Report on 2021 Business and Human Rights Conference in Tokyo
Direct Communication is fundamental to Human Rights Due Diligence

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Hosts:
Caux Round Table Japan, Institute for Human Rights and Business
Co-Hosts:
The Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Corporate Human Rights Benchmarks
World Benchmarking AllianceSponsors:
ANA HOLDINGS INC., Kao Corporation, SHIONOGI & CO., LTD.
Shiseido Company, Limited, SEKISUI CHEMICAL CO., LTD., TEIJIN LIMITED

Cooperation:
CHUGAI PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD.
Foreign Organizations
UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub, Institute for Human Rights and Business
Bluenumber Foundation, Verisk Maplecroft, Sedex, Corporate Human Rights Benchmarks
World Benchmarking Alliance

Host

Co-hostSponsorCooperation

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The 2021 Business and Human Rights Conference in Tokyo, hosted by Caux Round Table
Japan (CRT Japan) and the Institute for Human Rights and Business, was held on the 22nd ofCaux Round Table

October 2021. The conference was held online, same as last year in consideration of the COVID19 pandemic and drew more than 219 attendees from governments, businesses, and NGOs.
The conference had three pillars, focusing on (1) enhancing awareness and understanding of

the latest trends in business and human rights, (2) facilitating collaborative work to promoterespect of human rights, and (3) facilitating the implementation of United Nations Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).
It has been 10 years since the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights wereapproved by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011. In recent years, legislation on supply chain
has been accelerated mainly in Europe and the United States, requiring companies to implementand disclose their supply chain management practices. In addition, ESG investors are beginningto take steps to evaluate the contribution of companies to the SDGs. Companies are working to
implement activities related to SDGs and ESGs and disclose appropriate information, to enhancethe value of their intangible assets with a long-term vision and trend in mind. However, there
are still many companies that are currently unable to meet the expectations and demands ofsociety and ESG investors regarding business and human rights. Unless companies take it into
consideration the implementation of human rights due diligence and grievance mechanisms,
including for themselves and their supply chains, it will be difficult to achieve the SDGs.
Companies must identify the rightsholders facing human rights challenges and engage in directcommunication with them as soon as possible. In this plenary session, together with overseas
experts on business and human rights, domestic companies, and experts, we deepened anunderstanding of the global trends and the urgent issues of business and human rights. We
discussed while introducing examples of efforts by companies that are practicing.
In the first half of the plenary session, the domestic and foreign experts introduced global

trends related to business and human rights (trends related to business and human rights in Asia,
migrant workers, key issues in the supply chain, human rights information sharing platform,
corporate valuation trends in WBA/CHRB, useful tools for human rights due diligence). In thesecond half, we introduced and discussed business and human rights initiatives of CRT Japan,
Japanese companies, and organizations. The importance of stakeholder engagement in the formof dialogue was also discussed. At the end of the plenary session, an opinion exchange was heldwith overseas experts on key points for companies in implementing business and human rights
initiatives. 219 attendees (120 companies, 16 organizations (NGOs / NPOs / universities /individuals)) participated in the conference.
Prior to the conference, the sponsoring companies had an exclusive dialogue with overseas
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2human rights experts from the leading initiatives in this field. They introduced their humanrights and CSR efforts and exchanged views with the experts on how to enhance their
management. The companies found the dialogue very useful for gaining new perspectives andCaux Round Table

improving their human rights due diligence.

Opening Remarks
Hiroshi Ishida, Executive Director of CRT Japan, delivered opening remarks. Emphasizing thatthe business environment surrounding companies is becoming more challenging than ever before,
he argued that stakeholders require all companies to prove that human rights violations of theirstakeholders are not occurring or have not occurred in their supply chains and it has become
essential for companies to have the social license to justify how seriously companies listen to theirconcerns and to ensure that they are satisfied with their requirements. Nevertheless, hecautioned against the current polarization, with some companies turning a blind eye to thesesituations and neglecting their business and human rights activities because of the restrictions
on their activities due to the COVID19 pandemic, while others devising creative ways to copewith the situation as best they can do within these restrictions. NGOs and ESG-related investors
have been calling for great respect for human rights of stakeholders, and corporate evaluation
benchmarking has been asking companies to take more in-depth initiatives based on the UNGPs
than ever before. Moreover, he emphasized the importance of direct communication andengagement with stakeholders based on trust, given that regulations on business and humanrights have been strengthened and movement towards legislation is accelerating.

