Toyo Seikan Group CSR Guidelines for Suppliers

We will work on sustainable development together with our suppliers, our important business partners, so that the entire supply chain can contribute to creating a sustainable society.

The following guidelines represent the principle practices that we ask our suppliers to follow in order to aim for a sustainable society by working hand in hand with us, based on the Toyo Seikan Group Procurement Policy, which stipulates matters related to law compliance, safety and quality assurance, human rights, occupational health and safety, environmental protection, and information management. We would like to ask all our suppliers to understand and comply with the guidelines, and highly appreciate their cooperation.

Please refer to the Toyo Seikan Group Procurement Policy here.

Complying with Relevant Laws and Regulations and Social Norms

  • Comply with laws and regulations governing local business transactions.
  • Engage in active and fair disclosure of corporate information, including operational and financial conditions.
  • Maintain a sound and proper relationship with politicians and government bodies, and never be involved in bribery or illegal political donations.
  • Offer or accept no entertainment, gifts, money, etc. to gain or retain illicit profits or preferential treatment.
  • Never be involved in a cartel, bid rigging or any act that impedes fair competition.
  • Ensure that there is no abuse of a superior bargaining position (any act defined as abuse by the Antimonopoly Act, the Subcontract Act or other relevant laws).
  • Conduct appropriate management to prevent insider trading.
  • Ensure that there is no violation of intellectual property rights or other rights of third parties.
  • Exclude any connection with organized crime groups.
  • Refrain from purchasing raw materials such as minerals that may cause human rights issues and other social problems.

Safety and Quality Assurance

  • Provide safe products that meet quality requirements of Toyo Seikan Group’s companies, and establish and manage a system for constant improvement in safety and quality.
  • Conduct shipping inspections and other specified procedures before delivery to make sure that the products fully meet the required specifications.
  • In the event of a product failure, collect, communicate and disclose relevant information promptly and appropriately.
  • Develop, manage and improve a system to identify and prevent the falsification and manipulation of information related to quality and safety matters.
  • Develop a business continuity plan to ensure a constant supply of products.

Respect for Human Rights

  • Respect fundamental human rights in accordance with laws and regulations and international norms.
  • Perform own business activities with due consideration to ensuring that such activities do not infringe human rights directly or indirectly.
  • Never discriminate on the basis of nationality, race, ethnic, religion, ideology, creed, gender, age, disability or sexual orientation.
  • Ensure that no operations are performed using forced labor, child labor, or victims of restraint, human trafficking or other human rights violations.
  • Respect the human rights of employees and prohibit inhumane treatment, including abuse, physical punishment and harassment.
  • Pay wages exceeding the local legal minimum wage to employees and workers, and do not unreasonably reduce their wages.
  • Do not order employees and workers to work longer than the local legal working hours or impose unreasonable restrictions on holidays or leave.
  • Understand the social circumstances of local communities in which your company operates, and fully respect their cultures, customs and religious beliefs.
  • Respect the freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining of employees, and provide opportunities for dialogue between labor and management.

Occupational Health and Safety

  • Take necessary safety measures (preventing occupational accidents and illness) and hygiene measures (preventing problems of hazardous chemicals, noise, odors, etc.) in the workplace.
  • Understand the current conditions of occupational accidents and diseases and take appropriate measures to address the situations.
  • Develop a contingency plan to be prepared for potential emergency situations, and implement the plan in case of an emergency.
  • Conduct training programs and drills to be prepared for health and safety issues.
  • Appropriately manage the health of employees.

Commitment to Environmental Protection

  • For addressing global warming and climate change, reduce the emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases by promoting energy saving and the use of renewable energy.
  • ・Promote resource conservation, reduce waste generated in operation, and use more recycled materials.
  • ・Use less materials with high environmental impacts and switch to alternative materials.
  • ・Promote the prevention of environmental pollution.
  • ・Promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of natural resources and water.

Information Management and Protection

  • Appropriately manage and protect personal information of customers, third parties and employees.
  • Appropriately manage and protect confidential information received from customers and third parties.
  • Take safeguard measures against threats on computer networks to protect relevant companies, including your own, from potential damage.

Supplier CSR Guidelines Self-Assessment

The Toyo Seikan Group has established the "Toyo Seikan Group Procurement Policy" based on the importance of CSR in the supply chain, the CSR philosophy of our group, and the fundamental principles that we expect our business partners to adhere to (compliance, quality and safety, human rights, occupational health and safety, environment, and information management). These principles have been defined in the "Toyo Seikan Group CSR Guidelines for Suppliers" and communicated to our suppliers. Furthermore, to ensure understanding and compliance, we request self-assessments related to the CSR Guidelines for Suppliers as a communication tool.
We requested self-assessments from the business partners of each subsidiary within the group and received responses from 1,022 out of 1,253 companies by 2023 (combined from surveys conducted in the fiscal year 2021). The results were aggregated and analyzed, and follow-ups were conducted with some business partners where risks were identified as a concern.
For the fiscal year 2024, we plan to request a second round of self-assessments from the business partners who underwent the initial self-assessment in the fiscal year 2021.