Pokka Sapporo Food & Beverage's Health Management Initiatives
POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage Health Creation Declaration
For POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage to be a strong and good company for our employees, their families, and our customers, it is vital that we all take care of our health.
It is only when we are healthy and full of energy that we can continue to create new "deliciousness" successively. When we ourselves are full of vitality, our products and services become more attractive. Let us create happiness for us and our customers by being a strong and good company.
Masashi Sato
President and Representative Director of POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage
Pokka Sapporo Food & Beverage's Sustainability Policy and Health Management
POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage aims to "contribute to the health and well-being of its customers through its products and services" as a food and beverage manufacturer, striving to deliver genuine health value to society. To achieve this, the company believes that it is important for each and every employee to face, practice, and feel health and to be able to talk about health in their own words. Based on this belief, the company is strengthening its efforts under key phrase "health management that can be talked about," which represents the "H" in Pokka Sapporo Food & Beverage's Sustainability H+ESG policy.
The targets are to achieve a work engagement deviation score of 54.0 or higher and a presenteeism rate of 35% or lower by 2026.
To advance its efforts, POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage coordinates with the Sapporo Group Secretariat for Health Management Promotion, Area Health Nurses, its Corporate Planning Department, and the Strategic Departments for each business. Additionally, at the Company-wide Health and Safety Committee, which is composed of representatives from the company and the labor union, the company develops plans at the beginning of the year and review progress every six months. For promoting initiatives at each site, in addition to the site-specific Health and Safety Committees and Promotion Supervisors, each department has appointed Sustainability Promotion Leaders as planning and promotion partners. Together, these efforts aim to achieve "health management that can be talked about."
- To drive company-wide sustainability efforts, several "Sustainability Promotion Leaders" are appointed in each department.
Promotion system
Action Guidelines
The items with significant challenges in achieving the KPIs for 2026 have been designated as priority focus areas.
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Pokka Sapporo Food & Beverage's Health Management Activity Policy for 2026
The company will promote health management by leveraging the knowledge and expertise it has accumulated through its business activities, as well as initiatives to support the mental and physical health of its customers.
Priority themes: ◎Promotion of exercise habits, ◎Optimization of blood pressure, tobacco control measures, and mental health -
Company-wide Safety and Health Committee Activity Guidelines for 2026
Based on the Sapporo Group Health Creation Declaration and the Medium-Term Health and Productivity Management Plan, we aim to create a workplace environment where employees can work with safety and peace of mind.
[Items to be fully implemented]
- Eliminate distracted driving and reduce dangerous behavior and accidents using new telematics: Zero distracted driving accidents and violations
- Promoting paid leave usage: Average of 15 days or more in FY2026 (April 2026 to March 2027)
- Promotion initiatives ⇒ Promoting health improvement and learning as the foundation for challenges, combined with self-life stage leave
- Promotion of health checkups for lifestyle-related diseases: 100% participation for those aged 40 and over, 90% for those aged 35 and over, and 50% for gynecological checkups (under 35)
[Ongoing]
- Exercise habits (twice a week, 30+ minutes per session):
KPI achievement (over 50%) and promotion of cafeteria plan usage - Mental health: Increasing awareness of counseling services
Cultivating a Workplace Culture Where Diverse Employees Support Each Other’s Efforts Toward Health and Well-being
As highlighted by the key phrase "health management that can be talked about," POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage believes that when employees engage in serious yet enjoyable discussions about health both inside and outside the workplace, it enhances the value of human capital and social capital. This, in turn, leads to greater health value in products and services and supporting sustainable business activities.
POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage aims to cultivate a workplace culture where each diverse employee supports one another's health efforts and promotes changes in awareness and behavior. By doing so, the company seeks to improve the Key Goal Indicator of work engagement and reduce losses due to presenteeism.
<Key Initiatives and Implementation Rates>
In 2025, POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage held a live event titled “Health Management in Conversation with the President,” delivering top-level messages and sharing the president's own health initiatives with employees.
In the “personal goal setting for health management that can be talked about" initiative, ongoing since 2022, over 90% of employees have set personal goals for four consecutive years. The company fosters a sense of ownership over health by creating opportunities within departments for employees to discuss and support each other in setting goals for maintaining and improving their individual health. Starting in 2024, as part of its efforts to create an environment supporting primary and secondary prevention of hypertension, the company is implementing the “Office Lemon” initiative. This involves keeping “Pokka Lemon 100” readily available in shared refrigerators at all locations to support healthy eating habits in the workplace.
Furthermore, POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage holds health management seminars every year for sustainability promotion leaders in each department. These leaders, selected for their significant influence within their departments, serve as partners in disseminating the concept of "health management that can be talked about" throughout their teams.
