Tag: Valuufy Inc

Valuufy partners with Mainichi Future Creation Lab, Supporting New Approaches to Business Sustainability

  • Alliance Delivers ‘Nanaho Yoshi’ to Transform Sustainability Data into Competitive Advantage

Valuufy, a pioneering value measurement startup, and Mainichi Future Creation Lab, the innovation hub of the Mainichi Shimbun Group, have announced a strategic partnership that turns sustainability reporting into actionable business intelligence. The collaboration combines Valuufy’s data-driven ValuuCompass™ platform with Mainichi’s trusted media platform to provide companies with new approaches to their business sustainability strategy.

The partnership builds on compelling market data: Japan hosts 56% of the world’s companies over 200 years old, organizations that have consistently outperformed competitors by managing stakeholder relationships strategically. These companies recognized that focusing only on financial indicators such as shareholder value creates vulnerabilities, while organizations that effectively manage relationships and risks across customers, employees, partners, shareholders, society, and nature achieve superior long-term performance and market resilience.

“Japan’s business longevity demonstrates that systematic stakeholder insights and management creates competitive advantages,” said Kyle Barnes, CEO of Valuufy. “Our partnership with Mainichi Future Creation Lab makes these practices measurable and actionable. ValuuCompass provides companies with the stakeholder intelligence and risk visibility needed to navigate today’s complex business environment.”

Stakeholder Intelligence Platform

ValuuCompass functions as both a transparency tool and management platform, enabling organizations to track and optimize their stakeholder ecosystem. The methodology builds on ‘sanpo yoshi’, the centuries-old principle practiced by Ohmi merchants ensuring business benefits the seller, buyer, and society. Valuufy has expanded this wisdom into ‘nanaho yoshi’ or ‘seven-way satisfaction’ for modern business complexity.

ValuuCompass reveals how stakeholder relationship health connects to business resilience. Organizations can identify specific risks such as employee turnover costs, customer defection patterns, supply chain vulnerabilities, and regulatory backlash before these issues impact operations. The platform also helps companies avoid reputation risks by identifying gaps between public sustainability communications and actual performance.

ValuuCompass has demonstrated market validation through implementations with a major Japanese financial institution and one of the “Magnificent Seven” technology leaders, providing stakeholder relationship intelligence, portfolio risk assessment, and competitive benchmarking capabilities across different markets and business cultures.

“ValuuCompass shows companies both the value they’re creating and the risks they need to manage across all stakeholder relationships,” Barnes stated. “This dual capability—value identification and risk early warning—gives organizations visibility into their business ecosystem that conventional frameworks miss.”

The ValuuCompass methodology synthesizes over 1,200 metrics from 45 global frameworks into actionable business intelligence. The partnership addresses growing corporate frustration with existing frameworks that cannot benchmark performance across competitors, industries, or regions while failing to connect stakeholder impacts to long-term business success.

“Japanese businesses have long understood that lasting success requires creating value for society alongside shareholders,” said Tamotsu Takatsuka, CEO of Mainichi Future Creation Lab. “This partnership translates that understanding into concrete metrics that today’s business leaders can implement while providing the stakeholder intelligence needed for effective risk management.”

Market Applications

The platform serves organizations facing various sustainability challenges: mature sustainability teams seeking to demonstrate measurable impact, investment firms requiring better portfolio guidance and risk assessment, and companies identifying value creation opportunities through stakeholder relationship optimization. For investors specifically, ValuuCompass provides stakeholder value assessment and risk intelligence that conventional due diligence processes cannot capture, quantifying how stakeholder relationship deterioration translates into financial impact.

The collaboration will begin with content examining case studies of Japanese companies that embody sustainable business models and feature dialogue with executives and thought leaders on the future of business sustainability and value creation. The partnership will also explore additional collaborative opportunities to advance sustainability standards and business practices in Japan and globally, while identifying opportunities for expanded strategic initiatives. Following Valuufy’s feature in Mainichi Weekly Economist in May, additional content will explore how Japan’s traditional business values connect with next-generation sustainability thinking.

Organizations wishing to learn how ValuuCompass can help them with their risk and value assessment or investment evaluations can contact learnmore@valuufy.com or visit www.valuufy.com.

About Valuufy
Founded in Kyoto and built on a decade’s research at Doshisha University’s Value Research Center, Valuufy translates stakeholder relationship management into measurable business value. The company provides stakeholder assessment, competitive benchmarking, and strategic improvement roadmaps that help organizations create value while managing risks. ValuuCompass synthesizes over 1,200 sustainability metrics from 45 global frameworks into actionable insights across seven stakeholder groups, providing data on relationship health, value potential, risk exposure, and improvement pathways.

