CSR Activity Report (CSR Guideline Activity Reports)

Establishing Sustainable Supply Chain

To establish a sustainable supply chain, work closely with suppliers, processing vendors, subcontractors, customers and distribution companies to implement socially responsible procurement throughout the supply chain in order to ensure responsible practices with respect to environmental preservation and human rights.

Basic Approach

Toray Group operates a wide range of businesses in countries and regions around the world. As a result, its procurement of raw materials and supplies and the locations and industries of its contractors and suppliers are diverse.
At the same time, CSR initiatives in today’s global society are increasingly important. They have become more diverse and advanced in the effort to address climate change, environmental protection, respect for human rights and improvements to the labor environment. These initiatives can no longer focus solely on a single company and are being extended to encompass its entire supply chain.
To address this issue and ensure stable and sustainable procurement, Toray Group has established the Toray Group CSR Procurement Policies. The policies specify the Group’s commitment to building a supply chain that not only ensures quality and supply stability, but also incorporates ethical, environmental, social and human rights considerations. Accompanying the policies, the Group has also formulated Toray Group CSR Procurement Guidelines to provide specific, detailed guidelines for action to further promote CSR throughout the supply chain. Suppliers are required to comply with the guidelines. Finally, the Toray Group CSR Procurement Policies and the Toray Group CSR Procurement Guidelines are continuously reviewed and updated in response to changes in society and other factors.

Related Policies

Toray Group CSR Procurement PoliciesRevised March 20221

  1. Establish an internal CSR organization to facilitate CSR initiatives throughout the supply chain and sincerely committed to it.
  2. Promote fair transactions grounded in corporate ethics, and comply fully with all laws and regulations, as well as social norms inside and outside Japan, when making purchases.
  3. Take into account the impacts that purchasing activities have on the labor environment and health and safety. Also, engage in risk management through, for example, responding swiftly to unexpected situations and disclosing accurate information.
  4. While appropriately managing chemical substances, pursue raw materials procurement that takes into account impacts on the environment such as green procurement and green purchasing.
  5. Promote dialogue and cooperation with business partners and other stakeholders.
  6. Maintain and strive to improve product quality and safety.
  7. Respect human rights, eliminate all forms of discrimination, and strive to improve workplace environments. Additionally, do not be complicit in the infringement of human rights in the supply chain, such as through forced labor, slave labor, child labor, and unjust low-wage labor.
  8. Do not use minerals from conflict regions or high risk regions, nor minerals that clearly contribute to conflicts or infringe upon human rights.
  9. Prevent leaks of confidential information and respect intellectual property rights.
  10. In selecting business partners, take into account their CSR initiatives, such as compliance with laws and regulations, respect for human rights, environmental preservation, and the like, while seeking strict adherence to the Toray Group CSR Procurement Guidelines and facilitating CSR initiatives throughout the supply chain.
  1. 1 Approved by a resolution of the Board of Directors, the Toray Group CSR Procurement Policies are the new and revised version of the earlier CSR Procurement Guidelines, which were formulated in 2004.

Toray Group CSR Procurement GuidelinesFormulated March 2022

The major contents of the new CSR Procurement Guidelines formulated in March 2022 are as follows.

