PR99971

LONDON, April 20, 2023, 2022, /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/--

The Nippon Foundation, the sole Global Impact Partner of The Valuable 500, have

reaffirmed their commitment to disability inclusion by investing a further $2

million in 2023.

The Nippon Foundation previously made history by investing $5 million – the

largest ever single investment into disability inclusion in business.

Valuable 500 is the largest global network of CEOs committed to disability

inclusion. Its membership includes Apple, Deloitte, Dentsu, Fujitsu Google,

Hitachi, HSBC Microsoft, Nestle, NTT Group, P&G, The Coco-Cola Company, and

Sony.

The Nippon Foundation today announces an investment of a further $2 million

into promoting disability inclusion and generating systemic change within

business. This latest injection brings their total investment to $7 million,

following a $5 million investment in 2021.

Nippon’s Executive Director, Ichiro Kabasawa presenting on ESG & Disability Data

The Nippon Foundation is an independent, non-profit, foundation founded in 1962

which provides humanitarian aid globally. As a Global impact Partner of the

Valuable 500, their aim is to promote economic participation for persons with

disabilities.

Ichiro Kabasawa, Executive Director, The Nippon Foundation commented:

"Investing in the activities of the world's 500 most successful and well-funded

corporations is a contradictory decision for a non-profit organization like the

Nippon Foundation. However, we are making this investment because we know that

ensuring systematic change is what truly is needed, and we are confident that

The Valuable 500 will bring about success."

The Valuable 500 will maximise this investment and harness the power of

collective actions across the 500 global businesses. This will be achieved by

focusing on three pillars: Representation, Leadership and Inclusive Reporting.

Each pillar is developed and delivered in partnership with several Iconic

companies amongst the likes of Google, Sony and Verizon. The Iconics represent

some of the largest brands in the world which will invest in products and

services which will affect system change - materially improving disability

inclusion within business.

With over 10% (53) of the Valuable 500's membership being head quartered in

Japan, the Valuable 500 and The Nippon Foundation will be convening Japanese

businesses to discuss how they can continue to improve disability inclusion

within business and combat ESG obstacles effectively.

Caroline Casey, Founder, The Valuable 500 commented: "Central to this work is

tackling one of the greatest barriers to change - the lack of disability data

in business. It is our ambition that all our companies will be reporting on

disability performance in their annual reports against a harmonised set of

metrics. Thus, enabling us to hold ourselves to account and create new

frameworks for driving system change."

In January, the Valuable 500 launched its white paper, 'ESG and Disability

Data: A call for inclusive reporting', co-funded and developed with Allianz and

London Stock Exchange Group. The culmination of their efforts will be showcased

in the world's first accountability event on disability business performance in

Tokyo 2025 on International People with Disabilities Day (IDPD).

About the Valuable 500 [https://www.thevaluable500.com/]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2058285/Nippon_Director.jpg

Source: Valuable 500