Sustainability

Bandai Namco Entertainment
seeks to become a company
that delivers
dreams, fun, and inspiration
through sustainable activities.

Participate with industry in the Playing for the Planet Alliance addressing climate change

Bandai Namco Entertainment is a member of Playing For The Planet Alliance established at the UN Climate Action Summit 2019. As with fiscal 2021, in fiscal 2022 we participated in Green Game Jam organized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) through the PAC-MAN smartphone game app. We held an in-game event called Play for the Forest to convey the importance of forest restoration, and we encouraged the use of the Ecosia search engine that plants trees with ad revenue from keyword searches.
In addition, Bandai Namco Entertainment America received the Jam Spirit Award* for fiscal 2023 in recognition of its participation in Green Game Jam for the third consecutive year and its contributions. *This award is presented to companies participating in the Green Game Jam that consistently incorporate reforestation efforts into their games and do not neglect to improve their level.

Reducing CO2 emissions by migrating all on-premise servers to the cloud

Bandai Namco Entertainment has migrated all of its computing services*1 using its on-premise data center to the cloud with the objective of reducing power consumption and waste. This has increased computing efficiency in operations at scale. The amount of CO2 emissions reduced through this change totals more than approximately 2,400 t-CO2 per year*2. *1 Services such as storage, network, database, and software. *2 Assumes an average usage rate of 30%.

Initiatives involving THE IDOLM@STER SHINY COLORS and the Ministry of the Environment

From April to August 2023, as a collaborative initiative between THE IDOLM@STER SHINY COLORS and Japan’s Ministry of the Environment, Houkago Climax Girls, which is affiliated with 283 Productions, is the focus of PR initiatives related to plastic recycling.
Agenda 283, an in-game event scenario, utilizes regional clean-up activities. Participants implement initiatives to support nature and plastic recycling while studying and discussing the issue of plastic garbage in the oceans.
There is an educational video that publicizes the promotion of plastic reduction and recycling, with idol Rinze Morino, who was elected from among the Houkago Climax Girls members, serving as navigator.
To view the video, click the link below.
Educational video on reducing and recycling plastics(external website available in Japanese only)

Promote initiatives to enhance quality and safety awareness

To maintain and improve the quality of products and services, it is important to heighten the awareness of individual employees toward quality and safety, as well as establish a workplace with correct manufacturing knowledge and know-how, where employees take voluntary action to enhance quality.
The Digital Business and the Toys and Hobby Business, which form part of the Bandai Namco Group Entertainment Unit, jointly held the Product Safety Forum: Exhibition for Product Safety and Quality. The forum exhibited quality control initiatives for physical products such as toys and for digital products such as games. The purpose of the forum is to share knowledge within the Entertainment Unit and use it for further improving quality and product development, based on the recently emerging need for the fusion of digital and physical realms. In recent years, taking into account the COVID-19 pandemic and to share case studies with a larger audience, the forum has featured a virtual reality venue, and the exhibitions have been expanded to include general sustainability activities, including quality improvement.

Initiatives for accessible game development

Bandai Namco Entertainment is adding functions to its games to ensure accessibility with the aim of developing games that can be enjoyed by everyone.
As one example, we use a color vision simulator during development so that color-blind people who have difficulty seeing certain colors can play the game without any problems. In addition to this, we are promoting the development of games that are accessible for more people through, for example, functions that allow the player to adjust the brightness of the game and add subtitles for in-game audio. We are also creating internal guidelines that outline recommended ways to implement these functions.

Examples of implemented accessibility-related functions

Online Game Safety Guide for Minors and Parents/Guardians

Online games have seen an increasing number of underaged players, including elementary and junior high school students. This has led to increased trouble at home, and a steadily rising number of inquiries related to billing in particular.
To ensure that users can play with peace of mind, we published the Online Game Safety Guide page for minors and their parents or guardians on Bandai Namco Entertainment’s official website in December 2022 and Bandai Namco Online’s official website in January 2023. For minors, we have devised ways to incorporate manga to make the guide more approachable, and we also introduce the guide in our games. This ensures that a wide range of users read it.