  1. Ethics and Compliance
    1. (1) Legal Compliance
      1. Strictly adhere to the laws and regulations of each country and region, and carry out business activities grounded in corporate ethics. Establish compliance policies and build a framework and training system in order to ensure thorough compliance.
    2. (2) Strict Adherence to Competition Laws
      1. Refrain from conduct that obstructs fair competition, such as unjust transaction restrictions (private monopolies, cartels, bid rigging, etc.), as well as unfair trade practices or abusing a dominant bargaining position.
    3. (3) Preventing Corruption and Prohibiting Bribery
      1. Do not, for the purpose of obtaining improper advantage, provide to or solicit money or goods (including facilitation payments) from parties concerned, and do not provide or accept gifts or hospitality exceeding the acceptable range of social norms. Furthermore, do not engage in illegal political donations and the like.
    4. (4) Prohibition against Behavior that Presents a Conflict of Interest
      1. Do not engage in behavior that is against the interest of the Company and in the interest of yourself, a business partner, or a third party, and do not accept inappropriate demands from Company customers or employees of business partners.
    5. (5) Protecting Confidential Information and Personal Information
      1. Strictly adhere to each country and region's laws and regulations on business partner, third party, and Company employee personal information, as well as business partner and third party confidential information. Obtain said information, strictly manage and protect it, and use it within an appropriate scope of business.
    6. (6) Whistle-blowing System and Whistle-blower Protections
      1. Establish a system for Company employees and business partners to report legal and statutory violations, as well as matters of concern related to the business. Safeguard whistle-blowers to ensure that they are not subject to termination, threats, harassment, or other disadvantages, nor are they subject to retaliation.
    7. (7) Appropriate Import/Export Management
      1. Follow appropriate import/export procedures and properly manage the import/export of technologies and goods subject to the laws and regulations of each country and region.
    8. (8) Respect for and Safeguarding of Intellectual Property
      1. While appropriately safeguarding the Company's intellectual property, demonstrate respect for the intellectual property of third parties and do not infringe upon their intellectual property rights.
    9. (9) Appropriate Information Disclosure
      1. Engage in the timely and appropriate disclosure to stakeholders of management, financial, business activity, and other information stipulated for disclosure in the laws and regulations of each country and region. Also, strive for mutual understanding and the maintenance and enhancement of relationships of trust with stakeholders through communication.
    10. (10) Responsible Procurement of Mineral
      1. Carry out procurement activities with due consideration to ensure that raw materials, such as minerals, contained in our products are not contributing to human rights violations, environmental destruction, or conflicts in the areas in which they are produced. If there are materials of concern, carry out measures to avoid the use of these materials.
  2. Safety, Accident Prevention, and Risk Management
    1. (1) Occupational Safety Management
      1. In order to protect the safety and health of employees, ensure that equipment, working conditions, and working procedures are safe. While adhering to the labor laws and regulations of each country and region, strive to avoid occupational accidents by establishing educational programs and safety measures to prevent incidents.
    2. (2) Occupational Health Management
      1. Assess the work environments of each workplace, including chemical substance control, noise, odors, etc., and, while establishing measures to avoid injuries to health, strive to manage employee health through regular health exams and the like.
    3. (3) Responding in Times of Emergency
      1. In order to protect lives and physical well-being, anticipate potential disasters, diseases, etc. and prepare and disseminate response measures for times of emergency.
    4. (4) Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Initiatives
      1. In order to maintain the continuity of business activities, identify risks that may interfere with the activities and carry out initiatives for preventing and mitigating those risks.
  3. Environmental Preservation
    1. (1) Environmental Management
      1. While strictly adhering to the environmental laws and regulations of each country and region, build a company-wide management framework for promoting environmental activities and strive to continually utilize and improve those frameworks.
    2. (2) Reduce Emissions of Greenhouse Gases
      1. Control greenhouse gas emissions in business activities and promote activities that continually reduce those emissions, while striving to effectively utilize energy.
    3. (3) Minimize Impacts on the Environment
      1. Manage and reduce emissions of substances that have an impact on the environment, and strive to prevent air, water, and soil pollution.
    4. (4) Resource Reduction and Waste Product Management
      1. Appropriately handle waste products, mitigate waste production, promote recycling, and strive to effectively utilize resources.
    5. (5) Chemical Substance Management
      1. While endeavoring to keep products free of chemical substances legally prohibited by each country and region, appropriately manage and handle chemical and other substances released into the outside environment.
    6. (6) Concern for Biodiversity
      1. While preserving biodiversity and striving for its sustainable use, engage in raw materials procurement that takes biodiversity into account.
  4. Product Quality and Safety
    1. (1) Maintain and Improve Quality
      1. Strive to improve quality while building frameworks for appropriate quality control and quality assurance, and maintaining quality that meets expectations.
    2. (2) Product Safety
      1. Strictly adhere to the laws, regulations, and standards of each country and strive to ensure product quality and safety. In the event that a quality issue does arise, handle it promptly and appropriately.
  5. Human Rights Promotion
    1. (1) Respect for Fundamental Human Rights and Elimination of Discrimination and Harassment
      1. Respect fundamental human rights and, in all aspects of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, compensation, training, and resignation, do not engage in any discriminatory treatment on grounds of race, creed, color, sexuality (including gender identify and sexual orientation), religion, nationality, language, physical characteristics, economic status, place of origin, etc., and do not engage in any form of harassment.
    2. (2) Prohibition of Child Labor and Due Consideration toward Young Workers
      1. Do not hire workers who do not meet the eligible working age stipulated by the laws and regulations of each country and region. Additionally, exercise particular consideration for the health and safety of employees under the age of 18, based on the laws and regulations of each country and region.
    3. (3) Prohibition of Forced Labor and Slave Labor
      1. Do not utilize forced, compulsory, involuntary, exploitative, or slave labor, nor labor obtain through human trafficking. Additionally, no forms of work shall be forced and employees shall be assured the ability to voluntarily end their employment.
    4. (4) Wages and Benefits
      1. Make payments appropriately and strictly adhere to the laws and regulations of each country and region regarding minimum wage, overtime work, payroll deductions, piecework payments, and other allowances. Additionally, do not carry out any unjust wage reductions.
    5. (5) Working Hours
      1. Strictly adhere to the laws and regulations of each country and region regarding the determination of employee work hours and holidays, and the granting of annual paid leave.
    6. (6) Dialogue and Cooperation with Employees
  6. Facilitating CSR initiatives throughout the Supply Chain
    1. (1) Request for Initiatives to Business Partners
      1. While requesting that suppliers, contracted processors, and other business partners strictly adhere to the provisions of these Guidelines or their equivalent, work to thoroughly promote these Guidelines through regular surveys and inquiries on the status of implementation by business partners.

