8031.T

External Environment Context

• Social issues including climate change, natural capital depletion, and human rights are becoming increasingly interconnected and complex, requiring an integrated approach and co-creation with a broad range of stakeholders to solve. Securing premiums and profitability in climate change-related business has become more challenging amid shifting policy and market conditions, so companies must provide practical solutions for diverse needs while progressing initiatives from a medium- to long-term perspective.
• Geopolitical risks (exemplified by recent Middle East tensions) have heightened, increasing uncertainty in global energy supply. Natural gas and LNG are positioned as practical solutions during the transition to a low-carbon society, and ensuring their stable supply is a core responsibility of Mitsui.

Materiality Updates

• In 2025, Mitsui updated its materiality assessment incorporating a double materiality perspective, adding "Creating a society that respects human rights" as a new standalone materiality. Annual action plans are set for each materiality to drive progress, and four materiality roundtables with all business unit heads have been held to embed priorities across operational sites.
• The three core themes of climate change, natural capital, and business & human rights will remain the focus of efforts in the next medium-term management plan.

Climate Change Progress and Initiatives

• As of the 2025 March fiscal year end, Mitsui has already met its 2030 interim GHG reduction targets: total GHG emissions are down 34% compared to the 2020 March fiscal year end, GHG impact (including reduction contributions) is down 26%, Scope1+2 for standalone and consolidated subsidiaries is down 23%, and the renewable energy share in power generation has reached 35%. The company will continue progressing initiatives amid external uncertainty and potential portfolio changes from future business growth.
• Key ongoing reduction initiatives include CCUS introduction for the LNG project with bp, comprehensive decarbonization work with Rio Tinto, and the Blue Point low-carbon ammonia project with CF Industries and JERA, which is expected to start production in 2029 and cut CO2 emissions by over 60% compared to conventional ammonia production. The company is leveraging its group subsidiary e-dash's GHG visualization and reduction expertise to identify further reduction opportunities for Scope1+2.
• Mitsui is driving cross-industry collaboration to support overall societal decarbonization: it partners with over 50 upstream operators to cut methane emissions through the Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC), and participates as a strategic partner in the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping to advance low-carbon fuel use in maritime shipping.

Integrated Scenario Analysis

• Mitsui now conducts integrated scenario analysis for transition risk and physical risk that incorporates a natural capital perspective, in addition to traditional climate-focused analysis, to inform mid- to long-term risk and opportunity planning. Analysis is focused on financially significant businesses most exposed to climate extremes and regulation tightening, including coking coal, steel, E&P, LNG, and renewable energy, and results will be considered for future disclosure.

Business & Human Rights Initiatives

• Mitsui's human rights efforts are structured around three pillars: publication of a human rights policy embedded in corporate governance systems with Board of Directors oversight; ongoing human rights due diligence across the value chain to identify and address risks; and established remediation and grievance mechanisms for early issue resolution.
• 100% of new suppliers have the company's human rights policy communicated to them, followed by surveys and on-site visits to identify risks. For example, following a third-party tip about potential human rights issues in the Malaysian palm oil business, an additional on-site investigation was conducted in collaboration with independent third parties, which confirmed no forced labor, child labor, or other human rights violations, with risks appropriately managed.
• For the next medium-term management plan, Mitsui will integrate human rights risk management into existing credit risk management frameworks, expand human rights due diligence to cover the entire supply chain and operating companies, and join the JaCER platform to improve the fairness and effectiveness of grievance remediation from April 2026.

Mitsui's Integrated Approach to Sustainability

• The core of Mitsui's sustainability strategy is an integrated approach that addresses climate change, natural capital, and business & human rights through the lens of their interconnectedness, rather than treating them as separate issues. This approach is viewed as creating both risk reduction and new business opportunity, rather than being just a cost center.
• The integrated approach is embedded into all company investment decision processes: for example, the Rhodes Ridge iron ore project investment evaluated commercial viability alongside community partnership, cultural heritage protection, and adjacent natural environment conservation considerations, and Mitsui's approach to these issues was a key factor in securing participation rights.

