Vo l u n t a r y S e m i n a r

KohDohFeatureBusiness and Human Rights
What it takes to evolve into a human-oriented company ofgreat value to society■About the Voluntary Seminar
A talk titled Business and Human Rights was given by invited

Lecturer: Yoko Doi
Fundraising Dept. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL JAPANs p e a ke r Yo ko D o i f r o m i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y - a c t i v e A m n e s t y

After graduating from university, Doi wentInternational Japan, the non-proﬁt human rights organization, toto work for an organization afﬁliated witht h e M i n i s t r y o f Ec o n o m y , Tr a d e a n d

approximately 120 employees at the head ofﬁce.

Industry, which promoted technology

Up to this point, discrimination and harassment in the workplacetransfers from Japan to Thailand. She was inhas been central to our in-house training and compliance

On October 3 (Tue.), 2017, a voluntary seminar and dialogue on business and human rights were held at the MandomGroup's head ofﬁce in Osaka with invited outside experts on global human rights and corporate initiatives.

charge of study tours of trainee groups fromeducation, but these are only subsections of human rights issues.

Thailand to visit Japanese companies.
During her employment, she joined the

In June 2011, the United Nations endorsed the Guiding Principles
on Business and Human Rights as the ﬁrst global standard on
business practices that relate to human rights. Going forward,transnational corporations will be increasingly scrutinized on a
range of fronts for how they deal with issues linked to businessand human rights. In the United States, the California
Transparency in Supply Chains Act was enacted in 2012, and in
the UK, the Modern Slavery Act went into effect in March 2015.
The latter requires that corporations doing business in the United

Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese
Youth Program (SSEAYP), an international exchange programorganized by the Cabinet Ofﬁce of Japan. Later, she worked in
the CSR department of an electronics manufacturer. Doi took up
h e r c u r r e n t p o s i t i o n i n 2 0 1 4 . S h e p r ov i d e s s u p p o r t t ocorporations for developing human rights policy and carrying
out human rights due diligence, and is involved in providing
e-Learning on the topic of Business and Human Rights, among
other duties.

Kingdom post on their website their human rights policy, alongwith a declaration by its top executives. It also requires disclosuresof forced labor or child labor in regions that supply palm oil, a rawof human rights measures being taken at all stages of businessmaterial deeply connected to our products, and paper (forest(including throughout the supply chain), along with annual

resources) used in product packaging or distribution material, as

updates on the progress of those efforts. Other countries arewell as cases in which land belonging to locals has been deprived

starting to adopt similar regulations, and pioneering transnationalof its rights.

corporations are examining their work environments and whether

Amnesty's Yoko Doi spoke about these human rights issues in theor not human rights infringements are occurring at the plants,

context of basic frameworks and domestic and international

The event addressed the following CSR Material Issues of the Mandom Group, along with international standards of conduct for a

farms, or production sites of their overseas subcontractors intrends, providing recent examples of human rights violations.

transnational corporation, and efforts that we can undertake both in Japan and in other countries to achieve international sustainability,

Southeast Asia and elsewhere from which raw materials are

Ordinarily, her talks contain subject matter directed at managers

primarily using the framework outlined below.

procured. The ﬁrms are then publicly disclosing the results, theirworking in the areas of CSR and compliance, but having shared

policy, and efforts they are making to redress or remedy humanwith her in advance the details of our business activities and therights violations.

status of our CSR measures, she arranged a voluntary seminar on

In April 2017, the International Organization for Standardization

Business and Human Rights, her ﬁrst on the topic. Moreover, due(ISO) announced ISO 20400, a new international standard on

to the voluntary seminar being open for employees from all

sustainable procurement (also called CSR procurement or

departments to attend, including new employees and contract

responsible procurement). The new standard includes human

employees, and since a dialogue was to be held after the voluntaryrights and environmental considerations. There is also theseminar with select participants, the talk was limited to two hours.

Consumer Goods Forum, the largest organization that brings

Ms. Doi gave clear explanations in the following areas for all to

together manufacturers of food, cosmetics, and daily consumer

understand.

