Our origins and sustainability journey
“We want to protect people from disasters.” This unwavering desire, born in Japan’s Meiji era, is the foundation of the Sompo Group. Its origins trace back to Tokyo Fire Insurance, Japan’s first fire insurance company, established in 1888. The strong sense of mission and determination to protect policyholders has been passed down as the core spirit of the Sompo Group. This spirit is still at the core of our activities more than 130 years since our founding, breathing life into our unwavering sense of mission to contribute to society.
In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Our then-president participated as the head of the Keidanren (Japanese Business Federation) delegation and returned home deeply moved by the importance of corporate environmental initiatives, stating, “The 21st century will be the century of the environment.” Under this strong leadership, we established the Department of Global Environment in October the same year, and SOMPO’s sustainability initiatives began in earnest. The foresight demonstrated by SOMPO taking the lead in addressing environmental issues as an insurance company at such an early stage at the beginning of the 1990s is deeply inspiring. This pioneering spirit serves as an important guiding principle that we carry on.
Treasuring stakeholder collaboration
What we value most in our sustainability initiatives is collaboration with our stakeholders. Challenges facing modern society are increasingly complex, and extremely difficult for companies to solve alone.
However, we can generate a greater impact by collaborating with diverse sectors. One symbolic initiative is the Public Seminars on the Environment, which we began in 1993. Started in collaboration with environmental NGOs, the program has continued for over 30 years, contributing to the cultivation of citizens with deeper awareness of environmental issues and motivated to take action. With over 53,000 participants to date, the program has had a definite impact on society. Also, most recently starting in 2024, as part of efforts to mitigate climate change, we have cooperated with domestic and international businesses to begin testing technology to analyze greenhouse (methane) gas leaks from corporate facilities using satellite imagery. We have presented this initiative at international conferences such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP29, and are pursuing information exchange and service development with other stakeholders. We sense the growing expectations that the risk management knowledge and know-how of the insurance industry will have a positive impact on society. SOMPO is also focused on cooperation with all stakeholders—including customers, business partners, local communities, and employees, academias, governments, etc.—through the development and provision of insurance and services in partnership with financial institutions and firms in Japan and overseas, as well as activities to contribute to communities. This is because we firmly believe that dialogue and engagement with stakeholders are essential to accurately identify the needs that society truly desires to meet and to have a greater impact. Through these initiatives, we will solidify our relationships of trust and cooperation with stakeholders, ensuring the sustained growth of the Group. We will continue to carefully nurture this collaboration with
stakeholders as the foundation that supports the activities of the Sompo Group.
Employees as the driving force behind our initiatives
The Sompo Group views its employees as the most vital driving force behind its pursuit of sustainability across the Group. The strong desire to serve people that was the founding commitment of the company is deeply entrenched in every employee, and is one of our greatest strengths. To embody this commitment, we established Sompo Chikyu (Earth) Club, a volunteer organization for employees, more than three
decades ago, in 1993. This organization has provided opportunities to raise employee awareness of social issues and encourage concrete action. For more than 20 years, we have also conducted continuous sustainability training for all employees to instill the importance of addressing social issues through our core business. Furthermore, since 2021, we have focused on instilling a sense of purpose among employees, grounded in their individual desires and aspirations. Through the SOMPO Group Awards, our internal recognition program, we recognize employees who are working to realize their purpose and address social issues. By sharing their initiatives, we foster a sense of unity throughout the Group.
Instilling sustainability and a sense of purpose cannot be achieved overnight. However, guided by the strong conviction that the ongoing, day-to-day actions of each employee will ultimately have a significant impact on society, we will continue to do our utmost to cultivate our employees, the driving force of all we do.
Sompo Group’s unique value creation story
Challenges facing modern society—including climate change, loss of biodiversity, and human rights issues—are becoming increasingly complex and difficult to address. Sompo Group, which has the purpose of building “for a future of health, wellbeing, and financial protection,” aims to tackle social issues and enhance corporate value by leveraging the strong relationships and trust it has built with
diverse stakeholders, and the enthusiasm of its employees. We will actively communicate Sompo Group’s unique value creation story to garner broader stakeholder support and maximize our impact on society. You can expect to hear from us on the evolving value creation story of the Sompo Group as it strives to become a Japan-born, truly global company.
