Promoting Sustainable and Responsible Procurement

At Shiseido, we utilize the world’s natural resources to develop products and operate our business. We understand these resources are limited, and as such, we place the utmost importance on the sustainable and responsible procurement of raw materials at every stage of the supply chain. This includes the reduction and reuse of resources from the perspective of environmental protection, biodiversity, and in support of a circular economy. In all our activities, we also work to address and strengthen our response to other sustainability issues, such as human rights.

Raw material production can lead to environmental damage and violation of human rights. Moreover, the production of some raw materials, such as palm oil and paper, can significantly impact biodiversity. Therefore, it is important for companies to procure materials that are produced under sustainable conditions.
In 2020, we published our medium-term targets for the sustainable procurement of palm oil and paper, and we are currently in the process of switching to more sustainable raw materials. We are also strengthening our efforts to solve issues related to the mining of mica. By clarifying our own procurement policy and building a support system in collaboration with other companies, we aim to create positive change in the mica mining industry.

Shiseido’s business activities rely on nature’s rich biodiversity. In recent years, many scientists and non-governmental organizations have warned of rapid biodiversity loss. As a result, from both a species conservation and sustainable business perspective, companies are being called upon to engage in biodiversity conservation activities. They are also encouraged to ensure transparent information disclosure regarding the impact of their activities on the natural environment.

At Shiseido, we use the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures’ (TNFD) framework to analyze risks and opportunities around our dependence and impact on nature. The results of these analyses have shown that palm oil-derived raw materials and paper have a significant impact on biodiversity on land. Therefore, we support zero deforestation for palm oil and paper, and strive to minimize negative impact by switching to certified and recycled raw materials.

We understand that recovering and regenerating biodiversity is essential, and we will continue to contribute so that business and a diverse natural environment can exist in harmony.

Bees play an important role in the pollination of crops. There are concerns around the declining population of honeybees. So our Val de Loire and Gien factories in France have incorporated the protection of honeybees and the conservation of ecosystems into their sustainability plans. As well as setting up beehives onsite, both factories prohibit the use of agrochemicals on factory grounds. In 2022, the factories’ beehives produced around 167 kg of honey.

Due to its light-reflecting properties and excellent heat resistance, mica is used in a wide range of industries, including cosmetics. In 2017, Shiseido joined the Responsible Mica Initiative (RMI), which aims to eliminate child labor and forced labor at Indian mica mining sites to establish Indian mica as a sustainably produced raw material.

In collaboration with non-governmental organizations and the Indian Government, RMI had implemented community empowerment programs in 180 villages by the end of 2022. The community empowerment program are helping to improve their incomes and livelihoods. The program supports activities such as improving access to safe drinking water and medical facilities of around 16,500 households － including 92,000 people in mica-dependent communities.
We will continue to strive to procure mica sourced from producers with no social responsibility issues.

At Shiseido, we strive to grow our business as well as stimulate the growth of the societies in which we work. But we want this growth to be sustainable and responsible. In all our activities, we seek ways to prevent human rights problems and preserve the environment.

In recent years, as social and environmental issues have become more serious, companies are strongly urged to not only comply with the laws and regulations of each country, but also respect international treaties and conventions and work toward the realization of a sustainable society and world throughout their supply chains. To this end, Shiseido has established standards and policies for procurement.

We have issued the Shiseido Group Supplier Code of Conduct and the Shiseido Group Procurement Policy and conduct supplier assessments and monitoring on a regular basis to ensure an ethical supply chain. In addition, the Shiseido Group Sustainable Raw Materials Procurement Guidelines have been enforced across the Group to ensure the procurement of sustainable raw materials (e.g., palm oil and paper) on a global scale.

We strive to share and resolve issues with our stakeholders and liaise with wide-ranging experts such as international human rights experts and people working in raw material producing regions to make sure our actions always rely on expert knowledge.

Our procurement policy is to respect all our suppliers as well as ensure sustainable procurement taking society and the environment into account. This is because we aim to provide safe products with high quality which satisfy our customers.