Mandom Group's CSR Material Issues (Ver. 2)【Issue No. 02】 Promoting corporate philosophy/culture and compliance【Issue No. 03】 Continuous investment in education on human rights【Issue No. 10】 Building and implementing CSR procurement system【Issue No. 13】 Detecting and contributing to new social paradigms【Issue No. 14】 Co-creating value with society

10 Principles of the UN Global Compact (Areas: Human rights/Labour)【Principle 1】 Businesses should support and respect the protection ofinternationally proclaimed human rights【Principle 2】 Businesses should make sure that they are not complicit in humanrights abuses【Principle 3】 Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and theeffective recognition of the right to collective bargaining【Principle 4】 Businesses should uphold the elimination of all forms of forced andcompulsory labour【Principle 5】 Businesses should uphold the effective abolition of child labour

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
【Goal
【Goal
【Goal
【Goal
【Goal

goods with retailers globally, as well as other NGOs and researchorganizations working internationally to raise awareness of thenecessity of human rights efforts that reach all the way up the
supply chain.
The areas in which the Mandom Group does business are not

Theme: Considering Human Rights in Business
1. Amnesty International's activities and Business andHuman Rights

excluded from this global social trend. Action is both expected

2. International human rights standards and corporate
responsibility for Business and Human Rights

and demanded of global corporations to remedy human rights

3. Tackling human rights issues in Japanese companies

infringements in the supply chain (such as measures to avoid

4. The necessity for corporations to take action onhuman rights

human rights violations, as well as effective bans and redress
systems). In our areas of business, such issues have been reported

8 】 Decent work and economic growth
1 0 】 Reduced inequalities
1 2 】 Responsible consumption and production
1 6 】 Peace, justice and strong institutions
1 7 】 Partnerships for the goals

Corporate Governance Code
【General Principle 2】 Appropriate cooperation with stakeholders other than shareholders
Reference: Mandom website CSR Information > CSR Material Issues Connection to SDGs
Reference: The Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact via Global Compact Network
Reference: United Nations Information Centre > What Are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
Reference: Japan Exchange Group > Japan's Corporate Governance Code

20 M a n d o m K o h D o h R e p o r t 2 0 1 8

Mandom KohDoh Report 201821

Dialogue■Dialogue
After the voluntary seminar, Amnestyʼs Yoko Doi was joined by
Minako Suzuki, former manager of the CSR Planning Ofﬁce at

Guest: Minako Suzuki
Former manager, CSR Planning Ofﬁce, Corporate Social Responsibility
Department, SUMITOMO RIKO Company Limited

After working for a time as a magazine

Sumitomo Riko Company Limited. Together they led a dialogue

e d i t o r , S u z u k i re ce i ve d a n M B A f ro m

for about two hours on the theme, Business and Human Rights:

Alliance Manchester Business School (The

What it takes to evolve into a human-oriented company of great

University of Manchester, UK). She joined avalue to society.

major accounting ﬁrm and provided

Ms. Doi from Amnesty began by explaining the content of an

consulting on internal audits andi n t e r n a t i o n a l l y d i s c l o s e d h u m a n r i g h t s re p o r t f ro m o n e

CSR/sustainability for a wide range ofcompanies. In 2013, she joined Sumitomo

pioneering transnational corporation created on the basis of the
U N ' s G u i d i n g Pr i n c i p l e s o n B u s i n e s s a n d Hu m a n R i g h t sReporting Framework. She started with this to teach the basics ofRiko, when its name was still Tokai Rubber
Industries, to work in CSR promotion. She has been in her
current position since January 2017. In November 2016, she

human rights in business efforts demanded by the global

spoke at a session at the 5th UN Forum on Business and Humancommunity, such as CSR procurement, social responsibility

Rights held in Geneva, Switzerland, being the ﬁrst representative

audits, and human rights due diligence.
Ms. Doi compared the content of the report to the information
disclosed by the Mandom Group̶our principles, policies, andof a Japanese ﬁrm to do so, speaking about her company's
human rights efforts in the supply chain. Since FY2017 she has
also been working for the UN Global Compact Network Japan aspart of their expansion committee.

speciﬁc initiatives̶pointing out what we were doing, what wewere not, and what actions we should take going forward,
discussing these things with the participants.

community." She also shared how Sumitomo Riko, which

During the dialogue, Ms. Doi gave us this advice: "It is importantprimarily manufactures automotive parts (anti-vibration rubber

to proactively disclose information. Gather information widely

products, hoses, etc.), is currently investigating risks and making

outside the company, quickly perceive social issues, andimprovements in the supply chain for natural rubber, used as a

respond. This process is also linked to corporate competitiveness.

raw material.

