Sustainability

Sustainability Top

Supply Chain Management

Basic approach

Our group has approximately 70 Group Companies in approximately 20 countries around the world and is expanding its business globally. Furthermore, with the globalization of business, supply chains are expanding and becoming more complex, and companies are required to fulfill their social responsibilities, including their supply chains. Our group considers the supply chain to be part of our social responsibility and promotes initiatives that are considerate of human rights, labor, the environment, and other issues.
For this reason, we have established "Raw Materials Purchasing Regulations" and are promoting CSR procurement based on our "Basic Policy on Procurement." The Basic Policy on Procurement and the Sustainable Supply Chain Guidelines include anti-discrimination, freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining, compliance with the minimum wage, compliance with legally mandated working hours, occupational health and safety for employees, and proper management. This includes complying with local laws, such as providing a good working environment. There are Japanese, English, and Chinese versions, and we are disseminating them to overseas Group Companies and suppliers.

The artience Group (hereinafter “the Group”) is contributing to society by offering outstanding products and services to customers, while working to build honest relationships through fair and equitable procurement activities with our suppliers who work with us to build supply chains. With a view to ideal form of supply chains built by the Group and its suppliers in order to contribute to the sustainable development of society and the global environment, the Group established the “Basic Policy on Procurement” (hereinafter “the Basic Policy”), and will conduct procurement activities such as purchasing and outsourcing.

  1. Compliance with laws and international norms
    The Group will comply with the laws and regulations of the countries and regions in which we conduct procurement activities, and respect and comply with international codes of conduct as well as societal norms in those countries and regions In particular, we will respond to the demands of society, such as by strengthening our response to human rights issues, including those in our supply chain, as provided for under the “UK Modern Slavery Act 2015,” “California Transparency in Supply Chains Act,” “OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises,” and “OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict and High-Risk Areas.”
  2. Human rights and labor considerations
    The Group will strive to build supply chains in which the human rights of all workers involved are respected and their labor rights and appropriate employment and working environment ensured, so as to eliminate inhumane treatment such as child labor and forced labor, discrimination, harassment, and potential involvement in human rights abuses including procurement of conflict minerals. Furthermore, we will demonstrate consideration for the right to life and the right to live of indigenous peoples and local residents in the areas in which we conduct business operations.
  3. Responsibility for the global environment and resources
    In addition to complying with environmental laws and regulations, the Group will strive to voluntarily reduce our environmental impact and our use of resources in order to contribute to the preservation of the global environment and the development of a recycling-oriented society through our procurement activities. We will maintain a particular focus on reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions across our entire supply chain. As a manufacturer of chemicals, we will also ensure that chemical substance control is implemented both for raw materials and the manufacturing process.
  4. Fair business practices
    In order to gain the trust of all stakeholders, the Group will conduct our procurement activities based on corporate ethics and responsible business practices and in accordance with all applicable laws. We will prohibit corruption acts such as bribery, the sharing or receiving of illegal gains, the obstruction of fair and open competition, and the infringement of intellectual property rights, as well as strive for appropriate information disclosure so as to ensure confidentiality, accountability, and transparency.
  5. Dissemination of the policy and education
    The Group will work to maintain and sustain a sustainable supply chain through appropriate training and education activities relating to human rights, labor issues, and the environment, etc., and by making this Basic Policy and Sustainable Supply Chain Guidelines known to all Group employees and all other persons involved in the supply chain.
  6. Selection of suppliers
    Suppliers are our partners when it comes to achieving our vision for a sustainable supply chain through our procurement activities. The Group will select like-minded suppliers who seek to improve the sustainability of the global environment and society based on fair and equitable criteria, comprehensively and rationally taking into account their capabilities and reliability in terms of factors such as legal compliance, quality, price, supply capacity, technological capability, and ability to provide information. To maintain a sustainable supply chain, we will also conduct appropriate surveys and audits of our suppliers and work toward continuous improvement.
    To achieve the objectives of this paragraph, we will apply the following criteria in the selection of new suppliers and periodic checks of the status of existing suppliers.
    Standard for Selecting Suppliers
    1. Legal compliance
      The supplier must always comply with laws and regulations, and respect international codes of conduct. In particular, the supplier must conduct corporate activities in good faith for all supply chain stakeholders, with due consideration to human rights and labor practices.
    2. Quality
      The supplier must maintain stable quality using a quality control system that adequately meets the Group’s quality requirements.
    3. Price
      The supplier must offer prices that are appropriate and economically rational. The price of raw materials must be at a level that allows the Group to compete on price in the market.
    4. Supply capacity
      The supplier must satisfy our desired volume and delivery terms and ensure a stable supply.
    5. Technological capabilities
      The supplier must possess the technological capabilities necessary to support the monozukuri (manufacturing excellence) goals of the Group.
    6. Ability to provide information
      The supplier must be able to provide necessary or relevant information and proposals to the Group in a timely and appropriate manner.
    7. Confidentiality
      The supplier must be able to maintain the confidentiality of information obtained in the course of transacting business with the Group using an appropriate information control and security system.
    8. Environmental-friendly
      The supplier must strive to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the supply chain, demonstrating adequate consideration for global environmental protection, the preservation of resources and biodiversity.
    9. Management base
      The supplier must practice sound and sustainable business management based on a resilient business foundation.
    10. CSR management
      The supplier must practice corporate social responsibility in business activities in conformance with the Basic Policy and the Sustainable Supply Chain Guidelines, or in compliance with business practices at an equivalent level.
  7. Revision, abolition and management
    Decisions regarding the revision or abolition of this Basic Policy shall be made by the Board of Directors of artience Co., Ltd.
    The department in charge of the revision and abolition of this Basic Policy shall be the department that oversees the procurement activities of artience Co., Ltd.