Introduction to Global Trends of Business and Human Rights
Trends in Business and Human Rights in Asia
Livio Sarandrea/ United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Bangkok Regional Hub
Three trends in Asia in the past year: (1) Policy discourse in Asia. With NAP formulated in
Thailand, Japan and Pakistan, the National Strategy on BHR is to be adopted soon in Indonesia,
and India is expected to adopt NAP in the next 6 months. (2) Mandatory due diligence norms. In
the coming years, it will have an even greater impact on upstream and downstream supply chainsmanagement in Asia as well as on the operations of companies selling products in the EU market.
UNDP launched a Manual, a Training Facilitation Guide on HRDD for companies that include a
digital self-assessment toolkit for training purposes. (3) Heightened Human Rights Due Diligence(HRDD in particular contexts or periods of time). The UNWG on Business and Human Rights
argues that when operating in conflict-affected areas, companies take on additional
responsibilities and are required to take into account conflicts as well as human rights issues.
The HRDD that incorporates these two points is called heightened HRDD. With the guidance of
the UNWG, UNDP is developing a self-assessment toolkit for heightened HRDD and is planningto launch around June. It is important to recognize that human rights compliance of companies
goes hand in hand with sustained opportunities for companies to offer jobs, make a profit that
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3will be reinvested in the wellbeing of the society.
Migrant Workers in Supply Chain: Solving the Challenges

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Neill Wilkins/ Institute for Business and Human Rights
Recruitment fees that most migrant workers faced remain an ongoing challenge in global supply
chains. They are vulnerable to further exploitation. Recruitment costs should be paid bycompanies. Through the recruiters, money earned abroad ends up back where it started in the
countries of destination and it has a negative impact on the development potential of work abroad
and realization of the sustainable development goals. Through the process of dealing with SDG
Goal 13 about climate change, there will be an increase in workers on the move globally, and thiswill be exacerbated by political instability and conflict in different parts of the world. Throughthis change, Just Transition is introduced to support workers in global supply chains, but no one
really knows what this transition will look like. There is a potential risk that migrant workers
face prejudice, discrimination, xenophobia, and exploitation. Many of these migrant workers workin the supply chains of global brands, thus businesses need to be planning now how increased
numbers of migrant workers will impact their supply chains, how this might be managed, andwhat role they might play in countering negative stereotypes and supporting all workers in their
supply chains.
Corporate Valuation Trends in WBA/CHRB: ESG benchmarks
Paulina Murphy/ World Benchmarking Alliance
WBA has identified the 2,000 global companies that are the most influential and able tocontribute to the SGD agenda. Those companies are measured on their performance on a system
based on transformation, aligned to their core business and also on their social impact, including
human rights and compliance with the UN Guiding Principles. In September, WBA published afood and agriculture benchmark that include 350 food companies and measured them on fourpillars- environment, social, governance and nutrition. The assessment revealed that 73% of thecompanies have a sustainable development strategy, only 26% are setting holistic time-boundtargets, and 27% of companies do not disclose any sustainability strategy. For true impact on theSDGs, companies need to integrate sustainability into a business's strategy and set actionabletargets. Also, by the increased momentum around impact investing, businesses are required toact with both financial and non-financial goals. Such investors make investment decisions basedon information related to economic, environmental, racial and climate justice. Not only financial
performance but also multi-stakeholder impact reporting is expected. Through active engagementwith their stakeholders, it is possible to create an inclusive dialogue, but also enables
accountability and keeps the momentum on using business influence.
Camille Le Pors/ Corporate Human Rights Benchmark, World Benchmarking Alliance
CHRB has been benchmarking companies on their human rights disclosures and performancesince 2017, with a focus on high-risk sectors, and it has assessed 230 companies with thisCaux Round Table Japan
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published a COVID-19 study, looking at how the companies in the scope of CHRB had responded
to the crisis, with a focus on human rights. CHRB revised the benchmarking methodology thisCaux Round Tablesummer. Key changes: (1) Not only policy commitments and management systems but also more
focus on performance. (2) A more integrated focus on stakeholder engagement. (3) New topics(business model strategy and risks, recruitment fees, HRDD in conflict and post-conflict contexts).
(4) Special process for major catastrophic events. These changes will be applied in the next CHRB
Benchmark, which will take place next year, and the result of the benchmark will be planned
published in Q4 of 2022.
Introduction of Useful Tools for Human Rights Due Diligence
Gus MacFarlane/ Verisk Maplecroft
Verisk Maplecroft provides human rights risk indices Potential or contextual human rights risks
in 198 countries worldwide are assessed in an index and scored on a 10-point scale for eachcountry. In addition, a sub-national human rights risk index covering 3,600 administrative
regions worldwide is updated quarterly to provide more detailed information on time. Recent
trends in human rights: (1) In the past 5 years, labour rights are becoming worse and raising
supply chain risk. (2) Modern slavery: Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia has shifted from high toextreme risk categories, now joining China, Pakistan, and DRC. Approximately 1,000 out of morethan 3,000 sub-regions pose extreme modern slavery risks (3) Foreign direct investment to highrisk urban hubs: the high-risk hubs include Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai in India, as well as Izmir
in Turkey, and Lagos in Nigeria and these highest-risk cities attracted a total of $10 billion in
FDI in 2020. (4) The issue of land grabs. Illegal or unethical seizure of land as well as therelationship of land-grabs with poor governance and the erosion of natural capital are on the rise.
Puvan Selvanathan/ Bluenumber
Human rights especially in supply chains should be measured by direct feedback of workers andstakeholders. There are enough tools and technologies available to ensure that workers in the
supply chain are not being exploited, but if companies do not use them, they risk being perceived
as making a deliberate decision to pass these risks on to shareholders and stakeholders. Various
social audits are available, but may not be sufficient to prove that workers are not being exploited.
He started a new initiative called the Blooming Rights Action Network (BRAN) on business andhuman rights, focusing on human and supply chains. This action network was launched as newlaws and regulations requiring mandatory HRDD took shape, especially in the EU. BRAN cancollate and process specific data that correlates with workers’ voice. In addition, the three
indicators of workers’ voice, traceability, and living wage will be combined to create atransparency score and a data-based index based on these indicators.
Alexander Walrut/ Sedex
Sedex (Supplier ethical data exchange) operates the world's largest collaborative supply chain
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5risk platform, providing a standardized risk assessment framework in multiple languages to help
companies manage their ever-changing supply chains at scale. (1) The questionnaires answeredby members are evaluated by Sedex, and suppliers can share their evaluations with their

