Since its founding, the Relo Group has been operating its businesses and expanding its domains under the motto of using its functions to solve problems in society and provide things that would be convenient.
In addition, we have been developing businesses under the partnership management philosophy, in which all employees participate in management as people involved in the business. We have been proactively working to increase employee ownership, including the enhancement of the employee shareholding association, with the goal of the sustainable prosperity of the Group and its employees.
To achieve this, we have continued to provide customers with high-quality services, thereby creating customer satisfaction and impression. This is how we have been striving to achieve prominence and sustainable growth.
We will continue striving to do our very best in every situation and occasion to improve our corporate value. At the same time, we will leverage our functions which will expand as a result of the above efforts to continue operating businesses that are useful to society and people, thus contributing to the establishment of a sustainable society.
＜The "3 principles" of the Relo Group＞
・With every employee's participation in corporate management, we shall respect each other and together pursue the prosperity of all.
・We shall provide the best possible services to our customers.
・We shall strive to do our very best in every situation and occasion.
At the Relo Group, we started with a mission: Let's solve problems regarding the vacated houses of people who have relocated. We have created business from, and successively solved, the issues faced by the people in charge of personnel and general affairs within companies, people who have relocated, small- and medium-sized enterprises, locally based small- and medium-sized hotels and inns, people who have just relocated overseas and others.
As a provider of solutions to the issues faced by society, we will continue to have all our employees work as one to achieve our mission, under the three principles that we have held since our foundation, so that our efforts will lead to the prosperity of all of our stakeholders, including our shareholders, customers, business partners, and employees.
Governance Structure
In May 2023, the Relo Group set up a Sustainability Committee chaired by the Representative Director and CEO of the Company with a view to stepping up its sustainability efforts. This committee will monitor the activities of individual group companies to address sustainability issues and to respond to risks and opportunities and discuss these issues in a bid to accelerate sustainability-related actions. The Board of Directors will receive at least one report on sustainability actions each year from the Sustainability Committee to monitor and supervise activities for tackling issues and respond to risks and opportunities. These constitute the Relo Group's governance structure.
Strategy
The Relo Group has identified five material issues from among the impacts of its business activities on society and social issues against which it should act for creating a sustainable society. We have also developed a process for constant development, or a value creation process. We will strive to increase our corporate value by addressing social issues. We will thus seek to facilitate the continuous growth of all our stakeholders as well as the Relo Group and to realize sustained prosperity.
Risk Management
For the purpose of sustainability-related risk management, the Sustainability Committee will identify Group-wide risks and opportunities from key social problems that the Relo Group should address in light of global changes in society. Then, after evaluating them and discussing appropriate measures, the Sustainability Committee will report them to the Board of Directors for consideration. The measures are reviewed and revised on a regular basis. The results will be reported to the Board of Directors as needed so that it will understand the status of actions, manage progress and revise the actions.
Materiality and Value Creation Process
The Relo Group has identified five material issues from among the impacts of its business activities on society and social issues against which it should act for creating a sustainable society. We have also developed a process for constant development, or a value creation process. We will strive to increase our corporate value by addressing different social issues. We will thus seek to attain continuous growth of all our stakeholders as well as the Relo Group and to realize sustained prosperity.
Materiality
The five material issues identified for the purpose of value creation are as follows. We will strive to deal with them with a view to realizing a sustainable society.
Value Creation Process
On the basis of the material issues identified, we developed a value creation process aimed at realizing a sustainable society. With a business model that retains the founder's spirit, we will work to address social issues and to increase our corporate value.
Efforts on Human Capital
The Relo Group has a philosophy of partnership management. This means ensuring that all the employees take part in management as persons involved in business execution. We actively strive to increase the percentage of shares held by employees by, for example, enhancing the employee shareholding association. In parallel with that, we will practice management that creates opportunities. This means providing ambitious personnel irrespective of their gender, nationality, career backgrounds and other attributes with an environment where they can exert their potential to support their development. We will endeavor to develop personnel.
