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Basic Policy
As corporations expand activities across national boundaries, promoting fair competition becomes increasingly important in the supply of goods and services in the international marketplace. As is evident from the ever tightening laws and regulations in the world designed to prevent corruption, such as the FCPA in the U.S. and the Bribery Act of 2010 in the U.K., there is a growing awareness globally that corrupt conduct, such as bribery, should be eliminated by any means necessary. Under the circumstances, Sumitomo Chemical has positioned the prevention of corruption in all its forms, including bribery of public officials, excessive business entertainment and gift-giving, collusion, embezzlement, and breaches of trust as one of the most important issues in ensuring thorough compliance. We are striving to ensure a sustainable and sound corporate climate by enhancing our internal organization to appropriately respond to corruption risks to prevent the occurrence of corruption.
Committee on Antitrust Compliance and Corruption Prevention
Sumitomo Chemical has established the Committee on Antitrust Compliance and Corruption Prevention (chaired by the company’s President) to establish and manage anti-corruption systems for the entire Sumitomo Chemical Group under the guidance and supervision of the Board of Directors and Board of Corporate Auditors.
In the President’s own messages, the committee states its policy and commitment to prohibit all forms of corruption, including bribery of public officials by management executives or employees, excessive entertainment and gift-giving, collusion, embezzlement, and breaches of trust. In addition, we have formulated a Compliance Manual for Bribery Prevention that contains detailed anti-corruption rules. The manual has been disseminated to all Group companies in Japan and overseas, and has been posted on the company intranet, and periodic training sessions are conducted to ensure thorough compliance among the employees of the company and its Group companies.
Further, we conduct assessments of anti-corruption regulations and corruption risks in each country, such as the status of transactions and the countries in which our trading partners are located. Based on the results of these assessments, we decide on policies to strengthen measures to prevent corruption, and apply them to the company and all Group companies.
Committee on Antitrust Compliance and Corruption Prevention
Compliance Manual for Bribery Prevention (Outline)
Chapter 1: General Principles
- Prohibition of Giving Bribes
It is prohibited to give bribes to a government official or to any other person or entity, including private trading partners. - Prohibition of Accepting Bribes
It is prohibited to accept a bribe. In addition, it is prohibited to request a bribe or gift, entertainment, or other benefit from a third party. - Prohibition of Giving or Accepting Excessive Gifts or Entertainment
It is prohibited to give or accept excessive gifts or entertainment. All forms of gifts or entertainment that may harm the Company’s reputation are always impermissible.
Chapter 2: Prohibition of Bribing Government Officials
The provision of any form of improper benefit to a government official may be considered a bribe. Furthermore, various rules are put in place, including those related to the circumstances where any type of gift and entertainment to a governmental official is prohibited, procedures for sponsoring site visits by governmental officials, procedures for giving donations and political contributions, and compliance with local regulations.
Chapter 3: Rules For and During Engagement of Business Partners
It is required to conduct due diligence when the Company engages new business partners or renews engagement of existing business partners, such as agents, distributors and consultants who could interact with government officials in the course of services for the Company. It is also required to fix the appropriate compensation and to take necessary internal procedures when concluding contracts with business partners.
Chapter 4: Proper Keeping of Books and Records
It is required to prepare and maintain appropriate and accurate books and records related to entertainment, gifts, payments to business partners, and other transactions.
Chapter 5: Monitoring Legal Compliance
It is required for each department to ensure thorough compliance, for the Internal Control & Audit Department to conduct audits, and the Committee on Antitrust Compliance and Corruption Prevention to take initiatives. In addition, the Company’s executives and employees are obligated to file a report when a violation (or a suspicion of one) is detected.
Chapter 6: Violations
The Company’s executives and employees who commit violations of this manual are subject to disciplinary action.
Initiatives in the Supply Chain
In order to prevent corruption in the Group’s supply chain, we are making our agents, consultants, distributors, and other business partners aware of our anti-corruption policy by holding regular training sessions when initially engaging or renewing a contract, or at business meetings and other occasions. We also ask our partners to pledge to comply with the policy. In addition, as part of our due diligence procedures, we ask business partners to submit written responses detailing their company’s profile and any past corruption problems, and assess the risk of corruption based on these responses. Moreover, when we engage a business partner for business with a high risk of corruption, such as in a public tender transaction or in a developing country, a more detailed risk assessment is carried out, including on-site interviews with the business partner conducted by an outside expert. If it is judged that there is a risk of corruption as a result of the assessment, we conduct awareness-raising activities concerning the prevention of corruption for such business partners, asking them to implement corrective measures such as strengthening the internal rules and organization to prevent corruption, and offering our support for such efforts. (The company does not engage business partners if the implementation of remedial measures is refused or if there is a strong concern about corruption detected through the assessment process.)
Other Measures
In addition to the above-mentioned measures, we are striving to prevent corruption through the application of internal rules on business entertainment and gift-giving, and the strict application of approval procedures for business decisions and payment.
We have also established and operate an internal reporting system (the Speak-Up Reporting System, which allows anonymous reporting) that can be used by anyone involved in our business, including business and trading partners, in order to quickly identify corruption or the threat of corruption, to prevent compliance violations from occurring, and to rectify them as soon as possible. We also inform management executives or employees of Group companies, and business and trading partners, about the use of this system.
Management executives and employees whose corrupt conduct has been confirmed are subject to disciplinary action in light of internal rules. Business and trading partners are requested to rectify such actions, and other measures are taken, such as the suspension of transactions.
Looking Ahead
The Sumitomo Chemical Group will continue actively promoting various initiatives across its entire supply chain going forward to prevent bribery and all other forms of corruption.