Participation in the TNFD Nature Transition Plan Pilot Programme Developing a Nature Transition Plan for New Belgium Brewing's High Water-Risk Brewery

TOKYO, November 18, 2025 -Kirin Holdings Company, Limited (Kirin Holdings) has participated in the TNFD*1 Nature Transition Plan Pilot Program and developed a Nature Transition Plan at New Belgium Brewing’s Fort Collins brewery, one of the Kirin Group’s breweries with high water-related risk*2.
*1 Abbreviation for Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures. A framework for risk management disclosure enabling companies to report and act on risks and opportunities related to natural capital.
*2 Refers to various water-related risks, including physical risks (such as water scarcity and flooding) and reputational risks (risks concerning reputation).

Fort Collins Brewery draws water from the Cache La Poudre watershed, an area with high water-related risk, making its dependency and impact one of the priority nature-related issues. This precious water resource is also heavily used by the local communities, agriculture, and industry, creating high demand and making water security a shared challenge among multiple stakeholders in the watershed. In recent years, climate change and population growth have further increased water demand, and the cost of water withdrawals in this region has been gradually rising since 2006. For the people and ecosystems living in this watershed, water-related risks are expected to become even more significant in the future.

Through participation in the TNFD Pilot Program, we have developed a Nature Transition Plan for the Fort Collins brewery to mitigate risks associated with New Belgium Brewing's business operations. In addition to ongoing efforts to reduce water use intensity at the brewery itself, the program highlighted the need for a broader landscape approach*3. This involves collaboration with stakeholders across the watershed and strengthening the resilience of the watershed itself.
The Fort Collins brewery is the Kirin Group’s most distinctive site in terms of its relationship between business operations and dependence on nature. The background to this plan stems from a scenario analysis workshop conducted in 2023, which recognised the importance of ensuring business operations coexist with society and the environment, encompassing not only physical water stress*4 but also the reduction of reputational risks.
*3 According to Japan’s Ministry of the Environment (June 2021), the landscape approach is "a method for addressing challenges within a defined region or space by comprehensively managing diverse human activities and natural environments based on land and spatial planning." It is described as "a mature concept essential for building a mature society, solving challenges that cannot be addressed without diverse and comprehensive perspectives—such as sustainable development and people's livelihoods—and serving as a bridge between related problem-solving processes, including biodiversity conservation, climate change, and sustainable consumption and production."
*4 Water scarcity.

Securing water resources is a shared challenge for all stakeholders within the watershed. However, due to their differing positions and circumstances, the problems they face, and their underlying causes also vary. Addressing only one aspect of the problem may not be effective for other stakeholders and could even have unintended negative consequences. As a responsible and effective approach, we plan to convene watershed stakeholders to establish a common understanding, identify actionable measures, and set business KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) that contribute to a healthy watershed, moving toward implementation.
Such collaborative efforts are vital for fostering a comprehensive understanding of watershed-wide challenges and for working with stakeholders to conserve and enhance ecosystem services in ways specific to the watershed.

Furthermore, this initiative has been featured as a case study in the TNFD Guidance on Nature Transition Planning, specifically within the section on "Engagement in Landscape, Basin and Seascape."*5 The case study highlights TNFD’s assessment of our process: in developing a plan aimed at aligning business operations with coexistence with society and the environment, we reaffirmed the necessity of engaging watershed stakeholders and collaborative action—essentially, a landscape approach.
*5 Guidance on Nature in Transition Plans – TNFD (https://tnfd.global/publication/guidance-on-nature-in-transition-plans/)

In the future, the Kirin Group will continue to tackle complex and interrelated environmental issues (biological resources, water resources, containers and packaging, climate change) in an integrated manner, and to work together with all those involved in the value chain to connect the desire to enjoy and pass on the Earth's bounty to future generations. We will actively promote various initiatives that have a 'positive impact' on nature and people.

For Reference

・Kirin Group Environmental Vision 2050
Kirin Group's Environmental Vision 2050 | The Environment | KIRIN - Kirin Holdings Company, Limited
・Kirin Group Environmental Report 2025
Kirin Group Environmental Report | Sustainability Information | KIRIN - Kirin Holdings Company, Limited

About Kirin Holdings

Kirin Holdings Company, Limited is an international company that operates in the Food & Beverages domain (Food & Beverages businesses), Pharmaceuticals domain (Pharmaceuticals businesses), and Health Science domain (Health Science business), both in Japan and across the globe.

Kirin Holdings can trace its roots to Japan Brewery which was established in 1885. Japan Brewery became Kirin Brewery in 1907. Since then, the company expanded its business with fermentation and biotechnology as its core technologies, and entered the pharmaceutical business in the 1980s, all of which continue to be global growth centers. In 2007, Kirin Holdings was established as a pure holding company and is currently focusing on boosting its Health Science domain.

Under the Kirin Group Vision 2027 (KV 2027), a long-term management plan launched in 2019, the Kirin Group aims to become “A global leader in CSV*, creating value across our world of Food & Beverages to Pharmaceuticals.” Going forward, the Kirin Group will continue to leverage its strengths to create both social and economic value through its businesses, with the aim of achieving sustainable growth in corporate value.

* Creating Shared Value. combined added value for consumers as well as for society at large