Respect for Human Rights

The Sanyo Chemical Group believes that the success of diverse human resources is possible only when there is a foundation for understanding the human rights of each individual and recognizing their individuality and values. In addition, in order to advance our business activities in various regions of the world, we are required to address human rights issues, including labor-related rights for stakeholders involved in our business activities and throughout our supply chain. Based on this idea, we formulated our Human Rights Policy in March 2023. In the future, we will actively disclose information to reduce human rights risks both internally and externally, and promote initiatives such as human rights due diligence and the establishment of remedy mechanisms.

Human Rights Policy

Sanyo Chemical Group Human Rights Policy

1. Basic attitude

As corporate activities become increasingly globalized, companies are expected to take the initiative in eliminating human rights violations from the perspective of creating an inclusive society. The Group will conduct management that respects the human rights of all people and recognizes that its business activities may have a negative impact on human rights. At the same time, we will work with our customers, business partners, suppliers, and government agencies to avoid such negative impacts, thereby gaining recognition from investors, customers, and society at large. We will also cooperate with diverse stakeholders to support the socially vulnerable.

2. Scope of application

This policy applies to all executives and employees of the Sanyo Chemical Group. The Sanyo Chemical Group will continue to encourage its customers, business partners, and suppliers to support this policy and participate in similar initiatives, and will work together to promote initiatives to respect human rights.

3. Responsibility to respect human rights

The Sanyo Chemical Group will fulfill its responsibility to respect human rights by not infringing on the human rights of those affected by its business activities and by taking appropriate measures to correct any adverse impact on human rights that its business activities may cause. If any adverse impact on human rights is caused by our customers, business partners, and suppliers, we will demand them to take appropriate action.

4. Compliance with applicable laws and regulations

The Sanyo Chemical Group will strive to understand internationally recognized human rights norms and the relevant laws and regulations in each country, including those stipulated in the following documents. Where local national laws and regulations are incompatible with internationally recognized human rights norms, we will seek ways to respect the latter.

  • International Bill of Human Rights: Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenants on Human Rights (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights / International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights)
  • International Labour Organization’s (ILO’s) Core Labour Standards (child labor, forced labor, freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, elimination of discrimination in employment, etc.)
  • United Nations “Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights”
  • OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
  • United Nations Global Compact (voluntary efforts of companies based on the Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption)
  • ISO26000 “Guidance on social responsibility”
  • Japanese government “Guidelines on Respect for Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains”
  • UK Modern Slavery Act

5. Human rights due diligence

The Sanyo Chemical Group will establish a human rights due diligence system to identify adverse impacts on human rights, conduct preventive surveys and investigations, implement appropriate measures to correct adverse impact, and continue to strive to prevent and mitigate its adverse human rights impact on society.

6. Identification of human rights risks

The Sanyo Chemical Group has identified the following three items as outstanding human rights issues, and will continue to address these issues.

  • Labor in the supply chain
  • Employee safety and health
  • Human rights risks due to the effects of geopolitical situations and conflicts

7. Prevention and mitigation measures

The Sanyo Chemical Group will not engage in discrimination or acts that undermine the dignity of individuals based on factors such as thoughts, creed, age, social status, nationality, birthplace, ethnic group, religion, immigration, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, poverty, disease, and disability. To that end, we will also strive to understand the issues faced by socially vulnerable people who suffer from discrimination and acts that undermine personal dignity based on these reasons, and cooperate with various stakeholders such as government agencies, local governments, and social welfare organizations to provide support.

8. Corrective and remedial measures

The Sanyo Chemical Group fully recognizes that human rights violations pose a management risk. It will prevent human rights violations and respond fairly and appropriately in the event of any human rights violations. It will not only oppose child labor and forced labor, but will also not use raw materials that are thought to have been produced by child labor or forced labor. It will also establish a whistleblowing contact point that allows anonymous reporting for internal employees, and will take necessary measures while appropriately handling the confidentiality of the whistleblowers and reported information. It will prohibit any disadvantageous treatment or retaliation against whistleblowers, and will ensure their protection.

9. Education

The Sanyo Chemical Group will continue to provide appropriate education to ensure that a correct understanding of this policy is permeated both inside and outside the company, and that it is effectively implemented.

10. Information disclosure/engagement

The Sanyo Chemical Group will disclose the status of its efforts regarding Respect for Human Rights. It will also evolve a series of efforts based on this policy through dialogue and consultation with various internal and external stakeholders.

