Human Rights Initiatives

Our basic philosophy

The Nisshin Seifun Group Corporate Code of Conduct and Employee Action Guidelines contain specific provisions relating to human rights. In 2018, we brought in outside advisors to assist with the formulation of a Human Rights Policy based on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
That policy, which was put into effect after its approval by the Board of Directors, applies to Nisshin Seifun Group Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, as well as to our business partners and all other parties involved in our business operations.
The Nisshin Seifun Group will contribute to the realization of a sustainable society by basing its business activities on respect for human rights.

Human Rights Policy (106.6KB)

Priority Issues on Human Rights (107.2KB)

Human rights promotion structure

Our human rights promotion structure includes the Human Rights Promotion Committee, which is made up of directors in charge of HR and Labor Planning in operating companies and chaired by the Executive Officer in charge of the Human Resources & Labor Relations Division of Nisshin Seifun Group Inc.
We have also established a Human Rights Promotion Office within the Personnel Division of Nisshin Seifun Group Inc. to ensure appropriate action in response to various human rights issues. In addition, Human Rights Promotion Committees have been established within Group companies. These committees monitor progress on initiatives and share views.
Important matters relating to human rights are also put forward for discussion at Sustainability Committee meetings, the Group Management Meeting, or Board of Directors meetings.

Human rights due diligence

We carry out human rights due diligence in order to identify and assess human rights risks that could be impacted by our business activities, and to identify important issues requiring prioritized action.
Nisshin Seifun Group Inc. monitors progress on initiatives by its businesses to ensure that they are progressively taking action on significant risks identified in their business areas.
In June 2021, we began to implement human rights due diligence activities covering the Flour Milling, Processed Food, and Prepared Dishes and Other Prepared Foods Businesses, which account for large shares of our sales in Japan. In November 2022, we expanded the scope of these activities to include the Healthcare Foods Business, Engineering Business, Yeast and Biotechnology Business, and Mesh Cloth Business.
We will continue to address human rights risks and serious issues in each business area.

Human rights due diligence processes

United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

1) Formulation of a human rights policy
Commitment and communication on human rights actions
- Formulation and release of the “Human Rights Policy” and “Appendix: Priority Issues on Human Rights”
- Implementation of internal training programs relating to the policy, and dissemination of the policy to key suppliers and business partners

2) Assessment of human rights impacts
Identification and assessment of actual and potential negative impacts on human rights
- Identification of human rights risks in operating companies

3) Implementation of remedial measures
Actions to mitigate issues based on the assessment of impacts on human rights
- Consideration and implementation of measures to mitigate and prevent issues, especially in relation to high-risk items

4) Monitoring of outcomes
Monitoring of progress on remedial measures
- Internal checking of progress on initiatives

5) Disclosure of information
Disclosure of information about human rights impacts and initiatives
- Disclosure in the Integrated Report and on the website

Human rights impact assessment process

Step 1

With the cooperation of outside experts, we conduct hearings for related units in such areas as production, development, procurement, logistics, and administration in each business segment. We identify human rights risks in each of our operating companies and its supply chain, taking business characteristics into consideration.

Step 2

We identify high-risk items by creating risk maps with the seriousness of each human rights risk on one axis and the potential for occurrence on the other. Worker health and safety and the human rights of foreign workers (technical intern trainees, specified skilled workers, etc.) are regarded as priority risk items.

Step 3

We consider and implement specific countermeasures to lower the risk level of any high-risk items identified.

Examples of group-wide major human risks

Existing and potential risk items identified through the aforementioned human rights impact assessment process
(Step 2)

Hazardous tasks/occupational accidents, violations of human rights of foreign workers, occupational safety and health management for logistics company workers, long/extended working hours or continuous work without days off by employees (including employees of suppliers), bribery or other corrupt practices, risks that our products and services could harm the health of consumers, harassment of workers, discriminatory language in advertising, leakage of personal information, impact of plant closures or relocations on employment, inadequate human rights education for non-regular workers.

Human Rights Risk Map

(Scope: Flour Milling Business, Processed Food Business, and Prepared Dishes and Other Prepared Foods Business)

Key issues relating to human rights risks

1) Worker safety and health Main reason for prioritization:

Because the Nisshin Seifun Group operates manufacturing plants, there is a risk that health and safety could be directly impacted by hazardous tasks or occupational accidents, etc.

2) Human rights of foreign workers Main reason for prioritization:

We need to take prioritized action in relation to the human rights of foreign workers in our own plants (especially in the prepared dishes and other prepared foods segment) and those of subcontracting plants and suppliers, because of the high social importance of this issue.

