Human rights initiatives
AEON Through its global business activities, considers it an extremely important social responsibility to respect the human rights of its own people and those working in its supply chain, as well as those in countries and regions affected by our business, including our customers. In addition to the Basic Principles of AEON, and in line with the principles of the United Nations Global Compact, in which we announced our participation in 2004, AEON is committed to respecting the human rights of all people affected by our business activities, in addition to national laws on human rights and labor, as well as the International Bill of Human Rights and the International Labour Organization's (ILO) "Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. We will comply with the human rights norms stated in the ILO Declaration on Rights, respect the rights of children and women based on the concepts of the "Children's Rights and Business Principles" and the "Principles on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women," and support and practice the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Aeon Human Rights Policy
Human rights are the foundation for solving all social issues, and various domestic and international laws and guidelines require companies to proactively address human rights issues. In order to realize our management philosophy of respecting people, AEON formulated the AEON Human Rights Policy in 2008. In 2014, we revised the policy to clearly state that we will not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. In 2018, we revised the AEON Human Rights Policy to include the human rights of our suppliers, and we continue to promote this policy. The revised AEON Human Rights Policy clearly states that we will practice human rights efforts based on international laws and agreements in addition to domestic laws, and that the policy applies to all stakeholders involved in AEON 's business activities. We also stipulate that we will establish a human rights due diligence process regarding the impact of our business activities on human rights, and aim to realize a society where human rights are respected. The current AEON Human Rights Policy was decided after discussions with the executive officers in charge and approval by the Group CEO.
AEON 's Human Rights Awareness Promotion System
AEON has launched and is running the Group Human Rights Awareness Promotion Organization as a cross-group organization that oversees and promotes operations related to human rights awareness. This organization drafts AEON 's human rights initiative policy, formulates human rights training plans within the group, and discusses and implements progress checks and evaluations with promotion managers and promotion staff from each company.
Analysis of human rights risks in business
The Risk Management Management Department has been established as an organization that oversees the risk management functions of the Group and maintains and develops group management. Risks related to human rights are regarded as one of the risk items handled by the Risk Management Committee sponsored by the department. We also hold regular workshops to assess human rights risks in our business.
Holding a human rights workshop
In January 2022, in advancing human rights due diligence, a workshop was held with experts for the purpose of identifying the overall business and the actual and potential risks peculiar to the product by the practitioners of each business.
・ Contents of the workshop JapaneseEnglish
Based on the results of the workshops, AEON 's important actual and potential issues are identified and shared with management.
Human rights education
In addition to building a human rights awareness promotion system, we are providing training opportunities for officers and all employees of each group company to deepen their correct understanding and awareness of human rights through in-house training and to raise their awareness of human rights.
Respect for the human rights of employees
Since its founding, AEON has respected human rights and has never discriminated against on the grounds of nationality, gender, educational background, religion, or physical or mental disability, aiming to be a company where diverse human resources can thrive.
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With suppliers
In the AEON Code of Conduct "Partners and AEON, AEON respects business partners who take on innovative management challenges to achieve "customer satisfaction." And, through fair transactions, we aim for mutual prosperity as equal partners.
Under this policy, we are working with our suppliers (contract manufacturers) to ensure the safety and security of our products, based on our policy of taking responsibility for the AEON AEON Code of Conduct (AEON Supplier Code of Conduct), which asks our suppliers (contract manufacturers) to "produce products in a way that guarantees a safe and healthy working environment in which the human rights of employees are protected, and that takes appropriate consideration of stakeholders and the environment." In March 2019, we revised AEON Supplier Code of Conduct in response to changes in social issues.
Sustainable raw material procurement
AEON has set a new goal of converting all the ingredients used in its private brand coffee to those with a proven sustainability record.
With our customers
While promoting the creation of comfortable stores for our customers, we also make use of their voices in product development.
Creating Convenient Store Environments
AEON has created its own design standards based on the "Heart Building Law" enacted in 1994 (the "New Barrier-Free Law" since 2006), and is working to create stores that are convenient and comfortable for everyone, among other things, in order to create stores that are people-friendly.
Fair Trade
Since 2004, we have been developing and selling Fairtrade certified coffee, triggered by the voice of customers who want to contribute internationally through daily shopping.
AEON 's initiatives at production sites
AEON AGRI SOZO Co., Ltd. supports and practices the ideas of various international treaties in addition to domestic laws regarding human rights and labor.
Efforts for human rights issues
AEON 's Human Rights Due Diligence Initiatives
Since 2003, in accordance with the AEON Supplier Code of Conduct, we have been conducting regular audits of all primary suppliers who manufacture Topvalu products to assess risks and address any issues.
In 2018, we once again began to address human rights due diligence in the supply chain of the entire AEON Group. We first reviewed our own activities and held dialogues with stakeholders. As a result, we prioritized three areas where we had been lacking, and clarified our key issues.
Three priority issues Determined through assessment and communication with stakeholders
- Expansion of scope (depth): Approach to raw material producers. After evaluating fresh (agricultural, livestock, fishery) fresh raw materials as the highest priority, Delica, processed foods, clothing, and leisure time will be implemented in sequence.
- Expanded scope: Support for PB (private brands) of group companies. Publicizing and educating people about AEON 's basic human rights policy
- Dealing with foreign workers and technical interns trainees: Expansion of items to be confirmed in audits. Starting a questionnaire for outsourcing
Creating a human rights report
AEON reports on its efforts regarding human rights issues in the AEON Report.
Relief mechanism as corrective and preventive measures (reporting system to ensure human rights)
Whistle-blower hotline for employees
Since 2004, AEON has been accepting reports and consultations not only about violations of laws and regulations and fraud, but also as a contact point for various workplace issues such as "things you can't talk about with your superiors" and "things that are troubling you." The contact points are available to all employees working in the AEON Group, and there are two types of consultation points: internal and external. In addition, from 2020, we have established a new "Law Firm Reporting Point" as a contact point for reporting serious illegal acts committed by executives, in order to strengthen compliance. The Corporate Ethics Team will contact the relevant group companies with regard to the reports and consultations, and will investigate and respond to the facts within two weeks, and will report the results, including corrective measures, to the Corporate Ethics Team. In addition, all consultations are reported to the management of AEON Co., Ltd. and the presidents of each group company on a weekly and monthly basis.
Supplier Hotline
AEON has set up a "Supplier Hotline" as a consultation and reporting point for employees in the supply chain regarding product supply. The hotline accepts reports and consultations regarding human rights violations, harassment, unfair treatment, and violations of AEON Supplier Code of Conduct) in the workplace.
Voices from customers
In order to utilize the opinions and requests received from customers for improving services, we have set up "Customer Voices" as a contact point for inquiries at stores and on the WEB.
We have positioned the voices of our customers as the "origin of management" and are working to create an environment where we can feel free to give us opinions, and to promptly reflect the voices of our customers in our product lineup, service improvement, and environmental conservation activities. increase. We work with the department in charge to respond to inquiries from various stakeholders such as individuals and communities, including those related to human rights.