What Is SFP-ESS?

The Sustainable Finance Platform - Engagement Support Service (SFP-ESS)
is a digital platform that aims to foster mutual understanding between listed companies and asset management companies, facilitate effective, efficient communication, and contribute to the further development of ESG investment and markets.

Service Benefits

Benefits to Listed Companies

Information can be disclosed according to asset management companies’ needs
Compliance with existing shareholders’ needs facilitates consensus within the company

Benefits to Asset management Companies

Ability to share disclosure needs with many listed companies
Easy collection of necessary data

Service Introduction

For Listed Companies

In the midst of growing interest in ESG investment, do you have any problems like these?

There is a lack of opportunities where companies can demonstrate the progressof their initiatives to external parties
The process of consensus building for information disclosure is not going smoothly in the company
It takes a lot of time to identify ESG information prioritized by asset management companies and take actions in response

For Asset management Companies

Do you have any problems like these with responsible investment?

Not enough ESG information is disclosed and made available by listed companies
It takes a lot of time to collect ESG information from current and future investment-target companies
Lack of uniformity in standards for ESG items makes it difficult to compare companies

By connecting asset management companies and listed companies through a digital platform, we can deepen mutual understanding and achieve effective engagement.

Seeking to directly join investment firms and listed companies, so that they can deepen mutual understanding and achieve effective engagement.

Downloadable materials that provide an introduction to the service are available here.

Leaflet for listed companies

Download
Leaflet for asset management companies

Download

Services Overview

Since October 2023, we have been focusing on our disclosure-promotion service, which provides our core value to our customers, and have been providing beta versions of our services. Our services help make the stewardship activities of asset management companies and the ESG activities of listed companies more efficient and comprehensive.
We plan to continue expanding our service offerings in the future.

Overview of Services for asset management companies

Provided service	Description	Service option
Disclosure promotion service	• Asset management companies can provide listed companies^* with information about the ESG items that the firms prioritize when making investment decisions or performing engagement activities, as well as information about the background and reasons why they prioritize those items. • Asset management companies can confirm how frequently their information has been viewed by listed companies, so they can check the degree of interest demonstrated by listed companies. This will contribute to effective communication with listed companies. • Users can identify the overall trends in items prioritize by participating asset management companies.	Share priority items
		Check the degree of interest in priority items
		Check trends in priorities
ESG database service	• Asset management companies can view and collect ESG information registered directly by listed companies. • Asset management companies can perform side-by-side comparison or time-series comparison of ESG information of multiple companies by using a normalized data format. • Asset management companies can use a dashboard to generate reports on analysis results.	View and collect ESG information
		Analysis support tool
		Reporting
Communication support service	• Records of dialogues with listed companies about ESG problems can be classified by stage, enabling asset management companies to perform progress management. • Asset management companies don’t just keep the records of their engagement (such as information about themes/goals and records of dialogues) in house, they share those records with listed companies with whom they have engagement, so both of the parties can check those records to ensure that they both have the same understanding about the engagement details. This will contribute to more constructive dialogues between them.	Milestone management
		Records of dialogues
		Questions
		Reporting

Such companies are considered as companies invested in by asset management companies and can also be considered as all the companies that use this platform regardless of whether they are currently invested in by those firms.

Bold blue text: Service options available in the beta version

Overview of Services for Listed Companies

Provided service	Description	Service option
Disclosure promotion service	• Listed companies can identify ESG items that asset management companies prioritize when making investment decisions or performing engagement activities, as well as understand the background and reasons why those firms prioritize those items. • Listed companies can identify the trends in items prioritized by asset management companies in general and view the opinions of individual asset management companies. Listed companies will be able to take advantage of such information when discussing their disclosure items and materiality and building consensus inside the company.	View priority items
Disclosure promotion service		View priority items (background/reasons)
ESG database service	• Listed companies can directly register their ESG information along with numeric values and annotations and thereby disclose the information to a wide range of asset management companies. • Listed companies can view and use ESG information from other companies for benchmarking purposes. • Listed companies can provide information such as answers to questions about disclosure information that are frequently asked by asset management companies. By using a format similar to bulletin boards^*, listed companies will be able to disclose the information to a wide range of asset management companies, so the companies can save time to answer questions individually.	Register and disclose ESG information
		View information disclosed by other companies
		FAQs and supplementary information
Communication support service	• If asset management companies register and disclose records of their engagement with listed companies (for example, information about themes/goals and records of dialogues), listed companies can view those records. • Listed companies can keep a record of individual questions that they exchanged with asset management companies, so they will be able to confirm that both of those parties have the same understanding prior to engagement.	Milestone inquiry
		Records of dialogues
		Questions

Listed companies can provide information about FAQs (frequently asked questions and common questions) to a wide range of audience.

Bold blue text: Service options available in the beta version

Pricing

SFP-ESS for Listed Company (service functionality for listed companies): JPY 600,000 per year (consumption tax, etc. not included)

SFP-ESS for Asset Manager (service functionality for asset management companies): JPY 400,000 per year (consumption tax, etc. not included)

Period of use: October 2023 to March 2025

• Note: If a request to terminate usage is received from a user company after usage has already begun, the usage fees cannot be reduced or refunded.
• If an application is received after Oct. 2023, the period of use covered by the agreement will be shorter than the usual period. In such a case, the usage fee will be reduced according to the period of use.
• This service is available as a beta version. Service content and service fees are subject to change for the period beginning in April 2025.

Operating environment

OS	Windows 10
Browser	Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome
Communications	Internet access
Mailer	Any
Spreadsheet software	Microsoft Excel 2021 or later (for the desktop app version) Microsoft Excel 2306 or later (for the Microsoft 365 Apps version)