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customers. This reduces duplication and allows for large-scale management of data collection andrisk assessment. (2) The self-assessment questionnaire by suppliers. Responses will be evaluatedbased on four pillars: labour standards, business ethics, health and safety, and the environment,
to identify areas that need further investigation. (3) Audits. It can be based on internal or
independent audits conducted by third parties either using the Sedex SMETA (Sedex Members
Ethical Trade Audit), or others. This involves a site inspection, worker interviews, andidentification of specific corrective actions. Sedex enables companies to understand the high-levelrisks of some or all of our current and potential suppliers, for example, what are the country,
sector, and commodity-specific risks that should be considered.
Rishi Sher Singh/ Supply Chain Sustainability Expert
Two trends on business and human rights in India: (1) The Indian government has released azero draft National Action Plan on business and human rights. (2) In 2020, the government
mandated the top 1000 companies listed on the stock exchange in India to report on theseguidelines (the principle five focusing on business and human rights). There is also a trend toengage with rightsholders on HRDD in a more organic way, rather than a linear process.
Shionogi’s approach is an example of good practices. Two steps required for HRDD: (1) Direct
engagement with rightsholders. It is very important to go and talk to those people who know theground very well. (2) Direct outreach to rightsholders on the ground in specific value chains. Trust,
localized dialogue methods, and experience are essential to listening to the issues and challenges
from the dialogue with the rightsholders. It is important to incorporate both top-down andbottom-up approaches in a balanced manner to make the due diligence process more effective.

Introduction of the Activities of Caux Round Table Japan and TraceBlue Japan LLC
Miho Okada/ Caux Round Table Japan, Traceblue Japan LLC
CRT Japan has been supporting companies in their efforts to address "business and humanrights," and its support consists of the following five areas: (1) developing policies and systems;(2) identifying and assessing negative impacts through risk assessments and impact assessments;(3) addressing negative impacts (prevention and mitigation); (4) communication, including
information disclosure and dialogue; and (5) remediation. TraceBlue Japan LLC supports CRT's
activities using digital technology. With three target topics of foreign workers, palm oil, and foodtraceability, we provide supply chain management support such as understanding and visualizing(mapping) supply chains and sharing information with suppliers, as well as direct communication
support between companies and stakeholders.
Introduction of BlueMarket
Kenshiro Kaza/ Seiwa Company, Ltd.
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Seiwa's mission is to enhance the attractiveness of agriculture and provide comprehensive
support of production, sales and management to producers. In terms of food safety, internal
traceability is currently inadequately addressed by Japanese companies, and 75% of Japanese

