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Third-party Evaluation and Independent Reviews

Basic Issues in JSR Group's Corporate Activity / Compliance

FY :
Fiscal Year means the year starting April 1st.
For example, FY2016 means April 1, 2016 - March 31, 2017

1. Basic Philosophy

JSR Group has been endeavoring, by building up and maintaining good relationship with all our stakeholders, to become a trustworthy and indispensable corporate citizen.
We have been vigorously performing our Code of Conduct in order to materialize "Our Responsibility to our Stakeholders", an essential part of our Management Policies, as well as to ensure compliance with the relevant laws and regulations during the course of our business.

2. JSR Group Principles of Corporate Ethics

JSR Group has established its Code of Conduct outlined in JSR Group Principles of Corporate Ethics, which we revised in July 2011 to reflect our newly defined "Essential Elements".
Recognizing the new Code of Conduct as a common global rules for the entire JSR Group, we have been promoting corporate ethics activities at all our Group companies both at home and abroad.
We have established this Code of Conduct as the basic rules that all JSR Group companies, their directors and employees (full-time, contract, part-time, and temporary employees as well as employees on short-term contracts) should comply with, in order to execute the management policies "Our Responsibility to our Stakeholders" in engaging in business activities.
JSR Group shall not require our directors and employees to act in violation of the Code of Conduct. Additionally, we shall not disadvantage any director or employee as a result of their refusal to act in violation of the Code of Conduct.

JSR Group Principles of Corporate Ethics

3. Structure

Corporate Ethics Committee of JSR is responsible for advancing the Group wide activities such as promotion of corporate ethics activities, monitoring and enhancing legal compliance, and promotion of respecting and safeguarding human rights.

Structure

4. Corporate Ethics Activities

JSR Group has been pursuing the following 3 major corporate ethics activities;

(1) Education on JSR Group Principles of Corporate Ethics

JSR Group has produced English, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Korean and Thai versions of JSR Group Principles of Corporate Ethics in addition to the Japanese version and distributed them to Group employees. We have thus ensured that employees at all Group companies worldwide can become acquainted with JSR Group Principles of Corporate Ethics in their native language or in a language in which they are proficient.
As an education-related measure, we have provided an e-learning program based on the Principles of Corporate Ethics for all employees of JSR Group companies in Japan. We also conduct corporate ethics training for new recruits and newly promoted managers.

JSR Group Principles of Corporate Ethics

(2) Corporate Ethics Awareness Survey

JSR Group works to grasp and improve corporate ethics-related issues by conducting surveys on employees' awareness of corporate ethics. The survey targets all employees and has been conducted since FY2011.
Some of our overseas establishments also strive to build awareness of corporate ethics and legal compliance among their employees, including their locally hired employees, using methods that are appropriate for the local culture.

(3) Hotline (Internal Reporting Channels)

  • Hotline for Employees

    JSR Group has introduced internal reporting channels called the "Corporate Ethics Hotline" in order to timely identify and rectify actual or potential violation of or questionable acts against the relevant laws or Code of Conduct during the course of business. The hotline consists of an internal hotline connected to the contacts in the Corporate Ethics Committee of either JSR or each of the group companies and an external hotline connected to the designated independent attorney. In addition, in order to ensure easier access to the hotlines by personnel at both our domestic and overseas business establishments, we have set up another external hotline connected to an independent and specialized outside organization capable of providing us with the support for the communication in Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, and Thai languages.
    We have been encouraging our employees to use these hotlines through promotions via internal newsletters and/or posters and have been striving to build up trust in the hotlines by ensuring confidentiality and prohibiting unfair treatment of hotline users.

    Number of Reports to the Hotline
    (calls or e-mails)
    FY 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
    JSR 11 4 8 5 3
    Group companies 7 8 6 11 3
    Total 18 12 14 16 6
  • Hotline for Business Partners

    JSR Corporation employs at its Procurement Department a "Suppliers' Hotline," an external reporting channel for business partners, namely suppliers and services providers, with which the company has regular business.
    The Suppliers' Hotline is provided by the same outside organization as used for the hotline for employees and is designed for the similar purpose as well. The scope of the Supplier Hotline has expanded from business partners of the Procurement Department of JSR Corporation to those of JSR Group companies in Japan.

    (Calls or e-mails)
    FY 2014 2015 2016
    JSR 0 0 0
    Group companies 0 0 0
    Total 0 0 0

5. Legal Compliance Measures

Each JSR Group company defines legal compliance regulations that form the basis of the organization's legal compliance. Each company utilizes these regulations to review and improve legal compliance regularly. Each company also provides legal training to increase awareness of laws and regulations and improve commitment to compliance.
Laws and regulations that are particularly relevant to the execution of business are identified as Overall Significant Laws and Legal regulations. We also concentrate on establishing individual systems to ensure compliance with these critical laws and regulations.

(1) Reviewing and Improving Legal Compliance

JSR Group identifies the laws and regulations that require compliance in each country, and confirms on a yearly basis that group business activities conform thereto. The periodic review of our business activities ensures continued improvement of our compliance awareness. Sharing information on non-compliance case studies throughout the group also helps improve our ability to preemptively prevent and detect violations.

(2) Training and Increasing Awareness

1. Compliance Handbook

Compliance Handbook

Compliance Handbook

JSR Group issued the Japanese version of the Compliance Handbook in FY2012 and the Korean version in FY2015 to thoroughly publicize important points demanding compliance in Japanese and South Korean law.
In FY2016 we issued a new Chinese version of the Compliance Handbook that is based on Chinese law. It is issued to not only Group companies in China but also JSR departments that sell products, supply samples, or otherwise engage in business dealings with Chinese enterprises. Through it, we are working to ensure thorough understanding and practice of legal compliance in China.

2. Seminars and E-Learning

We strive to publicize and ensure full compliance with pertinent laws and ordinances by providing legal education. Such education includes the holding of periodic seminars and provision of e-learning for all JSR Group employees and officers. We also provide legal education that has been customized to meet the requirements of individual departments and Group members.

6. Protection of Personal Information

JSR Group, recognizing the importance of protecting personal information under the circumstances of highly advanced information and communication technologies and in accordance with the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, we have formulated and implemented a Privacy Policy and Rules for Handling Personal Information that sets out our basic approach to the acquisition, use and management of personal information.
In response to the introduction of Individual Number system in Japan, we renewed and upgraded our Rules for Handling Personal Information in FY2015 in order to, based on relevant laws and our privacy policy, define the precautions and security standards necessary to ensure proper use and protection of specific personal information at each step of information handling process such as acquisition, storage, use, provision, disclosure, correction, suspension of use, and deletion.

7. Human Rights

JSR Group signed the Global Compact proposed by the United Nations and endeavors to act responsibly as a global enterprise in international society.
The JSR Group Principles of Corporate Ethics expressly presents a Code of Conduct for Respecting Human Rights for the purpose of ensuring our responsible behavior. The Code of Conduct covers respect for basic human rights, respect for workers' rights in and outside of Japan, and abolition and denial of child and/or forced labor not only by our Group but also by our business partners and subcontractors.

  • Concrete initiatives to eliminate child labor
    When hiring, we confirm the age of full-time employees, contract employees, and other employees using registers and contracts.
  • Concrete initiatives for respect of workers' rights
    We have established regulations to prevent sexual harassment as well as regulations to prevent power harassment. We also strive to encourage greater awareness of sexual harassment and power harassment among employees by providing in-house education on these topics.
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