SDG Partners

What SDG Partners does

SDG Partners (SDGパートナーズ有限会社) is a Tokyo-based boutique sustainability consulting firm established in September 2017 by Kazuo Tase, a former Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UN Secretariat official who subsequently held a leadership role at Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting. Headquartered in the Kanda SDGs Connection building in Chiyoda-ku, the firm operates with a core team of 10 employees supplemented by approximately 15 partner consultants and associates, serving Japanese enterprises, government ministries, local municipalities, and NGOs. Its revenue model rests on customized quote-based consulting engagements across nine service categories: sustainability strategy, materiality identification, TCFD/TNFD disclosure support, human rights/DE&I/human capital, ESG disclosure and CSDDD compliance, public-sector sustainability, lectures/training, advisory, and webinars.

The firm's flagship product is the Human Rights Due Diligence Digital Survey, jointly developed with Link and Motivation's Motivation Engineering Institute and Link Corporate Communications and launched on November 24, 2023, with a corresponding patent application filed with the Japanese Patent Office on October 25, 2023. The instrument quantitatively measures 25 human rights risk types defined by Japan's Ministry of Justice while integrating psychological safety and unconscious bias measurement, employing Yes/No and 7-point scale responses rather than free-text input and producing quadrant analysis of risk incidence versus employee awareness. Marquee engagements span Kao (factory human rights DD), NTT West (D&I seminars), FamilyMart (TNFD/biodiversity), Osaka Gas Business Create (sustainability training), the Village of Onna (SDG Future City), and a Ministry of Justice-commissioned SME business-and-human-rights case study produced via the JINKEN Network.

The firm holds two wholly-owned subsidiaries, SDG Impact K.K. (December 2019) and Think Coffee Japan K.K. (September 2021), the latter operating a sustainable cafe concept that opened in Kanda in June 2023. Distribution runs primarily through direct relationship-based enterprise and government sales, supplemented by thought-leadership channels including monthly newsletters, co-hosted webinars with partners such as HASUNA, keynote speeches at events like the Eco-First Symposium, and earned media (October 2024 Yomiuri Shimbun interview). The firm won the UNWTO Sustainable Tourism Award in 2023 jointly with Veltra Corporation and has published two books advancing its "SDG Dominos" and "Six-Party Win" frameworks.

Name

SDG Partners

Legal name

SDGパートナーズ有限会社

Website

https://sdgpartners.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SDG Partners is a Tokyo-based boutique sustainability consulting firm serving Japanese enterprises, governments, and NGOs with ESG strategy, TCFD/TNFD advisory, human rights due diligence, and integrated reporting, anchored by its patented Human Rights DD Digital Survey.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainability Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sustainability, ESG & Climate Risk Advisory (BPAHAJAH), ESG Governance, Sustainability Reporting & Assurance Advisory (BPAHAFAJ)

Keywords

• Sustainability consulting
• ESG advisory
• Human rights due diligence
• TCFD TNFD disclosure
• SDG strategy implementation

Headquarters

HQ city

Ginza

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Customized sustainability consulting and advisory services for enterprises, including sustainability strategy formulation, materiality assessment, TCFD/TNFD disclosure support, human rights due diligence, and ESG reporting.
2. Training and Seminars: Lecture and training services provided to companies, students, and citizens in Japanese and English on sustainability and SDG-related topics.
3. Webinars: Online seminar programs on ESG and social responsibility topics, sometimes co-hosted with partner companies.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SDG Partners is a sustainability consulting firm that helps Japanese enterprises, local governments, and international organizations implement SDGs-based strategies, ESG/CSDDD disclosures, TCFD/TNFD climate and biodiversity frameworks, materiality assessment, human rights due diligence, and integrated reporting. Its flagship product is the proprietary Human Rights Due Diligence Digital Survey, a quantitative assessment tool jointly developed with Link and Motivation to measure 25 human rights risks along with psychological safety and unconscious bias. The firm also delivers customized lectures, training programs, and webinars on sustainability topics in Japanese and English.

