In order to realize a sustainable society, we have been conducting fair and sincere procurement activities to take the consideration about the safety and environment, under the Furukawa Electric Group Procurement Policy.
We contribute to create the social infrastructure combining information, energy, and mobility through the relationship and co-creation with our partners*.
 

Furukawa Electric Group has established CSR Procurement Guidelines for our partners and promotes ESG procurement activities that take E(Environment) and S(Social) into consideration. At the end of FY2020, we published the CSR Procurement Guideline (3rd Edition), to which we added the latest social requirement items with reference to the RBA Code of Conduct and JEITA Guidelines.
We ask new suppliers for agreement to comply with our CSR Procurement Guideline as a prerequisite for starting a business with us.
Based on our CSR Procurement Guideline, we work together with existing partners to ensure "strict compliance with laws and regulations and fair trade," "consideration for human rights, safety, and the environment," "reduction of environmental impact," and "non-use of conflict minerals" in our procurement activities. We also hold annual Partners Meetings to provide our partners with ongoing encouragement by explaining our CSR Procurement guidelines and our environmental and social procurement policies, targets, and initiatives. 
As a risk survey for existing partners, we continue to conduct not only the conventional questionnaire but also a self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ) for major partners in accordance with the contents of the CSR Procurement Guideline since FY2021. In the event that a partner falls under any of the survey items that we have identified as high-risk, we will reconfirm the situation through interviews and other means, and encourage the partner to correct the situation as necessary. In FY2022, we further promoted CSR procurement activities throughout the Furukawa Electric Group, expanded the scope of SAQ partners, and started SAQ to partners of domestic and Asian group companies.
In addition, we have established contact points for inquiries about compliance and inquiries about human rights (JaCER's Grievance Form) on our company website for the acceptance of reports on non-compliance and suspicious activities taking place within the context of our procurement activities. When a report has been received, we will check the described facts of that report, undertake a response such as an investigation, and provide feedback to report-issuing party as deemed necessary.

• CSR Procurement Guideline 3rd edition

We carry out partner evaluations of selected partners based on importance and purchase amount, who handle 80％ of our purchase amount. At the annual Partners Meeting, we explain our CSR Procurement Activities directly to our partners in order to deepen their understanding of our company. In FY2022, the Meeting was held in June combining online and face-to-face awards ceremony, and was attended by 58 major partners. The "Excellent Partner Award," "Group Global Partner Award," "Best Performance Award," "SDGs Award," and "Special Award" are presented to recognize multifaceted efforts. We also evaluate major partners on the basis of quality, technology, price, delivery system, degree of social contribution, and credit condition, and provide feedback on the results in the meetings. We also exchange opinions on the results of the evaluations and make them aware of our procurement activities. As part of these efforts, in FY2022, as part of our procurement logistics activities, we continued to reduce costs and CO₂ emissions during procurement and address the "risk of soaring logistics costs and inability to transport" by selecting the most appropriate means of transportation within the value chain, including effective use of our returning vehicles. In addition, as an environmental partner engagement, we continue conducting GHG (Green House Gas) emission surveys for a part of our partners since fiscal 2021.

For the partner evaluation in FY2022, we expanded the scope to 260 partners and provided feedback to them. Furthermore, we ask for continued cooperation from business partners on business continuity and stable supply.

The Group has up to now clearly stated its approach to "responsible minerals sourcing" in the CSR Procurement Guidelines and has made it known to Group companies and business partners. In September 2022, we established the Furukawa Electric Group Responsible Minerals Sourcing Policy in response to recent changes in social trends and increasing social demands regarding minerals sourcing.

Based on the above policy, we promote compliance with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance, continue to investigate the use of target metals in major products of our company and group companies and actively promote procurement from smelters certified under the Conflict-Free Smelter Program of the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI).

In addition to our own efforts to prevent or mitigate the adverse effects of mining minerals in conflict or high-risk areas, we are a member of the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) Responsible Minerals Procurement Study Group and are working to resolve global conflict minerals issues and improve supply chain conflict minerals research activities through industry collaboration.

Furukawa Electric conducts regular surveys on its main partners about their BCM measures. In fiscal 2022, we held surveys for main partners and placed the results we received onto a database. In this way, we have become able to quickly identify which partners are most likely to be affected when a disaster occurs.

In order to forge sound relationships with business partners through fair transactions that comply with rules and regulations, Furukawa Electric Group provides training for employees on subcontracting transactions. In fiscal 2022, we conducted employee education through e-learning to ensure that all employees are familiar with the contents of the Act against Delay in Payment of Subcontract Proceeds, etc. to Subcontractors, as well as s well as the management practice of molds.

We intend to fully grasp the state of our CSR activities along the value chain by regularly asking our partners to complete a questionnaire on their understanding of our CSR Procurement Guideline for Business Partners. We will also work to strengthen BCM (Business Continuity Management) by encouraging partners based on the results of our BCM questionnaire and manufacturing site survey, with the aim of improving crisis /emergency response capabilities along the entire value chain. Internally, we hold exercises and seminars on the handling of BCM to raise our awareness. In addition, we are reforming work styles through the RPA (Robotic Process Automation) and also making efforts to reduce internal risks through the standardization and duplication of the procurement operations.

Targets and Results (Promoting socially responsible procurement activities to achieve the SDGs)