It is often difﬁcult to gather information in the area of humanrights and to turn it into data. That is where you can utilize
NGOs."
Ms. Suzuki told us this: "In Japan, a policy is often thought of as
something that is merely written and framed on the wall. What itshould be is a standard by which action is taken throughout thecompany, serving as judgment criteria in each workplace. As apolicy that holds divisions together, it is necessary to devise
principles that can be acted upon in the workplace and to reviset h e m i n a ccord a n ce w ith th e n or ms of th e in te r n a t i onal

■To Establish and Strengthen a Broad,

opinions of outside experts, researchers, and organizations to

Co-Creative Relationship with Society

establish and strengthen a broad, co-creative relationship with

Human rights efforts in business involve monitoring humanWe plan to carry out our social responsibility as a corporate

rights at every step, including the corporate supply chain,c i t i z e n t h o ro u g h l y , b u i l d i n g a s t ro n g fo u n d a t i o n i n o u r

ensuring that no infringements are occurring. Furthermore,

relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders and outsidewhile cooperating broadly with society, efforts must involve

experts, so we ask for your understanding and cooperation.

working to improve a fair and sustainable business model, andWe wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to Ms. Doi and Ms.

continuous redressing of human rights abuses. Recently,

Suzuki.

society.

companies have been changing the way they perceive humanrights efforts in business. Rather than seeing measures as a way
to eliminate negative impact on business activities, they areseeing such efforts as an opportunity for innovation and the
d e v e l o p m e n t o f n e w b u s i n e s s e s i n t e r m s o f f a i r t ra d e ,cause-related marketing, social enterprise, and inclusive
business.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an approach that meetsthe expectations and demands of society across a broad
spectrum of social issues. The call for social responsibility is sure
to apply to an expanding range of areas in the future, andcompanies will need to respond to new issues as they emerge. In
order to respond appropriately to such situations, rather thanmaking judgments based solely on internal information, views
and values, it will be necessary to work with and seek the

Pa rticipa nts of the dia logue

Observers (Ma ndom )●Yoko Doi ‑ Amnesty International Japan●Masayoshi Momota ‑ Director● Minako Suzuki ‑ Former manager, CSR Planning Ofﬁce,●Makiko Tokuno ‑ Manager, Internal Audit Div.

Corporate Social Responsibility Department,
Sumitomo Riko Company Limited●Gengo Kubo ‑ Internal Audit Div.
●Tadahiko Hirata ‑ Purchasing Div.
●Yuko Shiomi ‑ Purchasing Div.
●Keiji Kasahara ‑ Purchasing Div.
●Masato Kishimoto ‑ Technical Development Center●Gaku Okuda ‑ Manager, Communication Strategy Div.
●Takeshi Masuki ‑ Marketing Div. 2●Tsukasa Nishiyama ‑ CSR Promotion Div. (Moderator)

22 M a n d o m K o h D o h R e p o r t 2 0 1 8●Tokuto Muraji ‑ General Manager, Purchasing Div.
●Takuma Kiuchi ‑ Manager, Purchasing Div.
●Naoya Koizumi ‑ Manager, Purchasing Div.
●Takashi Maekawa ‑ General Manager,
CSR Promotion Div.

●Masashi Toyonaga ‑ CSR Promotion Div.
●Jun Takakura ‑ CSR Promotion Div.
●Nobue Kaneko ‑ CSR Promotion Div.
*Departments, etc., and managerial titles are correct as of date of writing

Mandom KohDoh Report 201823

Comments

Outside Expert Comments
Yoko Doi

Former manager, CSR Planning Ofﬁce,
Corporate Social Responsibility
Department, SUMITOMO RIKO
Company Limited

The Mandom Group's concept of a"human-oriented" company overlaps withhuman rights in business̶an approach

Business and human rights initiatives aret h a t fo c u s e s o n p e o p l e i n b u s i n e s s

still relatively unfamiliar to people inactivities. It seems, therefore, that humanJapan, but efforts are steadily progressing

rights are to be placed at the heart of thein the international community.

group's business operations.