Established: March, 2023

Addressing Human Rights Issues Related to “Labor in the Supply Chain”

Human Rights Issues Anticipated in the Supply Chain

*Horizontally scrollable

  • Procurement of raw materials

    Suppliers

    ・Forced labor and child labor ・Conflict minerals ・Infringements of rights of indigenous people and immigrants ・Damage to communities due to environmental destruction ・Human rights violations in suppliers

  • R&D, Production, Delivery

    Employees, Contractors, Non-Japanese Technical Intern Trainees, etc.

    ・Unfair work environment and work conditions ・Labor accidents and health hazards ・Discrimination and harassment ・Invasion of privacy

  • Use, Consumption, Disposal, Recycling

    Customers, Consumers, etc.

    ・Human rights violations through marketing or advertising ・Use of products made by parties that violate human rights

Consideration of human rights in the supply chain

Following our signing of the United Nations Global Compact in March 2021, we reviewed our Purchasing Policy and revised it as our Sustainable Purchasing Policy in January 2022. At the same time, we have also revised our Sustainable Procurement Guidelines (available in Japanese and English), which are designed to work with suppliers to achieve a sustainable society, to clearly stipulate consideration for human rights in the supply chain. In addition to posting our Purchasing Policy and these guidelines on our website, we attach them to requests for CSR questionnaires to suppliers to ensure they are widely known. We will engage in activities that do not directly or indirectly lead to complicity or promotion of human rights violations through our business activities. Since FY2022, we have been conducting supplier questionnaires for key raw materials based on the CSR/Sustainable Procurement Self-assessment Tool Set of the UN Global Compact in an effort to identify serious human rights issues.

*Horizontally scrollable

Scope of questionnaire Number of responses
FY2022 Key raw material suppliers 14 companies 14 companies
FY2023 Suppliers and distributors of oil and fat raw materials, the main ingredients of surfactant products 67 companies 51 companies

Based on the results of a questionnaire conducted in FY2023 to suppliers and distributors of oil and fat raw materials, four companies identified problems related to their initiatives to address human rights issues. We will promote understanding and practice respect for human rights throughout the supply chain, such as by explaining these guidelines again, and follow-up will be conducted one year later in an effort to reduce the risk of human rights issues. In FY2024, we will conduct a survey of suppliers of inorganic raw materials.

≫ Supply Chain Management

Addressing Human Rights Issues Related to the Employee Safety and Health

The Group conducts a variety of initiatives to prevent harassment, including awareness-raising and seminars. We will continue to improve our knowledge and ability to respond to harassment, and we will firmly commit ourselves to “not engage in harassment, not tolerate harassment, and not become a bystander,” while striving to create a safe and comfortable workplace.
In addition to the whistleblowing contact points, we have established internal and external hotlines to facilitate consultation, especially on matters related to sexual harassment, maternal harassment, and LGBTQ issues.
We conducted a careful investigation of the facts to ensure that the informant does not suffer any disadvantages, and if an issue is confirmed, we implemented guidance and education for the target individuals to make improvements. We also made use of the intranet to raise awareness among all employees.

In order to “eliminate harassment,” we have been working very hard throughout FY2023 by a Corporate Ethics Study Meeting, including group discussions, throughout the entire Group. In addition, we have expanded the number of whistleblowing and consultation contacts points for harassment both internally and externally. We aim to realize a company where all employees can work with peace of mind by raising awareness among officers and employees through the implementation of such study sessions and by establishing an environment that makes it easy to report and consult.

Harassment Notification / Consultation Contact Point (Internal/External)

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Name/description Classification Person responsible
Compliance Hotline Notification Internal General Manager of
Internal Audit Office
External Legal advisor
Sexual Harassment / Maternity Harassment / LGBT (Harassment) Internal Consultation Contact Point Consultation Internal Personnel Dept.
Harassment Consultation Contact Point
LGBT Consultation Contact Point 		Notification External External specialist

≫ Internal whistleblowing system
≫ ESG Performance Data > Compliance

Addressing Human Rights Issues Related to “Human Rights Risks Due to Geopolitical Situations and Conflict Impacts”

The Russian invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022 is still uncertain, and many Ukrainians continue to flee the country. The Group has supported and donated to the Ukraine – Kyiv Kyoto City Network Organization with the aim of providing living support to Ukrainians living in Kyoto. After a series of dialog with Kyoto City, we have accepted two Ukrainian students since September of the same year.

