Social Impact Research Launches SSBJ-Compliant 'Materiality Setting Support Service' to Redefine Investor-Focused Materiality, Enhance Dialogue Quality, and Elevate Corporate Value

Social Impact Research has launched a new service, the 'Materiality Focus Plan,' which analyzes corporate integrated reports, securities reports, mid-term management plans, and sustainability disclosures to redesign existing materiality from the perspective of corporate value creation.

This service anticipates compliance with the SSBJ standards by reorganizing the diverse material issues declared by companies based on corporate value assessment criteria such as revenue growth, margin improvement, ROIC enhancement, cost of capital reduction, competitive advantage, and long-term growth, transforming them into value-creation stories that resonate with investors.

Inquiry and application here

Under the SSBJ standards, materiality shifts from a 'list of social issues' to an 'explanation of impact on corporate value'

With the application of the SSBJ standards, companies are required to explain how sustainability-related risks and opportunities impact their financial position, business performance, and cash flows.

However, in many current companies, materiality is often organized as a comprehensive list of social issues such as environment, human rights, talent, quality, safety, local communities, and governance.

As a result, investors face the following challenges:

- Too many materiality items, making it difficult to see where management resources are being concentrated - Topics are socially important but weakly connected to corporate value - Numerous KPIs are not being used for management decisions or investor dialogue - Unclear relationship with mid-term management plans and financial targets - In integrated reports, the connection between non-financial and financial information is insufficiently explained

SIR addresses these challenges by redefining materiality not as mere disclosure items, but as a transformation device into corporate value.

What is 'Materiality Reconfiguration'?

'Materiality Reconfiguration' does not negate existing materiality.

Rather, it is a service that leverages the important issues companies have already organized, restructures them from the perspective of corporate value creation, and clarifies the key themes to which management resources should be concentrated.

SIR analyzes each materiality using the following six evaluation axes:

1. Revenue Growth Does it lead to new market development, new customer acquisition, or higher value-added offerings?

2. Margin Improvement Does it contribute to productivity enhancement, cost reduction, or operational efficiency?

3. Competitive Advantage Does it differentiate from competitors, create barriers to imitation, or enhance brand value?

4. Long-Term Growth Does it address future markets, regulatory changes, or social issue resolution?

5. ROIC Enhancement Does it improve investment efficiency, asset efficiency, or business portfolio optimization?

6. Cost of Capital Reduction Does it reduce risks, enhance trust, or improve disclosure transparency?

Through this approach, comprehensively listed materiality items are reorganized according to their impact on corporate value.

Redesigning Materiality with a Three-Layer Structure

This plan does not treat all materiality items equally, but instead organizes them into three layers based on their roles:

Strategic Materiality (Offensive Themes) Themes directly linked to growth, profitability, and competitive advantage

Foundational Materiality (Defensive Themes) Themes supporting trust, risk management, and business continuity

Management Items (Disclosure & Monitoring) Items for compliance, SSBJ alignment, and ongoing monitoring

This three-layer structure clearly distinguishes the key themes executives should communicate, the foundational themes that teams must execute consistently, and the items that require continuous disclosure and management.

Ideal for These Types of Companies

This service is suitable for companies that:

- Seek to review their materiality in response to SSBJ standards - Aim to strengthen the value-creation narrative in their integrated reports - Want to explain the connection between non-financial and financial performance to investors - Have too many materiality items and struggle to prioritize key themes - Wish to link human capital, climate change, natural capital, DX, and R&D to corporate value - Want to present sustainability as a growth strategy in IR materials and mid-term management plans

SIR CEO Statement

Takumi Kumazawa, Representative, Social Impact Research

'Compliance with the SSBJ standards is not just about disclosure. What matters most for companies is explaining how sustainability initiatives connect to corporate value. Traditional materiality has tended to comprehensively list social issues. However, investors don’t want to know that everything is being addressed—they want a clear story about which key issues management is prioritizing, and how these drive growth, profitability, competitive advantage, and risk reduction. With SIR’s Materiality Focus Plan, we redesign materiality from a value-creation perspective while leveraging existing disclosures, enhancing the quality of dialogue between management and investors.'

Company Overview

Social Impact Research Social Impact Research is a consulting firm that supports corporate sustainability, impact assessment, integrated reporting, non-financial information disclosure, and value-creation story development. We support companies in connecting non-financial capitals—such as human capital, intellectual capital, natural capital, and social capital—to corporate value indicators like revenue growth, margin improvement, ROIC enhancement, cost of capital reduction, and PBR improvement.

Contact Information

Social Impact Research Representative: Takumi Kumazawa Email: [email protected]

Inquiry and Application: https://forms.gle/cGY3CZu54RnthrRt5