Unraveling Ajinomoto through a GPIF Lens: Corporate Value Analysis Using Category Theory — The 13th Impact Corporate Value Strategy Seminar

Social Impact Research Co., Ltd. will hold the 13th "Impact Corporate Value Strategy Seminar" online on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, from 12:00 to 12:30.

The theme for this seminar is "Unraveling Ajinomoto from the Perspective of GPIF: Analysis of ASV Management and Corporate Value Conversion Structure Using Category Theory."

In recent years, corporate integrated reports and sustainability disclosures have increasingly addressed philosophy, materiality, non-financial capital, business strategy, financial KPIs, and corporate value separately. However, what investors really want to know is not that these elements exist individually. What is important is the structure of how a company's philosophy, technology, human resources, brand, business, and social value creation initiatives are converted into financial value and ultimately linked to corporate value.

In this 13th seminar, we will use Ajinomoto Co., Inc. as a subject to analyze its ASV management, AminoScience, food business, bio- & fine chemicals, and initiatives on environmental and health issues from the perspectives of GPIF and long-term investors. The feature of this session is a new analytical angle using category theory. Category theory is a way of thinking that focuses not on elements themselves, but on the relationships, mappings, and structural connections between elements. By applying this to corporate analysis, it becomes possible to understand philosophy, technology, assets, human resources, business, financial KPIs, and corporate value as an interconnected value conversion structure.

Based on the seminar material, "Ajinomoto: Dissecting the 'Conversion Structure' of Corporate Value," we will analyze Ajinomoto's ASV management evolution scenario using a category theory approach. We will focus on issues such as the connection between ASV management and corporate value calculation formulas, where R&D capabilities are converted into financial value, the fusion of the food business and bio- & fine chemicals, and the monetization of environmental and health impacts.

In this seminar, we will not view Ajinomoto's initiatives on environmental and health issues merely as ESG activities, but will analyze them as a structure for creating corporate value that leads to cash flow, ROIC, growth rates, WACC reduction, and PBR improvement. This content will be useful for those struggling with how to connect materiality to corporate value or those who want to organize ASV management in a way that resonates with investors.