Policies on Purchasing and Distribution

As a manufacturer of advanced materials that supplies a wide range of materials and products, Toray Group must expand CSR initiatives into upstream management, including production facilities and the procurement of raw materials and products. It has therefore established Basic Purchasing Policies together with Basic Distribution Policies. The entire Group works to fulfill its social responsibilities relating to procurement, purchasing, and distribution. These include measures to ensure fair and equitable transactions, quality improvement, legal compliance, environmental protection, and respect for human rights. Finally, the Basic Purchasing Policies and the Basic Distribution Policies are continuously reviewed and updated in response to changes in society and other factors.

Related Policies

Basic Purchasing PoliciesRevised March 2022

  1. Toray does its utmost to select suppliers and determine actual purchases fairly and on the basis of economic rationality, with consideration for price, quality, capability to provide stable supplies, technological capabilities, reliability, and other factors.
  2. In selecting suppliers, Toray opens its doors to a wide range of companies inside and outside Japan. Toray does not rely solely on vendors it has existing or past relationships with, or on members of its corporate group.
  3. Toray works to maintain and improve the quality of purchased products through cooperation with its suppliers.
  4. Toray strictly adheres to its Toray Group CSR Procurement Policies and Toray Group CSR Procurement Guidelines, and works to promote purchasing that upholds Toray’s corporate social responsibilities on a company-wide basis.

Basic Distribution PoliciesRevised March 2022

  1. Toray does its utmost to select transport and warehousing providers and determine individual agreements impartially and based on factors such as economic rationality with consideration given to price, quality, supply stability, technological capabilities, reliability, and efforts to reduce environmental impact.
  2. In selecting transport and warehousing providers, Toray opens its doors to a wide range of companies, rather than relying exclusively on companies with which we have done business in the past or companies affiliated with Toray Group.
  3. Toray works to cooperate with our transport and warehousing providers in gauging and reducing the environmental impact of our transport and warehousing operations.
  4. Toray strictly adheres to its Toray Group CSR Procurement Policies and Toray Group CSR Procurement Guidelines, and works to promote distribution activities that uphold Toray’s corporate social responsibilities on a company-wide basis.

Structure

To ensure socially responsible procurement across the Group and address today’s increasingly globalized procurement risks, Toray Industries, Inc. has established a working group to lead a group-wide risk management initiative. The working group strives to ascertain the status of CSR practices at suppliers, responds to customer inquiries about Toray Industries’ CSR practices, and supports group companies in this area. The working group also regularly reports on the progress of socially responsible procurement and related risk mitigation initiatives across the Group to the Risk Management Committee2, which oversees overall risks. The issues reported are discussed by the committee members.

  1. 2 As of July 2024, a senior vice president (member of the board) serves as the Risk Management Committee Chair.
Board of Directors
Risk Management Committee
Chair: General manager of Corporate Strategic Planning Division
Secretariats: Risk Management Group, Corporate Strategic
Planning Division
Working group for socially
responsible procurement
Toray Group CSR Procurement Policies
Requesting That Suppliers Promote CSR Measures and Ascertaining Progress
Toray Group CSR Procurement Guidelines
CSR Procurement Survey
Ethics and Compliance
Safety, Accident Prevention,
and Risk Management
Environmental Preservation
Product Quality and Safety
Human Rights Promotion
Facilitating CSR Initiatives
Throughout the Supply Chain
Business Execution Functions
Customers
Group companies
in and outside Japan
Suppliers
Processing vendors
Distribution
companies
Management,
decision making
Report
Report and discuss
Response to
inquiries
Support
activities
Ascertain status, promote activities
Structure

Initiatives for Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence3 in the Supply Chain