We state a policy to create social value with suppliers in addition to economic one such as cost and quality. We define social value as fair transactions, compliance with laws and regulations, respecting different cultures and set of values, respecting human rights and protection of the environment.

To actively promote more sustainable and responsible procurement together with our suppliers, we revised the policy and announced it in February 2022. In the new Procurement Policy, we formulated requirements for our suppliers regarding the environment and human rights as well as introducing a strict, objective risk identification and correction process through third-party audits, clearly stating that we will evaluate our suppliers from the perspective of sustainability.

We joined The United Nations Global Compact and took this opportunity to establish the Shiseido Group Supplier Code of Conduct. This code of conduct articulates norms related to human rights, compliance with laws and regulations, labor practices, protection of intellectual properties, protection of confidentiality, protection of the environment and fair transactions. We request all suppliers who have transactions with us to comply with these standards.
To ensure sustainable procurement together with our suppliers, we regularly conduct supplier assessment and the supplier assessment program, which includes corrective actions after the assessment.
In the event that any supplier is identified to have violated the code of conduct, they are requested to implement corrective actions, and we support and educate them.

We take actions to resolve issues of raw materials that are determined to have a high probability of serious environmental and human rights issues in the country of origin, such as switching to materials with third party certification of zero involvement and joining international initiatives.

In particular, palm oil-derived raw materials, paper and mica cause deforestation and labor issues which have been frequently revisited. Therefore, we announced targets and measures to resolve the issues and set out a guideline to ensure sustainable procurement.

Items to be purchased include direct materials such as raw materials and packaging for our products, sales support tools, OEM products and contract manufacturing goods.

We identify strategic suppliers once a year by the following process

Our aim is to create a sustainable supply chain built on responsible procurement and to minimize risk across the entire supply chain. To do so, we are promoting the implementation of a supplier assessment program.

At Shiseido, we implement the program based on the Shiseido Group Procurement Policy which was revised in 2022. We don’t work with suppliers, if they are categorized as high-risk by the assessment and don’t correct non-conformances identified by audits.

For new suppliers, we conduct a self-assessment^*1 from the perspective of sustainability (human rights, occupational health and safety, environment, and business ethics) using either EcoVadis , Sedex (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange), or our original Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ). We start business with new suppliers after conducting supplier assessment, confirming that they are not high-risk and then agree to the Shiseido Group Supplier Code of Conduct.

For existing suppliers, we continuously confirm compliance with the Shiseido Group Supplier Code of Conduct using the above assessments. We categorize suppliers into three groups according to the degree of risk: low-risk, medium-risk, and high-risk. If a supplier is categorized as high-risk, we conduct third-party audits.

We screen significant suppliers based on their degree of risk and importance to our business to prioritize assessments.
The screening process considers the risks of suppliers (ESG risks, risks specific to country, industry, commodity), spend, QCDST^*2 performance, etc.

Activities in 2022

To keep pace with the changing times and respond to social requirements, Shiseido considers it important to communicate our concept of procurement with business partners in a timely and accurate manner.
Therefore, with the aim of widespread dissemination of the procurement policy, the procurement departments in the Global Headquarters and China Regional Headquarters hold an annual Supplier's Day to share purchasing activities and strategies with suppliers.
Taking this opportunity, our Global Headquarters procurement department promulgates Shiseido’s procurement policy, various tasks, and requests in the fields of raw materials, packaging, and indirect materials, and responds to questions and requests from business partners.

In 2021, we held our global online event, Shiseido Supplier’s Day for the first time. Top management of direct material and OEM suppliers participated in the event. We used this opportunity to share our medium-term management strategy, procurement policies, and expectations.

We also explained our mid-term sustainability targets and actions, as well as our expectations of suppliers in terms of human rights, environment, and society and asked for their understanding and cooperation.

To ensure sustainable and responsible procurement throughout the company, we proactively provide education on relevant issues mainly to staff members of procurement departments.