extreme weather and biodiversity loss are positioned as the most severe risk cluster over the next decade. When viewed from a long-term perspective, challenges critical to the planet’s sustainability continue to grow. At the same time, rising geopolitical tensions and anti-ESG movements are making sustainability management increasingly complex for companies. In this environment, it is essential to reaffirm the significance of sustainability management with both internal and external stakeholders and advance initiatives based on a shared understanding.

To realize our purpose of “Trust for a flourishing future,” we place the creation of both social and economic value at the core of management, with sustainability management serving as the means to achieve this. Business activities and social value creation are not separate endeavors. Addressing social issues while generating profits as a business ensures the sustainability of solutions. We believe this represents the essence of sustainability management for our Group as a private-sector enterprise.

Our Group is comprised of three core companies: Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management, and Amova Asset Management. We advance sustainability management by leveraging synergies across the Group. Both of our asset management companies are accredited signatories to the U.K. Stewardship Code, which requires the highest global standards. Through high-quality engagement, they play a leading role in advancing sustainability management among Japanese companies. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank offers a wide range of solutions by leveraging its trust functions in environmental, social, and governance fields. These solutions provide concrete support for enhancing sustainability management at corporate clients. Accordingly, our Group’s sustainability management is not intended solely to enhance our own corporate value, but is pursued with the aim of contributing to the strengthening of the underlying capabilities and relationships that drive long-term value creation across Japanese companies more broadly.

In the environmental field, we pursue a broad range of initiatives related to carbon neutrality. In 2024, ERM SuMi TRUST Consulting was established as a joint venture with the ERM Group, one of the world’s largest independent sustainability advisory firms.

ERM SuMi TRUST Consulting supports corporate clients in developing decarbonization strategies, decarbonizing their businesses including the green transition of assets, and responding to domestic and overseas decarbonization related regulations. Through these services, it delivers top tier decarbonization advisory services in Japan. In addition, Japan Forest Asset Co., Ltd. was established through a joint investment with Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd. The company acquires clear-cut plantation sites and carries out reforestation, aiming to achieve sustainable, economically viable forestry through future carbon credit creation. Sustainable forest management is also considered an important initiative from the perspective of biodiversity conservation.

In 2025, SuMiTB launched Impact Finance for Nature to support biodiversity initiatives. These loan products support corporate clients’ biodiversity initiatives and expand SuMiTB’s sustainable finance lineup. SuMiTB has also begun forming startup investment funds focused on the circular economy and biodiversity. As part of its impact equity investments, SuMiTB invests in businesses that support the foundation of circular economies, including Recotech, which operates a recycling plastic platform. SuMiTB works closely with local governments to promote regional circular societies.

For retail clients, SuMiTB launched New Trust Funds <Future Trust> in October 2024. This jointly operated money trust with principal guarantee connects individuals’ asset formation needs with companies’ sustainable funding needs. It offers retail clients a savings opportunity that supports Japan’s long-term initiatives in decarbonization, resource circulation, and related areas.

In the social field, the Group has helped advance Japan’s financial inclusion policy through research and development and policy advocacy. Globally, access to financial services for low-income populations, women, and social minorities is recognized as a key financial inclusion challenge. In Japan, however, access to financial services is already relatively well developed. As Japan’s population continues to age, ensuring safe and secure access to financial services for senior citizens has become a major issue and we try to actively engage this age group. Aging populations are increasing in both other developed and developing countries. Initiatives by Japanese financial institutions, including our Group, are expected to help address financial access challenges faced by elderly populations worldwide in the future. In addition, as Japan advances its vision of becoming an asset management nation, further expansion of investment education for younger generations is essential. From this fiscal year onward, the Group’s three core companies will jointly promote these initiatives.

In the governance field, since FY2017 SuMi TRUST Bank has been conducting its Corporate Governance Survey^® in which sustainability-related questions are included. This survey is one of the largest in Japan in this field. In the FY2024 survey, we analyzed responses from approximately 1,800 corporate clients, representing nearly half of all listed companies in Japan. Results and insights were shared with the participants. We also provide consulting services utilized by many clients to evaluate the effectiveness of their boards and to support dialog with investors. We believe these initiatives, together with the high-quality engagement of the Group’s asset management companies, have helped improve corporate governance among Japanese companies.

The social impact we are creating here today will shape more prosperous lives in the future. In the years immediately after World War II, Japan faced numerous societal issues, including poverty. Thanks to the efforts of those who came before us to build a better future, we now enjoy the economic prosperity of the world’s fourth-largest GDP^*. This year marks the 101st year since the founding of SuMi TRUST Group. I believe the Group’s first 100 years were not just about pursuing its own growth, but rather about nurturing people and being dedicated to the prosperity of society as a whole which led to the sustainable growth of the Group. We should not be preoccupied just with who we are in the present. It is essential for us to appreciate and learn from the past and open the door to the future. I believe we must take responsibility not only for our own growth, but also for contributing to the sustainability of Japanese society and the world. This is what enables each of us, and our company, to remain valuable far into the future.

*As of the end of March 2025

Director, Managing Executive Officer CSuO Chikako Matsumoto