P.45 Message from the CSO

Message from the CSO Business Foundation

Take action and create systems independently. The power of sustainability for the TBS Group

Nami Inoue

TBS HOLDINGS, INC. Executive Officer and CSO My name is Nami Inoue, and I have recently assumed the office of CSO (Chief Sustainability Officer). In December of last year, the previous CSO, former Man- aging Director Shigetoshi Ida, stepped down due to a matter involving a serious compliance violation. I sincerely apologize for the significant concern this has caused our stakeholders. As his successor, I will work to make us a company trusted by society by reaffirming self-discipline and sincerely leading our efforts toward a sustainable future. Creating a “starting point” for shaping society alongside our stakeholders For approximately 27 years since joining the company, I have worked as a news reporter. My experience has included serving as a Washington correspondent and heading the Beijing Bu- reau, but the area into which I poured the greatest passion was gathering and conveying the voices of people who, for various reasons, such as poverty, discrimination, and abuse, have been pushed out of society or feel that living is difficult. When I left the news division in 2018 and considered how I could put my experience to use, I wanted to go one step beyond simply communicating, by becoming involved in “creating systems that move social issues toward solutions,” and I began working on the promotion of the SDGs. In 2020 I became head of the newly established SDGs Planning Department and launched the “WEEK to Make the Earth Smile” SDGs campaign. In 2023, I served as the first Director of the Sustainability Transformation (SX) Center, and since 2024 I have been the officer in charge of sustainability. “WEEK to Make the Earth Smile” is an initiative whereby TBS, leveraging its characteristics as a Media and Content company, calls on people to work together to improve society by showcasing a wide range of efforts by industry, government, academia, and civil society, and helping to translate them into action. Going forward, I particularly want to focus on the community “ACTION to Make the Earth Smile,” which comprises young people from elementary school through to university. By empathizing with perceptions of issues among the young people who will carry forward the future of the Earth, and by creating events and various other opportu- nities for them, I want to encourage them to take on challenges. Not letting sustainability end as mere “window dressing” Sustainability-oriented management is now indispensable for companies seeking long-term value enhancement. While it tar- gets many areas where results are demanded in numerical terms, if these numerical results end up as empty “window dressing” without substance, they are meaningless. Take, for example, the “ratio of female managers.” Just raising the figure is not enough. What is important is creating an environment in which women (or rather people of every gender) can have diverse career options that they can align with life events and personal values, and can continue working in a way that is true to themselves. The same applies to the global environment. Greenhouse gas emission reduction can be achieved by spending money, by purchas- ing non-fossil certificates, for example. But as a media company that provides information about the environment, we want to go one step further. As part of this effort, last year we established TBS Green Transformation (TBS GX), a company that generates renewable en- ergy itself. In June of this year, electricity generated by an agrivoltaic (solar-sharing) facility in Yabuki Town, Fukushima Prefecture, began to be supplied to Midoriyama Studio, a hub for content creation. This facility, where cattle graze on pastureland shaded by solar panels, is also attracting attention from the perspective of animal welfare. We plan to advance such initiatives under the slogan “#KandoHatsuden” (Inspiring Power Generation), and as the first step we launched a collaboration with the drama series “VIVANT.” Developing renewable energy while supporting local com- munities, and then disseminating the “stories” that emerge from these efforts to society in the form of content expands the circle of empathy. This, we believe, is a type of environmental action unique to a media company. “Take on challenges boldly, and relate to people fairly:” our watchword for respecting human rights In the Human Rights Due Diligence (Human Rights DD) Survey conducted in December of last year that targeted all employees of TBS Holdings and the six core Group companies, issues such as the risk of long working hours and the susceptibility of external staff to harassment came to light. In order for everyone to truly enjoy and trust our content and services, my top priority is to create an environment in which all colleagues involved with TBS respect one another and are able to engage in “Joyful challenges” through fair relationships, regardless of their age, gender, or position. Content born from each individual’s challenges can gently push someone forward and transform into a force that makes tomorrow’s society better. By accumulating such warm chains of connection, we will advance sustainability-oriented management in a sincere and in a thoroughly human way. Please look forward to the challenges of the TBS Group takes on going forward. 45