Based on the Furukawa Electric Group Philosophy, the Group fully understands that the human rights of all people affected by its business activities must be respected as it develops its global business, and respects human dignity and all internationally recognized human rights. We also promote initiatives to respect human rights in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which require companies to “commitment of human rights policies,” “implement human rights due diligence,” and “establish remedy mechanisms”. In addition, based on the change of recent business environments and the increase in social requests, “human rights and labor practices” was added as a sub-material issue of “building a governance system to strengthen risk management” at FY 2021.

In accordance with the International Bill of Human Rights (Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenants on Human Rights), the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Group established the Furukawa Electric Group Human Rights Policy on January 27, 2020.

The Group's Sustainability Committee deliberates on sustainability issues, including human rights initiatives, and makes proposals and reports to the Board of Directors. The committee is chaired by the President, vice-chaired by the General Manager of the Strategy Division, and composed of members of top management. The Corporate Sustainability Office serves as the secretariat, and the committee generally meets twice a year.

In response to changing social demands for human rights, such as forced labor, child labor, and discrimination, as well as growing interest in human rights throughout the supply chain, the Group began efforts to implement human rights due diligence in FY2021. The Group has designated employees and partners* as the priority stakeholders for human rights due diligence.

Through the compliance awareness survey conducted in FY2021, we investigated human rights risks. Based on the survey results, we identified the issue as "harassment" and are implementing remedial measures.

In FY2022, some of the heads of each division and group company held dialogues with the Human Rights WG Secretariat to promote improvements and measures on the identified issues. In addition, with the intention of encouraging employees to learn and be aware of the issues identified, some messages from division heads and company presidents and educational measures were being developed. We plan to verify the improvements through another compliance awareness survey in FY2023.

We also provide education and training within the Group. In FY2022, we implemented e-learning courses on "Discrimination and Harassment" during the annual Compliance Month to ensure that respect for human rights is firmly established among all employees and the organization. All managers of group companies in domestic and overseas were targeted, and global implementation rate was 100%. We plan to continue the e-learning on an ongoing basis.

The Group evaluates the human rights risks at business partners (suppliers) of the Group through the Self-Assessment Questionnaires (SAQ) based on the Furukawa Electric Group CSR Procurement Guidelines (Third Edition), which is based on the RBA (Responsible Business Alliance) Ver. 7 Code of Conduct.

In FY2021, the company conducted SAQ for 56 of our major partners, starting with 79 domestic and overseas group companies that are also our partners. In FY2022, we expanded the scope of the survey to include approximately 500 of the Group's partners. As the result, no major risks to human rights have been identified at this time, but we will continue to communicate with our partners on an ongoing basis to ensure that their understanding of the Group's human rights efforts is enhanced. Furthermore, we plan to gradually expand the scope of this activity, aiming to achieve a global SAQ implementation rate of 100% by FY2025.

We have set "responsible minerals sourcing" as the issue and are implementing initiatives in response to recent changes in social trends and increasing social demands for minerals sourcing. In September 2022, we established the Furukawa Electric Group Responsible Mineral Sourcing Policy. Going forward, we plan to strengthen the Group's internal structure for minerals sourcing.

For employees, the Group has established an internal whistleblower system with an internal contact point and an external contact point using an external third-party organization for reporting negative impacts on human rights. For stakeholders other than employees, in addition to the existing “Inquiries other than product inquirers” window on the website, the Group joins the “Japan Center for Engagement and Remedy on Business and Human Rights” (JaCER), which was established by the CSR Committee of the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA). We will respond with objectivity and transparency so that we can move closer to a grievance mechanism that guarantees the effectiveness required by the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

The 10 principles of the UN Global Compact include principles related to human rights, such as support and respect for the protection of human rights, not being complicit in human rights abuses, elimination of forced and compulsory labor and abolition of child labor. The Group company supports the UN Global Compact and has participated in it since 2020.
In FY2022, the Company participates in the human rights subcommittees of Global Compact Network Japan, as below.

• Human Rights Due Diligence Subcommittee
• Supply Chain Subcommittee

Each fiscal year, the Group holds dialogues with several investors, and in FY 2022, the Group held direct dialogues with institutional investors. Through these dialogues, we have received valuable feedbacks on the status of the Group's ESG management initiatives, such as climate change countermeasures and governance, as well as on issues and expectations related to human rights, such as human rights due diligence and supply chain management.

We also engage in dialogues with our labor union at the biannual "Central Management Briefing" and on a daily basis to resolve various issues such as labor practices.

We will reflect the learnings from these dialogues in future measures to further enhance engagement with stakeholders.

Results of Efforts in FY2022

Indicators and Targets

The Group supports the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Rights of the Children’s Rights and Business Principles and respects the rights of children. In addition, the Company is a sustaining member of "National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan". In accordance with the Furukawa Electric Group Basic Policy on Social Contribution Activities, the Group is engaged in social contribution activities and other activities to realize children's rights, with a focus on fostering the next generation. To promote children's right to education, we provide educational support for local schools on a global basis.