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food companies have not yet implemented SDG initiatives. Against this backdrop, Seiwa pursues
traceability, especially through the use of ICT. Blue Market is a vegetable e-commerce website,which goes beyond selling vegetables to convey the thoughts and faces of the producers behindthe produce. It is a system that allows sellers to link information on production practices to thevegetables they sell. Seiwa is also working with Bluenumber to visualize the distribution
channels and to integrate with the SDG Scorecard. Seiwa aims to establish the status of producers
and increase their income by conveying the true value of produce, creating new values, andevolving them.
Efforts to Respect the Rights of Technical Intern Trainees in Japan
Makoto Wada/ Tomoku Co., Ltd.
Tomoku currently employs six technical intern trainees and hired them through a supervisoryorganization, Kanto Staff Cooperative. In order to deepen the trainees' understanding of workand life in Japan, hiring managers visit them in their home country and explain day-to-day
operations in person. By accepting trainees only from reputable supervising organizations,
Tomoku ensures that the trainees are not charged recruitment fees at sending organizations. In
addition, with the cooperation of the Kanto Staff Cooperative, if there are any problems, thetrainees can raise them with the supervising organization, which in turn reports them to thecompany. Companies are required to set up a system to facilitate direct communication withworkers and to hear their direct voices and encourage them to raise their voices. Tomoku is in theprocess of introducing Hello Ninja and recognizes one of its advantages is that trainees can choose
where they want to raise their voices, whether at the plant or the head office.
Kensaku Sato/ Kanto Staff Cooperative
Kanto Staff Cooperative is a supervising organization for technical interns with over 20 years ofexperience. In Vietnam, the government is allowed to collect $3,600 of recruitment fees fromtrainees, while in the Philippines, the recruitment fee is generally paid by companies. Kanto Staff
Cooperative keeps track of the recruitment fee issue by asking the trainees to directly report how
much they have paid in their home country. Since the Japanese proficiency level of trainees varies
depending on sending organizations, Kanto Staff Cooperative only accepts trainees from two
reliable sending organizations in Vietnam and China and does not accept any from those that do
not provide Japanese language education on their own. One-month training after entering Japanis provided by the cooperative, and interviews with trainees are conducted at least once a monthafter they are assigned to the company. Of the 20 full-time employees, 13 are local staff. During
the training period, the cooperative lends trainees a cell phone with a direct line to the cooperative
so that they can contact 24/7 if there are any problems. When a problem arises, the cooperative
confirms the fact from both the company and trainees and offer suggestions and guidance to solve
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7the problem quickly.

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Introduction of Japanese Companies' Approaches to Direct Communication
Itsu Adachi/ The SASAKA PEACE FOUNDATIONThe Sasakawa Peace supports the prevention and remedy of human rights violations against
stakeholders by encouraging "responsible corporate behavior" in Japanese companies withoverseas supply chains. It aims to achieve the following three goals. (1) Establishment of agrievance mechanism: working on a grievance resolution platform project in collaboration withJEITA (the establishment of a collective grievance mechanism is expected to enhance theefficiency and effectiveness of grievance handling, for example by addressing issues common to acertain industry), and the dialogue remedy project, which is a mechanism to mediate between theparties concerned. (2) Development of information platform: established the Japanese website of
the Business and Human Rights Resource Center, one of the world's largest information websites
on business and human rights, and posting translated articles. (3) Research and study on
structural factors: requested a survey on sectors with high human rights risks in Thailand,
Indonesia, Myanmar, etc. The sectors with high human rights risk in Southeast Asia include thefinance, construction, energy, and food sectors.
Chikako Miyata/ ANA HOLDINGS INC.
With issues identified through impact assessment, ANA Holdings identified important humanrights themes and aims to address them by making a direct approach to rightsholders. These
themes are (1) understand the working environment for foreign workers in Japan, (2) strengthen
supply chain management related to in-flight meals, (3) prevent human trafficking, and (4)prevent bribery. Themes 1 and 2 are being addressed using Bluenumber and involving groupcompanies and outsourcing contractors. This is a mechanism to collect data of the supply chain
and communicate with suppliers. This year, ANA conducted an online survey of group companies
and contractors that employs a large number of technical intern trainees and the survey result
revealed some issues and confirmed how the trainees were recruited. ANA aims to build a solid
system before operations gradually go back to pre-pandemic times and foreign workers return ina post COVID19 era. Also, ANA will expand the scope of the Ninja Anon. As for supply chain
management in in-flight meals, ANA will continue to reduce risks by visualizing the supply chain,sharing values with suppliers, and understanding procurement, human rights, andenvironmental risks associated with procured goods and ingredients.
Nobuyoshi Yamaguchi/ Kao Corporation
Kirei Lifestyle Plan is Kao's ESG strategy, and its mission is the responsible procurement for
global society and consumers. Kao has identified palm oil and pulp/paper as high-risk supply
chain products from the three perspectives of business, ESG, and area. For high-risk supply chain
products, Kao is working to understand the risks through on-site dialogues. With regard to palmoil, Kao launched the SMILE project in 2021 to support local smallholder farmers through direct
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8dialogues, targeting 4,986 farms in Sumatra, Indonesia, and contributing to improving theirlivelihood by increasing their productivity and promoting RSPO certification. Kao also continues
to engage in dialogues even during the pandemic and worked with CRT to conduct a survey ofCaux Round Table