November 2017, I again attended theProtecting human rights is a basic premise upon which sustainability isannual UN Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva. In thisbuilt in this world, and society will increasingly demand that

forum, various practices to which many Japanese companies have yet tocorporations carry out due diligence on human rights, and have

give much consideration, for example cases covered by the humansystems in place that assure that human rights are respected.

rights report we discussed in our dialogue, are presented as a common

Lateral connections that extend across a company's divisions arepractice. Initially, participants in the forum came mainly from thee s s e n t i a l fo r h u m a n r i g h t s e f fo r t s i n b u s i n e s s . Acco rd i n g t ogovernment and NGO sectors, but in recent years participants frominternational human rights standards, including the UN's Guiding

companies have increased considerably, demonstrating that companies

Principles on Business and Human Rights, companies are required toare beginning to pay attention to business and human rights.

respect human rights throughout the value chain, meaning their

Prior to our dialogue, I read Mandom's KohDoh Report 2016 and The

responsibilities are extensive. At Mandom, cross-divisional CSR

Indonesia Plant Fire and Our Response report. These reports created a

activities are already being carried out, and the voluntary seminar andstrong impression regarding Mandom's efforts toward human rights in

dialogue taught me that employees are proactive in theirbusiness. I doubt there are many other Japanese companies that would

understanding of CSR issues and that there is good communication

disclose their response to such an accident as clearly as Mandom has. I

between divisions. I believe that the foundation already exists forparticipated in this dialogue with that recognition, and here too I

amplifying this approach to spread respect for human rights

observed an earnest attitude among Mandom's employees that madegroup-wide, a principle that is stated in the Mandom Group Code ofme realize a foundation has been laid for such efforts by the corporate

Conduct.

culture.

Supply chain human rights are listed as a CSR material issue in the

Sumitomo Riko has only just begun its own business and human rights

Mandom Group's value chain. I look forward to seeing Mandom

efforts. Although we work in different industries, I believe that humanprioritize human rights issues and carry out responsible procurement

rights are an issue we share in common. As Japanese companies, let's

and business in high-risk areas where human rights violations arework to promote these efforts together.

likely to occur̶such as areas where raw materials are produced andMasato Kishimoto

I learned a great deal and hope that the

Human rights is a topic that has been getting

company provides more such opportunities formore newspaper and media coverage of late. To

study. The issue of human rights had almost

be honest, I could not relate to it and found thenever come up before in the Purchasing

topic difﬁcult and complicated. But through my

Purchasing Div.

Minako Suzuki

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL JAPANTadahiko Hirata

Division, but now I feel an urgency to set up ourparticipation in this voluntary seminar andown procurement standards based on international rules (humandialogue, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of the Ruggie

rights standards). These standards must also hold up to outsideprinciples, the lagging response of Japanese companies, and thescrutiny, so we need to work with outside stakeholders to create them.

necessity to take action on human rights. I also feel that as a

Such efforts will require a stronger relationship than ever with our raw"human-oriented" company that supports the 10 principles of the UN

material suppliers. I also feel that we need to further raise awarenessGlobal Compact, it is necessary for Mandom to quickly set out a policy

inside the company, starting with management, and proceed withand share that with the world.

strong motivation.

It has long been known that a company is only as good as its people.
Where there are people, there are human rights, and I plan toinvestigate the supply chain situation in our business dealings, andexplain our stance and our actions regarding human rights issues toour stakeholders.

Gengo Kubo

Communication Strategy Div.,GB Marketing Headquarters

This was a good opportunity to be reminded of
the rapid change in the business environment

Before, I had felt that this topic was rather

and to recognize that not addressing humanunrelated to my everyday business, but as I

rights issues can lead to risks. This voluntary

became more familiar with the issues, I realized

seminar was quite meaningful not only for a

how little I had really known and been aware ofsegment of our employees but for the company as a whole to deepen

previously. I also realized that each year, society is taking an

its understanding and get all of its employees moving in the same

increasingly keen interest in corporate actions, requiring proper action

direction.

on our part. I came to realize that doing business internationally means

The examples shared of other companies were very informative. I

that we must adopt this kind of global perspective. In addition, thewould like to see Mandom shift away from conservative actions witheducation provided by this voluntary seminar and dialogue was only torisk avoidance as the primary objective, to more Mandom-like positivea certain number of participants; we need for all of our employees toactions that can really help people, particularly in Asia.

share the same awareness, so that they may think and act together. It is

Marketing Div. 2

company's recognition of and response to upstream human rights

Gaku Okuda

Internal Audit Div.

