Our Approach & System

Based on LIXIL Human Rights Principles, we strive to uphold the human rights of all stakeholders, including customers, suppliers and other business partners, residents living near our factories and offices, and our employees.

Human Rights Principles

Other Principles

LIXIL bases the formation of its corporate principles upon a fundamental commitment to uphold human rights.

• Code of Conduct
• Charter of Corporate Behavior
• Occupational Health and Safety Principles
• Personal Data Protection Principles
• Procurement Principles

Our System

LIXIL established the Human Rights Due Diligence Task Force in FYE 2018, comprising members from a broad range of departments including Corporate Responsibility, Human Resources, and Compliance, with the aim of strengthening and ensuring strict adherence to human rights due diligence processes* as a company that operates globally. Going forward, we will extend the scope of these processes to the entire Group and provide transparent reports on our performance. LIXIL has signed the UN Global Compact, and is a member of the Human Rights Due Diligence and the Human Rights Education Working Groups of the Global Compact Network Japan.

* Human rights due diligence: To put in place measures that identify, prevent, reduce, or respond to any negative impact on human rights caused by the activities of a company or its related companies, and to regularly monitor their effectiveness.

CR Management Structure

Human Rights Risk Management Process

Commitment: Human Rights Principles and Key Human Rights Issues

LIXIL is working hard to strengthen our human rights due diligence. After deciding our principles in FYE 2016, we conducted risk mapping in FYE 2017 in our Corporate Responsibility (CR) Committee, which is made up of executive officers in charge of different head office functions and representatives of our individual technology businesses. We invited human rights NGO Business for Social Responsibility (BSR)* to present a lecture on social trends relating to business and human rights and pinpointed any human rights risks in LIXIL product life cycles. Then in FYE 2018, our Human Rights Due Diligence Task Force sought external consulting support to help create a survey sheet of 76 relevant items and conduct a test survey run across our head office functions.

LIXIL has investigated the extent of the human rights impact of our business operations by considering the results of the above measures, LIXIL Code of Conduct, and global trends on human rights.

The Human Rights Due Diligence Task Force determined the following seven key issues that should be focused on to help reduce potential human rights risks. These seven issues were submitted to and approved by the CR Committee, Board of Directors, and executive officers. The key issues will be reviewed based on the results of our human rights risk assessment to be conducted every three years.

* The human rights NGO BSR: A global non-profit organization that specializes in the development of sustainable business strategies and solutions.

(1) Provide equal opportunity and prohibit discrimination

Providing fair and equitable employment and other opportunities irrespective of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, disability, gender, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, political or personal belief, or union membership, and prohibiting discrimination on these grounds.

(2) Prohibit forced and child labor

Prohibiting forced labor, bonded labor and other forms of labor by restraint, indentured labor or prisoner labor, and labor procured through slavery or human trafficking. Child labor is also prohibited.

(3) Respect freedom of association and collective bargaining

Guaranteeing employee freedom of association and approving the exercising of collective bargaining.

(4) Ensure decent wages and working hours

Paying wages that meet statutory standards, and prohibiting exceeding the statutory maximum number of working hours.

(5) Ensure occupational health and safety

Providing employees, customers, visitors, business partners, and anyone else on our business premises with a safe and hygienic working environment that fulfills international, national, and/or industry-defined standards.

(6) Prohibit harassment

Providing a working environment that is free from discrimination, harassment and bullying of any kind, and any other offensive or disrespectful conduct.

(7) Legal, fair, and transparent acquisition and use of personal data

Complying with laws and regulations, internal rules, and relevant guidelines relating to personal information. Ensuring personal information is obtained fairly and lawfully and is stored and handled in such a way as to prevent improper acquisition, use, transfer, disclosure, or leakage.

Analysis & Evaluation: Specifying Human Rights Risks

We are introducing several methods, centered primarily around the investigations by our Human Rights Due Diligence Task Force, to enable us to fully understand and address potential human rights risks. Currently, we have not identified any items requiring an urgent response, but we are working on improvements to help reduce potential future risks.

* Please refer to our Corporate Responsibility Report 2020 for more details of items marked with [CR] icon in the table.

Corrective Action: Measures to Reduce Human Rights Risks

Going forward, we will continue developing initiatives to help fully understand and reduce human rights risks through our FYE 2021 human rights risk assessment. Furthermore, we are engaging in various activities to promote the upholding of human rights and the addressing of human rights risks.

Training

• Compliance education and training for all employees
• Convey human rights-related information on internal social media that all employees can access
• Hold seminars in the CR Committee run by human rights NGO BSR

Preventing Human Rights Violations at Factories, Bases, and Suppliers

• Correct problems discovered during occupational safety audits
• Respond to opinions voiced through community dialogues (reduction of noise, improvement of factory working environments, etc.)
• Confirm status of human rights initiatives through responsible procurement surveys

Concern-Raising system

• Concern-raising system that is available to all Group employees, including those at subsidiaries outside Japan We receive concerns through LIXIL Compliance Hotline – Speak Up!, which is available online in 16 languages. In Japan, we also have a direct reporting process for voicing concerns to managers and compliance officers as well as an option to report concerns via a third-party law firm.

Concern-Raising System >

• Receive reports from materials suppliers, subcontractors, and other business partners In Japan, we have established a contact point via an external law firm. We receive reports from overseas countries via the LIXIL Compliance Hotline – Speak Up!

Receiving Compliance Information from Business Partners >

Future Plans

Human Rights Risk Assessment and Initiatives to Reduce Risk

We will conduct human rights risk assessment as detailed below, pinpointing issues that require addressing to reduce potential risks, and take action.

FYE 2021:
We are conducting a human rights risk assessment of staff at the senior manager level or higher who work in departments that are closely linked to the key human rights issues and who can provide global support (July 2020).

FYE 2022:
Based on the results of our FYE 2021 human rights risk assessment and after examining the survey items, we will conduct a human rights risk assessment of all employees.