Human Capital and Global Talent Strategy

• Mitsui's foundational belief is that people are the source of sustained value creation, rooted in the company's long-held principles. The three core pillars of talent strategy are: nurturing strong individuals, fostering inclusion, and strategic placement of the right talent in the right roles, which will remain the foundation for the next medium-term management plan.
• Key recent foundational updates include: formalization of the Global Talent Management Policy in July 2024 outlining shared global expectations for talent (strong individuals who create new value, inclusive collaborators who drive innovation, and self-directed learners committed to continuous growth); development of the "Mitsui Leadership in Action" shared global behavioral standard aligned with the company's "Challenge and Creation" value; launch of the Bloom global talent management platform in December 2024 that unifies talent data for approximately 9,000 employees worldwide, enabling better cross-border talent matching aligned with HR coding that tracks employee core business/functional areas; and annual HR Strategy Meetings to review talent strategy progress and plan succession for key roles.
• Core talent development initiatives: focus on supporting autonomous career formation, where employees proactively build their unique strengths by deepening skills, gaining cross-sector experience, and pursuing continuous learning. For inclusion, the company runs the Change Leader Program for locally hired global employees and the Women Leadership Initiative for female employees targeting the 20% female manager ratio target by the 2031 March fiscal year, with long-term programs followed by targeted placement into key roles. The Global Mobility Program standardizes cross-border relocation processes to lower barriers for international movement of local hires, and a new 3-year relocation option policy was introduced for Japanese-based employees to support work-life balance aligned with individual career plans. Additional systems including the open posting Personnel Bulletin Board (for cross-business unit applications) and the Expert Band (for specialized career tracks separate from management) support flexible, merit-based placement aligned with employee ambition.

• Climate action: The company will continue progressing toward existing 2030 interim GHG targets, even after achieving the targets early, to account for future portfolio changes and external uncertainty. The renewable energy share target remains a core priority for 2030, and the 2050 net zero target positioning will be updated continuously based on future external market and policy conditions.
• Human rights: The company will continue expanding the coverage and effectiveness of human rights due diligence across the entire value chain, with full integration into core business risk management frameworks by the next medium-term management plan.
• Human capital: The company will continue accelerating investment in human capital, with a target of 20% female management ratio for standalone operations by the 2031 March fiscal year, and will adapt disclosure to relevant emerging international frameworks incrementally.

No financial performance data for product segments is provided in this sustainability-focused briefing transcript.

• Growing geopolitical tensions (exemplified by the ongoing Middle East situation) have increased uncertainty in global energy supply and demand, raising risks to energy security.
• External policy and market conditions for low-carbon business are evolving, making it more challenging to secure profitability, and some projects have seen profitability timelines pushed back compared to initial forecasts.
• Expanding human rights due diligence across a broad global value chain creates a balance between depth of investigation and coverage, requiring ongoing structural adjustment to maintain progress on both fronts.
• Natural capital risk assessment faces inherent complexity due to diverse impact areas, metrics, and regional variations, requiring ongoing development of appropriate internal management indicators.
• The Bloom global talent management platform still faces adoption barriers in regional operations outside the head office, requiring time and real-world use cases to drive widespread embedding.

Q: Regarding the 2030 GHG interim targets, some are already achieved at this point. What impact do already approved new projects and future projects have on these targets?

A: Mitsui aggregates GHG emissions from existing and new projects out to 2050 each year when formulating annual business plans, and progress toward each target is reviewed on this ongoing basis to guide continued action.

Q: How is sustainability incorporated into investment discipline for new project selection? How are factors like GHG emissions and human rights considered in investment decisions?

A: The Head of Sustainability Management Department participates in all investment review meetings. Sustainability risk assessments are conducted alongside reviews of profitability and other traditional risks, and projects only proceed if appropriate sustainability mitigation measures are confirmed. For large-scale investments, sustainability considerations are included as core decision material for the Management Meeting and Board of Directors, and this applies equally to climate change, natural capital, and human rights factors.

Q: In the Malaysian palm oil example provided, what additional investigation was conducted, and how do you balance the need for in-depth investigation with expanding coverage across your broad value chain?

A: After a third-party raised concerns about potential human rights violations during a 2025 March fiscal year on-site visit, an additional follow-up visit was conducted in the 2026 March fiscal year, which ultimately confirmed no human rights violations. To address coverage, last year the lead responsibility for human rights due diligence was shifted from the Sustainability Management Department to individual business units, which allows each unit to manage their own supplier base and avoids declines in coverage even with a large total number of suppliers.

Q: Amid current challenges to stable energy supply, how does Mitsui balance the medium- to long-term goal of carbon neutrality with immediate challenges like growing energy demand for data centers?

A: Stable energy supply is a core materiality and key management priority for Mitsui. While there have been some delays to individual decarbonization projects, the overall global trend toward decarbonization has not reversed. Mitsui is continuing to develop decarbonized and low-carbon businesses from a medium- to long-term perspective, and diversifying the energy sources it provides by adding next-generation energy to existing conventional energy supplies, which also improves overall energy security.

Q: Amid rising difficulty for low-carbon business profitability, what areas do you see as promising for opportunity and profitability? How is the Blue Point low-carbon ammonia project progressing, and what is the outlook for the renewable energy share target toward 2050 amid challenges at projects like Mainstream?

