The Pokémon Company International (TPCi) has issued their second annual Social Impact Report, detailing their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) strategies from 2022. TPCi has also used this announcement to welcome their first occupant of a newly-created role at the company, Raquel Daniels as its first Chief Diversity and Social Responsibility Officer, who will be responsible for overseeing and growing the CSR and DEI initiatives.
The most robust component of the new Social Impact Report is certainly the company’s internal DEI efforts, which operate at their offices in Dublin, London, and Bellevue in Washington State. In 2022, seven employee-led Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) based around common experiences and interests were created to help develop community within TPCi by hosting events, creating opportunities to volunteer and network, and overall supporting DEI goals in the workplace. TCPi reports that 60.2% of employees are involved in at least one ERG, whose events and volunteering efforts directly generated more than $78,500 USD in donations to 30 nonprofit organizations.
Kenji Okubo, president, The Pokémon Company International, said:
“Our commitment to creating and fostering a workplace where everyone is welcome and able to thrive is unwavering. Pokémon is for everyone and we’re committed to delivering on that promise for both employees and our fans.”
The Pokémon Company International itself is also making philanthropic contributions, having announced a pledge in 2022 to donate $25 million USD over five years to long-term partner organizations that are “dedicated to improving the lives of children and supporting social equity.” Nonprofit partners include major global and regional organizations such as the Malala Fund, but also organizations which are local to the Bellevue and London offices, like the Southeast and East Asian Centre of London. TPCi’s participation in the
2023 Toy of the Year® Awards was part of this five-year pledge, where the company contributed $90,000 USD and more than $3.7 million worth of cards and other merchandise to charitable organization The Toy Foundation. As of the end of 2022, TPCi has donated $2.5 million of unrestricted cash donations of their $25 million goal.
Compared to the above initiatives, TPCi’s sustainability efforts are not as extensive. The company’s major accomplishment on this issue was reducing the plastic content of Pokémon Trading Card Game products by almost 1.4 million pounds in 2022. The Pokémon Trading Card Game Production Teams also continue to explore avenues to improving environmental impact, such as working with suppliers to track carbon emissions and reduce water and energy consumption.
Raquel Daniels, the new Chief Diversity and Social Responsibility Officer, said:
“The Pokémon Company International is a very special organization whose mission to deliver the joy of Pokémon to fans around the world is also uniquely aligned with being a good corporate citizen in every way. It is this mission and the people behind it which have ignited my own ‘Passion for Pokémon’ to lead its global DEI efforts and social impact work."
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