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Human Rights

Teijin Group Human Rights Policy

The Teijin Group has established a human rights policy as its fundamental stance to respect the dignity and rights of all individuals.

The Teijin Group Human Rights Policy

In Corporate Philosophy, the Teijin Group declares to enhance the quality of life through a deep insight into human nature and needs, together with the application of our creative abilities. As our basic stance to respect every human’s dignity and rights, which is crucial for realizing the Philosophy, we *1 stipulate the following in this Teijin Group Human Rights Policy.

  1. 1.Commitment

    Acknowledging that it is our important corporate social responsibility to value human rights, we do our best to avoid direct involvement, as well as indirectly influence through our relevant external parties *2, any abuse of human rights *3.

  2. 2.Foundational principles

    We follow the fundamental principles described in the United Nations (UN) International Bill of Human Rights (the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work*4.
    We respect the UN Guiding Principles on Businesse and Human Rights and the 10 principles of the UN Global Compact.

  3. 3.Responsibility

    The Chief Executive Officer of the Teijin Group takes responsibility for implementing this Policy.

  4. 4.Education and Training

    We educate and train both our corporate officers and employees to make sure that this Policy is fully embedded in our business and carried out effectively.

  5. 5.Due Diligence

    We develop the human rights due diligence process to identify actual or potential negative impacts on human rights and seek to prevent or mitigate the negative impacts.

  6. 6.Remedy

    When we recognize that we directly cause or indirectly influence adverse impacts on human rights, we conduct dialogue with relevant parties and address such impacts through appropriate procedures.

  7. 7.Disclosure and Dialogue

    In our corporate website, we disclose progress and outcome of our efforts to respect human rights. We also conduct dialogue with our stakeholders about our efforts.

  1. *1“We” means the Teijin Group and its corporate officers and employees.
  2. *2“Our relevant external parties” are all external organizations and people, including suppliers and partners, with whom we relate in our business.
  3. *3“The abuse of human rights” incorporates any discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender identity (SOGIESC, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, and Sex Characteristics), etc.
  4. *4It includes endorsement and respect for "the abolition of child labour"; "the elimination of forced or compulsory labour"; "the elimination of discrimination"; "freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining in respect of employment and occupation"; and "A safe and healthy working environment," as ILO Core Labour Standards.

Resolved at the Board of Directors of Teijin Limited held on March 1, 2019
Revised at the Board of Directors of Teijin Limited held on August 3, 2021

Initiatives

The Teijin Group is committed to working in accordance with the United Nations (UN) Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (hereafter, "UNGPs") established by the United Nations in 2011 and the International Labour Organization (ILO) standards.*

  • *It includes endorsement and respect for "the effective abolition of child labour," "the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour," "the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation," "freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining in respect of employment and occupation" and "a safe and healthy working environment" as ILO Core Labour Standards.

We acknowledge that it is our important corporate social responsibility to value human rights. Based on this awareness, we do our best to avoid direct involvement with, as well as indirectly influence through our relevant external parties, any abuse of human rights. We have also developed a human rights due diligence process to identify actual or potential negative impacts on human rights and seek to prevent or mitigate the negative impacts. Under the responsibility of the CEO, we implement the Teijin Group Human Rights Policy. In June 2018, the Teijin Group reformulated its Code of Conduct into five items: "Together," "Environment, Safety & Health," "Integrity," "Joy at Work," and "Innovation." We clearly express our commitment to human rights in the section on "Integrity."

  • Integrity: We act with integrity in compliance with laws and regulations, and show respect for human rights and local communities in which we operate.
  • We respect human rights and do not tolerate any discrimination and harassment in any part of our business and supply chain. We also maintain accountability by ensuring that our business is conducted in a way that helps to win the trust of local communities.
  • We comply with applicable laws and regulations in every country and region where we do business, including multilateral laws and regulations, and respect internationally-accepted principles.

With the aim of sharing this Code of Conduct with the entire Teijin Group, in August 2020 we created a video message featuring our CEO which was sent to all our Group companies with subtitles in local languages of all regions and countries in which the Teijin Group operates. Additionally, in March 2019 the Teijin Group Human Rights Policy was resolved at the Board of Directors of Teijin Limited. Under this policy, we pledge to endeavor neither to be involved directly nor to be complicit indirectly by way of external affiliates or business relation, in any kind of human rights violations in our business activities, in recognition of the fact that respect for human rights is an important corporate social responsibility to be fulfilled by the Company. With regard to the U.K.'s Modern Slavery Act 2015, the Teijin Group Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking Statement is posted on our corporate website.