A: It is true that some projects like Mainstream have faced difficulties over the past three years, and some projects have seen profitability timelines pushed back compared to initial forecasts. Blue Point has secured price differential support from the Japanese government, and all front-end projects are progressing with the assumption of this government support. For renewable energy, project conditions vary by asset, so careful evaluation of economically viable projects is increasingly important; for example, in the U.S., Mitsui is combining solar power development with power trading to improve profitability, and will continue pursuing this kind of combined approach. A core company rule is that no unprofitable project will be approved, so profitability is always confirmed before moving forward, and Mitsui prioritizes pursuing projects where it can leverage its core strengths and conducts rigorous risk-return evaluation. While the renewable energy share target remains a core priority for 2030, the positioning of the target toward 2050 will continue to be discussed internally accounting for future external environmental conditions.

Q: Amid some recent headwinds for decarbonization globally, is there a possibility of reviewing the 2050 carbon neutral strategy? Could Mitsui reconsider already sold thermal coal assets in response to current demand?

A: While there has been some reversion to fossil fuels for energy security in the U.S. and parts of Europe, Mitsui maintains a portfolio of necessary current energy sources like LNG and natural gas while remaining confident that the long-term transition to a decarbonized society will continue. From this perspective, the company will continue progressing development of lower-GHG energy and next-generation fuels, but will carefully monitor demand structure, green premium development, and market growth/decline trends to time actions appropriately.

Q: Mitsui has many minority investments focused on resources. How do you align on the integrated approach with controlling partners, and what challenges and countermeasures exist for minority positions?

A: Even as a minority shareholder, the Sustainability Management Department works with business units to ensure alignment with Mitsui on core sustainability issues during project due diligence before investment. Since alignment on sustainability does not always conclude by contract signing, Mitsui introduced a process for ongoing 5-10 year post-investment follow-up approximately two years ago, and prioritizes working incrementally to align on a shared approach with partners over time.

Q: Will you calculate and incorporate the GHG reduction co-benefits of natural capital initiatives into future plans? Can you provide an update on progress of the integrated approach combining natural capital and climate action?

A: Currently, forest resource sequestration is already counted as GHG removal, but Mitsui does not consider this sufficient. The company is first identifying priority natural capital areas and analyzing business dependencies and impacts, and has found that relevant metrics vary significantly by business and region, so GHG is not always the most important priority for every asset. Going forward, assets that contribute to both natural capital preservation and GHG reduction will be evaluated and managed through both lenses as part of the integrated approach.

Q: Would focusing priority on overlapping natural capital and human rights risks create a more integrated and efficient approach, for example human rights violations linked to deforestation? Does Mitsui have a structure for this?

A: Currently, human rights due diligence prioritizes areas with higher inherent human rights risk, and does not use a combined "human rights x natural capital" screening criteria for target selection. However, natural capital questions are already included in human rights due diligence surveys, so suppliers identified as high-risk for human rights are also screened for natural capital issues. Deforestation is already addressed through individual procurement policies, with ongoing investigations for relevant assets. As a supplement, all new investment projects already conduct comprehensive integrated risk analysis covering climate change, natural capital, and human rights at the approval stage.

Q: Can you expand on opportunities related to Scope 3 contributions for customers, as Scope 3 disclosure and reduction planning mandates expand? Would it make sense to expand the GHG impact framework to cover additional Scope 3 categories relevant to customer needs?

A: Currently, Mitsui's GHG impact target only includes Scope 3 category 15 and reduction contributions, as you noted. However, Mitsui has already disclosed all Scope 3 categories to investors and partners since the 2023 March fiscal year in response to stakeholder requests. Protocols for Scope 3 calculation are still being revised for mandatory disclosure, and methods are not yet standardized enough to enable meaningful cross-company comparison, so it is still too early to incorporate broader Scope 3 into company targets, so the current approach of limiting targets to Scope 3 category 15 (which has a large impact on Mitsui's earnings) will be maintained for the foreseeable future. That said, Mitsui will continue disclosing broader Scope 3 reduction efforts across the value chain in line with past practice.

Q: Carbon intensity would enable visualization of GHG reductions relative to profit, and would be a useful KPI once Scope 3 rules are formalized. Will you consider adopting it as a KPI?

A: Carbon intensity is considered a potential future initiative as Scope 3 rules are formalized. For a diversified company like Mitsui, there are still open questions about whether carbon intensity is an appropriate metric, and what should be used as the numerator and denominator for KPI purposes, so challenges remain at this stage.