Bandai Namco Entertainment: Online Game Safety Guide(in Japanese only)

For minors For parents and guardians

Promoting IP-driven initiatives: Gundam Open Innovation

The Bandai Namco Group has been implementing the Gundam Open Innovation project since fiscal 2021 to solicit new ideas and technologies aimed at addressing population and global environmental issues.
The Mobile Suit Gundam series, which inspired the project’s name, takes place in the Universal Century, a fictional age when humankind has immigrated throughout the universe. In the series, a number of social issues that translate to modern society were identified, including explosive population growth and a deteriorating global environment. The grand worldviews of Gundam contain new undiscovered technologies and possibilities that can help resolve these social issues. As a result, Bandai Namco launched this project which seeks to build and realize a society of the future with human innovations desired by humankind based on the Universal Century.
Under the project, we are broadly recruiting experts, innovators, research institutes, and cutting-edge companies in various fields as partners to help us achieve this exciting future.
To learn more, click here.

Resolving social issues through the use of games

Over a three-year period from 2020, Bandai Namco Entertainment and Bandai Namco Studios implemented a joint initiative with the Aoyama Gakuin University Project Research Institute (Solving Social Problems through Intellectual Properties (SSP-IP)). This initiative engaged in research into the possibility of addressing social issues through the use of games. Practical research was implemented in such areas as enhancing accessibility, considering political correctness, and recommending diversity and inclusion. Information was widely communicated to society, such as through symposiums and publications.

Initiatives to energize communication among employees

With the diversification of working styles and the increased use of telework, opportunities for face-to-face communication in the workplace are declining. In this context, Bandai Namco Group companies are actively working to energize communication to improve employee engagement.
Bandai Namco Entertainment has launched the Minna-no-Ogori (treat for you from everyone) Vending Machine initiative with the aim of promoting communication among employees. The Minna-no-Ogori Vending Machine is a unique vending machine where two employees can receive a free beverage if they touch a dedicated card to the vending machine’s sensor at the same time. This initiative was started with the hope that the vending machine will provide opportunities for employees to talk to each other. In addition, we are promoting interaction among employees through various measures, such as regularly holding Tsunaga (let’s connect) Lobby, a communication event where employees can gather and interact.

Support the health and welfare of American children

At Bandai Namco Toys & Collectibles America, in 1995, we established the Bandai Foundation, a non-profit organization that implements philanthropy programs in the United States. Since then, through the foundation, we have provided assistance in various forms, including charity donations focused on children’s health and welfare.
In fiscal 2021, the foundation partnered with Bandai Namco Entertainment America to establish the PAC-MAN Takes a Bite out of Hunger campaign. Following the establishment of a new Bandai Namco Group office in Irvine, California, the foundation provided a donation to the local food bank and provided funding to set up a sustainable farm to ease food shortages in southern California.
Going forward, we will continue providing assistance so that children and their families can live better lives.

Local revitalization with the power of our IP!

The Bandai Namco Group is actively promoting local revitalization utilizing its IP.
In this activity, THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS idol Fujiwara Hajime, who likes pottery, is a Bizen ware idol who communicates the appeal of and information about Bizen ware. Three idol units from THE IDOLM@STER MILLION LIVE!—Sun, Moon, and Stars—are the focus of PR activities about the appeal of Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture, which is working on city development initiatives with a theme of the universe. We are implementing these types of regional revitalization initiatives that leverage IP.

Support children’s dreams through outreach classes led by professional athletes

Shimane Susanoo Magic, a professional basketball team partly managed by Bandai Namco Entertainment, hosts the Dream Class, where its basketball players visit kindergartens, nursery schools, and elementary schools in Shimane Prefecture to talk with the children about their dreams for the future.
In addition, with the aim of contributing to Matsue City, we actively engage in PR activities for various measures, such as promoting reflective materials, eradicating violence, and activities for the Central Community Chest of Japan.