Human Rights Education and Awareness-raising

In this policy, the Group clearly states in the Human Rights Policy that it will continue to provide appropriate education so that a correct understanding of the Human Rights Policy is permeated both internally and externally and effectively implemented.

FY2023 Results

*Horizontally scrollable

Item Course/training name Eligible participants Instructors Participants
(people)		 Total time*
(hours)
Human rights / compliance Harassment Prevention Training Directors / managers (compulsory)
New employees		 External experts 414 828
Corporate Ethics Study Meeting
(online training course, group discussion)		 Directors / employees External experts / compliance committee secretariat 1,528 3,056
DEI promotion Joint Lecture by Four Companies, Age Diversity from the Perspective of Intergenerational Gaps Directors / employees External experts 165 330
DEI Training New employees External experts 35 87.5
Women’s empowerment External, Open Training, 21st Century Seminar for Women’s Empowerment Employees (mainly female leaders) External experts 2 79
Internal, Open Training, Women’s Network Seminar Employees (women) External experts 9 180
Outside Female Directors Salon Employees Outside directors 57 85.5
Seminar to support balancing work and childcare for those returning to work from childcare leave Employees who have had a child and their leaders, and internal and external partners (optional) External experts 127 175
Osaka University Style Industry-Academia Co-Creation Educational Business Development Program Employees (women suitable for program content) External experts 5 114
LGBTQ Salon by LGBTQ people Employees People responsible internally 74 74
Online Mini Lecture SOGI (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity) Directors / employees People responsible internally 427 170.8
Employees with disabilities Training to Promote Understanding of Employees with Disabilities (for receiving departments) Employees External experts 59 29.5
Online Mini Lecture Employees with Disabilities Directors / employees People responsible internally 893 357.2
  • Participants x Hours participated

Labor and Management Relations

Basic philosophy

Sanyo Chemical Industries, Ltd. and the Sanyo Chemical Industries Labor Union (hereinafter “labor and management”) confirm the following basic labor-management principles and have concluded a collective agreement with the aim of realizing them.

Basic Philosophy of labor and management

Labor and management respect their respective positions and cooperate with each other to maintain employment, maintain and improve working conditions, and promote the sound development of the company.
Labor and management adhere to the principle of equal equality and work on issues with autonomy and development.
Labor and management work to solve problems through discussion on the basis of mutual trust and understanding.

Labor agreements guarantee that workers have basic labor rights (such as the right to collective bargaining).

Employment / labor and management relations

Sanyo Chemical employs a union shop system. In Japan, all employees, including domestic subsidiaries and affiliates, except managers, trial employees, part-time employees, and temporary employees, belong to the Sanyo Chemical Industries Labor Union. Regarding overseas subsidiaries and affiliates, employees transferred from the company will be treated in the same manner as above (excluding locally hired employees of overseas subsidiaries and affiliates). The proportion of organized employees is 69.9% (as of April 1, 2024).

Dialogue between labor and management

In order to respect each other's position and build a good relationship between labor and management based on trust, the company and the labor union hold a labor-management meeting attended by the company’s management and the union’s executive officers once a month (including an expanded labor-management meeting attended by the company’s management including the president twice a year) to share the management situation and opinions and requests from employees. We also hold labor-management meetings at each business site and labor-management meetings at each function and division on a regular basis.

Based on the strong feelings of both labor and management from the past, we have established a Labor-Management Expert Committee composed of representatives from each division and function of labor and management to discuss and spend a lot of time improving the overall personnel system, including benefits, by introducing our own wage revision system, rather than spending a lot of time only in the spring labor offensive. The agenda of the Labor-Management Expert Committee is reported to each labor and management after discussions at the Labor-Management Steering Committee on the Personnel Treatment System , which is held every August. After it is deliberated by the Management Council on the company side and by the Central Executive Committee on the labor union side, it is then deliberated by the union members through the Central Congress or the Central Committee.
Requests for health and safety and the improvement of the working environment are addressed by the Occupational Safety and Health Committee or the Health Committee, which meet once a month at each business site.

Main contents of discussions (FY2023)

・Review of the comprehensive housing system
・Review of wage revision method, conclusion of bonus calculation formula, and increase in base pay

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