Actions on key issues

Flour Milling Business
Processed Food Business
Prepared Dishes and Other Prepared Foods Business
Healthcare Foods Business
Engineering Business
Yeast and Biotechnology Business
Mesh Cloth Business

Key issue	Actions	Businesses covered
1) Worker safety and health	Occupational accidents
	Implementation of PDCA cycles based on the Health and Safety Management Policy Audits by Nisshin Seifun Group Inc. and third-party analyses of operating companies in Japan and overseas (34 sites in fiscal 2024) Identification of issues through analyses of occupational accidents, expansion of equipment-related countermeasures and safety education activities to address accidents that were judged to be particularly serious, such as entrapment and entanglement in machinery, and fall accidents involving older workers Provision of seniority-based occupational safety and health training (attended by 300 people in fiscal 2024) Occupational safety and health
	Supplier management
	Actions to correct excessive working hours through regular dialogue with logistics companies
	Compliance surveys to identify excessive loading or other issues at logistics companies
	Dissemination of the Responsible Procurement Policy and Supplier Guidelines to key suppliers in Japan, implementation of CSR procurement surveys (assessment items: human rights and labor, employment formats, the environment, etc.) Continuous dialogue, including feedback about findings and site visits, to inform the companies concerned about issues and remind them of the importance of safety initiatives in cases where improvements are needed in the operations of suppliers Number of suppliers surveyed: 57 in fiscal 2024, cumulative total: 561
2) Human rights of foreign workers	Working environment
	Use of multilingual signage and illustrations to help foreign workers to understand about hazardous locations and equipment Creation of multi-language manuals and notices, provision of interpreters (for key languages) Screening of occupational safety videos in multiple languages
	Training program presented by outside experts on the management of foreign workers, including human rights protection (attended by 211 people in fiscal 2024)
	Monitoring and assistance
	Implementation of third-party CSR audits (in some plants producing prepared dishes and other prepared foods) Creation and administration of an assistance channel in the form of a structure capable of conveying issues to corporate management while protecting the privacy of people seeking assistance (e.g., an improvement suggestion box)
	Raising human rights awareness of foreign workers
	Production of Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai, and Turkish language versions of our human rights policy, distribution of copies to our overseas business sites to promote awareness and assimilation of the human rights policy

Initiatives targeting other issues

Enhancing responsible marketing through actions to address discriminatory language in advertising (action on high-risk items)	Preventing discriminatory language in advertising, etc., through prior checking by human rights units of advertising placed by Group companies (including television, newspaper, magazine, online, and outdoor advertising) Provision of training programs on discriminatory language in advertising for advertising and marketing staff since fiscal 2022 (two programs presented by outside instructors in March and April 2024, attended by 48 people from the Processed Food Business, the Healthcare Foods Business, and Nisshin Seifun Group Inc.)
Strengthening action against harassment of workers (action on high-risk items)	Creation of new external contact point for advice about harassment in June 2022 Harassment prevention training presented by outside experts for newly appointed unit managers Production and distribution of the Human Rights Card, showing our human rights policy and contact details for external advice hotline
Occupational safety and health management for logistics company workers (action on high-risk items)	Provision of human rights training by outside instructors with the aim of encouraging logistics staff to consider the situations of truck drivers from a human rights perspective in light of the “2024 logistics problem” resulting from regulatory changes concerning working hours (two sessions attended by 167 people from 11 Group companies in July and August 2024)

Participation in external initiatives relating to business and human rights

Stakeholder Engagement Programme

Nisshin Seifun Group Inc. has participated in the Human Rights Due Diligence Workshop since fiscal 2019. This activity is part of the Stakeholder Engagement Programme organized by the Caux Round Table (CRT) Japan Committee. Participants discuss a broad spectrum of human rights issues with human rights experts and representatives of NGOs and NPOs. Together with other food companies taking part in this initiative, we have also worked on the revision of the Human Rights Issues by Sector, which were formulated with reference to the Human Rights Guidance Tool developed for the United Nations Environment Programme Financial Initiative (UNEP FI). Through this activity, we are helping to deepen understanding about human rights in the food sector.

Final report on the fiscal 2024 Programme

2023 Human Rights Due Diligence Workshop (Stakeholder Engagement Programme)

For further details, please visit the website of the CRT Japan Committee.

UNDP Business and Human Rights Academy

We are participating in this project, which is run by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with the aim of encouraging responsible business activities by Japanese companies in the overseas regions where they are active. Topics covered include human rights due diligence at overseas business sites.
We have participated in this UNDP-led project continuously since fiscal 2023. At an individual guidance session in February 2023, we received advice and input about our human rights initiatives through dialogue with Japanese and overseas experts.

Human rights awareness initiatives

During our Human Rights Week program each December, the President of Nisshin Seifun Group Inc. disseminates messages about the importance of respect for human rights. We also provide human rights awareness training for all officers and employees in Japan, as well as training on three levels for new employees and mid-career hires, newly appointed executives, and newly appointed organization heads. In addition, we provide yearly human rights training programs for staff involved in the implementation of these activities at each business site.
We also regularly distribute various information about human rights to all employees through the “Human Rights Cafeteria” program on our internal intranet and in our in-house magazine.

