S: Upholding human rights

Challenge

  • Upholding human rights

Relevant stakeholders

Direct: Employees, local communities, suppliers
Indirect: Shareholders and investors, creditors, NGOs, industry groups

Our policy

In the Toyo Tire Group, the majority of employees work outside of Japan, and more than half of our consolidated net sales are generated overseas. Our business is expanding globally, and we have growing opportunities to communicate with diverse stakeholders both in and outside of the company, making it ever more important to act in a way that respects the human rights of everyone involved in our corporate activities.
The Global Human Rights & Labor Policy introduced in January 2019 sets out our clear commitment that, as our business globalizes and our stakeholders diversify, the Toyo Tire Group strives to carry out its business in a way that respects the human rights of everyone involved in our corporate activities, including those in our workplaces, at our suppliers, and within the communities where we operate, contributing to creating an inclusive society. We also engage with our suppliers to ensure that they understand our policy and encourage them to work with us to fulfill our common corporate responsibility to uphold human rights.

Responsible executive (as of April 2024)

Corporate Officer and Vice President of Corporate Headquarters

Organizational responsibilities (as of April 2024)

Corporate Headquarters leads promotion of activities and reports progress to the Sustainability Committee.
The Sustainability Committee, chaired by the President, meets four times a year to report, discuss and approve activities related to human rights.
Corporate Headquarters takes the lead in promoting activities and discussing the promotion of human rights based on the Global Human Rights & Labor Policy. We have also set up a system to prevent human rights violations on a daily basis. We will continue to call on our suppliers and other business partners to support this policy.

Activity promotion system

Activities

Human rights due diligence

In accordance with our Global Human Rights & Labor Policy, we conduct human rights due diligence to recognize and take action against adverse impacts on human rights (human rights risks) in Group business activities and the supply chain.
In 2023, we identified and assessed which human rights risks are relevant throughout all of our Group business activities and the supply chain, then went further to identify which risks are the most important for us to take action on. In order to ensure objectivity, this process was conducted with the help of external experts in business and human rights.
Our continued and further efforts will prioritize preventing and mitigating these important risks.

Identifying important risks

  1. Identifying human rights risks

    We identified relevant human rights risks in our business activities and the supply chain by surveying each of our division headquarters to understand the business characteristics that are linked to risks, and comparing these with risks considered inherent to our industry based on reports and recommendations published by prominent international institutions and organizations, including the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Caux Round Table (CRT), as well as actual cases of risk that have manifested within the industry.

    Identifying human rights risks
  2. Assessing the significance of human rights risks

    All identified relevant human rights risks for each type of rights holder (those who have the human rights that are at risk of being adversely impacted) were scored by severity (the level of harm should an incident occur) and likelihood (the ease of manifestation within the Group). The significance of each risk was then assessed, with more weight given to severity in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

    Variables Scoring method
    Severity Focuses on the scale of harm, possibility to provide remedy, and the scope of impact
    Likelihood Focuses on potential factors (highlighted by international institutions as a important industry risk; problem that occurred at another company in the same industry; factor inherent to our business) and actual factors (real cases at our company)
    Assessing the significance of human rights risks
  3. Identifying important human rights risks

    The result of this significance assessment indicated priority issues that we have identified as important risks for our Group.

    (1) Right holders: Group employees, job applicants

    Right holders: Group employees, job applicants

    (2) Right holders: Manufacturing contractors, distributors, raw material suppliers

    (2)Right holders: Manufacturing contractors, distributors, raw material suppliers

    (3) Right holders: Sales partners, consumers, indigenous and other local communities

    (3)Right holders: Sales partners, consumers, indigenous and other local communities

Addressing important risks

To address these important risks, we are strengthening our existing measures and continuously working toward prevention. For important risks that necessitate the construction of new management schemes, we have established action plans and are giving these initiatives special priority to ensure prevention and mitigation.
Moving forward, we will monitor initiatives to improve their effectiveness.