Takeshi Masuki

processed. I also expect to see information disclosure related to theTechnical Development Center

issues that are often difﬁcult to see downstream in the supply chain.

Up to this point, I had felt that business andI believe it is the role of NGOs like Amnesty International to point out

human rights had little to do with me. I thought

things that companies cannot easily see, such as what negative impacts

the issue was the responsibility of transnational

their business may be having on people involved in it. I hope thatcompanies much larger than ours. But after thisgoing to take a considerable amount of time for these ideas to beshared with and adopted by everyone, so I will start by sharing what I
learned within my own department.

voluntary seminar and dialogue I came to realize

Mandom will continue having dialogues with such NGOs in the future.

that Mandom must also take action on this issue. Mandom products are
made in Japan, Indonesia, and China, and are distributed worldwide,

Employee Comments
Yuko Shiomi
Purchasing Div.

but I can't say if there are or aren't any problems involving humanrights somewhere along the line across the range of raw materials we

Keiji Kasahara
Purchasing Div.

In the day-to-day operations of the Purchasing

I worked on designing new products after ﬁrst

Division, we try to ensure that there are no CSR

joining Mandom, and now I work in purchasing,nonconformities in the supply chain based on

so I'm aware of quality issues and the 3Rs

the Mandom Group's Procurement Guidelines.

( Re d u ce , Re u s e , Re c yc l e ) , w h i c h i nvo l ve

There was a clear focus on human rights in this voluntary seminar, andconsideration for the environment. But with regard to human rights, I

a lot of real examples were presented. I now better understand the risks

only came into contact with direct customers in Japan, so human rights

and structural issues faced by companies.

violations appeared irrelevant. However, considering how raw materials

Through the dialogue, I was introduced to a human rights report of aare procured globally these days, I feel that we really need topioneering company in an easy-to-understand way. I learned how toinvestigate the conditions where raw materials are produced, and makesee human rights risks in corporate activities together with thesure that human rights are being protected, not merely worrying about

identiﬁed issues, giving me a more concrete idea on how respect for

quality and environmental issues. As the person responsible for thehuman rights can ﬁt into my own work.

procurement of raw materials, I think it is paramount to stay on top of
quality, environment, and human rights issues, and I will continue todo so in my day-to-day activities.

use. The only thing I can say is that if we want to grow globally in the
future, we need to do business in a way that does not cause any
problems with human rights. Looking ahead, I will consider what I can
do about this in my own area of work.

Looking Back on the Voluntary Seminar and Dialogue
The seminar reconﬁrmed that taking action on human rights problems

chain, but there are a wide range of other actions regarding humanhidden in the supply chain that supports our lives and businessrights that are also expected and demanded of corporations. These

activities is not only the duty of a transnational company but is also

include ridding the workplace of harassment and discrimination,indispensable for the healthy growth of the Mandom Group's business.

e l i m i n a t i n g u n f a i r t r e a t m e n t a n d i m p r ov i n g t h e wo r k p l a c e

As the voluntary seminar was voluntary, some early concerns wereenvironment, and paying careful attention to people working in allraised about low participation numbers, but a preliminary survey

areas, be it in the supply of products and services, or in publicity andindicated there would be more applicants than anticipated, which

advertising.

showed a high interest in human rights. Also, even with the demands ofWith a renewed understanding of human rights, we can better sort out

regular work duties, select employees actively participated in thethe human rights issues and risks in our midst, and we can continue todialogue, and it turned out to be a fruitful experience. The day also

take action on human rights in business to evolve into a truly

brought up future issues for thoughtful action, including the"human-oriented" company as the Mandom Group aspires to be, andestablishment and implementation of a CSR procurement system.

offer great value to society.

The focus of this seminar was on human rights issues in the supply

24 M a n d o m K o h D o h R e p o r t 2 0 1 8

Mandom KohDoh Report 201825