About Mainichi Future Creation Lab
Established in 2017 as the innovation hub within the Mainichi Shimbun Group, one of Japan’s largest media groups encompassing newspapers, magazines, and digital publications with nationwide reach, Mainichi Future Creation Lab identifies and accelerates breakthrough solutions to pressing social challenges. The group’s publications include the Mainichi Shimbun daily newspaper and Weekly Economist magazine, among other media properties. The Lab invests in startups and operates acceleration programs while supporting government startup initiatives and municipal innovation projects.

Contact Information:
Valuufy Inc
news@valuufy.com

Media Inquiries:
Mainichi Future Creation Lab
mirailab@mainichi.co.jp

Valuufy Selected by Global Tech Leader for Environmental Impact Assessment

Valuufy, a pioneering value measurement startup, has been selected by a global tech powerhouse and member of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ to carry out a comprehensive environmental impact assessment. The engagement, which began in March 2025, represents a significant milestone for the young Kyoto-based value creation specialist.

The project is based on the ValuuCompass™, an evolutionary system that transparently assesses impact and value creation for nature, one of the system’s seven stakeholders, and benchmarks the results against other leaders in the market. The client will receive the assessment and analysis later this month, with actionable insights on environmental performance across multiple dimensions.

Directing Sustainabiliy towards Value Creation

Kyle Barnes, CEO of Valuufy, said, “For a startup, especially from Japan, securing a major American tech giant as a client is extraordinary. This speaks clearly on how our approach resonates with forward-thinking organizations. We’ve built ValuuCompass on a solid foundation of academic rigour and practical business value — and that company responded to this combination.”

Addressing Critical Gaps in Sustainability Measurement
The tech heavy selected Valuufy after evaluating multiple sustainability assessment solutions. “Gaps and discrepancies exist in current sustainability benchmarking when factoring environmental and social considerations. We appreciate how Valuufy systematically evaluates all relevant topic areas using best in class industry standards coupled with a data-driven, quantifiable approach to derive actionable insights,” noted a company representative.

Breaking New Ground in Precision and Performance Benchmarking
Dr Philip Sugai, Director of Research at Valuufy, said, “What sets ValuuCompass apart is its unparalleled level of detail and methodological rigor. Unlike current frameworks that offer broad sustainability disclosure topics, we’ve developed specific, measurable subgoals for each objective. This granular approach enables something that’s been largely unattainable with existing frameworks – genuine benchmarking across companies and industries.”

“Traditional ESG frameworks mainly look back on what companies have already reported,” Sugai continued. “Our work focuses on the future and what matters most to business leaders — identifying specific opportunities to create value and reduce risk across their entire stakeholder ecosystem. For technology companies with complex global value chains, this perspective is particularly valuable.”

Directing Sustainabiliy toward Value Creation
This client relationship underscores a growing shift in how leading companies approach sustainability — moving beyond compliance reporting toward strategic value creation. Technology companies in particular face increasing pressure to demonstrate meaningful environmental improvements while maintaining competitive advantage.

Stated Barnes, “Future market leaders understand that sustainability isn’t separate from business strategy — it’s central to it. When organizations can quantify their impact and benchmark against competitors, sustainability becomes a concrete business advantage rather than a vague aspiration. It’s a fundamental shift from sustainability as compliance to sustainability as value creation.”

About Valuufy
Valuufy, Inc. transforms how organizations measure and create sustainable value. Founded in 2024, Valuufy is a registered startup in Kyoto, Japan, emerging from the Value Research Center at Doshisha University and more than ten years academic value research. The groundbreaking ValuuCompass™ provides a comprehensive system for assessing impact and value creation across seven stakeholder dimensions, transforming sustainability from regulatory compliance into strategic competitive advantage. Led by an international team from Japan, Germany, Sweden & USA, Valuufy helps businesses identify hidden risks, uncover growth opportunities, and create measurable value through sustainability. Visit https://valuufy.comand follow us athttps://linkedin.com/company/valuufy/

Contact Information:
Kyle Barnes
CEO, Valuufy
news@valuufy.com

Valuufy appoints Dr Sachio Semmoto as Chairman of the Board, Signaling a New Era in Sustainability Assessment

Valuufy, a sustainability assessment startup, today announced the appointment of Dr Sachio Semmoto as Chairman of the Board. This strategic move comes at a critical juncture for the sustainability sector. It also emphasizes Valuufy’s commitment to transform how organizations measure and create sustainable value.

Dr Sachio Semmoto, appointed Chairman of the Board at Valuufy, Inc.

