Fair business practices are the foundation of YKK’s business activities. Thus, we insist that our suppliers likewise engage in fair business practices.
Fair Operating Procedures
Seeking corporate value of higher significance
YKK’s Business Activities are Supported by Suppliers who Engage in Fair Business Practices
What we expect from our suppliers
In carrying out our business activities, the YKK Group is expected to undertake corporate social responsibility throughout its supply chain. To achieve this goal, we require the help of our trading partners and ask that they comply with the following fair business practices.
- We require that our suppliers comply with applicable laws and regulations in their business activities as well as with social norms and implement fair and ethical business practices.
- We require that our suppliers ensure that they do not use forced labor or child labor. We also require that they provide wages and other conditions of employment as well as maintain health and safety standards that comply with the laws of the countries and regions in which they do business.
- We request that our suppliers promote the preservation of the global environment as well as engage in procurement activities that are in accordance with our Green Procurement Policy. This policy is based upon our corporate philosophy, the Cycle of Goodness®, which states that an enterprise is an important member of society that must coexist with other elements of society and that the value of its existence will be recognized by the benefits it shares with society. The belief behind this is that nobody prospers without rendering benefit to others. We carry out business activities with the aim of ensuring mutual prosperity, and our belief is that innovative ideas and inventions results in business expansion for the YKK Group, which in turn brings prosperity to customers and trading partners and therefore benefits all of society.
- We require that our suppliers also establish a quality assurance system for their products as well as ensure the quality and safety of products as required by the YKK Group.
- We request that our suppliers build an appropriate information security system and manage their information resources appropriately.
Conflict Minerals
In addition to requiring that our suppliers comply with the above fair business practices, if our suppliers use 3TG metals (tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold – metals defined by U.S. law as conflict minerals that are mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country in which armed conflict and human rights abuses occur) in their products, we require that they provide us with satisfactory confirmation that they have conducted a “reasonable country of origin inquiry” to determine that their 3TG metals are not originally sourced from the DRC or adjoining countries or regions of conflict.
This requirement is derived from Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which requires that companies that make products that require 3TG metals to be produced or function must assess supply chains and publicly report on the source of these materials if they are sourced from regions of conflict in and around the DRC. YKK will not source 3TG containing raw materials from any supplier that is not able to provide us with satisfactory confirmation that they have conducted a “reasonable country of origin inquiry” to determine that their 3TG metals are not originally sourced from the DRC or adjoining countries.
Compliance
The foundation of the YKK Group’s business activities is fairness.
Basic Policy Related to Compliance
Under our Cycle of Goodness® philosophy, we have long based our business activities on the belief that an enterprise is an important member of society, and as such it must coexist with other elements of society, considering that the value of its existence will be determined by the benefits it renders to society.
The YKK Group considers compliance to be a response to societal demands, and that in addition to abiding by laws, regulations, and internal rules, compliance represents conforming with social norms required when conducting business activities.
Compliance Structure
The Company has appointed a Compliance Director and established a Corporate Legal and Compliance Group under the Officer in charge of compliance. These parties work with the external compliance advisors to maintain a compliance system for the YKK Group. The Compliance Director reports to the Company’s other Directors and to the Audit & Supervisory Board Members on the development of the compliance structure and compliance with laws, regulations, and the Articles of Incorporation, among other items. In addition, a Compliance Committee was established to undertake appropriate compliance promotion measures from the perspective of business management. The Committee deliberates on the operational status of compliance programs, responses to compliance issues, and the latest regulatory developments.
The Company’s Directors undergo periodic compliance training by attorneys and others and submit written pledges stating that they will comply with laws and regulations in the performance of their duties as Directors.
We work to reinforce compliance structures throughout the YKK Group. The Group established the YKK Global Criteria of Compliance (YGCC) and creates and operates compliance structures to ensure that each YKK Group company deploys and carries out proper and effective compliance programs in order to conduct transparent business activities. Each YKK Group company conducts periodic assessments and takes improvement measures in accordance with the YGCC to maintain and reinforce compliance structures.