Q: What is the current status of internal carbon pricing (ICP) application to investees and affiliated companies?

A: ICP is used as one input for simulation in the investment and loan review process. ICP is applied to base-case business plans prepared by business units to measure the impact of future environmental changes, and is used to deepen discussion of mitigation measures for profitability decline risk especially in sectors with high climate impact.

Q: What specific initiatives do you have to hit the 20% female management ratio target, given the current 11% ratio and 30% female entry-level general employee ratio?

A: There is generational variation in the ratio: the 2024 new graduate intake is targeting approximately 50% female, so the talent pool is steadily growing over time. For management promotion, the company has enabled earlier promotion based on performance regardless of gender, compared to past practice, which is expected to drive progress toward the target. The new optional relocation policy has only recently been introduced, but the company is already seeing an increase in interest from female candidates who previously avoided applying to general trading companies due to relocation requirements, in both new graduate and mid-career hiring.

Q: What is Mitsui's approach to global human capital disclosure aligned with emerging international frameworks like TISFD?

A: Mitsui believes some human capital metrics are meaningful to disclose globally, while others are not, given the unique characteristics of the Japanese labor market and the company's diversified global business footprint. Mitsio has approximately 9,000 employees across standalone operations and major local affiliates, so the company will first identify meaningful metrics for this combined group, and will adopt appropriate new international disclosure standards as they are finalized.

Q: Investment in diversified talent hiring has more than doubled between the 2023 and 2025 March fiscal years. What is driving this increase?

A: The increase comes from expanded investment across both new graduate and mid-career hiring, including more robust recruitment briefings, expanded recruitment marketing, more content on the corporate website, more opportunities for candidates to engage with the company, and continued outreach to Japanese students studying abroad. The increase is the result of cumulative investment across all these areas.

Q: The gender wage gap was 60.4% in the 2025 March fiscal year, which is an improvement but still remains. What are your plans for further improvement?

A: The gap is largely driven by the difference in female management ratio and age composition: higher-paid senior roles are concentrated in older age groups, which are currently majority male. There is no wage gap for non-management employees in the same role and qualification level, and almost no gap in the layer just below management. For this reason, the company expects the gap will continue to improve steadily over time as the demographic composition shifts.

Q: How do the perspectives on relocation differ for locally hired overseas employees compared to head office employees, and what initiatives are increasing the number of overseas hires relocating to Japan?

A: There are two key differences: historically, most local hires were recruited to support local market expansion and did not join the company on the assumption of cross-border relocation, and the Mitsui career model of gaining cross-functional experience to become a generalist business leader is less common in many local markets, so it takes time to communicate this model to potential candidates. That said, the number of local hires interested in cross-border relocation for more exciting career opportunities is definitely growing, so the company is increasing the number of relocation opportunities to Japan. To support these relocations, the human resources department implements targeted support, including grouping multiple relocated employees in the same department, creating regular meeting spaces for relocated employees to consult with each other, and leveraging new technology to reduce language barriers.

Q: What challenges has the introduction of Bloom revealed for global talent management, and what initiatives are you prioritizing to address them?

A: Bloom launched globally at the end of 2024, and the key challenge identified so far is driving consistent employee adoption across regions. At head office, it is easier for employees to see the benefits of Bloom for matching to projects, but adoption has been slower in regional operations. The company expects adoption will accelerate as more real-world examples of employees being matched to opportunities via Bloom emerge. One early positive example is overseas hires using Bloom to find mentors across borders to support their career development, but it will take more time to generate statistically significant analysis of the impact on talent placement.

Q: Is there a demonstrated link between higher employee engagement and higher performance that ties talent strategy to corporate value?

A: This is a complex topic. General industry data shows that high-performing companies tend to have higher employee engagement, and there are very few examples of companies with low engagement sustaining strong performance over time. Within Mitsui, engagement levels vary across organizations, and the company observes that higher engagement organizations tend to have better alignment with management strategy across all levels of the organization, which in turn leads to better performance outcomes.

Q: Historically Mitsui has encouraged cross-business unit movement, but recently many employees stay in one business unit long-term. What is your current strategy for cross-unit mobility, and how do you balance specialization and cross-functional experience?

A: The HR coding system is structured to avoid siloed talent management, with the responsible business unit for each employee's career development proactively planning for diverse experience across functions. Cross-business unit and cross-segment movement is actively encouraged at Mitsui, and cross-unit work is already a common part of operations. That said, the company recognizes that some employees want to build deep expertise in a specific area, and there is limited value in moving highly sought-after specialists to unrelated departments. However, experts are still encouraged to exercise their specialization across business unit boundaries, rather than being limited to their original home unit.