Human Rights Awareness Training

We provide employees with opportunities to think about human rights in the context of their own lives by streaming videos about various themes relating to human rights, including discrimination against the Burakumin community, workplace harassment, gender equality, understanding toward LGBTQ people, and business-related human rights issues.

	FY2022	FY2023	FY2024
Human rights training participation ratio	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%

Scope: Nisshin Seifun Group Inc., Nisshin Flour Milling Inc., Nisshin Seifun Welna Inc., Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd., Nisshin Pharma Inc., Nisshin Seifun Delica Frontier Inc., Nisshin Engineering Inc., NBC Meshtec Inc.

Human Rights Workshops

In February 2024, we began to hold workshops at business sites in Japan with the aim of preventing harassment and other issues by giving individual employees opportunities to communicate and share their experiences about human rights issues at work and in their daily lives. These workshops are designed to encourage all people to participate in discussions through interactive card games focusing on diversity and inclusion in organizations. As of August 2024, a total of 149 people had participated at six business sites.

Human Rights Awareness Slogans

Each year we ask employees and their families to submit ideas for human rights slogans. These slogans are judged internally, and the best slogans are selected for sharing on the Group intranet.

	Number (FY2024)
Number of human rights slogans submitted	Employees	Family members	Total
Number of human rights slogans submitted	5,322	374	5,696

Scope: Nisshin Seifun Group Inc., Nisshin Flour Milling Inc., Nisshin Seifun Welna Inc., Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd., Nisshin Pharma Inc., Nisshin Seifun Delica Frontier Inc., Nisshin Engineering Inc., NBC Meshtec Inc., Nisshin Associates Inc., Nisshin Grain Silo Inc., Nisshin Seifun Premix Inc., Ma･Ma-Macaroni Co., Ltd., Tokatsu Foods Co., Ltd., Joyous Foods Co., Ltd., Initio Foods Inc.

Preventing harassment

Establishment of advice desk, harassment prevention initiatives

Nisshin Seifun Group Inc. has established a harassment advice desk to counsel employees and implement measures to resolve issues and prevent recurrences, as well as an external hotline for people affected by harassment.
We have taken steps to ensure that reports are handled appropriately so that people can use the service with peace of mind. We thoroughly inform employees that those administering the system will respect the privacy of people making reports, as well as those accused of inappropriate behavior, and that people making reports will not be disadvantaged or treated unfairly.

As part of our efforts to create an environment in which employees can seek advice and assistance at any time, we also distribute a pocket-sized “Human Rights Card” providing contact details for our helpdesk and information about our Human Rights Policy.
In addition to the establishment of a helpdesk and awareness-raising initiatives, our ongoing efforts to raise awareness and prevent harassment also include various harassment prevention items in our training programs for new executives and newly appointed organization managers. Their purpose is to deepen knowledge about how to respond to harassment reports from subordinates, and aspects of workplace environments that need particular attention from executives. Other aspects of our workplace harassment eradication efforts under the Nisshin Seifun Group Corporate Code of Conduct and Employee Action Guidelines include the compilation of prevention handbooks concerning various forms of harassment.

	FY2022	FY2023	FY2024
Number of advice requests (harassment advice desk)	6	4	5

Scope: Nisshin Seifun Group Inc., Nisshin Flour Milling Inc., Nisshin Seifun Welna Inc., Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd., Nisshin Pharma Inc., Nisshin Seifun Delica Frontier Inc., Nisshin Engineering Inc., NBC Meshtec Inc.

Initiatives at overseas offices

Compliance with local labor laws

All overseas offices of the Nisshin Seifun Group comply fully with international rules, including ILO standards, in their employment practices. At key offices in Asia, we have been monitoring compliance with minimum employment age regulations and conducting regular audits of age confirmation methods and the ages of actual employees since fiscal 2008.
In addition, representatives of local companies are required to check compliance with various local laws using comprehensive checklists that include working conditions, health, and safety.

Prohibition of discrimination and harassment

Our overseas subsidiaries are also working to create good working environments free from discrimination and harassment.
To prevent violations of the human rights of local employees due to differences in values and culture, we educate employees transferred to overseas subsidiaries through internal and external training programs. We also show respect for local culture, traditions, and customs. For example, in regions where prayers are an essential part of religious life, we provide prayer rooms and allow employees to take time out during working hours.
Respect for basic human rights is also a feature of our recruitment activities, which are free from discrimination based on race, gender, beliefs, or other attributes.

Assessment of risks relating to labor problems

We prevent and mitigate potential labor issues affecting our new businesses through risk assessment mechanisms, including the use of expert advice. In addition to the continuation of these initiatives, we are also working to maintain good labor-management relations in our existing business operations through regular meetings and communication with employees.