Value for Business Partners

Basic Approach

The Maruha Nichiro Group engages in the stable procurement of marine resources from Japan and around the world.

We also strive to build a safe and secure supply chain for livestock meat products and agricultural products.

We recognize that in order to achieve stable and sustainable management into the future, we must cooperate with our business partners and consider social dimensions such as environmental problems, human rights, and occupational safety within our supply chain. Accordingly, we are working to build a CSR-oriented supply chain.

Establishment of Maruha Nichiro Group Basic Procurement Policy / Supplier Guidelines

In FY2017, we established the Maruha Nichiro Group Basic Procurement Policy and Maruha Nichiro Group Supplier Guidelines following the Group Code of Conduct and the approaches of ISO 26000, an international standard for social responsibility, and the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact.

We are also committed to fair competition and anti-corruption in overseas markets through our Declaration of Anti-corruption.

In July 2022, we revised the Supplier Guidelines to the second edition, adding a new requirement on matters concerning the elimination of IUU fishing and requesting suppliers to “confirm that there is no involvement in IUU fishing in the marine products they procure through thorough traceability.”

We make these policies/guidelines known to our business partners and monitor their compliance on a regular basis, and have prepared a guideline commentary in conjunction with the revision to the second edition.

We are promoting activities to strengthen our management system, such as encouraging improvement activities based on the explanatory notes, and to construct a supply chain that will carry out honest business activities together with our business partners.

Code of Conduct (PDF: 43 KB/1 page)

Basic Procurement Policy (PDF: 89 KB/1 page)

Maruha Nichiro Group Suppliers Guidelines, Second Edition (issued July 2022) (PDF: 254 KB/8 page)

Maruha Nichiro Group Suppliers Guidelines, Explanatory Documents (issued July 2022) (PDF: 231 KB/21 page)

Anti-corruption Declaration (PDF: 87 KB/1 page)

Medium-term Sustainability Management Plan (FY2018-2021)

Practice Sustainable Procurement

Targets: Maruha Nichiro Group (Japan and overseas)

Department in charge: Maruha Nichiro Corporation, Corporate Planning Department

Target	FY2021		Medium-term Management Plan Self-Assessment
	Action Plan (Key measures)	Achievements
Implement CSR-oriented supply chain management based on the Basic Policies of Procurement, Supplier Guidelines, and the Declaration of Anti-corruption	Conduct Self-Assessment Questionnaires with an expanded scope Provide feedback based on the results of supply chain Self-Assessment Questionnaires and human rights Self-Assessment Questionnaires Create explanatory documents for Supplier Guidelines and establish management systems by creating rules and regulations	Conducted a human rights survey of all certified factories in Japan and overseas that manufacture Maruha Nichiro brand products Gave feedback on findings of the survey to some suppliers Created commentary on the Supplier Guidelines and distributed this to suppliers along with feedback materials	★★★☆☆ Confirmed status of compliance with Supplier Guidelines, conducted human rights and labor practice surveys Systematized the supply chain management business activities and improvement measures based on various survey results are future issues

Management Structure

The Maruha Nichiro Group maintains a variety of businesses that cover a broad supply chain. The selection of procurement sources for raw materials, resources, and products for these business activities is carried out under the responsibility of each business division.

Therefore, supply chain management within the Maruha Nichiro Group is based on the Basic Policies of Procurement and Supplier Guidelines established in 2017, and the Procurement Department plays a central role in implementing CSR procurement through communication with business partners.

Main Initiatives in FY2021

Monitoring of Suppliers

Conducting Self-Assessment Questionnaires of Suppliers

In FY2020, Maruha Nichiro Corporation conducted supply chain surveys for our 1,097 supplier companies in Japan and overseas aimed at confirming compliance with our Supplier Guidelines.

As for our in-house certified plants, which are particularly important suppliers that manufacture Maruha Nichiro brand products, a total of 294 companies were targeted, and 293 companies (127 domestic certified plants and 166 overseas certified plants) responded to the survey, achieving a response rate of 99.7%.

