Respecting Human Rights

Fundamental Approach

In 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) announced its Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (“Guiding Principles”). Among the stated principles is “the responsibility of companies to respect human rights.” The AGC Group has stipulated "Respect for People" in the AGC Group Charter of Corporate Behavior and the AGC Group Human Rights Policy, and acts in accordance with this Guiding Principles and other internationally recognized human rights standards. As part of our corporate responsibility to respect human rights, we have included the concept of human rights in the AGC Group Purchasing Policy, which specifies items that we will work on in cooperation with our business partners, in order to promote human rights-conscious business activities not only within the AGC Group but also throughout our supply chain, and we ask for their cooperation in this regard.
We comply with the laws and regulations of each country and region and respects the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining. Furthermore, we will not engage in forced labor or child labor and will not tolerate infringements of human rights.

Click here for AGC Group Charter of Corporate Behavior
Click here for AGC Group Human Right Policy

We also analyzed and evaluated the charateristics of our business areas, business activities, and value chains, and our stakeholders, and identified the 14 items below as human rights issues to consider. From these, we identified the salient issues that have a particularly significant impact on human rights and on which the AGC Group should focus its efforts to reduce potential risks. The AGC Group mitigates risks related to these salient human rights issues by implementing human rights due diligence. The AGC Group will continually conduct risk assessments and review its salient human rights issues in response to changes in socail conditions and business activities.
Click here for salient human rights issues for AGC Group

Management Structure

The AGC Group conducts human rights efforts in collaboration with relevant departments. The Sustainability Committee, which meets four times a year and is attended by the CEO, CFO, CTO, Audit & Supervisory Board members, and all division heads, discusses initiatives to address human rights issues, such as responsible mineral sourcing, based on the AGC Group Human Rights Policy. The discussions of the Sustainability Committee are reported to the Board of Directors twice a year. Making efforts to spread awareness of human rights throughout the Group and to promote initiatives related to human rights and labor practices, we carry out in cooperation with relevant divisions as part of daily operations. The Human Resources Division conducts education on human rights and implements voluntary inspections in relation to human rights and labor practices. Meanwhile, the Procurement & Logistics Division is responsible for a questionnaire survey on sustainable procurement, which covers the status of and initiatives in relation to human rights and labor practices in supply chains. In addition, the Human Resources Division and the Compliance Division have established internal and external consultation contact channels (harassment consultation desks, helplines, etc.) in a manner that takes into consideration those seeking consultation, including employees, customers, and suppliers. The Procurement & Logistics Division also has a compliance consultation desk for procurement activities.