Based on the Furukawa Electric Group Purpose and Core Values, as we pursue global business development, we understand that the human rights of all people impacted by our business activities must be respected, and we respect human dignity and all internationally recognized human rights. We are also promoting initiatives to respect human rights in line with the United Nations’ Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which call on companies to formulate human rights policies, implement human rights due diligence, and establish remedy mechanisms.

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. In addition, in March 2024, we revised part of the preamble of the Human Rights Policy in line with the establishment of the Furukawa Electric Group Purpose in 2024.

The Group discusses issues related to sustainability, including human rights initiatives at the Sustainability Committee, and makes proposals and reports to the Board of Directors.
The Human Rights Working Group, which consists of Strategic HR Management Dept., Risk Management Dept., and Corporate Sustainability Office, regularly discusses human rights-related initiatives, and the results of these discussions are reported to the Sustainability Committee and reflected in initiatives. At the Sustainability Committee meeting in March 2022, human rights and labor practices were added as sub-material issues to the material issue building a governance system to strengthen risk management, and this was reported to the Board of Directors’ meeting in May 2022. At the Sustainability Committee meeting in March 2024, we exchanged opinions on human rights risk assessments.

In response to changing social demands for human rights, such as in relation to forced labor, child labor, and discrimination, as well as in response to growing interest in human rights throughout the supply chain, our Group began human rights due diligence in FY2021. In this context, we have set employees and partners* as the target stakeholders to be prioritized in terms of human rights issues tackled by our Group.

With regard to employees, we have set harassment in the workplace as an issue to be tackled, analyze the results of instances of whistleblowing and compliance awareness surveys, and make necessary improvement measures. As one of these improvement measures, we have been implementing Discrimination and Harassment Education for individuals working in managerial positions at our Company and at Group companies in Japan and overseas since FY2022. Then, we have set the implementation rate of human rights risk training for managerial positions as a sustainability indicator. In FY2023, we achieved our target of 100% implementation of education on human rights risks for managers globally, and we are aiming to maintain 100% through FY2025.
In FY2024, we will analyze the results of the compliance awareness survey conducted at the end of FY2023 and verify the effectiveness of the improvement measures. We also plan to hold discussions with the managers of each department about the results, and implement improvement measures, as necessary.

For our partners, we have set the ratio of SAQ implementation based on the CSR Procurement Guidelines for major suppliers as a sustainability indicator, and are working to understand human rights risks in the supply chain. We began surveying 56 of our main business partners in FY2021, and as of the end of FY2023, the SAQ implementation rate was 65% against the target of 40%, and we are aiming for 100% by FY2025. As of the end of FY2023, the results of these surveys have not revealed any serious problems presenting adverse impacts on human rights.

As a point of contact for reporting adverse impacts on human rights, we have established an internal whistleblowing system involving third parties for internal. Further, for external stakeholders, we use the Japan Center for Engagement and Remedy on Business and Human Rights (JaCER), established mainly by the CSR Committee of the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA).
In FY2023, there were 104 cases of whistleblowing taking place within our Group, around half of which were related to human resources and labor. Only a limited number of cases, however, were found to involve facts that were exactly as indicated by the whistleblower. All cases, including those where some of the indications made were found to be factual, have been corrected by means of implementing measures serving to prevent recurrence. Moreover, in our Group, we do consider the existence of a certain number of reports to constitute an indication that our Internal Reporting System is functioning.

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 supports the UN Global Compact and has participated in it since 2020.
We also have joined the Global Compact Network Japan and participated in the human rights subcommittees of Global Compact Network Japan, as below.

• Human Rights Due Diligence Subcommittee

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 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 nurturing future generations. To promote children's right to education, we provide educational support for local schools on a global basis. In addition, the Company is a sustaining member of "National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan".

Indicators and Targets