Kureha to be Provided with Sustainability Information Disclosure Support Cloud "SmartESG" and AI-Powered Response Generation Service "Answer Ease"

Sherpa & Company, Inc. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Jun Sugimoto; hereinafter "Sherpa") is pleased to announce that as of June 1, 2026, it has begun providing Kureha Corporation (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Katsuyasu Mei; hereinafter "Kureha") with its sustainability information disclosure support cloud "SmartESG" and its AI-powered automatic response generation service "SmartESG Answer Ease" (hereinafter "Answer Ease").

Kureha practices its group corporate philosophy: "We value people and nature," "We continuously transform and grow," and "We contribute to the development of a sustainable society by creating valuable products and technologies." By creating the future through unique products and technologies, Kureha promotes the continuous improvement of economic value and contribution to solving social issues.

Kureha has decided to implement "SmartESG," and Sherpa began providing the "Database" function of "SmartESG" in June 2026. This will support the standardization and rationalization of sustainability information disclosure operations by centrally managing Kureha's internal sustainability information in the cloud and establishing a reproducible operational structure.

Furthermore, Kureha will utilize "Answer Ease" to respond to the "CSA (Corporate Sustainability Assessment)" operated by S&P Global, aiming to improve the efficiency of responding to assessment organizations using AI. Sherpa is a certified partner of S&P Global (Note 1), and since "SmartESG" achieves API integration with the "CSA" portal (Note 2), it enables end-to-end support on the "SmartESG" platform, from generating response drafts to submission.

Through the provision of "SmartESG," Sherpa will support the further advancement of sustainability management for its client companies.

(Note 1) Sherpa Certified as S&P Global's First Certified Partner in APAC, Strengthening Linkage Between "Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA)" and "SmartESG" https://smartesg.jp/news/20250529

(Note 2) Sherpa Initiates API Integration with S&P Global's Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) Platform https://cierpa.co.jp/posts/qDRw4nnh

About "SmartESG"

"SmartESG" is a sustainability data platform that supports the entire process from data collection, management, and analysis to disclosure required for corporate sustainability information disclosure. It centrally manages scattered ESG and non-financial data within a company, realizing the standardization and efficiency of information collection processes across the entire organization, including group companies, while supporting strategic sustainability management that responds to increasingly sophisticated disclosure requests.

"SmartESG" consists of the "Database" and "Workflow" functions for data collection and management, the "Focus" and "Benchmark" functions for analysis, and the "Reporting" function for creating disclosure content, comprehensively supporting operations related to sustainability information disclosure. It supports major disclosure standards and frameworks such as SSBJ and ESRS, and enables efficient response to increasingly complex disclosure requirements through AI-driven information analysis and insight generation.

By utilizing "SmartESG," companies can improve the efficiency of disclosure operations, strengthen data governance, build a highly reliable information foundation necessary for dialogue with investors and stakeholders, and achieve advanced sustainability management and increased corporate value.

SmartESG Website: https://smartesg.jp/

About "SmartESG Answer Ease"

"Answer Ease" is an assist function that automatically generates draft responses to sustainability-related questionnaires based on a company's existing data using AI. By utilizing AI as an assistant in responding to sustainability and ESG-related questionnaires, which require significant time and effort, it reduces the workload and achieves substantial efficiency improvements. Furthermore, it presents reference sources for the response drafts, taking into account measures against hallucinations and ensuring accuracy.

Answer Ease Website: https://smartesg.jp/answerease

Company Overview

Company Name: Sherpa & Company, Inc. Representative: CEO Jun Sugimoto Location: 3-6-32 Nishi-Gotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo TERRACE SITE GOTANDA 1F Established: September 2019 Capital: 100 million yen Business: Development and provision of the sustainability information disclosure support cloud "SmartESG," operation of the ESG/sustainability-focused media "ESG Journal Japan," and provision of consulting services "ESG Advisory" by sustainability experts.

Sherpa & Company Corporate Website: https://cierpa.co.jp/

Recruitment Site: https://cierpa.co.jp/recruit