The Hakuhodo DY Group’s
Human Rights Policy
“Realizing a society in which sei-katsu-sha can flourish and live active lifestyles of their choosing”
At the Hakuhodo DY Group, we aim to achieve our sustainability goal of “realizing a society in
which sei-katsu-sha can flourish and live active lifestyles of their choosing” through our creative
human resources, who serve as our greatest asset.
Respect for human rights is the foundation upon which the Hakuhodo DY Group is built, and we
promote respect for human rights as the root of ethical, sustainable business. In order to fulfill
our responsibility to respect human rights more thoroughly, we have formulated a Human Rights
Policy for the Group based on the “Protect, Respect and Remedy” framework outlined in the
United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).
Scope of the Human Rights Policy
The Hakuhodo DY Group’s Human Rights Policy (hereinafter referred to as “the Policy”) applies to all officers, employees, etc. (including all corporate officers, regular employees, contract staff, and temporary staff) working at the Hakuhodo DY Group (i.e., Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc., hereinafter referred to as “the Company,” and its consolidated subsidiaries). We also expect all of our business partners to act in accordance with the Policy.
Our Commitment to Respecting Human Rights
The Hakuhodo DY Group will respond with sincerity to the various impacts on human rights that may arise in relation to its business activities. We aim to realize a society in which sei-katsu-sha can flourish and live active lifestyles of their choosing.
We have also made the following commitments in order to further promote the Group’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives.
We will seek to respect human rights in all of our business activities in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), based on our understanding of the human rights specified by the International Bill of Human Rights (an international standard for human rights); the basic principles relating to human rights outlined in the International Labour Organization (ILO)’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, as well as in the UN Global Compact; and UNICEF’s Children’s Rights and Business Principles.
We will comply with the domestic laws and regulations in each country or region where we conduct business activities, and in cases where these laws or regulations conflict with internationally recognized norms, we will seek to find ways to respect internationally recognized norms while still taking each country’s laws and regulations into account. We will not discriminate against people or infringe upon human rights on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, birthplace, language, religion, gender, age, political views, wealth, gender self-identification, sexual orientation, disability, background, etc. We will prohibit human trafficking, forced labor, and child labor. We will respect employees’ basic human rights in relation to freedom of association and collective bargaining rights as recognized by law, and we will ensure that employees have appropriate working hours, wages, etc. in conformity with the laws of each country or region in which we conduct business activities, thereby providing a healthy working environment for employees.
In the event that when we cause adverse human rights impacts through our business activities, we will address them appropriately to remedy the situation and avoid contributing to adverse human rights impacts. We will also seek to prevent or mitigate any adverse human rights impacts within the Group’s value chain.
In addition, we will be on our guard for any incidents that could affect the human rights of sei-katsu-sha, such as incidents related to freedom of expression, harassment, or invasion of privacy. We will proactively implement measures aimed at eliminating the infringement of human rights through our business activities, and we will seek to encourage and spread awareness of activities that contribute to the safeguarding of human rights. We will implement periodic evaluations on the contents of the abovementioned measures and activities. Furthermore, we will identify any salient human rights issues that are likely to emerge in the future due to changes in society or business activities and give priority to addressing these issues.
Governance and Internal Structure
The Company’s Board of Directors has a responsibility to implement ongoing monitoring of all activities stipulated by the Policy in regard to respect for human rights. While fulfilling the monitoring function concerning measures to address particularly salient human rights issues, the board will also devise appropriate measures to prevent any direct or indirect involvement in human rights infringements. The Sustainability Office, as the unit responsible for sustainability matters, will work under the guidance of the director responsible for overseeing sustainability to spread awareness of the Policy and promote all initiatives related to respect for human rights.
Human Rights Due Diligence
By implementing human rights due diligence to ensure that our responsibility to respect human rights is properly fulfilled in accordance with the UNGPs, the Hakuhodo DY Group will seek to take accountability for the impact of the Group’s business activities in relation to human rights.
Furthermore, based on the results of human rights due diligence, we will seek to focus on measures addressing salient human rights issues. In addition to ensuring effective coordination between the internal control departments of each Group company, including both existing businesses and operating companies that may become part of the Group through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity, we will also collate, assess, and consider response strategies for adverse human rights impacts that could arise through our business activities as part of our risk management measures.
Remedy Mechanism (Response Contact)
The Hakuhodo DY Group has established Whistleblowing and Consultation Points of Contact for all corporate officers and employees. Whistleblowing and Consultation regarding human rights issues are handled with the utmost anonymity and confidentiality, and we respond in good faith so that any party who has had their human rights infringed upon can have the situation remedied. Furthermore, in order to evaluate adverse human rights impacts in any Group company and consider response measures, we will implement periodic examination of the number of reports received by our Whistleblowing and Consultation Points of Contact regarding human rights, as well as trends in these reports. Further, we will discuss response measures in relation to situations where there is a possibility of serious human rights infringements and report on them to the Group Compliance Committee.
Dialogue with Stakeholders and Disclosure
The Hakuhodo DY Group implements appropriate responses to human rights impacts through dialogue with related stakeholders. In addition, information related to the progress of activities regarding respect for human rights and the results achieved, including initiatives specified in the Policy, is disclosed on our corporate website as part of our efforts to adopt a more proactive stance.
Spreading Awareness of the Policy and Education
In order to enhance the effectiveness of the Policy as implemented in our business activities, the Hakuhodo DY Group will work to disseminate the Policy to all corporate officers and employees, ensuring that they are thoroughly familiar with the Policy, while also implementing education and training to enhance understanding of human rights. We will also further strengthen our existing training programs related to various types of harassment, along with our training on representational risk in advertising.
Revision and Adjustment
The Policy has been approved by the Company’s Board of Directors. It will be adjusted and improved on a regular basis going forward in order to further strengthen initiatives related to respect for human rights.
