Sumitomo Chemical Establishes Basic Policy on Respect for Human Rights and Sets Up Committee for Promoting Respect for Human Rights

Jun. 18, 2019

Sumitomo Chemical has recently made a positive move to promote its initiatives aimed at respecting human rights by formulating the “Sumitomo Chemical Group Human Rights Policy,” which is compliant with UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (“UN Guiding Principles”) and at the same time establishing a Human Rights Promotion Committee.

Sumitomo Chemical attaches paramount importance to "respecting human rights" as the foundation for the Company to make its business sustainable and has been expending every effort to enhance its employees' awareness of human rights, including those of its Group companies in Japan and overseas, through various means and ways, such as articulating the Company's fundamental policy on human rights in the Sumitomo Chemical Code of Business Conduct, which is distributed to every employee, and providing in-house educational & training programs from time to time. Today, society calls for companies to strengthen efforts toward respecting human rights, not only within their own business group, but throughout their entire value chain. Fully appreciating the situation, Sumitomo Chemical has newly adopted the “Sumitomo Chemical Group Human Rights Policy,” which conforms to the UN Guiding Principles, defining more explicitly the Sumitomo Chemical Group’s basic thoughts on the key question of respect for human rights and specific initiatives undertaken in that connection. In addition, in order to ensure its responsibility for respecting human rights being fulfilled throughout the Group’s entire value chain, Sumitomo Chemical has established a Human Rights Promotion Committee, which formulates and executes human rights- related measures from Group-wide perspectives and in an integrated manner. The Committee, consisting of members from a wide range of the Company's departments involved in the value chain, will play an central role in the Company's endeavor to conduct human rights due diligence* as well as the existing CSR procurement initiatives, through holding dialogue with a variety of stakeholders and in cooperation with business partners.

The Sumitomo Chemical Group remains firmly committed to contribute to the establishment of a sustainable society by, among other things, fulfilling its Group-wide corporate responsibility for respecting human rights.

*An investigative step that companies are to take to identify adverse impacts, if any, on human rights, and prevent or otherwise mitigate them, such as formulating a policy on human rights, assessing impacts of corporate activities on human rights, and monitoring or disclosing the progress or outcome of such activities.

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