(1) Right holders: Group employees, job applicants

Important risks Specific risks Initiatives Progress
Lack of health & safety at workplaces ・Adverse impacts on health and safety due to use of toxic substances, hazardous machinery or high-temperature vulcanization in development and production processes around the world ・Operate and promote a health and safety management system based on OSHMS guidelines and ISO 45001 at all Group companies ・See “S: Managing occupational health and safety to global standards
Forced/
compulsory or child labor
・Foreign and other workers, primarily at production bases, engaging in hard labor against their will
・Loss of children’s educational opportunities and adverse impacts on their health and safety as a result of engaging in child labor
・Discover any current forced/
compulsory or child labor, build systems to eliminate
・In 2024, we created the Forced and Child Labor Prevention Guidelines, which summarize routine prevention measures and incidence response processes at production bases.
・In 2025, we plan to conduct a self-assessment based on the guidelines to understand in detail the actual conditions at production bases. We will continue investigating these conditions and enhancing prevention through employee education and engagement based on the assessment results.
Power harassment or discrimination ・Power harassment between workers

  ・Discrimination in communication between workers
・Discrimination in evaluations and promotions based on specific attributes such as gender, sexual orientation, nationality, race, ideology, religion and disability
・Enhance training on preventing harassment and discrimination ・See “Support diverse talent with motivation challenges and job satisfaction
Discrimination against candidates in hiring interviews ・Discrimination in the hiring process based on specific attributes such as gender, sexual orientation, nationality, race, ideology, religion and disability ・Improve training materials for employees in charge of interviews ・In 2024, we improved guidance, including by providing examples of inappropriate questions and reasons something might be felt as discriminatory, and made human rights education compulsory in the existing training for interviewers in charge of new graduate hiring at Toyo Tire Corporation.
・From 2025, we plan to expand this initiative to hiring interviewers at Group companies in Japan.
Long working hours, excessively strenuous work ・Long working hours in order to meet short delivery times ・Strengthen efforts to secure necessary personnel and improve productivity ・We conduct thorough labor-management negotiations annually to ensure proper working hour management.
・We are also promoting stocktaking and streamlining of operations throughout. the company, aiming for an organizational structure with no overtime.

(2) Right holders: Manufacturing contractors, distributors, raw material suppliers

Important risks Specific risks Initiatives Progress
Lack of workplace health & safety at manufacturing sites ・Adverse impacts on health and safety due to work such as cutting, high-temperature vulcanization or forklift use Create and execute an action plan for each type of rights holder

  ➣Manufacturing contractors
・Strengthen manufacturing contractor management scheme

  ➣Distributors
・Strengthen distributor management scheme
・Accelerate efficient logistics initiatives (distributors)

  ➣Raw material suppliers
・Strengthen raw material supplier management scheme
・Enhance sustainable procurement
・In 2024, we distributed the Toyo Tire Group CSR Procurement Guidelines to 17 warehousing contractors in Japan, focusing on those that need to take these risks into account based on the type of work being contracted, and requested again that they support our Group’s standpoint and promote these initiatives. We conducted a survey at the same time, and received responses back from all companies that confirmed no serious human rights violations such as forced and child labor. As of December 2024, we are expanding this to manufacturing contractors.
・Based on survey responses, in 2025 we will continue business partner engagement aiming for ongoing prevention.