Established on April 2005
Revised on January 1, 2024 (Resolved at Board of Directors on December 8, 2023)

Sustainable supply chain guidelines

Promotion system

artience Co., Ltd. Group Purchasing Department plays a central role in our efforts toward suppliers, and promotes CSR procurement activities based on the ``Basic Policy on Procurement'' and ``Sustainable Supply Chain Guidelines.''
Additionally, risks related to CSR procurement are regularly reported to Risk Management Committee, and information is shared in an effort to prevent and reduce risks.

Promotion of CSR procurement

Our group considers the supply chain to be part of our social responsibility and promotes initiatives that are considerate of human rights, labor, the environment, and other issues. We have established "Raw Materials Purchasing Regulations" and are promoting CSR procurement based on our "Basic Policy on Procurement." In order to further strengthen our supply chain management, we revised our "Basic Policy on Procurement" and "Sustainable Supply Chain Guidelines" in January 2023.
Based on these policies and guidelines, we are implementing the following measures: 1) Disseminating our basic procurement policy and supply chain guidelines, 2) investigating, auditing, and improving suppliers, and 3) deepening employee understanding. We are also promoting activities to disseminate our basic policy.
From now on, we will conduct a CSR procurement self-assessment of our suppliers once every three years and analyze the results in an effort to understand and improve the negative impact on the environment and society in our supply chain.

その他の取り組み​

  • CSR procurement self-assessment
  • Initiatives for new suppliers
  • Response to conflict minerals and cobalt procurement
  • Sustainability assessment by EcoVadis

Initiatives to address logistics issues

Efforts to address the 2024 logistics problem

On June 2, 2023, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism jointly announced the "Toward Optimizing Logistics and Improving Productivity" with the aim of accelerating the response to the "2024 Logistics Problem". ``Guidelines for efforts by shippers and logistics companies'' have been formulated.
artience group will maintain and relocate relay bases and optimize delivery and cargo reception. Furthermore, with the understanding and cooperation of our customers, we will work together across the supply chain to reduce the burden on logistics companies by easing delivery lead times, shortening waiting times at delivery destinations, and reducing ancillary operations. We will strive to maintain and improve logistics, which is an important social infrastructure.

Examples of past initiatives

  • Separation of trunk transportation part and collection and delivery part
  • Improving the efficiency of vehicle dispatch and loading rate through joint delivery at LogicNet Co., Ltd., which was established through joint investment with a company in the same industry (since 2000)
  • Participating in the “White Logistics” promotion movement (2020-)
  • With the cooperation of customers, we set order closing times that take delivery into account, reducing long working hours for logistics operators (from 2020)

Participating in the “White Logistics” promotion movement

artience Co., Ltd. (formerly TOYO INK SC Holdings Co., Ltd.) supports the "White Logistics" promotion campaign advocated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and in May 2020, announced a voluntary action declaration. . We aim to realize sustainable logistics by collaborating with raw material suppliers, business partners, and logistics operators to promote efficient logistics through appropriate transportation contracts and joint logistics.

Main items of our voluntary action declaration
Initiative items Initiative details
Separation of trunk transportation part and collection and delivery part We will actively work to separate the trunk transportation part and the delivery part to promote efficient logistics.
Separation of work parts other than operation If we receive a consultation from a logistics company regarding the separation of operational work and ancillary work other than driving, we will sincerely respond to the discussion.
Promotion of written transportation contracts We will promote the documentation of transportation contracts.
Separate contract for freight and charges When concluding a transportation contract, in principle, the consideration for transportation (freight) and the consideration for services other than transportation (charges) are entered into separately.
Optimization of subcontracting transactions We also request our own companies and the logistics companies with whom we have transportation contracts to ensure that, when outsourcing to subcontractors, we require ``written transportation contracts'' and ``separate contracts for freight and charges.''
Consideration of legal compliance status when selecting a contract partner When selecting a logistics company to contract with, we consider compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
Cancellation or suspension of operations due to abnormal weather, etc. We will not make unreasonable transportation requests when abnormal weather such as typhoons, heavy rain, or heavy snow occurs or is expected to occur. Additionally, if a logistics operator determines that it is necessary to cancel or suspend operations in order to ensure the safety of drivers, we will respect that decision.
Promoting joint logistics We will collaborate with raw material suppliers and other companies to promote joint logistics initiatives.