Strategy
【Human Resource Development Policy】 The Relo Group sees the personnel sharing the dream and vision with its executives as partners and it considers the combination of all of their efforts for the realization of the dream and vision to be the core of its management. We call this partnership management. To implement this partnership management, it is important that the partners that take part in management individually achieve growth. We have been working on personnel development based on the idea of management where employees are given a stage to demonstrate their abilities. Specifically, we give them opportunities at an early stage to experience responsibility for the implementation of business and operations in separate divisions realized through corporate growth. Our idea is to appoint them to take on these roles to encourage their growth and develop a large number of business managers. For details about personnel development, click here.
【Policy on the improvement of the labor environment】 1. Providing opportunities for diverse human resources to develop and play an active role The Group has set the idea of "management where employees are given a stage to demonstrate their abilities" and provides its employees with an environment that enables them to play an active role in many stages. We will develop and refine systems that focus on providing opportunities for personal growth and realization, such as a system to challenge new fields and realize career paths through open recruitment across a wide range of categories of business within the Group, and a career vision program that provides an opportunity once a year for employees to think about their career and share with their superiors the direction they seek to take. 2. Complying with various labor laws We will appropriately comply with working conditions related to working hours, vacations, holidays, minimum wages, etc., in accordance with local laws and regulations in the places where we do business. 3. Providing a safe and rewarding workplace environment In addition to proper management of working hours and holidays in accordance with laws and regulations and the payment of appropriate wages based on fair evaluation, we will strive to prevent harassment, ensure a safe work environment and support the promotion of mental and physical health, etc. We will also ensure fair treatment in the workplace based on the principle of equal pay for equal work. 4. Creating an environment for diverse work styles To respond to recent changes in the labor environment surrounding the Company, the Company believes it is necessary to establish a more comfortable work environment for its employees and advance initiatives such as enabling employees to flextime and to work staggered working hours. For details about labor situation, click here.
Metrics and targets
【Percentage of employees affiliated with the employee shareholding association】 Partnership management is to unite the strengths of all employees sharing the aspiration of fulfilling the vision for addressing difficulties and for making the vision a reality. We believe that encouraging employees to take part in management as stakeholders and to grow the company and themselves leads to personal development and prosperity. To help realize personal prosperity, we recommend that our employees hold our shares. We adopt the percentage of employees affiliated with the employee shareholding association as an indicator and as a target. The target and results for this indicator are as follows.
| FY 2021/3 | FY 2022/3 | FY 2023/3 | Targets for the next fiscal year and beyond | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of employees affiliated with the employee shareholding association | 95.0% | 96.6% | 94.3% | Maintain 90% or more |
Since our foundation, we at the Relo Group have continued to grow by supporting Japanese companies facing various issues.
The outsourcing service in the fringe benefit field that we provide at the Relo Group helps the employees of companies and their families improve their health, lifestyles, and welfare.
In addition, outsourcing services enable better workstyles by improving business efficiency and contribute to the conservation of energy and the reduction of labor by consolidating operations that exist within the individual companies.
Of the 17 SDGs, we focus on 10 goals that are directly related to the Relo Group's businesses.
The Relo Group has launched a large number of businesses to be a provider of solutions to the problems faced by the general affairs departments of Japanese companies.
Based on our mission, we will continue to provide services which will lead to solutions to the various issues faced by companies.
Our Mission
・In Japan, we act as a solutions provider in the field of corporate fringe benefit, providing client companies with support in their non-core operations.
・We support the global expansion of Japanese companies so that they can perform to their full potential.
・To secure an indispensable presence as Japan approaches a great transformation
Solving social issues through the Relo Group's businesses
＜Related SDGs＞
FY2025/3
Membership： 11 million
Major companies have benefit programs which enable their employees to use luxury recreation facilities within tourist resorts, sports clubs, and other facilities. However, small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs), which far outnumber the major companies, did not have many benefits enriching the leisure time of their employees and their families. There was a substantial gap between major companies and SMEs.