  ・See “Promote supply chain sustainability” for information on human rights efforts in the supply chain (raw material suppliers and distributors)
Long working hours, excessively strenuous work (at manufacturing sites /at raw material production sites) ・Long working hours to fulfill contracts made with our Group
Forced/
compulsory or child labor
・Foreign and other workers at contractor factories or rubber plantations engaging in hard labor against their will
・Loss of children’s educational opportunities and adverse impacts on their health and safety as a result of engaging in child labor at contractor factories or rubber plantations

(3) Right holders: Sales partners, consumers, indigenous and other local communities

Important risks Specific risks Initiatives Progress
Indirect complicity in wars of aggression through sourcing of conflict minerals and other materials ・Inadvertent funding of armed groups due to procurement or other use of conflict minerals as raw materials ・Enhance surveying of smelters about parts potentially using conflict minerals ・See “Promote supply chain sustainability
Indirect complicity in conflict through sales practices ・Harm to the lives and livelihoods of people in conflict regions due to use of our products by armed groups ・Strengthen sales partner management scheme ・To confirm that our customers are not complicit in human rights issues that violate local laws, from 2025 we will begin using third-party investigatory tools to conduct routine checks in addition to catch-all control and other Security Export Controls.
Adverse impact on local communities through production or disposal of our products ・Harm to the health of local residents and the environment caused by noise or air, soil and water pollution ・Further improve wastewater management, noise control
・Take a precautionary principle approach to risks that increase biodiversity impact in the vicinity of production bases that are anticipated to have a large environmental impact
・See “Working with local communities (Helping solve local issues)
Infringement on consumer health and safety through defective products ・Harm to consumer safety caused by product defects ・Implement initiatives using a quality management system based on IATF 16949 and ISO 9001 ・See “Ensure the fundamentals of manufacturing: quality and safety
  • Preventing forced labor and child labor

    The Group does not allow labor practices that violate laws in any country or region. We do not use forced labor (including that resulting from human trafficking), in which workers labor against their will or involuntarily under threat of punishment, nor child labor, in which the person is below the minimum working age.
    To avoid employing child labor, before hiring, we check that the person is of working age and provide a notice of employment conditions, prior to concluding an employment contract based on mutual agreement. In 2023, we confirmed that there is no one under the age of 18 working at any Group site around the world.
    The process of identifying important risks has helped us recognize the potential for forced and child labor within our Group and supply chain, including workers at manufacturing contractors, distributors and raw material suppliers. We also recognize that, if such labor were to occur, it would have an extensive and severe negative impact on rights holders. To give special priority to preventing these risks, we have created and are carrying out action plans for each rights holder.

Raising awareness of respect for human rights

We work continuously to raise awareness of the company’s responsibility to respect human rights through e-learning sessions on our Corporate Code of Conduct as well as level-specific and other training. We also participate in human rights awareness activities in every region where our business sites are located, and strive to respect the human rights of everyone related to our business operations, including those at our suppliers and within the communities where we operate.
On Human Rights Day, held December 10 each year, the President of Toyo Tire Corporation sends a message to all Group employees, stressing the importance of having a foundation of deeply diverse talent to generate value through our business, and of demonstrating sincerity with all stakeholders. This message is published in eight languages (Japanese, English, Chinese, German, Portuguese, Thai, Malay and Serbian) so that it can be understood by all Group employees.

Compliance with laws and regulations of each country

We publish information on our measures to ensure that neither slavery nor human trafficking is taking place within the Group or in our supply chains, in accordance with the UK, Australia, and Canada’s Modern Slavery Acts.

Grievance mechanism

Internal reporting system

Since 2006, the Toyo Tire Group has operated an internal reporting system for all compliance issues, including human rights for employees and suppliers. We accept anonymous reports to consider the privacy of those seeking advice and protect whistleblowers. When consulted or a report is received, we conduct an internal investigation as needed and take corrective action to address any actual issues. In addition, we continuously hold training sessions based on specific cases to detect potential issues at an early stage and prevent occurrence.

  • Reporting hotline (whistle-blowing system): For executives, employees and suppliers
  • Customer Relations Department: For customers (consumers) and local communities
  • Online inquiry form: For customers (consumers), shareholders and investors, and NGOs
  • Labor-Management Council Meetings: For employees
  • Harassment hotline: For employees

Cases of human rights violations

There were no cases of human rights violations in fiscal 2023.