Whistleblowing System
The YKK Group introduced the YKK Group whistleblowing system to establish a structure that enables employees and others to anonymously consult and report internally or externally regarding conduct in violation of laws, regulations, employment rules, or internal rules. In cases where conduct constituting a serious violation of laws or regulations is discovered, the YKK Group whistleblowing system Administrative Office reports the details of the report and the results of its investigation to the Company’s Audit & Supervisory Board members. The Group has also established internal and external hotlines for personnel to consult on workplace environment, concerns, and health issues.
Compliance and Competition Laws
The YKK Group complies with both the Anti-Monopoly Act and Subcontracting Act and engages in fair business practices.
Anti-Bribery and Corruption
The YKK Group does not permit its employees to bribe or to provide or receive inappropriate gifts or other benefits, regardless of whether the transaction is with a public official or private party or whether the transaction is conducted directly or through an intermediary.
Compliance Education
The YKK Group prepares compliance books for each region and distributes them to all employees. In addition, the Group conducts comprehensive e-learning compliance training, as well as training sessions attended by employees through other means. Periodic training is also conducted for officers.
A Fundamental Approach to Procurement
The YKK Group adopted the following Procurement Policy so that it can fulfill its social responsibilities throughout the supply chain.
YKK Group Procurement Policy
We have long based our business activities on the conviction, under our Cycle of Goodness® philosophy, that an enterprise is an important member of society, that it must thereby coexist with other elements of society, and the value of its existence will be recognized by the benefits it shares with society. The belief behind this is that no one prospers without rendering benefit to others. We carry out business activities with the aim of bringing mutual prosperity, and our intent is that innovative ideas and inventions will result in business expansion for the YKK Group, which in turn would bring prosperity to customers and trading partners, and thus benefit all society. This is none other than our execution of sustainability.
Organizational Governance
In Japan and abroad, we endeavor to understand each country’s laws and regulations as they pertain to our business, and to observe them in our activities. We are committed to fair and transparent dealings and do not enter into cartels or collusion.
Human Rights
We strive to conduct dealings with due consideration of human rights and endeavor to conduct transactions that do not involve forced labor, child labor, human trafficking, illegal employment of foreign workers, unfair discrimination, or other such practices.
Labor Practices
We encourage and pursue procurement from business partners whose employment conditions and health and safety standards, including remuneration and working conditions, comply with the laws and regulations of the countries and regions in which they conduct their activities, and who promote the creation of workplaces where employees can work with peace of mind.
Environment
We aim for sustainable procurement, which gives due consideration to environmental protection, resource conservation, and climate change countermeasures.
Fair Operating Practices
We appropriately consider the various factors involved in a transaction, including quality, price, delivery dates, and procurement periods, and engage in rational decision-making accordingly.
We evaluate the operating conditions, technological capability, and corporate positioning of business partners and pursue transactions that respect our corporate social responsibilities.
Consumer Issues
We listen to the opinions of stakeholders and endeavor to bring an ethical awareness to our dealings.
Socially and Environmentally Conscious Procurement Activities
We undertake CSR procurement in the Fastening Business so that we can fulfill our social responsibilities throughout the entire supply chain. In all processes, from raw materials to finished products, we take measures to procure materials that do not contain hazardous substances and to procure goods that were produced through appropriate manufacturing processes and labor environments. We continuously administer CSR procurement questionnaires to determine the CSR conditions of suppliers and provide feedback on the evaluation results. We also make visits and conduct interviews to encourage suppliers to make improvements. These measures are being expanded to YKK Group overseas companies as well.
Additionally, in the architectural products business, we issued the YKK AP Green Procurement Guidelines and undertake green procurement that prioritizes the purchase of environmentally conscious materials from suppliers that give consideration to the environment.
Request to Our Trading Partners
In carrying out our business activities around the world, the YKK Group undertakes sustainability throughout its supply chain. Working hand-in-hand with our trading partners is essential to achieve this. For this reason, and so that we can promote mutual understanding with our trading partners, the YKK Group has specified the following requests as “Basic Principles of Procurement”. We hope that you will join us in the fulfillment of our responsibilities to society.