“The sustainability sector is at a critical inflection point, facing challenges such as greenwashing and lack of standardized metrics, but also unprecedented opportunities,” said Dr Semmoto. “Valuufy’s approach to redefining sustainability measurement through the ValuuCompass has the potential to create significant positive change. I am committed to leveraging my experience to help Valuufy become a global leader in driving meaningful, measurable sustainability practices.”

Dr Semmoto, brings over five decades of experience in building transformative companies. His track record includes co-founding KDDI,  one of Asia’s largest telecommunication providers and a Fortune Global 500 Company, founding eAccess and EMOBILE (now Y! Mobile), and serving as Executive Chairman of RENOVA, a leading renewable energy company in Japan.

“Dr Semmoto’s joining Valuufy at this stage in his career, especially given the current challenges in the sustainability sector, is a testament to the potential of our mission,” said Kyle Barnes, CEO of Valuufy. “His expertise in scaling businesses from start-up to industry leaders aligns with our ambitions to redefine sustainability assessment worldwide.”

Dr Semmoto’s career spans both academia and industry. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Florida and has held professorships at Keio University and visiting professorships at UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, and Stanford University. He is also known for his philanthropic efforts, including founding the Frances & Sachio Semmoto Foundation, which provides educational opportunities to students from Asia-Pacific nations

This appointment underscores Valuufy’s commitment to combining expertise and innovative technology to address the pressing sustainability challenges facing businesses today.

Following this announcement, Valuufy will be sharing a comprehensive analysis of leading sustainability ratings frameworks against the ValuuCompass, illustrating where they fall short in comprehensively analyzing true stakeholder impact and value creation.

About Valuufy
Valuufy seeks to transform how the world understands and acts on sustainability. Founded in 2024, Valuufy, Inc is a registered Japanese startup in Kyoto, Japan, born of 10 years’ academic value research at Doshisha University and the Value Research Center. Led by an international team with expertise in value creation, sustainability and ESG, Valuufy provides new standards that transform how companies assess, manage, and leverage their sustainability efforts. For more on Valuufy and its impact on shaping the future of sustainability strategies, visit www.valuufy.com.

Contact:
Kyle Barnes
090-9742-0860
news@valuufy.com

Valuufy CEO to present at the UN Science Summit (SSUNGA79)

ValuuCompass, the Emerging Global Standard for Sustainability Addresses Complex Challenges for Businesses

Valuufy, a pioneering force in sustainability assessment, announces its CEO Kyle Barnes will present at the prestigious Science Summit at the United Nations General Assembly (SSUNGA79) on September 26 as part of a larger panel session on the important role of SMEs in global sustainability efforts. This marks the third consecutive year that the Value Model has been included in this global forum.

Valuufy’s presentation will showcase how SMEs can become a more powerful force in global sustainability efforts. The session, “Empowering SMEs: Blockchain & AI for Sustainable Stakeholder Value”, will also demonstrate how the ValuuCompass enables businesses of all sizes to measure, understand, and enhance value creation across all stakeholder groups.

This is the third time the Value Model (which evolved into the ValuuCompass) has been presented at the SSUNGA, reinforcing the global relevance and potential of the ValuuCompass in addressing complex sustainability challenges, and offering a potential outline for how a post-SDGs could function.

“The ValuuCompass aims to become a global standard for sustainability by 2030, and this platform allows us to get important feedback at one of the world’s most important sustainability-focused events. We’re excited to explore how blockchain and AI can help smaller businesses navigate the complex world of sustainability and position themselves as leaders in the post-SDG era,” shares Kyle Barnes, CEO of Valuufy.

“We are honored to introduce the ValuuCompass as a powerful tool for driving sustainable business practices, especially for SMEs at this year’s Science Summit for the United Nations General Assembly.”

The ValuuCompass was developed by the Value Research Center at Doshisha University and is a practical tool that helps organizations measure their impact on seven key stakeholders: the organization itself, shareholders, employees, customers, partners, society, and the planet.

“We know that a post-SDG world needs to act for people, planet, and prosperity and Valuufy speaks to this imperative. Its participation in SSUNGA79 builds on the discussions from previous years’ presentations, which introduced the Value Model and explored its role in creating a sustainable post-SDG future,” acknowledges Heather Young, SSUNGA Japan Co-Chair.

This year’s focus on empowering SMEs with blockchain and AI technologies demonstrates Valuufy’s commitment to making sustainable practices accessible and impactful for businesses of all sizes, and will include speakers across academia and business to explore how best to integrate the collective actions of SMEs to ensure global sustainability success.