Human Rights Due Diligence Initiatives

The Teijin Group conducts human rights risk assessments every few years to identify and understand the negative human rights risks and impacts of each of our businesses. Following the first risk assessment in FY2018, we conducted a second assessment from March to December 2023. We evaluated geographical risk, product risk, employment risk, and industry risk based on qualitative information about each business and quantitatively analyzed the aggregate total risk of each business as its human rights violation risk. In the 2023 assessment, we confirmed that, in addition to the Fibers & Products Converting Business being recognized as high risk in continuation from 2018, product risk and industry risk are increasing in the aramid business, and we are taking measures accordingly for each risk. Please see the archive pages of our corporate website for information on past initiatives.

Survey target

The 12 business units of the Teijin Group*

  • *12 business units: 1. Aramid, 2. Carbon Fibers, 3. Resin & Plastic Processing, 4. Corporate Business Incubation, 5. Composites, 6. Fibers & Products Converting, 7. Pharmaceuticals, 8. Home Healthcare, 9. IT, 10. Material New Business, 11. Healthcare New Business, and 12. Engineering

Survey method

Analyzing the qualitative information from the 12 surveyed business units, we evaluated geopolitical risks, product-specific risks, employment status-specific risks, and industry risks, and based on the total assessment of these risks, provided each business unit with a score for human rights violation risk.*

  • *Definition of "human rights violation risk" covered by this survey
  1. 1.This survey focused on "modern slavery," a term used to describe all human rights abuses including slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labor, and human trafficking.
  2. 2.In this survey, the following factors were analyzed to gauge modern slavery risk:
  • Highly competitive industries, with low barriers to entry and operations in jurisdictions with weak labor laws and ineffective union representation;
  • Prevalence of low-skilled workers;
  • High number of female workers;
  • Documented cases of child labor;
  • High proportion of migrant labor in the workforce;
  • Documented cases of human trafficking;
  • Documented cases of harmful employment practices;
  • Documented cases of debt bondage;
  • Operation in fragile or conflict affected areas;
  • High proportions of refugees in the workforce;
  • Operation in countries with highly repressive regimes;
  • Industries in which low-skilled labor is used to carry out so-called "three D" jobs (dirty, dangerous, and difficult), such as work involving dangerous or physically arduous manual labor, work involving prolonged periods of repetitive motion, and work that is stigmatized or socially devalued. These jobs are typically carried out by migrants, minorities, or socially marginalized groups that are highly vulnerable to exploitation.
  1. 3.In this survey, the characteristics of "forced labor" are as follows:
  • The illegal withholding and deduction of wages;
  • The illegal confiscation of identity documents, such as passports;
  • Debt bondage (Forced labor as security for debt repayment. It is said that more than 51% of workers engaged in forced labor are bonded by debts.);
  • Forced overtime
  • Various forms of coercion by employers or recruiters, such as verbal, physical, or sexual harassment;
  • Labor patterns involving intensive work, long working hours, or the repetition of simple tasks that give rise to serious labor health and safety risks

Survey results

Based on the perspective of the product applications and manufacturing practices across the Teijin Group's business, we have ascertained that our operations are being conducted with the use of migrant labor and in regions with high regional risks. Among our businesses, human rights risks in the Fibers & Products Converting Business and the aramid business were the highest, followed by the carbon fibers business and new healthcare businesses.

Fibers & Products Converting This business involves the apparel industry, which generally employees a large number of migrant workers, a group often associated with a high level of human rights risk.
Aramid This business faces risks of products being diverted for military use.
Carbon Fibers This business has factories that operate in countries dealing with the risk of human rights issues.
Healthcare new business These businesses deal with suppliers of raw materials for food products, where there is significant occupational health and safety risks.

For businesses that have been identified as having a relatively high potential of human rights risk, in addition to measures already in place to prevent human rights violations, we will conduct inspections to ensure that no such violations are occurring and will continue to engage in monitoring activities to prevent any infringements.

Summary of Human Rights Due Diligence

Human rights due diligence coverage rate Ratio of human rights issues of concern Human rights issue measures implementation rate
FY2023 100% 31% 100%
Approach Since FY2018, human rights due diligence have covered the entire Teijin Group Ratio of the Teijin Group's sales accounted for by the Fibers & Products Converting Business, which performs sewing and processing and is a business domain in which human rights issues have been recognized Monitoring of all 60 business partners for which human rights risks were identified through CSR procurement questionnaire survey and other means

Plans for FY2024

To follow up on the previous fiscal year, we are proceeding with the development of human rights due diligence mechanisms in accordance with the UNGPs. At the same time, based on our human rights due diligence policy indicated below, we will continue to engage in human rights due diligence activities, reflecting the results of dialogue with external experts.

