Suntory Group products are crafted from the gifts of nature, meaning that the global environment itself is a vital foundation for Suntory Group’s, including Suntory Beverage & Food (“the Company”), business. To protect this foundation, we engage in activities that conserve and restore the natural environment and biodiversity.

We depend on these gifts of nature (natural capital). At the same time, this dependence also means that ecosystem degradation and loss of biodiversity can also present a serious risk to our business continuity. As such, we recognize that proactively engaging in activities that conserving biodiversity will create new opportunities to improve our corporate value—for example, securing sustainable procurement of raw ingredients and gaining the trust of local communities.
Suntory Group, including the Company, supports the goals of the 30by30 initiative (Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework) to halt biodiversity loss and put nature on a recovery track by 2030, a goal agreed upon by the world to achieve a sustainable society. We are committed to contributing to this goal through our business activities.

Sustainability Committee

For more information, see Envrionmental Management.

Water Sustainability

Suntory Natural Water Sanctuary

To preserve the integrity and sustainability of groundwater, the Suntory Group, which includes Suntory Beverage & Food, has been cultivating forests in the watersheds around our plants as sanctuaries to nurture groundwater. These forests recharge more than twice the amount of water withdrawn by our plants in Japan. Forests that nurture pristine groundwater are also rich in biodiversity. When the forest ecosystem is restored, the flora and fauna also begin to thrive in new ways. The Suntory Natural Water Sanctuary is managed systematically through continuous monitoring of the ecosystem, which includes plants, birds, and other wildlife. Considering how wild birds are a barometer of environmental health, we have experts conduct a wild bird survey every year to furnish a broader understanding of the changes taking place in the entire supporting ecosystem.
At Natural Water Sanctuaries in Japan, we are carrying out an Eagle and Hawk Chick-Rearing Support Project to support the nesting and breeding of birds of prey, which are at the top of the ecological pyramid. The aim is to continue maintaining forests rich in biodiversity from the perspective of protecting birds.

30by30 Alliance for Biodiversity

In April 2022, Suntory Group, including the Company, joined the 30by30 Alliance for Biodiversity,*¹ which aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss to realize a sustainable society.

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  The 30by30 Alliance for Biodiversity was established as a voluntary coalition of local governments, companies, and NPOs to conserve or protect at least 30% of Japan’s land and sea areas by 2030.

Additionally, 8 Suntory Natural Water Sanctuaries have been certified as Sites Coexisting with Nature promoted by the Ministry of the Environment as part of an initiative aimed at achieving 30by30 goals. Sites Coexisting with Nature are areas where biodiversity conservation efforts through private-sector initiatives are certified by the Japanese government. Certified areas, excluding overlaps with protected areas, are registered in the world OECM (Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures) database. The fact that Suntory’s forest conservation areas are among Japan’s OECMs is also of great significance in terms of our contribution to international targets.

The “Suntory Natural Water Sanctuary Biodiversity Restoration Report” was issued in September 2022. The report is structured into two parts — a “Facts & Data” section that summarizes various issues facing Japanese forests and an “Actions” section which provides simple explanations and examples of activities taken to address these issues in the Suntory Natural Water Sanctuary.

Download the Suntory Natural Water Sanctuary Biodiversity Restoration Report

For more information on the Suntory Natural Water Sanctuary, see Natural Water Sanctuary.

Looking at Groundwater — Comparing simulation models with results from field surveys

One of the main purposes of our Natural Water Sanctuary Initiative to improve the function of forests for recharging water resources.
As a way to evaluate the results, Suntory has been trying to quantitatively evaluate the amount of groundwater recharge using a groundwater flow simulation model since 2006 and is finally approaching a level of accuracy which would allow the model to be used. Through the simulation of groundwater flow, we attempt to simulate where groundwater passes and how long it takes to reach the factory, and combine it with field survey information to deepen understanding of the underground which we normally cannot see. We would like to incorporate these results into the maintenance plan which will lead to more effective cultivation of water source recharge areas.

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  In addition to simulation results, it is also important to combine these results with results
  based on information gathered in the field during hydrologic surveys, etc. for verification.

Raw Ingredients

The Company promotes initiatives in and outside Japan aimed at conserving biodiversity in the agricultural crops it uses for key raw ingredients.
For example, Suntory Beverage & Food Great Britain and Ireland has been supporting sustainable agriculture for blackcurrant farmers since 2004, promoting the conservation of river and wetland ecosystems with biodiversity plans tailored to each farm and its surrounding habitat. In 2022, the company published the report, Farm Stewardship Programme, which summarizes its efforts to conserve biodiversity on blackcurrant farms across the UK and the results.

Download the Farm Stewardship Programme Report

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  Cover crops

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  Farm Stewardship
  Programme Report

Bird Conservation

Recognizing that wild birds are barometers of the environment, Suntory has advocated that protecting birds leads to protecting human beings and the natural environment and started its bird conservation activities in 1973. The company established the Suntory Fund for Bird Conservation in 1989 to promote environmental conservation by providing grants to various bird conservation activities. As of 2024, we have provided grants totaling over 700 million yen to 517 projects.

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  1st Save the Birds! Campaign newspaper ad

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For more information, see Bird Conservation Activities