In FY2021, we provided feedback of the survey results to suppliers, and in order to ensure the implementation of the "Supplier Guidelines," we prepared a commentary on the guidelines that indicated required standards, specific actions, etc., and distributed the commentary to suppliers.

Moreover, in order to conduct regular supplier surveys and ensure that the "Supplier Guidelines" are disseminated throughout the supply chain, we will introduce a system of supply chain management in FY2022 and plan to conduct the monitoring of our suppliers again.

Going forward, we will continue to strive to achieve fair business practices by communicating with our suppliers and cooperating with them to make improvements.

This will lead to further penetration of the "Supplier Guidelines" and partnership building based on mutual trust-building.

Number of Suppliers Surveyed in FY2020	1,097 companies

Target Suppliers	Number of Suppliers Surveyed in FY2020
Domestic plants certified by Maruha Nichiro	127 companies
Overseas plants certified by Maruha Nichiro	166 companies
Suppliers of directly managed plants	242 companies
Other suppliers providing raw materials and other companies’ products	562 companies

Self-Assessment Questionnaires Conducted by Area

Conducting Surveys of Human Rights and Labor Practices in the Supply Chain

In FY2020, the Maruha Nichiro Corporation began conducting human rights and labor practice Self-Assessment Questionnaires with some of its business partners with the aim of identifying the risk of human rights violations in the supply chain.

In FY2021, we expanded the number of target business partners to 253 companies with in-house certified plants that manufacture Maruha Nichiro products, and conducted a Self-Assessment Questionnaire. As a result of these efforts, we recognized the existence of human rights violation risks, such as the lack of policies and standards regarding human rights and labor practices, a lack of understanding regarding the employment of migrant workers, and the absence of a labor union or equivalent organization to facilitate communication between companies and their employees.

Going forward, we will continue to periodically conduct the same Self-Assessment Questionnaires to ascertain the actual status of human rights and labor practices, and to promote awareness and thoroughness of the Maruha Nichiro Human Rights Policy, with the aim of realizing zero human rights violations in the supply chain.

Implementation Status of Surveys of Human Rights and Labor Practices in FY2020 and FY2021

Targeted Suppliers	FY2020 and FY2021 Suppliers Surveyed by Self-Assessment Questionnaires Surveyed	Suppliers Determined by the Survey to Pose Risks (Reference Value)
Domestic plants certified by Maruha Nichiro	126 companies	81 companies
Overseas plants certified by Maruha Nichiro	168 companies	53 companies
Other raw material suppliers	55 companies	24 companies
Total	349 companies	158 companies

^* For suppliers determined by the survey to pose risks, we are reviewing the possibility of verifying the detailed status through interviews.

Educating Suppliers through “Quality Assurance Meetings” for Partner Factories

At Maruha Nichiro Corporation, we hold “managers' meetings on quality assurance at subcontract factories” for management executives of major contract manufacturers in Japan who cooperate with us in the production of our products, with the aim of improving the quality assurance level by strengthening cooperation with our supply chain.

In FY2021, in addition to receiving reports on quality-related initiatives and the status of complaints and incidents, Maruha Nichiro Corporation held a presentation led by a representative from the Corporate Planning Department on CSR procurement and informed business partners of the "Basic Policies of Procurement" and "Supplier Guidelines," and requested suppliers' understanding of the Maruha Nichiro Group's policies/guidelines and their cooperation in building a CSR-conscious supply chain together.

We intend to continue holding this meeting in the future as an opportunity to educate and share information with partner factories, as well as gain their understanding of the Action Plan and strive for greater collaboration in the supply chain.

KGIs and KPIs from FY2022 to FY2030

In line with formulating the new Medium-term Management Strategy "For the Ocean, for Life MNV 2024,” we reevaluated the new nine important issues (materiality) on March 28, 2022 and formulated the Ideal State in 2030 (KGI) and Achievement Targets (KPI) in each materiality.

From FY2022, we will work on the targets we have formulated and aim to be Ideal State in 2030.

^*MN = Maruha Nichiro Corporation