A symposium on themes such as business and human rights was held in Tokyo while a strict eye was focused on whether there were any human rights problems in the activities of companies, and a field survey was conducted to see if forced labor was being carried out at the business partners. Examples of companies working on it were introduced.
This symposium was held by Keidanren and was attended by about 300 corporate executives and staff, including online participants.
Regarding the response to human rights, Japanese companies that are expanding globally are also paying close attention to whether there are problems such as forced labor in the product supply network = supply chain.
At the symposium, the major distributor "Seven & i Holdings" investigated over 400 overseas factories involved in the manufacture of private brand products for human rights violations such as forced labor and discrimination through a third-party organization. I explained that there is.
In addition, Kao, a manufacturer of daily necessities, conducts a field survey every year, saying that many of the suppliers of palm oil, which is the raw material for detergents and shampoos, are small businesses and it is difficult to see human rights issues. We introduced that we are reviewing the suppliers based on the above.
On the other hand, the attendees pointed out that "how much transparency of the supply chain can be improved", and Keidanren created a new handbook for the person in charge of the company to improve the internal system and deal with it. We are encouraging companies to work on human rights, such as follow-up surveys.