Can we fill this gap? With this question in mind, we created Japan's first fringe benefit outsourcing service.
At present, we offer more than 100,000 options. They are not limited to common fringe benefits. We also suggest benefit programs needed by society, such as programs that support childcare and nursing care, promote health, or promote mental health care, thus solving fringe benefit issues.
We will continue to expand the fringe benefit programs that are available to the employees of our customer companies and their families that help them balance work and family life, and that support the personal development of employees.
Percentage of SMEs in Japan
Source: Chusho Kigyo Toha? Nippon Kigyo-no 99.7% (What are SMEs? They are 99.7% of Japanese Companies), Nihon Keizai Shimbun, May 20, 2020
＜Related SDGs＞
FY2025/3
Leased Corporate Housing Management ：300,000 units
Employee benefits are attracting attention at a time when it is becoming increasingly important for companies to secure human resources amid the ongoing aging of the population.
On the other hand, people in charge of personnel and general affairs within companies are concerned about problems regarding housing-related fringe benefits.
It is of course costly to manage corporate housing. In addition, the workload placed on the people in charge of personnel and general affairs is heavy due to the cumbersome tasks necessary when an employee is transferred or relocates, and this causes serious problems.
In response, we realized a fully outsourced service managing leased corporate housing based on the first subletting scheme in the industry.
On behalf of our corporate customers, we handle matters related to lease contracts with the lessor and attend to employees who reside in the property.
Our support for a company's operations other than its main business enables the people in charge of personnel and general affairs to concentrate on their main businesses, leading to increased productivity.
Estimates and predictions on labor population
Source: Shoshi koureika-de rodoryoku jinko ha 4 wari gen (The Working Population Will Decrease by 40% Due to the Declining Birthrate and the Aging Population), Mizuho Research Institute, May 31, 2017
＜Related SDGs＞
FY2025/3
Global Relocation Support：10,000 households
An increasing number of companies are working to expand their businesses overseas because it is expected that the domestic market will shrink. This trend combined with government moves to support the overseas expansion of Japanese companies through various subsidy programs is accelerating the global expansion of Japanese companies.
However, global expansion involves the relocation of employees outside Japan, which involves more than 100 procedures per employee, including arranging visas, housing and children's schooling in the destination country, and vaccination before traveling to the country.
In more than a few cases, relocation does not go smoothly due to cumbersome procedures or a lack of information about the destination and in many cases employees and their families experience anxiety leaving Japan.
We confronted these issues that have been reported by people in charge of personnel and general affairs within companies. As a result, we created a service that enables the provision of comprehensive support before an employee is relocated, while they are working overseas, and when they are returning to Japan.
Instead of providing support only for relocation procedures, we have established a system that handles personal questions and anxieties, including providing information about the security of the destination country and information about shops which offer Japanese food.
We will continue to support people and companies working in many countries, thus contributing to the global expansion of Japanese companies.
Changes in the number of people living overseas long term
Source: Statistical Survey on Japanese Nationals Overseas, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, October 1, 2019
＜Related SDGs＞
These hotels and inns face many different problems, including a shortage of successors, aging facilities, poor readiness for information technologies and difficulties hiring and retaining human resources. They are obviously becoming less competitive due to lower profitability compared to large-scale facilities.The bankruptcy of a small- or medium-sized inn or hotel decreases the number of overnight accommodations and the attractiveness of tourist destinations. In addition, the young workforce seeking jobs will leave their region and move to more urban areas even though they are supposed to play key roles in regional economies. This accelerates the vicious cycle of depopulation.
We pay attention to these issues. Instead of development through new construction, we help facilities with many different problems so that they can achieve profitability and effectively use idle assets in an effort to increase the attractiveness of tourist destinations and prevent the young workforce from leaving. We have been working to resolve these regional issues.
We will continue to support projects rehabilitating resort hotels and inns leveraging our expertise in hotel operations and our Group's strengths.
