The NICHICON Group asks its business partners for their understanding of its CSR philosophy, which incorporates the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) standards of conduct and ISO 26000, the international standard on organizational social responsibility. In this manner, we fulfill our responsibility throughout the supply chain.
The NICHICON Group sources materials from a variety of countries and regions. We also require our business partners to comply with the laws in each country in which they conduct their operations and act in accordance with social norms.
The basic transactional agreement that we draw up with business partners clearly describes these expectations, as follows.
(1)We respect the human rights of our employees, provide safe and sanitary working environments, do not engage in discriminatory activities and strive to provide equal working opportunities.
(2)We do not engage in forced labor, child labor or the illegal employment of foreign nationals. We comply with the laws of countries and regions in which we operate with respect to working conditions, including employee compensation and working hours.
To instill awareness regarding our strict demand for the respect of human rights, we do not seek procurement from any business partners who do not understand and practice these values.
We distributed the NICHICON Group Supply Chain CSR Procurement Promotion Guidebook to principal business partners, requesting that they understand the content of this guidebook and the RBA standards of conduct. At the same time, we asked them to complete self-assessment checklists, enabling us to confirm the status of individual companies’ initiatives. At the same time, we asked them to complete self-assessment checklists, enabling us to confirm the status of individual companies’ initiatives.
Also, we have adopted a basic policy of non-use of conflict minerals in light of the U.S. Dodd–Frank Act and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosure rules in accordance with that act, and are working to improve transparency throughout the supply chain by sharing data with suppliers and other measures.
Thorough compliance and risk reduction in the supply chain
The NICHICON Group’s basic purchasing policies provide for ensuring that transactions are open, fair and lawful. We maintain thorough compliance, including with the Subcontracting Law. To reduce risk, we have established a business continuity plan (BCP) and respond appropriately to the issue of conflict minerals proactively and across the supply chain.