independent smallholder farmers in 2021. SPKS, the local partner in Indonesia, visited the fieldand collected data face-to-face with the farmers. The grievance mechanism also works with
suppliers to not only receive grievances but also to check progress status and provide follow-up
support.
Masako Kudo/ Shionogi & Co., Ltd.
As a leading company in infectious diseases, Shionogi is developing actions for comprehensive
care of COVID19. In addition, Shionogi started a survey to identify human rights issues last year,
and set aluminum, glass, cellulose, and ethanol as important items, with reference to the amountand value of future purchases. Since it was not possible to trace the labour conditions at the endof the supply chain from suppliers using the top-down method, Shionogi changed to a bottom-up
method and asked CRT to conduct research. This year, the research started with cellulose. In abottom-up approach, direct dialogue was conducted online with eucalyptus (the raw material forcellulose) farmers in India from June to September 2021. Although the direct dialogue revealed
the current situation in India, issues remained in visualizing the entire supply chain. In addition,although the working environment was not bad, questions arose about the sustainability of
eucalyptus cultivation. The survey on human rights issues also revealed environmental and otherproblems. By listening to the voices of producers and workers through direct dialogue, afoundation was laid for early detection of potential human rights issues.

Business & Human Rights and Direct Communication : From Engagement
Perspective
Yusuke Yukawa/ Nishimura & Asahi
Hiroshi Ishida/ Caux Round Table Japan
Regarding the need for direct engagement with stakeholders, both the UNGPs and OECD Due
Diligence Guidance emphasize the importance of engagement, and business and human rights
cannot be discussed without engagement. As long as there is a risk of negative impact on humanrights, the starting point is to hear from the person concerned and make findings of fact. If there
are difficulties in accessing rightsholders or challenges in the capability of the rightsholders,companies can also invite a third party for intermediation. In addition, in cases where companies
are unable to respond directly, they can devise ways such as bringing in NGOs or designating a
proxy. It is important to engage where possible. Although written correspondence is an option, it
tends to be rigidly formal and not as effective as the actual face-to-face method. Engagement is
all about trust. The use of local people with experience and knowledge is mentioned in the UNGPs,
and it is not necessary for companies to carry out the entire process. It is more effective to involve
trusted partners such as a local expert.

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Discussion and Summary with Overseas Experts and Participants•

The integration of environmental responsibility into business and human rights is a hot
topic in Europe. The environment and human rights should never be addressed in silos,

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but rather intertwined in a more complex way. Companies will need to take a more
integrated approach to both. In other words, the conversion of environmental and social
aspects will be important in the future. –Hiroshi
Environmental issues have also had a significant impact on human rights initiatives, andsometimes it is not always easy to explain issues related to water and waste as humanrights issues. A simple rule is that if an environmental issue affects people, then it is ahuman rights issue. —Gus
Human rights violations by businesses may cause people in the supply chain to have tochange where they live, which is a demographic problem. There will also be problems
associated with migration, such as discrimination at a destination of migration.
Traceability may also need to be looked at from a new perspective. What companies should
do immediately is to think about how climate change will affect their business. —Neill
Direct communication and engagement will be of even greater interest in the future. The
direct voice of workers will influence not only grievances but also audits and investigations.
–Alex
Communicating directly with stakeholders on the ground is a fun process of human rights
due diligence. Direct communication is very important. –Rishi
It is necessary to find issues that need to be addressed while listening to the voices of thefrontline and people in the value chain, and it is important to do this in both top-down
and bottom-up approaches. In addition, although it may be practically difficult to engage
with all stakeholders, companies are expected to communicate with more of them.
Companies need to have a system in place that prevents the content of theircommunication with rights holders from leaking out. If the issue is not resolved withinthat system based on trust, it can cause frustration and stress for both parties, which may
make the problem more complicated. Communication during the assessment process isalso important for fostering a trusting relationship. –Camille

Comments on the Global Conference from Overseas Experts
The Global Conference is where we can learn about corporate initiatives and realize thatcompanies are making steady progress. It is much appreciated if CRT Japan could continue tohold the Global Conference where companies and stakeholders can get together even during the
pandemic. We genuinely hope to come to Japan next year and meet you in person.

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