Due diligence concerning the human rights and environmental activities of suppliers is used to identify and evaluate human rights and environmental risks in the supply chain. It allows risk prevention and mitigation measures to be taken. Toray Group carries out this due diligence in accordance with the process stipulated in the “OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct” issued by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Toray Group has established policies related to this activity. It has implemented the Toray Group Policy for Human Rights, which prohibits child labor, forced labor, and unfair low-wage labor, and requires the respect for human rights throughout the entire supply chain. In the area of environmental preservation, the Group has also established Ten Basic Environmental Rules, Recycling Activity Principles, Toray Group Biodiversity Basic Policy, and the Toray Group’s Basic Policy for Increasing Green Areas. The Toray Group CSR Procurement Policies and Toray Group CSR Procurement Guidelines have also been created to promote respect for human rights and environmental preservation throughout the supply chain.
Specific initiatives include regular implementation and analysis of the CSR Procurement Survey for business partners, establishment of the whistleblowing hotline system, surveys of high-risk issues related to CSR procurement, confirmation of business partner risks using a company search system, and identification of any negative impacts on human rights and the environment. Negative impacts are handled through measures such as requesting improvements from companies with low scores based on the CSR Procurement Survey, and conducting follow-up visits and confirmation.
Furthermore, even in the case of business partners that met the standards required by Toray Industries based on the CSR Procurement Survey results, on-site audits are progressively being carried out for those in industries where the risks of negative impacts are a concern.
Information about these activities is shared both in and outside the Company using the Group website and other means.
Toray Group will continue to promote initiatives to prevent and reduce any negative impacts on human rights and the environment that might occur in the supply chain.

  1. 3 Due Diligence: To prevent or reduce the negative impacts that a company may have on society, a continuous due diligence process is used. It involves proactively investigating and identifying problems, correcting them through appropriate measures, and publicly disclosing these activities.

CSR Roadmap 2025 Targets

CSR Roadmap goals

To ensure socially responsible procurement by the Toray Group, work with suppliers, processing vendors, subcontractors and other business partners to implement CSR initiatives that include compliance with laws and regulations, amelioration of global warming, environmental conservation, and respect for human rights

Main Initiatives and Key Performance Indicators

KPI
⑴ Request suppliers to comply with the Toray Group CSR Procurement Guidelines, and strive to ascertain the status of each company’s CSR initiatives
9-❶
⑵ Identify high-risk areas that may have a negative impact on the environment and human rights, and promote supply chain due diligence to implement measures to prevent or mitigate the identified risks
9-❷
⑶ Promote procurement of responsibly sourced materials such as non-conflict minerals and sustainable palm oil
9-❸
⑷ Reduce CO2 emissions intensity from distribution activities
9-❹
⑸ Continually investigate and ascertain logistics risks related to natural disasters such as typhoons and heavy rains, and strive to reduce risks
9-❺
⑹ Continually work to reduce the environmental impact and improve the quality of distribution activities
-
⑺ In accordance with the Declaration of Voluntary Activities for the White Logistics Movement4, contribute to sustainable logistics, for instance by selecting logistics companies that are engaged in working style reform, etc.
-
Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Target Fiscal 2023 Result
Fiscal 2023 Fiscal 2024 Fiscal 2025
At least 75% At least 85% At least 90% 76.8%
At least 60% (Fiscal 2024) At least 90% 5
At least 70% (Fiscal 2024) At least 90% 6
1% 1% 1% 11.5%
At least 60% At least 75% At least 90% 59%
  1. Reporting scope: Toray Group (9-❶ and 9-❷)
    Toray Industries, Inc. (9-❸ and 9-❺)
    Toray Group (Only specified consigners, Toray Industries, Inc., TAF) (9-❹)
  1. 4 The White Logistics Movement: A movement aimed at ensuring stable logistics function necessary for people’s lives and for industrial activities while also contributing to economic growth in response to the shortage of truck drivers
  2. 5 Since efforts to achieve the fiscal 2024 target began recently, there are no figures to report for fiscal 2023. During this year, measures were taken to determine the anticipated high-risk issues, countries, regions, and industries, and preparations were made to identify and investigate the relevant suppliers.
  3. 6 Since efforts to achieve the fiscal 2024 target began recently, there are no figures to report for fiscal 2023. The plan is to survey the Company’s major suppliers of lubricants containing palm oil by investigating those that account for 90% or more of the Company’s palm oil-related purchasing amount in fiscal 2023.

Related Materiality for CSR

  • Developing in Collaboration with Stakeholders
  • Establishing Sustainable Supply Chain
  1. * Click here for the Materiality View of CSR Roadmap 2025 (PDF:392.4KB).PDF

Looking to the Future

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for companies to address social issues such as human rights and environmental problems throughout the supply chain. Toray Group believes that socially responsible procurement must be pursued together with all suppliers. The Group will continue to identify and evaluate progress on CSR practices in all processes, including the procurement of raw materials and supplies across the entire Group, as well as production activities by contractors and processing vendors. Toray Group will continue to promote CSR initiatives across its network of suppliers in order to build an even more sustainable supply chain.

Click here for the main initiatives and KPIs for CSR Guideline No. 9 “Establishing Sustainable Supply Chain” during the CSR Roadmap 2025 period (fiscal 2023–2025).PDF

Fiscal 2023 CSR Activity Report

Click bellow on activity reports for fiscal 2023.

Related Statements