The virtual session is scheduled for Thursday, September 26, 2024, from 16:00 to 18:00 JST. There is no cost to attend, but registration is required: https://sched.co/1l8mc

About Valuufy
Valuufy seeks to transform how the world understands and acts on sustainability. Founded in 2024, Valuufy, Inc is a registered Japanese startup in Kyoto, Japan, born of 10 years’ academic value research at Doshisha University and the Value Research Center. Led by an international team with expertise in value research, sustainability strategies, innovative technologies, business development, and ESG assessments, Valuufy provides a suite of products and services to promote value creation activities across stakeholders for businesses of all sizes.  Valuufy aims to set new standards in transparent, data-driven decision-making in the realm of sustainability and value creation. For more on Valuufy’s products and services and its impact on shaping the future of sustainability strategies, visit www.valuufy.com.

Press and Media enquiries:
news@valuufy.com

Follow us:
linkedin.com/company/valuufy

Valuufy Established to Transform Sustainable Business and Investing

Unleashing ValuuCompass to create a new benchmark for sustainability evaluation

Valuufy, a pioneering fintech startup drawn from a decades’ work in measuring and creating sustainable value at Doshisha University’s Value Research Center, has launched with its groundbreaking ValuuCompass, a comprehensive framework set to transform sustainable business practices and sustainability investing by providing a fully transparent and actionable framework for assessing and improving sustainability performance.

The current state of sustainability reporting:
·  Confusing and inefficient for companies
·  Multiple different standards and metric
·  Emphasis on past activities rather than future strategies
·  Difficult to capture real impacts on people and the environment
·  No reliable benchmark for investors to assess sustainability risks and opportunities

ValuuCompass addresses precisely these challenges.
The ValuuCompass addresses a critical gap in the market: the lack of a holistic, transparent system for assessing a company’s true stakeholder impacts and sustainability risks that arise from these. At the heart of this new product is the Value Model, which has synthesized more than 1,200 individual impact measurements from leading global ESG and sustainability frameworks into a clear goal-based model to measure stakeholder impacts and value creation.

With this new assessment system, Valuufy offers businesses and investors a clear, actionable view of value creation that goes far beyond traditional sustainability and ESG metrics. “In an era where ‘value washing’ – the pretence of sustainable value creation – poses significant financial and reputational risks, both companies and investors need a reliable compass,” said Kyle Barnes, CEO of Valuufy. “Valuufy’s products and services provide these capabilities, offering a level of transparency and insight that goes beyond all other existing solutions.”

Dr. Philip Sugai, Director of Research at Valuufy and Director at the Value Research Center, emphasized the revolutionary approach that Valuufy is taking: “The current systems underlying sustainability and ESG are fundamentally broken, focusing on backwards-looking disclosures rather than forward-looking strategies.  Valuufy was established to change this paradigm, helping businesses to shift their focus to creating real, and measurable value across their key stakeholders.”

Valuufy’s ongoing activities aim to bring this important mindset to business strategy creation for businesses of all sizes. “Today, we’re not just launching a new tool; we’re setting a new standard for sustainable business and investing,” added Marco Koeder, Chief Marketing Officer. By 2030, we aim to establish the Value Model as the global benchmark for measuring and creating sustainable value.”

Benefits of ValuuCompass for Companies:
·  First universal, objective standard to measure real impact on people and the planet
·  Provides actionable recommendations for improvement
·  Enhances performance in the sustainability reporting framework
·  Transforms complex data into clear, strategic insights

Benefits of ValuuCompass for Investors:
·  Enables truly informed decisions on sustainability risks and opportunities
·  Offers rigorous, quantifiable metrics for portfolio assessment
·  Aligns perfectly with the financial sector’s data-driven approach
·  Provides a competitive edge in sustainable investing

Discover how Valuufy is revolutionizing the future of sustainability at www.valuufy.com.

About Valuufy
Valuufy Inc seeks to transform how the world understands and acts on sustainability. Founded in 2024, Valuufy is a registered Japanese startup in Kyoto, Japan, born of 10 years of academic value research at Doshisha University and the Value Research Center. Led by an international team with expertise in value research, sustainability strategies, innovative technologies, business development, and ESG assessments, Valuufy provides a suite of products and services to promote value-creation activities across stakeholders for businesses of all sizes – to set new standards in transparent, data-driven decision-making in the realm of sustainability and value creation. For more, visit www.valuufy.com.

The Value Research Center was officially established at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan, in November 2021 to develop a system for measuring, monitoring, assessing, and reporting on organizations’ value creation and destruction impacts on various stakeholder groups. The result is the Value Model, which forms the foundation for ValuuCompass.

Contact:
Press/Media
E: news@valuufy.com
T: +81-90-9742-0860

Marco Koeder
E: marco@valuufy.com
T: +49-175-999-8647