＜Related SDGs＞
Small- and medium-sized businesses play an important role in supporting regional economies and employment. In recent years, some have been forced to close down despite profitability because of a lack of successors.It is estimated that a total of around 6.5 million jobs and approx. 22 trillion yen of GDP may be lost in the period up to 2025 if the current situation is not remedied.* The national government recognizes business succession as a social issue that must be quickly addressed, and is taking actions to address it. For example, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is actively encouraging mergers and acquisitions.
Since Tohto Co., Ltd. joined our Group as the first company acquired in an M&A deal in 2010, we have defined the rental management business as one of our strategic businesses. We have been expanding its business by continuously acquiring other rental management companies through M&A transactions.
Our basic M&A policy is to ensure that companies we acquire will maintain their names and structures centering on their current employees. We add our expertise and brand power to them to help them improve their service quality and work efficiency.
Our rental management business now operates not only in Tokyo and the surrounding suburban areas but also in Miyagi, Fukuoka, Osaka and other prefectures. More than 60 companies have joined our Group.We will continue to expand our business and help resolve the business succession problems faced by small and medium enterprises.
*The Small and Medium Enterprise Agency: Current State of M&A with Small and Medium Enterprises and Small Business Operators and Problems, November 7, 2019
Ages of managers of small and medium enterprises and small business operators in 2025*
Estimated based on the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' Unincorporated Enterprise Survey FY2016 and Teikoku Databank, Ltd.'s company outline files in FY2016
＜Related SDGs＞
ReloExcel, Inc., a Relo Group company, is commissioned by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to support the introduction and implementation of KEIEIJUKU management training programs for local business managers at Japan Centers* in Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyz Republic and other countries. Dispatching a large number of Japanese lecturers, we have been engaging in the project developing the people that will play central roles in the industry, include local business managers and executives.
Particularly in Vietnam, the company has been supporting the operations and management of the KEIEIJUKU program for more than a decade, since 2009. It has helped the country shift to a market economy.
This activity was recognized as helping to achieve goal 8 (Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all) and goal 9 (Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation) of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and ReloExcel, Inc. was certified as a JICA-SDGs partner in December 2021.We will carry out many different initiatives to help achieve the SDGs.
*Japan Centers are planned as bases for the development of business professionals and the creation of interpersonal networks with Japan as a part of JICA's "aid with a face" to countries shifting to a market economy.They have been opened in succession since 2000. There are now ten of these centers in nine countries in East Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and elsewhere. They support the development of business professionals and the construction of networks that include local managers and Japanese companies.
KEIEIJUKU training
*ReloExcel, Inc. is a subsidiary of Relo Group, Inc.
＜Related SDGs＞
Relo Club, Ltd., a Relo Group company, embarked on Fukuri Kosei Club services in 1993. It has since been supporting the lives of employees with welfare services and helping boost the vitality of these workers and their family members under the motto of offering welfare comparable with that for large companies to small and midsize businesses.
In the course of offering services, it received more and more inquiries from companies working on kenkokeiei® (health management). They sought specific measures for investing in health and, nowadays, solutions to new issues arising from longer working hours at home under the pandemic.
A food product company started tackling kenkokeiei as a new initiative after managing to reduce working hours through workstyle reforms. The initiative is aimed at boosting employees’ productivity and job satisfaction.
After several interviews, Relo Club found that the problem with the company was poor in-house recognition of kenkokeiei and that what was needed was to build up employees’ health literacy.
To address this problem, Relo Club created Relo Health Seminar Videos.
These are a set of videos separately designed for employees and for those in managerial positions. They cover 15 different subjects, such as women’s health issues, responses to older employees and sleep disorders. Using these videos, it is now possible to enhance staff’s understanding about health.
The videos have been well received, for several reasons. For example, they are appropriate to the current situation, where it is difficult to hold group training. They can be viewed by employees at overseas locations. And they deal with subjects that are associated with personal issues.