Policy

  1. 1.We will undertake human rights due diligence initiatives throughout the entire Teijin Group from perspectives that include the environment.
  2. 2.We will set human rights due diligence targets, make a commitment to human rights that includes the Board of Directors, and conduct management and monitoring on a practical level.
  3. 3.We will make appropriate disclosures concerning the status of human rights due diligence.

Dialogue with External Experts

To step up our efforts for ensuring that human rights are respected in line with international trends and standards related to business and human rights efforts, we hold regular dialogues with Caux Round Table (CRT) Japan, an external body that has expertise in this area and is well versed in trends within and outside Japan. We use these dialogues to understand the issues impacting human rights and the business environment surrounding the Teijin Group on a real-time basis and to discuss which direction we should take.

Initiatives to Promote Respect for Human Rights among Employees

Human rights education for employees

To raise awareness for human rights, the Teijin Group holds training sessions for all employees (including employees of domestic and overseas Group companies as well as contract and dispatch employees) at each workplace during Corporate Ethics Month every October. In FY2022, we produced case study videos based on each theme of our Code of Conduct, one after the another. These videos have been distributed across the entire Group and include subtitles in the languages of each region and country of operation.

Response and use of comments received by counseling and reporting center

The Teijin Group has established a center for counseling and reporting and promotes its use. In FY2023, 146 consultations and reports were received, of which 43 cases related to human rights (dissatisfaction with treatment, discrimination because of gender, etc., and sexual harassment). We investigated the facts in all of these cases. In those cases where specific issues were confirmed, we issued cautions and training for improvement and conducted monitoring so that there were no reprisals against whistleblowers. Identifying and analyzing potential risks based on comments received by our counseling and reporting center, we determine educational activities befitting the current situation and raise awareness of the importance of respecting human rights among all employees.

Initiatives to Promote Respect for Human Rights among Suppliers

In order to ensure respect for human rights throughout the entire supply chain, the Teijin Group has incorporated a section on human rights and labor in its CSR Procurement Guidelines and urges suppliers to make efforts to respect human rights. In FY2017, with reference to ISO 20400, an international standard relating to sustainable procurement, as well as other international standards, we clearly stipulated detailed initiatives on the following items relating to human rights and labor, etc.:

Human Rights and Labor
Forced labor Child and youth labor Foreign workers Working hours and paid leave
Wages and welfare Discrimination Harassment Freedom of association

In FY2023, the Teijin Group continued to conduct CSR procurement questionnaire surveys of its major suppliers with the aim of assessing their efforts to respect human rights. For companies that provided doubtful answers regarding human rights, we inquire and confirm whether there are any concerns. In addition, regarding the Fibers & Products Converting Business Group, which was identified as having a relatively high risk of human rights violations in the risk assessment of human rights due diligence, Teijin Frontier Co., Ltd, a representative Group company, has conducted seminars and on-site audits on an ongoing basis for business partners in Asia and Japan with the aim of ensuring local business partners' legal compliance and protection of human rights. We will continue to conduct management and awareness-raising activities for businesses with high risks of human rights violations upon confirmation with third-party organizations and external experts.

The Fibers & Products Converting Business, which has adopted foreign technical intern trainees for years through the foreign technical intern training system, conducted its internal survey and learned that foreign trainees have come to Japan by paying a large fee to the sending agency in their home country. In an attempt to remedy this, Teijin Frontier has launched the ZERO-FEE PROJECT, which would eliminate the foreign trainee's fee burden by having the factory that accepts the trainee pay such fee from FY2019. Subsidiaries of Teijin Frontier that accept the foreign trainee have established a Code of Conduct regarding Foreign Workers and informed the supervising organization, and from FY2020, such subsidiaries have borne such fee required for sending foreign trainees. In order to secure this ZERO-FEE, subsidiaries have decided to accept foreign trainees from the supervising organization that discloses the information on fees at the sending agency. Such subsidiaries also confirm directly with the foreign trainees that they have not paid such fees. We are also conducting periodic surveys on the treatment status of the foreign technical intern trainees employed by our suppliers. We have confirmed that there were no serious violations of laws such as the Japanese Labor Standards Act.

  • *There are some instances where foreign trainees are forced to pay, before they come to Japan, a local recruitment firm their recruitment costs that were incurred during the local recruitment process. In some cases, trainees are forced to pay amounts that are equivalent to years of income. As a result, foreign trainees often need to earn as much as possible, which can lead to problems such as long working hours at their own request and disappearance just before returning to Japan.

Teijin Group Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking Statement

The statement is made in accordance with the U.K.'s Modern Slavery Act which came into force in the United Kingdom in 2015.