Respect for Human Rights

The Sanyo Chemical Group considers that there is a foundation for understanding the human rights of each individual and recognizing their individuality and values. This leads to the success of diverse talent. 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

Human Rights Education and Raising Awareness

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 has been widely disseminated both within and outside the company, and that it is effectively implemented.

FY2024 Results

*Horizontally scrollable

Item Course/training name Eligible participants Instructors Participants
(people)		 Total time*
(hours)
Human rights / compliance Harassment Prevention Training New employees External experts 25 50
Corporate Ethics Study Sessions
(online training course, group discussion)		 Executives / employees External experts / compliance committee secretariat 1,450 2,900
DEI promotion Four-company joint lecture: "Building Teams that Leverage Diversity through Psychological Safety - Everyone as a Stakeholder" Executives / employees External experts 165 218
DEI Understanding Training New employees People responsible internally 25 25
Women’s empowerment External, Open Training, 21st Century Seminar for Women’s Empowerment Employees (mainly female leaders) External experts 2 78
Outside Female Directors Salon Executives, General Managers, Senior Managers, and equivalent Outside Directors 117 234
Seminar to support balancing work and childcare Employees who have had a child and their leaders, and internal and external partners (optional) External experts 40 40
Osaka University Style Industry-Academia Co-Creation Educational Business Development Program Employees (women suitable for program content) External experts 7 136.5
LGBTQ Salon by LGBTQ people Employees People responsible internally 7 10.5
Talk Session on Gender Diversity Executives / employees External experts 49 73.5
Online event: "Thinking about LGBTQ through the manga 'My Brother's Husband'" Executives / employees People responsible internally 56 56
Employees with disabilities Training to Promote Understanding of Employees with Disabilities (for receiving departments) Employees External experts 23 11.5
  • Participants x Hours participated

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

Human Rights Issues Anticipated in the Supply Chain

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  • Procurement of raw materials

    Suppliers, etc.

    ・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, etc.

  • R&D, Production, Delivery

    Employees, Contractors, 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.

    ・Promotion of discrimination through marketing or advertising ・Use of products for the purpose of surveillance or other human rights violations

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 Sustainable 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 Questionnaire” of the Global Compact Network Japan in an effort to identify serious human rights issues.

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Scope of questionnaire Percentage of suppliers who responded*
(Percentage of purchase amount)
FY2022 Key raw material suppliers 56％
FY2023 Suppliers and distributors of oil and fat raw materials, the main ingredients of surfactant products 9％
FY2024 Suppliers of key raw materials and mineral-based raw materials 74％
  • Cumulative total since FY2022: 81%

In FY2024, we surveyed suppliers of key raw materials and mineral-based raw materials. We plan to complete our survey of almost all suppliers by the end of FY2026.
Through a survey conducted in FY2024 based on these guidelines, and feedback related to the survey, we worked to instill the importance of respecting human rights throughout the supply chain.
With a view to reducing risks, we will continue to conduct ongoing evaluations as we solicit and provide feedback.

≫ 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 raising awareness and seminars. We will continually improve our knowledge of and ability to respond to harassment, and will make a firm commitment to "not engaging in nor tolerating harassment, and not being a bystander," and strive to create "open and communicative workplaces that are safe, pleasant, and free of harassment."
In addition to the whistleblowing contact points, we have established internal and external hotlines to facilitate consultation, especially on matters related to 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.
The Group holds a Corporate Ethics Study Sessions every year. In FY2024, the theme of the session was harassment prevention, with participants watching a mini-drama followed by a group discussion. A total of 1,450 people across the Group (approx. 95% of all employees) participated in the session. We aim to realize a company where all employees can work with peace of mind by raising awareness among executives and employees through the implementation of such study sessions and by establishing an environment that makes it easy to report and consult.

Harassment Notification / Hotline Consultation (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

≫ Whistleblowing System
≫ ESG Data > Compliance

Addressing Human Rights Issues Related to “Human Rights Risks Due to Geopolitical Situations and the Impact of Conflict”

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 much discussion with the city of Kyoto, we accepted two Ukrainian international students in September 2022 (one is still here).

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 Philosophy of Labor and Management and have concluded a labor 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, transfers 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 69.6% (as of April 1, 2025).

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 labor 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 workplace 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 widely 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 workplace.

Main Contents of Discussions (FY2024)

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

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