In addition, the company is working to enhance workplace communication through various initiatives such as the President's Caravan, where the president personally visits and engages in direct dialogues with all sites, psychological safety training, and 1-on-1 communication measures.
Ensuring the Health Maintenance and Improvement of Each Individual
To enable a diverse workforce to create new value continuously with vibrant, positive energy while maintaining physical and mental well-being, it is necessary to ensure each individual's reliable health maintenance and improvement, as well as secure work-life balance. Based on this belief, POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage is implementing initiatives to enhance the accuracy of both the high-risk approach and the population approach.
<Key initiatives and participation status>
Based on the Sapporo Group Strategy Map's concept of protecting employees' life, POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage is promoting thorough participation in health checkups for lifestyle-related diseases, gynecological checkups, and follow-up examinations for those requiring detailed tests for early disease detection.
Priority Initiative 1: Prevention of Serious Illnesses Despite -- Being a longstanding focus, absences due to diseases potentially related to lifestyle habits have not decreased. A closer look at specific categories reveals a significant number of employees with high vascular risk. Both the rate of specific health guidance implementation and the proportion of individuals requiring such guidance have stagnated somewhat since 2021. To strengthen the approach toward high-risk individuals, POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage is working to improve the implementation rate of specific health guidance and reduce the percentage of individuals requiring it. In 2024, the company introduced a seminar for individuals eligible for specific health guidance based on internal case studies. Additionally, the Pokka Sapporo Health Derby, a program where participants compete to reduce visceral fat and gradually lose weight at a healthy pace, was launched.
Priority Initiative 2: Promoting the Use of Paid Leave -- In terms of ensuring work-life balance, while some progress has been made in reducing long working hours, there was a concern that the rate of paid leave utilization had stagnated compared to previous years. At the 2023 Company-wide Health and Safety Committee meeting, a desired state and target for 2026 were established, and efforts are being accelerated. In 2024, the number of days increased by 1.3 days compared to the previous year, achieving the annual target of 13 days.
Target: 15 days (KPI for 2026)
Desired state: Employees proactively utilize their vacation time to maintain and enhance their physical and mental health (resting and exercising) and for self-development such as reskilling. This contributes to the further enrichment and growth of each employee's life and work.
Measures: Strictly enforce taking 5 days of vacation per half-year, set recommended paid leave days per department, strengthen communication, etc.
Priority Initiative 3: Reducing the Smoking Rate -- While prioritizing efforts to protect employees' lives, the company is strengthening top-down initiatives in light of the current stagnation in smoking rate reduction. Starting in 2024, the company has been issuing messages from management and encouraging executives to participate in smoking cessation challenges. Additionally, it has strengthened individual approaches by conducting surveys of all smokers and offering personalized support through the health and safety committees at each location for those expressing intentions to quit or reduce smoking.
Also, as part of approaches to all employees, POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage is actively participating in initiatives such as the Sapporo Group Lifestyle Improvement Campaign, the Sapporo Breweries Health Insurance Society’s Walking Campaign, and health e-learning programs.
- Number of participants in Lifestyle Improvement Campaign (Pokka Sapporo Food & Beverage only): 899 in 2024, 921 in 2023, 787 in 2022
- Number of participants in Sapporo Breweries Health Insurance Society’s Walking Campaign (Pokka Sapporo Food & Beverage only): 357 in 2024, 365 in 2023, 399 people in 2022
- Number of participants in Women's Health e-Learning Program: 729 in2024, 483 in 2023, 627 in 2022
- Response rate to the survey for smokers: 72% in 2024
- Participation rate in Lifestyle Improvement Seminars (for individuals eligible for specific health guidance): 82% in 2024
<Performance indicators>
The employee survey integrating stress checks and engagement surveys achieved a 100% response rate in 2025.
Work engagement (deviation score) and presenteeism losses, which are focused on as final indicators, have also shown year-over-year improvement.
In response to the question, “Does the company provide support for employees to lead healthy lives?”, the combined percentage of respondents who answered “strongly agree” or “somewhat agree” increased from 84% of employees in 2024 to 88% in 2025.
By continuing to cultivate a workplace culture that supports the health of each diverse individual, POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage aims to further enhance these figures.
| Number of people surveyed | Response rate | Work engagement (deviation score) |
Support from others (deviation score) |
Environment and situation in the company and work (deviation score) |
Work-life balance: Enrichment of personal life through work (deviation score) |
Work-life balance: Impairment of personal life due to work (deviation score) |
Presenteeism (%) * |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1016 | 98.3% | 52.3 | 52.9 | 52 | 52.2 | 49.4 | 36.8 |
| 2022 | 1054 | 96.6% | 52.2 | 52.9 | 52 | 52.2 | 49.3 | 35.9 |
| 2023 | 1060 | 96.7% | 52.5 | 53.5 | 52.4 | 52.5 | 50 | 35.5 |
| 2024 | 994 | 99.4% | 53.2 | 54.0 | 53.6 | 52.9 | 50.8 | 34.6 |
| 2025 | 895 | 100.0% | 53.3 | 54 | 53.9 | 53.4 | 51.4 | 34.4 |
※ The deviation scores are calculated based on data collected over a specific period from companies and organizations participating in the survey by the research firm. Work engagement is measured using the research firm's own methodology.
