Activities to Enhance Corporate Ethics

Shiseido has put in place the Shiseido Group Standards of Business Conduct and Ethics in order for employees to act based upon a strong sense of ethics. We have Whistleblowing and Consultation Hotlines for employees to report unethical behavior as quickly as possible. Reported information is investigated carefully and appropriate steps are taken to address any issues. In addition, we provide training and education to put the Standards into actual practice, striving to build mutual respect among employees regardless of their background and to win the confidence of all our stakeholders. Such ethical awareness initiatives are key to realizing a workplace where individuals can deliver their best performance, thereby driving corporate ethics and business growth alike.

We assign Corporate Ethics & Compliance Leaders in each office in Japan to be in charge of fostering a highly ethical corporate culture. In other regions outside Japan, Risk Management Officers take charge of ethics promotion in each region. The Risk Management Officers are supported by Business Ethics Officers at the affiliate level.

Training programs are carried out once a year for all employees of the Shiseido Group in Japan. We provide human rights awareness programs to address discrimination in workplaces, while our corporate ethics training curriculum includes harassment prevention and response. We also conduct training sessions to improve communication in various settings so as to build an open, encouraging workplace culture.

We also provide group training sessions which are specific to a person’s post and/or position in the corporate hierarchy (corporate officer, manager, new recruit, etc.), as well as those tailored to the characteristics of each affiliate.

For more details, please refer to Social Data.

The hotlines described above are paired with fair problem-solving routes and rules which explicitly prohibit the disadvantageous treatment of whistleblowers. Information about the hotlines, which includes instructions on their use, is communicated to every employee via the distribution of Shiseido Ethics Cards, posters, and Company intranet bulletin board messages, etc. Our major overseas affiliates have local/regional whistleblowing hotlines, and a Shiseido Group Global Hotline at Company headquarters can receive reports directly from employees of our affiliates around the world.

The Shiseido Group in Japan conducts regular surveys of employees to identify workplace harassment/compliance issues and challenges, and to mitigate such risks. Survey results are shared with all departments so that they may each implement corrective measures, including additional training. In addition to the employee hotlines, our process for mitigating the risks of discrimination, harassment, and compliance issues include surveys in which we ask employees about the degree to which their workplace abides by our policies on these matters. Survey results are analyzed to identify Shiseido’s trends in harassment and compliance, which we then incorporate into employee education. The Risk Management Department reports to management and the Audit & Supervisory Board on whistleblowing records and employee survey results and receives supervision for risk mitigation.