Social Contribution Activities in Various Regions

Since 2012, Brother has been recruiting pro bono workers from among BIL's employees and assisting entrepreneurs by using their skills and experience gained from work, and also has been providing opportunities to learn about solutions to social challenges through business.

The employees who involved in the seminar as pro bono workers are allowed to spend a total of 50 working hours in six months on the activity. While using time outside of working hours as well, they taught these entrepreneurs how to narrow down goals, calculate profits and losses, formulate strategies to enhance the value of the services they provide, and perform market studies, by utilizing their skills and experience.

At the briefing on the pro bono activities held for BIL employees in March 2019, the pro bono employees reported that they had gained a wider perspective by supporting the entrepreneurs and had been motivated by interacting with people with different values. They also said that the pro bono experience was a valuable opportunity to test their ability in a wide range of areas.

The briefing was scheduled for March 2020, but was postponed in order to help combat the spread of COVID-19. We plan to hold the briefing together with the FY2020 Tokai Young Entrepreneur Seminar.

BIL will continue to cosponsor this seminar, which aims to support young entrepreneurs who tackle social challenges and community revitalization through their businesses, and contribute to society through pro bono work by employees, and at the same time, increase opportunities for employees to learn and grow further to address social challenges through business.

Brother International (Aust.) Pty. Ltd. (BIA) took part in the "Cooking for a Cause" event at food rescue charity OzHarvest in August 2019 to prepare and deliver meals to vulnerable people.

In Australia, four million tonnes of food are wasted each year, yet two million people still rely on food relief every year.
OzHarvest is the first food rescue organization in Australia collecting quality excess food from commercial outlets and delivering it, direct and free of charge, to 600 charities across the country. Rescued ingredients are either close to or at the best before date and perfectly edible and safe. OzHarvest collects these ingredients and makes meals for the underprivileged, thereby reducing waste to landfill and helping people.

BIA staff and their families volunteered to take part in the food rescue program. After a few hours of cooking under the guidance of the OzHarvest Chefs, 150 delicious and nutritious meals were delivered the same day to a homeless refuge and crisis center.

BIA's marketing coordinator said: "It was great to have experienced chefs work with us to create delicious meals for those in need - out of food that would otherwise have been thrown away. Volunteering for OzHarvest has certainly made me stop and think about what I can do to minimize food wastage."

This is the seventh OzHarvest social contribution event that BIA has taken part in and it has prepared over 1,000 meals during this time.
BIA will continuously support people in need, always considering how to solve social challenges and contribute to its local community.

Xing Inc. (Xing) has been supporting "Nijinokai^*," a public interest incorporated association, since 2014.

Nijinokai was established in 1979 jointly by many entertainers and intellectuals with the aim of promoting healthy living for the elderly and the healthy development of children. The "rainbow caravan" is its main activity in which Nijinokai staff visit welfare facilities for the elderly across Japan and enjoy dance and music with residents to make them feel more alive. As of March 2020, the rainbow caravan had visited more than 4,550 facilities since its launch in 1987.

Xing employees have traveled with this caravan to help provide an enjoyable time for the elderly, bringing "Kenko Okoku," Xing's musical healing content that combines songs, dances, and exercises and assisting with set up and operation of audio equipment. A resident who enjoyed this content said: "Nostalgic songs make me feel at ease, energetic and young again. I hope Xing continues this activity."

Nijinokai has launched a presymptomatic disease control program designed to help prevent dementia and also been developing health welfare and music therapists who give tailored guidance to each elderly person on how to avoid developing dementia or being in need of care. As of March 2020, more than 400 qualified health welfare and music therapists were actively working in nursing homes or as welfare counselors throughout Japan. To assist these efforts, Xing has been cooperating with the management of Nijinokai's health welfare and music therapist training seminar by selecting venues and receiving applications in local communities, and data collection and research to verify the medical effectiveness of the program.

Xing will continually help solve social challenges to improve the quality of life for the elderly and extend healthy life expectancy.

• Official website of Nijinokai: http://www.nijinokai.or.jp/ This website is available only in Japanese. (External site)
• At present, the schedule for these activities has been postponed or adjusted in consideration of preventing the spread of COVID-19.

The Republic of South Africa has been promoting the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) policy, which aims to empower historically disadvantaged South Africans, by enhancing their economic participation, providing them with equal economic opportunities, and restoring their status.

Brother International S.A. (PTY) Ltd. (BI S.A.) has been supporting the Youth Employment Service (Y.E.S) program, a B-BBEE initiative, providing young people disadvantaged in the labor market with job training for 12 months at BI S.A. offices and various other institutions. The company absorbs those recognized for their excellence as permanent employees. In FY2019, BI S.A. accepted 14 interns aged from 18 to 35 and they were trained in finance, sales and marketing, warehouse management and other operational aspects.
Through this internship, BI S.A. has been helping the country develop socioeconomically and underprivileged young people acquire skills because, according to research, a 12-month work experience gives a person an 80% chance of finding employment elsewhere.

In addition, BI S.A. has been actively promoting historically disadvantaged South Africans in management positions, and now they comprise 50% of the company's managers.

• BI S.A.'s B-BBEE targets and Broad-Based BEE Verification Certificate [PDF/484KB]

BI S.A. will continue to help solve the social challenge of boosting the employment of underprivileged youth.