- * Presenteeism (labor loss: %) = 100% - Absolute Presenteeism (calculated based on Question 3 of WHO-HPQ (Health and Work Performance Questionnaire))
<Progress on Key Priorities>
The participation rates in lifestyle-related disease screenings and in gynecological screenings have been steadily increasing year by year.
However, the implementation rate of specific health guidance remains a challenge. To address this, we have begun efforts in 2024 to fully internalize health guidance services and other related initiatives.
| FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | KPI (2026) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participation rate for lifestyle-related health check-ups (over 40 years old) | 84% | 92% | 93% | 95% | 100% | |
| Participation rate for gynecological check-ups (under 35 years old) | 26% | 32% | 61% | 70.5% | Over 50% (all ages) |
|
| Percentage of employees eligible for specific health guidance (over 40 years old) | 30.5% | 29.2% | 24.7% | 27.4% | 21.6% | Less than 20% |
| Percentage of implementation of specific health guidance | 32.5% | 32.5% | 34.5% | 53.8% | Over 55% | |
| Percentage of employees who smoke | 21% | 20% | 21% | 20% | 17% | Less than 12% |
| Average days of paid leave taken | 8.3 days | 9.4 days | 11.9 days | 13.2 days | 13.7 days | 15 days |
Expanding POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage's 'Health Management That Can Be Talked About' Both Internally and Externally
Pokka Sapporo offers many products made from lemons, and is particularly focused on health awareness initiatives centered on lemons.
・Bone Health
at TOYOTA FINANCE CORPORATION
As part of its original initiatives, Pokka Sapporo has been measuring bone density during employee health checkups in collaboration with the Osteoporosis Foundation since 2021.
In 2023, more than 700 employees, including those at group companies, have had their bone density measured, and the awareness rate of knowledge about "lemon and bone health" at sites where multiple measurements have been taken has increased from 55% (in 2021) to 65% in Tokyo and from 55% (in 2022) to 71% in Aichi. Furthermore, the number of employees who have adopted the program in their daily lives increased from 11% (in 2021) to 19% in Tokyo and from 18% (in 2022) to 25% in Aichi, indicating that ongoing efforts not only raise awareness of bone health but also lead to employees' behavioral changes.
Beyond the company, we also conduct bone density measurements and dietary education activities in collaboration with partner companies and local governments.
・Food Education Activities
As part of its efforts to convey the appeal of lemons as a food ingredient to a broad audience and inspire interest in food and health, POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage conducts nutrition education activities at elementary schools and provides lectures on lemons and health to our partner companies.
・Lemon Certification Test
The in-house certification program 'Lemon Certification Test,' which has been conducted since 2013, was renamed the 'Healthy Lemon Certification Test' in 2021. The content was expanded to include not only knowledge about lemons but also information from the National Health and Nutrition Survey and the Dietary Balance Guide. The program aims to ensure that employees gain a comprehensive understanding of healthy eating habits and can discuss the health benefits of lemons.
・Research Findings
POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage, a leading company in lemon juice, aims to deliver the full value of whole lemons based on evidence from research activities. Recent achievements include reports on the following topics: in September 2023, 'The Effects of Lemon Juice Intake on the Secretion of the Love Hormone (Oxytocin) and Psychological State in Healthy Individuals,' and in July 2024, 'Effects of Regular Lemon Intake on Lifestyle-Related Disease Indicators in Adults.'
Details and Response Regarding Occupational Accidents
Initiatives in the Production Sites
The SCM headquarter leads efforts to achieve zero occupational accidents. We have implemented a system to immediately disseminate information about incidents to all breweries. Each workplace conducts risk assessments for disaster prevention and provides employee training and education to address similar risks.
As of August 2024, there has been one occupational accident (back pain, with leave of absence).
<2025 Goals and Results>
Enhancing Safety Awareness
・Placing key personnel at the center of activities to further invigorate awareness campaigns and promote the acquisition of safety knowledge:
Implemented at all breweries and ongoing
・Operating a safety calendar (schedule) to thoroughly implement safety activities throughout the year:
Implemented at all breweries and ongoing
Company-Wide Initiatives
Starting in 2024, as part of age-friendly initiatives, POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage has conducted locomotion checks for all employees aged 65 and over.
Goal: To provide time for individuals to assess their own health status and consider measures for reducing health risks and prevention, and to establish a relationship where they can consult with occupational health nurses individually about health-related issues.