Message from the President & CEO
Contributing to Realizing a Cohesive Society Through Our Corporate Brand Essence “Love Your Possibilities”
“Love Your Possibilities”
Takahisa Takahara
President & CEO
Unicharm Corporation
In 2024, Unicharm unveiled its corporate brand essence “Love Your Possibilities.” It expresses our commitment to contributing to realizing a cohesive society in which all people are united and support one another, believing in their unlimited untapped potential and demonstrating this potential with a spirit of compassion and altruism.
Through the manufacture and sale of sanitary pads, disposable diapers, and other hygiene products made from its nonwoven fabric and absorbent material processing and molding technologies, Unicharm has dispelled negativity such as discomfort, inconvenience, and unsanitary conditions, allowing people to experience pleasure and the joy of living and to fulfill their dreams. We have grown to what we are today by providing unique value in these ways. However, consumers today also place emphasis on environmental and social issues, and therefore, we must provide products and services that not only benefit consumers, but guide the natural environment and local communities to an even better future. In light of this changing business environment, we will help resolve environmental and social issues while continuing to embrace the challenge of creating new value. In doing so, we will expand the possibilities of customers around the world toward our goal of helping realize a cohesive society.
Kyo-sei Life Vision 2030 Medium- to Long-Term ESG Goals
Before unveiling “Love Your Possibilities,” in October 2020, Unicharm announced its medium- to long-term ESG goals, Kyo-sei Life Vision 2030. In formulating this vision, we identified material issues based on the themes of addressing environmental and social issues and strengthening governance and gathered opinions from internal and external stakeholders, in light of our purpose (reason for existence) of contributing to the achievement of the SDGs. The opinions we received were organized and analyzed to identify material issues, and based on their relevance to our business development, we established 20 key themes, indicators, and targets —five each spanning the four themes of safeguarding the well-being of individuals, safeguarding the well-being of society, safeguarding the well-being of our planet, and the Unicharm Principles.
In safeguarding the well-being of individuals, our aim is to provide products and services that contribute to the realization of a society where all people can have a sense of individuality and enjoy their daily lives. In safeguarding the well-being of society, our aim is to provide products and services that not only improve the safety, security, and satisfaction of our customers, but contribute to solving social issues and promoting sustainability. Safeguarding the well-being of our planet means providing products and services that are sanitary and convenient, as well as contributing to activities that improve our planet’s environment. Finally, under the Unicharm Principles, we pursue fairness and transparency in order to establish and retain stakeholder trust. We believe the steady implementation of Kyo-sei Life Vision 2030 by each employee through their business activities will contribute to the resolution of environmental and social issues and the growth of local communities, which in turn will lead to the sustainable growth of our business.
Communicating “Love Your Possibilities” to the World
As an example of safeguarding the well-being of individuals and safeguarding the well-being of society, I will discuss the initiatives we are taking in Kenya to promote the use of sanitary pads.
In the African country of Kenya, sanitary pads are only used by approximately 30% of women due to economic factors and lack of a proper distribution system. To address this issue, from August 2023 Unicharm began importing premium sanitary pads produced at its factory in Egypt for sale in Kenya in cooperation with Toyota Tsusho Corporation (Toyota Tsusho) and its local subsidiary CFAO Kenya Limited (CFAO Kenya). However, faced with further issues of balance between price and quality, many women were unable to use sanitary pads on a daily basis. Unicharm decided that women in Kenya should be able to get their hands on sanitary products with the functionality and quality they want "anytime, anywhere, by anyone, when they need them" and in collaboration with Toyota Tsusho and CFAO Kenya, we began selling "SOFY Long Lasting" sanitary pads produced in Kenya from January 2025. Leveraging our proprietary nonwoven fabric and absorbent material processing and molding technologies, we developed a product that caters specifically to the needs of women in Kenya while reducing cost to approximately twothirds of conventional imported products by locally procuring a portion of raw materials. These sanitary pads are also available in single packs so they can purchase only what they need, when they need it. On the other hand, Toyota Tsusho and CFAO Kenya have assumed the role of expanding the local sales system, such as increasing the number of stores selling sanitary pads and managing the sales thereof, by taking full advantage of the locally based distribution network. Furthermore, by promoting the wider use of sanitary pads and conducting activities to spread proper knowledge about menarche and menstruation, we aim to create an environment in which more women in Kenya can use hygiene products on a daily basis, improving public hygiene in the region as a whole.
With a view to expanding our presence into neighboring countries, we will create new jobs by encouraging the greater use of sanitary pads in Kenya and Africa as a whole, and increase possibilities for all women in these regions by revitalizing local economies and advancing the role of women in society.
Realizing a Cohesive Society Through Groupwide Efforts
The achievement of Kyo-sei Life Vision 2030 entails the concerted efforts of the approximately 16,000 Unicharm Group employees working in various countries and regions. In light of this, ESG targets were incorporated into performance evaluations to encourage each employee to independently and proactively achieve the goals of Kyo-sei Life Vision 2030. In addition, we established semiannual targets that align with the key themes, indicators, and targets of Kyo-sei Life Vision 2030 and have a system in place to steadily implement measures on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis toward the achievement of these targets. I believe that having each employee think and act on their own initiative toward these goals in their daily work will enable us to provide unique value that cater to the characteristics of each country and region, and by extension, help expand the possibilities of customers around the world.
We will continue to work collectively as a Group to steadily promote Kyo-sei Life Vision 2030, resolve environmental and social issues through our business activities, and contribute to the growth of local communities toward our goal of realizing a cohesive society.
May 2025
Takahisa Takahara
President & CEO
Unicharm Corporation