In addition, Relo Club created solutions for health maintenance and improvement activities, including the Relo Health Support App. It remotely encourages users to improve their health by addressing any lack of physical exercise or dietary issues during teleworking. It thus helps businesses and their employees with health management.
After these services were introduced to Relo Club itself, Relo Club was recognized under the 2022 Certified Health & Productivity Management Organizations Recognition Program in the large enterprise category. Its efforts to solve kenkokeiei problems in the corporate sector have earned high marks.
Relo Club will continue to serve enterprises in society and their employees in health development through various health-related business activities.
*The Japanese term kenkokeiei® (health management) is a registered trademark of Nonprofit Organization Kenkokeiei.
＜Related SDGs＞
The Relo Group has offices across Japan and their business is closely tied to the communities in which they are located.
The involvement of each business site and facility with the surrounding area enables them to coexist harmoniously with communities and contribute to their wellbeing.
- Disaster support
As a nationwide Tourism Business operator, RV believes that coexisting harmoniously with the communities in which it operates is essential to the growth of local tourism business.
During the torrential rain that struck western Japan in 2018, Hotel Kamogawaso in the city of Takehara in Hiroshima Prefecture did its utmost to assist by providing rescue workers with lodgings and the surrounding community with free access to its hot spring baths.
Other facilities are also actively engaged in support activities, such as making their facilities available to the general public in the event of a disaster and assisting evacuation centers.
- Participating in community cleanups
The Ekimae Real Estate Group, part of the Relo Group’s leasing management business, has assisted with disaster support efforts and organized volunteer activities. These activities are founded on an awareness of coexisting harmoniously with the community and consideration of the part each individual employee has to play in fostering that awareness.
An example of the Group’s volunteer activities was its participation in the community cleanup, which entailed picking up litter after the summer matsuri festival and fireworks display to make the streets look clean and tidy.
（Reference URL:https://www.ekimae-r-e-holdings.co.jp/csr/volunteer/）
When the Atami landslide disaster occurred in 2021, the Group delivered 350 baked goods handmade by pastry chefs from our Tourism Business facilities to people sheltering in evacuation centers.
Employees of the Ekimae Real Estate Group leasing management business cleaning up the neighborhood.
＜Related SDGs＞
Installation of EV vehicle chargers at all hotel facilities that have parking lots by 2025 (photo shows chargers installed at Yutorelo Yamaga)
Relo Vacations (hereafter “RV”), a Relo Group company, operates the Tourism Business nationwide, including a membership resort business, and resort hotel and inn management revitalization business.
RV has been seeking to make efficient use of resources by renovating and rebranding disused lodging facilities and corporate recreation facilities. However, operating these facilities has brought with it issues such as waste products, food loss, and CO2 emissions.
To tackle these issues, an internal project team has been formed to strengthen SDG initiatives.
Click here to learn more about RV’s initiatives to seriously implement SDGs
Initiatives to eliminate heavy fuel oil use
Our hotel operation business facilities will gradually transition away from heavy fuel oil boilers toward equipment that has a low environmental impact by 2026, cutting CO2 emissions.
The installation of this equipment at Yutorelo Nasushiobara and Beppu Fuga in November 2021 has already resulted in a significant reduction in the ratio of heavy fuel oil consumption.
We plan to install similar equipment at five facilities in 2022: Oku Nikko Hotel Shikisai, Yutorelo Garden Kita-Karuizawa, Yumori Kamaya, Merveille Hakone Gora, and Hotel Kamogawaso.
Yutorelo Nasushiobara Heat Pump Facility
SDGs stand (Amenity Bar) installed at 25 facilities (as of September 20, 2022), mainly Yutorelo brand facilities
Initiatives to eliminate use of plastics
We are working to eliminate our use of plastics, setting a goal of 50% reduction in plastic use by 2025.
In an effort to reduce the amount of waste that contains plastic, we ask that guests bring their own toothbrush, razor, hairbrush, and other personal care items with them. If they forget to bring something, they are asked to use only the supplies they need.
