The Yakult Group places a high priority on compliance and works on initiatives together with Group companies, with the understanding that actively promoting compliance is the basis of our business. Under the Yakult Group CSR Procurement Policy, we will continue increasing social sustainability throughout the supply chain by taking the impacts on the environment and society into consideration and reducing the risks.
Promoting sustainable procurement
Yakult Group CSR Procurement Policy
Under the Yakult Group CSR Procurement Policy, the Yakult Group recognizes the importance of sustainable procurement that takes into consideration issues such as human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption, and promotes sustainable procurement throughout the supply chain in collaboration with our business partners.
Promoting sustainable procurement has been designated as a key theme of the Yakult CSR Action Plan, with the aim of contributing to the responsible production and sale of products that improve health and the creation of a sustainable society.
Yakult Group’s vision for sustainable procurement
- Corporate Slogan In order for people to be healthy, everything around them must also be healthy.
- Corporate Philosophy We contribute to the health and happiness of people around the world through pursuit of excellence in life science in general and our research and experience in microorganisms in particular.
- Three key areas of CSR Health Local Communities The Environment
Basic policy on
sustainable procurement
Yakult Group CSR Procurement Policy (Established in March, 2018)
Recognizing the importance of sustainable procurement that takes into consideration issues such as human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption, the Yakult Group will promote sustainable procurement throughout the supply chain, in cooperation with our business partners.
1Respect regulatory compliance and international codes of conduct
We will comply with national and local laws and regulations, respect international codes of conduct, and promote fair and equitable procurement activities.
2Consider human rights, labor, safety and health
We will prohibit the use of child labor and forced labor, respect fundamental human rights, and promote procurement activities that take into consideration the work environment, safety and health.
3Ensure safety and quality
We will promote procurement activities, giving attention to cost and stable supplies, and aim to ensure high quality and safety.
4Consider the global environment
We will promote procurement activities that comply with the Yakult Basic Policy on the Environment and take into consideration the global environment.
5Maintain information security
We will strictly control confidential information on procurement transactions and use it only for legitimate purposes.
6Coexist with society
We will promote procurement activities that take into consideration social contributions towards coexistence with society.
Request to our suppliers
Yakult Group Supplier CSR Guidelines
We will increase social sustainability throughout the supply chain by taking the impacts on the environment and society into consideration and reducing the risks.
Supplier communication
We recognize that our sustainable procurement initiative contributes significantly to the business activities of our business partners. Through active communication and collaboration with suppliers, the Yakult Group aims to improve the sustainability of wider society by taking the impacts on the environment and society into consideration and reducing the risks throughout the entire supply chain.
For our major business partners, such as raw material suppliers and manufacturing subcontractors, we explained the policy and conducted a survey in order to promote understanding and implement the policy. In March 2019, we held a general briefing session on the Yakult Group CSR Procurement Policy for all our production subcontractors (19 companies) to ask for their understanding and cooperation. We share social issues and specific cases related to human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption. We also share our ongoing efforts to promote sustainable procurement that increases social sustainability throughout the supply chain, in order to consider the impact on society and the environment and reduce the risks.
Supplier CSR Guidelines
Based on the CSR Procurement Policy, the Yakult Group Supplier CSR Guidelines were formulated in July 2020 in order to effectively promote sustainable procurement within the Group and help create a sustainable society. The guidelines are a collection of requirements regarding responsible procurement activities for all our business partners in Japan and overseas, including new business partners.
For each requirement in the guidelines, we check the status of our efforts through surveys and audits, and if any problems are found, take appropriate measures for improvement.
Together with using these guidelines, the entire Yakult Group will continue striving to promote sustainable procurement.
Requests to our business partners (summary)
- 1. Comply with national and local laws and regulations, respect international codes of conduct, and promote fair and equitable procurement activities.
Establish systems for this purpose. - 2. Uphold international human rights principles, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and establish fair and appropriate working environments that consider safety and health.
- 3. Build a framework to ensure high quality and safety.
- 4. Build a management framework to reduce environmental impacts, take action on climate change, preserve biodiversity, prevent pollution, appropriately manage waste and effectively use resources.
- 5. Strictly manage confidential information.
- 6. Promote activities to coexist with society and to create a sustainable society.
Raising sustainable procurement awareness within the company
We provide information and training to employees involved in raw material procurement and manufacturing consignment regarding the objectives of the CSR Procurement Policy and responsible procurement activities for creating a sustainable society.
In fiscal 2018, we invited external lecturers to speak on how to better conduct sustainable procurement activities based on the policy. A total of seven study sessions promoting sustainable procurement were held mainly for department and section managers involved in procurement, with a total of 35 employees given awareness training and education on sustainable procurement policies and supply chain management. In fiscal 2019, we held a sustainable procurement promotion meeting for a similar group of employees to promote the planning and implementation of various types of measures for sustainable supply chain management.
Sustainable procurement promotion meeting
We educate personnel in charge of procurement within the Group on the subcontracting law, laws related to contracts, and various regulations for conducting fair transactions.
In fiscal 2019, we held a briefing session for personnel working in procurement who are in charge of requesting for survey responses and demanding corrections from business partners when conducting supplier risk assessment. The session included discussions on social issues related to human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption along with specific cases, as well as explanations on business partners briefings for addressing issues, SAQ, the importance of auditing, and the relationship between business practices and the SDGs, all of which helped promote understanding of the need for responsible procurement activities for the 22 participants.
