Monitoring of working environment
Monitoring of partner factories
The manufacture and production of products is outsourced to factories in Japan and other countries and regions around the world. Due to poor governance and weak rule of law, some of our contract manufacturing factories are located in countries and regions where the risk of modern slavery is high in reports by international organizations and NGOs. Ryohin Keikaku recognizes that there is a potential risk of labor exploitation, poor working conditions, illegal labor, etc., if the governance structure of the plant is inadequate and the treatment of workers is inappropriate, and we are working to reduce and prevent the risk by conducting on-site audits on a priority basis.
In accordance with the Production Partner Code of Conduct, PROMETEX conducts periodic on-site audits of factories by a third-party organization regarding items such as human rights violations, the working environment, and environmental impacts, and discloses the results of the evaluations. The results of the audit are fed back to the plant, and the plant management is asked to make improvements regarding the issues pointed out, and support is provided for improvement.
Monitoring of subcontractor factories
PROMETEX prohibits subcontracting to factories that have not received prior approval from Ryohin Keikaku in its “Production Partner Code of Conduct,” and requires approval from Ryohin Keikaku. Additionally, when a production partner outsources production to a subcontractor factory, the production partner must supervise whether the subcontractor’s business activities comply with the “Production Partner Code of Conduct.”
In-house training
In order to promote initiatives for human rights and the environment, we have been holding sustainability study sessions since fiscal 2019 for managers and staff in charge of procurement, production management, product planning, and quality related to the supply chain.
In fiscal 2019, a total of approximately 100 employees participated in study sessions, looking at specific cases from our own factories and other companies’ factories, and learning not only modern slavery but also what constitutes serious human rights violations. I learned what to pay attention to when visiting a factory, what issues are occurring in the supply chain, and how companies should respond.
Furthermore, regarding in-house training, we conduct surveys of participants to gauge their level of understanding regarding social compliance, as well as confirm their awareness of current issues, in an effort to further educate employees.