Product overview

SDG Partners is a sustainability-focused consulting firm that offers a portfolio of advisory services centered around its proprietary Human Rights Due Diligence Digital Survey product, complemented by nine specialized consulting service categories covering sustainability management, materiality assessment, climate change/biodiversity (TCFD/TNFD), human rights/DE&I, ESG disclosure, public sector sustainability, training, and webinars. The company operates primarily as a consulting services provider rather than a software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Human Rights Due Diligence Digital Survey A proprietary digital survey product that enables companies to quantitatively measure human rights risks inside their organization and across their supply chain. The survey classifies 25 human rights risks (per the Japanese Ministry of Justice taxonomy) into four quadrants by employee understanding and occurrence rate, and integrates psychological safety and unconscious bias measurement. It is sold to large Japanese corporations with human rights due diligence obligations (e.g., Kao used it in factory deployments).
• Sustainability Management and Promotion Support Strategic consulting services that support companies in building sustainable futures by actively considering their impact on society and creating long-term social value through business activities, rather than narrow profit maximization.
• Materiality Identification and Practice/Disclosure Advisory services that help companies identify significant social and environmental challenges and integrate them into corporate strategy with a focus on concrete actions for sustainable growth and transparent disclosure.
• Climate Change and Biodiversity (TCFD/TNFD Disclosure) Advisory services for climate change and biodiversity risk management, including TCFD and TNFD disclosure support and LEAP approach analysis for companies such as FamilyMart.
• Human Rights, DE&I and Human Capital Management Consulting services supporting companies in respecting human rights and building inclusive organizations, helping create environments where employees can maximize their potential, including D&I seminar and management-employee dialogue work for clients such as NTT West.
• ESG Disclosure, CSDDD Response and Integrated Report Creation Services supporting ESG information disclosure, CSDDD compliance, and integrated report creation to visualize corporate social responsibility.
• Public Institutions and Local Government Sustainability Promotion Support for local governments and public institutions in promoting sustainability, including social value strategy and sustainable community development (engagement example: SDGs Future City work for the Village of Onna).
• Lectures and Training Training and seminar services for companies, students, and citizens on ESG trends, climate change, biodiversity, gender equality, and women's empowerment, delivered in Japanese and English.
• Consulting and Advisory Strategic consulting services helping companies fulfill social responsibilities while achieving sustainable business growth, delivered as customized engagements.
• Webinars Online webinar services providing knowledge on ESG and social responsibility topics, including past themes such as TNFD/climate change, TCFD/biodiversity, human rights, DE&I/well-being, sometimes co-hosted with partners like HASUNA.

Quantifiable outcome

• Co-developed tour won UNWTO Sustainable Tourism Award (2023)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• 株式会社HASUNA (HASUNA)flagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 14 October 2025Regular co-host of webinars on sustainability topics including AI ethics, human capital management, marine environment, organizational culture, and offensive sustainability. Joint events held regularly to expand reach and deliver shared content on sustainability themes.
• 株式会社リンクアンドモチベーション モチベーションエンジニアリング研究所 (Link and Motivation Motivation Engineering Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 November 2023Joint research and development partner for the Human Rights DD Digital Survey tool. SDG Partners and Link and Motivation co-developed the proprietary quantitative assessment methodology for measuring corporate human rights risks, psychological safety, and unconscious bias. Joint patent application filed October 25, 2023.
• 株式会社リンクコーポレイトコミュニケーションズ (Link Corporate Communications)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 November 2023Joint R&D partner for Human Rights DD Digital Survey. Three-party development with SDG Partners, Link and Motivation, and Link Corporate Communications.
• ベルトラ株式会社 (Veltra Corporation)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 October 2023Joint tour project won the UNWTO Sustainable Tourism Award. Collaboration on sustainable tourism offerings.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Amita Holdings: Japanese sustainable business group offering ESG and circular-economy advisory alongside operating businesses. Adjacent peer given shared focus on sustainability strategy and Japanese SME/municipality engagement.
• Link and Motivation: Strategic partner that co-developed SDG Partners' patent-pending Human Rights DD Digital Survey. Adjacent in employee engagement and organizational psychology; potential integration partner rather than direct competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting: Former employer of SDG Partners' CEO; large consulting practice with a dedicated Sustainability/Decarbonization team. Competes for the same Japanese enterprise ESG mandates but with substantially greater resources and bundled service offerings.
• PwC Japan (Sustainability Services): Big-4 firm with a Japanese sustainability and climate practice covering TCFD/TNFD, human rights, and integrated reporting. Competes for the same Japanese enterprise ESG and assurance-adjacent mandates at a much larger scale.
• EY Japan (Sustainability Services): Big-4 sustainability and climate change services practice in Japan. Overlaps with SDG Partners on ESG disclosure, CSDDD response, and non-financial assurance support for large Japanese corporates.
• ERM (Environmental Resources Management): Global sustainability consultancy with strong Japanese enterprise presence. Overlaps with SDG Partners on TCFD/TNFD, supply-chain human rights DD, and integrated sustainability strategy for large corporates.
• KPMG Japan (Sustainability Services): Big-4 firm with a Japanese sustainability advisory practice spanning climate risk, human rights DD, and ESG reporting. Directly competes for enterprise ESG transformation mandates.

Direct peers

• CSR Design Green: Japan-based sustainability and ESG strategy consulting firm of comparable scale. Direct overlap in materiality, integrated reporting, and CSR/ESG advisory for Japanese corporates and public-sector clients.

Emerging players

• South Pole Group: Global climate and sustainability solutions provider. Comparable in its integrated focus on climate strategy, nature/biodiversity, and supply-chain human rights — serving multinational corporates with a similar advisory-plus-tools model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sdgpartners.jp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sdg-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SDG Partners