Green procurement
The Yakult Basic Policy on Green Procurement sets the Company’s green procurement policy and covers raw materials, packaging materials and equipment, facilities and indirect materials related to its business. All business sites carry out procurement activities in a manner that promotes the protection of the global environment, the reduction of environmental impact, the creation of a circular economy and other environmental objectives in cooperation with business partners based on this Basic Policy.
Fiscal 2019: Green procurement ratio:
79.4%
(head office, research institute, Honsha plants)
Yakult Basic Policy on Green Procurement
With respect to items used at all of Yakult Honsha’s business sites and in all of the Company’s business activities, we will strive to procure environment-friendly products that promote the protection of the global environment, the reduction of environmental impact, the creation of a circular economy and other environmental objectives. In accordance with these goals, we have established the basic policies as described below:
Scope of policies
All manufacturing, marketing, office and R&D facilities.
Basic policies
- 1. Avoid procuring items with a potential for harming the environment or human health.
- 2. Procure items that give due consideration to resource conservation and energy conservation.
- 3. Procure crating and packaging materials that incorporate a high proportion of recycled materials.
- 4. Procure crating and packaging materials designed to be reused as many times as possible.
- 5. Procure crating and packaging materials with minimal portions that must be disposed of as waste and for which disposition processing is easy.
- 6. Procure items that are manufactured, marketed and shipped by companies proactively addressing environmental protection objectives by such means as building environmental management systems, disclosing environmental information and cooperating with Yakult’s environmental protection activities.
Established: March 5, 2001
Using forest-conscious paper
Whenever possible, for the paper containers of our food products we utilize materials internationally certified to protect forests.
We also use environmentally-responsible, FSC-certified paper when printing PR materials such as our Company Profile, Yakult Overviews and CSR Communication Book, and the Supplier CSR Guidelines we present to our business partners.
Evaluation of business partners and collaboration
Based on our CSR Procurement Policy, we carry out supplier risk assessments through a CSR procurement survey in order to identify high-risk suppliers on issues such as the environment, human rights, occupational safety and health, and anti-corruption.
The survey of 104 business partners, which account for the top 90% of our total procurement cost related to manufacturing, was carried out in June 2020.
Conducting this survey enabled us to assess the status of our suppliers’ sustainable procurement initiatives and to ask our business partners for their understanding and cooperation on the Yakult Group CSR Procurement Policy and Supplier CSR Guidelines.
We sent feedback about the survey results to the companies which responded, to raise awareness of CSR and encourage improvements in their sustainable procurement initiatives.
For high-risk suppliers identified by this survey, we provide materials explaining our sustainable procurement initiatives, and engage in support activities with the aim of capacity building for these suppliers, including providing information on supply chain management and raising awareness about the need for sustainability initiatives.
Furthermore, for companies with confirmed issues such as violations of laws and regulations, we created a supplier management log and verified their response through individual hearings. We then made requests for improvement and have been receiving reports of their corrective actions.
Going forward, we will continue working to improve sustainability across the entire supply chain by carrying out risk assessments of the supply chain annually, and are also considering conducting supplier audits through field visits.
CSR procurement survey (June 2020)
Target: In principle, primary business partners of Yakult Honsha’s dairy products, soft drinks, cosmetics and pharmaceutical divisions Number of responses: 104 companies (100% response rate)
| Item | Number of questions |
Main questions (examples) | Average score* |
Percentage of responses (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 3: Responded with “action being taken” |
Level 2: Responded with “under consideration” |
Level 1: Responded with “no action being taken” |
No response | ||||
| 1.Corporate governance related to CSR | 6 | Have you set a vision, long-term goals, key areas, etc. for CSR in general? | 92% | 79.3 | 18.8 | 1.9 | 0.0 |
| 2.Human rights | 4 | Have you had any human rights issues in the last year, such as harassment, discrimination, or labor issues on foreign technical trainees? | 94% | 84.9 | 13.5 | 1.7 | 0.0 |
| 3.Labor practices | 11 | Are you taking action for fair application of working hours, holidays, paid leave, etc.? | 98% | 94.8 | 4.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| 4.Environment | 9 | Are you taking action to reduce CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, and use energy efficiently? | 96% | 87.9 | 7.1 | 3.1 | 1.9 |
| 5.Fair business | 11 | Are there regulations or are you taking action to build proper relationships with local authorities and government officials in Japan and overseas in carrying out business activities (e.g., prohibition of bribery)? | 96% | 85.8 | 9.5 | 1.2 | 3.5 |
| 6.Quality and safety | 5 | Do you have your own company policy and implementation system in line with our policies and guidelines on quality and safety of products and services? | 99% | 97.1 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 1.0 |
| 7.Information security | 6 | Do you have a mechanism or are you taking action related to personal data and privacy protection? | 97% | 92.8 | 6.4 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
| 8.Supply chain | 4 | Are you taking action to promote CSR activities in the supply chain, such as field surveys of business partners? | 94% | 82.2 | 14.7 | 2.2 | 1.0 |
| 9.Coexisting with the local community | 2 | Are you taking action to reduce social and environmental impact due to the production process or products and services? | 96% | 89.4 | 8.2 | 2.4 | 0.0 |
| Total | 58 | 96% | 89.1 | 8.9 | 1.5 | 0.5 | |
* Score for each item calculated based on a score of 3 points if action is being taken; 2 points if action is not being taken but is planned; and 1 point if no action is being taken
Note: Additional questions also asked to confirm details, depending on the content of the response
Number of business partners by score
| Score | Number of companies |
|---|---|
| 90% or higher | 87 |
| 80% - below 90% | 12 |
| 70% - below 80% | 2 |
| Below 70% | 0 |
| Incomplete response | 3 |
| Total | 104 |