ENECHANGE receives bronze certification in the “TOKYO Papa Ikugyo Promotion Companies 2022” list

ENECHANGE Ltd. is pleased to announce that it has received bronze certification from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as a company that is excellent for promoting paternity leave, under its TOKYO Papa ‘Ikugyo'(*) Promotion Companies certification program.

This certification is based on a system initiated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in June this year to register businesses with a high uptake of paternity leave as “TOKYO Papa ‘Ikugyo’ Promotion Companies”. The aim is to increase the uptake of paternity or childcare leave among male employees working at companies in Tokyo. A “bronze” certification indicates a situation in which the male childcare leave rate for the past two years (January 2020 to December 2022) has been 50% or higher.

*”Ikugyo” is a new nickname for childcare. This was announced by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as the nickname chosen from many entries in a public contest to create a social atmosphere conducive to taking childcare leave, and to renew the image of “taking a break” for childcare leave.

Backgrounds

On April 1, 2022, the Child Care and Family Care Leave Law was partially amended, requiring employers to create an employment environment that better enables the taking of childcare leave so that both men and women can balance work and childcare. This system allows fathers to take up to four weeks of leave within eight weeks of the birth of their child.

As part of efforts to further increase the rate of male employees taking childcare leave during the initial “child-rearing” period, as of October 1, 2022, ENECHANGE will also revise the Child Care and Family Care Leave Regulations in the Rules of Employment, and actively promote environmental improvements by making them known throughout the company.

Why we support the Child Rearing Generation and status of childcare leave uptake at ENECHANGE

Currently, the average age of our employees is 33 years old, many of whom fall into the “child-rearing generation,” and we believe it is important to create an environment that allows them to balance work and family (child-rearing). In our general business owner action plan (April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2025), we have set a goal of increasing the childcare leave take-up rate to at least 50% for men and 90% for women, and in the current fiscal year (since January 2022), approximately 75% of male employees and 100% of female employees eligible to do so have taken childcare leave.

Comments from male employees in ENECHANGE who recently took Childcare Leave

Manager, Corporate Business Division

I took about 2 weeks of childcare leave from the third week of July 2022 when my child was born. The reason I returned to work after such a short period of time was because I had plans to start a new business the following month and wanted to make sure the start-up of that business was done right. I hope to be able to take childcare leave again after the project I am currently in charge of settles down. Since many of our employees, including our managers, are of child-rearing age, many of them want to take childcare leave, and I feel that our environment is conducive to accepting such requests. There are people in my department who became fathers at a similar time, and we can talk about things like “I want to take childcare leave during this period” or “why don’t you take childcare leave by turn with me?

Deputy General Manager, Energy Cloud Division

Last year, I took about two months of Childcare Leave after the birth of my second child. At the time, there were still few men taking childcare leave, but there were several men on the same team who said they would like to take leave after the birth of their children, so I thought that if I took the initiative, it would make it easier for other members to take it as well. To avoid any problems for those around me, I spoke up to the company and boss my intention five months before the expected delivery date, and shared my plans with other members of my department three months in advance. After returning from childcare leave, I once gave a presentation titled “Practice of Paternity Leave” based on my experience at a company-wide meeting.The presentation emphasized that taking childcare leave is neither inherently good nor just, and that it is important to have a thorough discussion as a family about whether to take childcare leave and how to deal with child rearing, and to choose the right action to take. I think it is important to create an environment where the company supports employees’ choices.

About “TOKYO Papa ‘Ikugyo’ Promotion Companies”

This initiative of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government seeks to foster an increase in the rate of male employees taking childcare leave. Tokyo registers companies that have achieved a certain percentage of male employees taking childcare leave, continue to promote male childcare leave as “TOKYO Papa ‘Ikugyo’ Promotion Company” and grant them the “TOKYO Papa ‘Ikugyo’ Promotion Company Registration Mark” according to their achievement rate.
https://www.katei-ryouritsu.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/danseiikukyu/touroku/

ENECHANGE Ltd.

ENECHANGE is an energy technology company that promotes a carbon-free society through digital technology with the mission of Changing Energy For A Better World. We offer services based on data utilization in the field of the 4Ds of Energy: Deregulation, Digitalization, Decarbonization, and Decentralization. Our company’s roots come from an energy data lab at the University of Cambridge, U.K., a country where liberalization is mature. ENECHANGE has a British subsidiary, SMAP Energy Limited, as well as a global network and analytical technology for energy data.
URL: https://enechange.co.jp/en/

■For inquiries
ENECHANGE Ltd.
pr@enechange.co.jp