Messages
Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Estate, Mitsubishi Estate Group, Sustainability, compliance, environmental activities, social contribution activities, Sustainability report
Messages from the Director Responsible for Sustainability and an Outside Director
Message from the Director Responsible for Sustainability
Messages from the Director Responsible for Sustainability and an Outside Director
Message from the Director Responsible for Sustainability
Yutaro Yotsuzuka
Executive Vice President
Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.
I took charge as the Director responsible for the Sustainability Management and Promotion Department starting fiscal 2025. I am strongly committed to realizing sustainability management utilizing the experience I have developed to date in a wide range of areas including the international business and the real estate development business, as well as in corporate divisions.
As changes in the international situation and social environment surrounding the Mitsubishi Estate Group intensify, the responsibilities that companies must fulfill are becoming more prominent, and there are also growing calls for transparency in corporate activities. In light of these changes in the social and business environment, the Group revised its four key themes and material issues related to sustainability in fiscal 2024.
The new key themes are designed to establish the sustainability of both the Group and society by further increasing the inter-relationship between business and sustainability and responding to the demands of the times through business activities. As exemplified by my own responsibility for the Corporate Planning Department and the Sustainability Management and Promotion Department , promoting increase in social value and shareholder value as two strategic drivers is the foundation of the Company’s business strategy. As Long-Term Management Plan 2030 reaches its halfway point, we will accelerate concrete actions aimed at integrating business and sustainability.
Responding to climate change, which will have a direct impact on future generations, is a particularly pressing challenge among the social issues surrounding Mitsubishi Estate. The Group has been making steady progress toward realizing net zero CO2 emissions by 2050, and we expect to mark a major milestone in fiscal 2025 with the achievement of 100% introduction of renewable energy. Moreover, at the same time as implementing such initiatives by the Group alone, as an industry leader, we are working to move forward with efforts throughout the supply chain through industry-wide cooperation.
I believe that the fundamental objectives of sustainability are consideration for the next generation, passing on the happiness we have now to future generations, and not leaving behind anything undesirable. The Group is actively engaging in dialogue with customers, local communities, investors, employees, young people from the next generation and other stakeholders to pinpoint the responsibilities and roles it needs to fulfill. By steadily fulfilling the expectations on the Company identified through such dialogue, we will pass on a better future to the next generation while realizing an increase in the Group’s corporate value.
- (As of August 22, 2025)
Outside Director's Message
Outside Director's Message
Ayako Sonoda
Outside Director
Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.
Preparing for a diverse future based on its own vision
I was appointed as an Outside Director in June 2023 and have taken part in the Board of Directors and various committees over the past two years since then. Our internal discussions are very open. We go beyond simply talking about the current state of the company and business plans to discuss the questions of what Mitsubishi Estate should do and how it will contribute as a leading company from a local community, national, and even a global perspective. I have also been deeply impressed by the company’s serious approach to social issues such as the low birthrate, aging society, and regional revitalization, which are issues it puts at the center of its management.
Recently, particularly with the destabilization of the international situation, we can see a reversal in society, including a backlash against climate change countermeasures and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I). I feel that moving forward firmly grounded on its own vision rather than being influenced by such temporary trends is Mitsubishi Estate’s characteristic strength.
Under the review of Long-Term Management Plan 2030 announced in May 2024, Mitsubishi Estate updated its double materiality approach and key themes related to sustainability in order to further promote the integration of business activities and sustainability. Discussions were also held by the Board of Directors, and I stated my views from a variety of perspectives. I genuinely feel that the four key themes of urban development and services, the global environment, respect for people, and value creation provide a clear statement of the direction Mitsubishi Estate should take in addressing the numerous issues facing modern society.
In order to address these themes effectively, in addition to having ideals, it is essential to be in a state of readiness for a diverse future while taking a realistic view of the challenges. Of course, promoting urban development in the context of steady advancement in society overall is important, but Mitsubishi Estate actually fulfills its potential more in challenging conditions. None of us can predict the future. However, envisaging a variety of possible scenarios and refining our ability to respond to them as we do in large-scale disaster drills should improve our ability to handle any crisis that may arise, which is our resilience.
Connecting the global environment, society, and human happiness through urban development
The Mitsubishi Estate Group has built up a track record in implementing pioneering initiatives for the real estate industry, in addition to participating in international frameworks, such as RE100, TCFD, and SBTi , from an early stage. There is a good prospect that the company will achieve RE100 in fiscal 2025, which shows how serious it is about measures to address climate change.
This year, Mitsubishi Estate also fully engaged in its response to the disclosure recommendations of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). The company is taking this theme seriously as one that also resonates with issues of interest to shareholders and investors. We ourselves are part of the natural ecosystem. This means that the value of biodiversity and natural capital are easy to understand intuitively, which makes these themes effective for building dialogue and a story with stakeholders. Going forward, I look forward to seeing more widespread initiatives addressing coexistence with nature and biodiversity in terms of collective action through collaboration across the entire industry and throughout the value chain.
Wellbeing is also a very important key word. When we talk about wellbeing at a company, health and productivity management and workstyle reform spring to mind, but wellbeing goes further than that.
The Mitsubishi Estate Group has established “Urban development and the wellness of people” as one of the material issues related to “Respect for people,” and the question is how this can be realized in the context of urban development. There must also be forms of wellbeing unique to a particular locality which take advantage of their regional characteristics.
Furthermore, the perspective of planetary wellbeing, which treats the planet and human health and happiness holistically, provides an important foundation in aiming for a sustainable society. I believe a series of diverse and thriving areas can be nurtured by envisaging a vision of attractive communities where people want to live or be involved and applying the backcasting approach to realize that future vision.
Becoming a company that creates new value in society with the power of diversity
Numerous real-world settings have demonstrated that organizations which embrace diverse talent and values are more likely to generate innovation. In particular, the issue of gender is not only deeply related to career development for women but also the workstyles of men, and the question is how to change social norms and attitudes based on an understanding shared throughout society that “gender is a human rights issue.”
Last year, Mitsubishi Estate became the first comprehensive real estate developer in Japan to sign up to the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), showing the commitment of the top management to gender equality and women’s empowerment. I hope this commitment will not only remain within the company but will go further to create new trends in society through urban development while keeping in mind the entire value chain.
I have been involved in consulting and practice in the sustainability area for a long time, and I have always been conscious of reading a little ahead into the future and looking at the big picture in considering the demands of society from the perspectives of various stakeholders. As an Outside Director at Mitsubishi Estate, I want to contribute to increasing the corporate value of the Mitsubishi Estate Group over the medium to long term by anticipating changes in the global environment and society and providing forward-looking suggestions.
- (As of August 22, 2025)
