The Nippon Foundation Invests a Further $2 Million in the Valuable 500 for Business Disability Inclusion

The Nippon Foundation has reaffirmed its commitment to disability inclusion worldwide by investing a further $2 million in the Valuable 500, a network grouping CEOs of 500 global companies committed to including persons with disabilities in business.

As the sole Global Impact Partner, the foundation made history in 2021 by investing $5 million in the Valuable 500, the largest single investment ever in disability inclusion in business. The latest investment brings the total to $7 million.

Launched at the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2019, the Valuable 500’s membership includes Apple, Deloitte, Dentsu, Fujitsu, Google, Hitachi, HSBC, Microsoft, Nestle, NTT Group, P&G, The Coco-Cola Company and Sony.

Mr. Ichiro Kabasawa, executive director the foundation, commented: “Investing in the activities of the world's 500 most successful and well-funded corporations is a contradictory decision for a non-profit organization like The Nippon Foundation. However, we are making this investment because we know that ensuring systematic change is what truly is needed, and we are confident that the Valuable 500 will bring about success.”  

I decided to support the Valuable 500 as thus far there has not been much visible progress in the employment of persons with disabilities worldwide, no matter what declarations or decisions the United Nations or international conferences have made.

I believe the involvement of these global business leaders can be a “game changer” to create employment for the world’s 1.2 billion persons with disabilities and develop products and services for them.

“If businesses don’t change, the world will never change. This is a lesson we have learned through our activities over the years,” Mr. Kabasawa added.

The business network will maximize this investment and harness the power of collective actions across the 500 global businesses. This will be achieved by focusing on three pillars: Representation, Leadership and Inclusive Reporting.

Each pillar is developed and delivered in partnership with several iconic companies among the likes of Google, Sony and Verizon. These companies represent some of the largest brands in the world and will invest in products and services that will affect system change－materially improving disability inclusion within business.

With over 10% (53) of the Valuable 500 membership being headquartered in Japan, the Valuable 500 and The Nippon Foundation will be convening Japanese businesses to discuss how they can continue to improve disability inclusion within business.

Ms. Caroline Casey, an Irish social entrepreneur who is visually impaired and is the founder of the Valuable 500, stated: “Central to this work is tackling one of the greatest barriers to change－the lack of disability data in business. It is our ambition that all our companies will be reporting on disability performance in their annual reports against a harmonized set of metrics. Thus, enabling us to hold ourselves to account and create new frameworks for driving system change.”

In January 2023, the Valuable 500 published a white paper titled “ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and Disability Data: A call for inclusive reporting” co-funded and developed with Allianz of Germany and the London Stock Exchange Group.

The white paper recommends five global standardized Disability Inclusion Key Performance Indicators－Workforce Representation, Goals, Training, Employee Resource Groups and Digital Accessibility.

The culmination of member companies’ efforts will be showcased at the world’s first accountability event on disability business performance in Tokyo on the U.N. International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3, 2025.

I sincerely hope that the Valuable 500 will be able to develop fair, transparent and effective standardized disability inclusion indicators and report on disability performance against a harmonized set of metrics in their annual reports.

This would encourage them to employ many more of the world’s 1.2 billion persons with disabilities, paving the way for an inclusive society in which people with disabilities can actively participate without discrimination.