Human Rights
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Basic Concept
Human rights are universally valued rights that all people are born with. In today’s world, there is a growing awareness that businesses can have a great impact on human rights.
The Konica Minolta Group Charter of Corporate Behavior establishes the principles of corporate behavior for Konica Minolta’s business activities, and one of these principles is respect for human rights.
Furthermore, the Konica Minolta Group Human Rights Policy establishes the Group’s responsibilities and commitment to human rights based on the Konica Minolta Group’s corporate philosophy and management vision.
In addition, in the face of growing societal demand for supply chain management, Konica Minolta joined the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) in October 2013 in order to communicate its CSR procurement activities, so that stakeholders more clearly understand them and to further improve the quality and transparency of CSR procurement. The RBA Code of Conduct will be the standard for the entire Konica Minolta supply chain, including the Konica Minolta Group, suppliers, and partners.
Moreover, Konica Minolta supports and respects the following internationally accepted standards:
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- International Conventions on Human Rights
- The International Labour Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
- United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
- OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
- United Nations Global Compact
- ISO 26000
- RBA Code of Conduct
Management Process for Human Rights
Rights Due Diligence Process
In compliance with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, Konica Minolta has created a human rights policy, it conducts human rights due diligence, and established a remedy and grievance mechanism to promote its initiatives.
Policy
The Konica Minolta Group Human Rights Policy was established based on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Based on this policy, the Konica Minolta Group asks its business partners and other parties connected to the Group’s business not to violate human rights.
Human Rights Due Diligence
Konica Minolta has identified a human rights due diligence system to identify potential and actual human rights risks that its business activities may pose to stakeholders, to review and implement measures for the prevention and mitigation of adverse human rights impacts, and to disclose information on progress status. The Company’s business activities include new and additional investments, expansion through mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and participation in new business relations such as joint ventures, etc.
Remedy and Grievance Mechanism
Using a system that enables employees to report human rights concerns, if there is a clear indication that Konica Minolta directly caused or was involved in any adverse impact on human rights, it will promptly investigate and take corrective action through appropriate internal and external procedures.
Stakeholder Engagement
Konica Minolta will also engage stakeholder dialogue to enhance its efforts to respect human rights.
Human Rights Due Diligence
１．Identifying and Assessing Adverse Human Rights Impacts (Impact Assessment)
Based on items listed by the Ministry of Justice of Japan from major international rules, frameworks, and guidelines on human rights, Konica Minolta has identified stakeholders who are potentially or evidently negatively affected by its business activities and transactions, along with the human rights issues.
Identification of Human Rights Issues and Stakeholder Relationship
| Human rights-related risks | Stakeholders | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Examples of potential risks | Workers | Stakeholders other than workers |
|||
| Group employees | Employees of suppliers & contractors (production, development, other) | Customers | Local communities/Indigenous peoples | ||
| Wages and benefits | レ | レ | |||
| Insufficient or unpaid wages, inability to secure a living wage, unequal pay for equal work and qualifications, etc. | |||||
| Excessive/Unfair labor | レ | レ | |||
| Overtime work not legally mandated, continuous work, restriction on vacation taking, etc. | |||||
| Occupational health and safety | レ | レ | |||
| Inadequate protection of damage to health due to workload, occurrence of occupational accidents, etc. | |||||
| Freedom of association | レ | レ | |||
| Forced or non-participation in labor unions and collective bargaining | |||||
| Discrimination | レ | レ | |||
| Discrimination based on gender, age, nationality, or employee status (regular/irregular) | |||||
| Bribery/Corruption | レ | レ | |||
| Bribery of public officials, provision of money or goods during customs clearance procedures | |||||
| Consumer safety and right to know | レ | レ | |||
| Provision of products and services harmful to the mind, body, or health of consumers, product mislabeling, and violation of consumers’ right to know | |||||
| Gender-related human rights issues | レ | レ | レ | ||
| Unequal treatment of men and women such as wage disparity, disadvantages to sexual minorities, discriminatory language in advertising, etc. | |||||
| Harassment | レ | レ | レ | ||
| Abuse of power, sexual harassment, maternity/paternity harassment, nursing care harassment, etc. | |||||
| Freedom of speech | レ | レ | レ | ||
| Suppression of opinions about corporate activities, suppression of employees’ opinions about the company and working conditions | |||||
| Intellectual property right | レ | レ | レ | ||
| Nonpayment of compensation for inventions, infringement of personal intellectual property rights, etc. | |||||
| Forced labor | レ | レ | レ | ||
| Labor without worker consent, involvement in human trafficking, retention of identification documents | |||||
| Child/Youth labor | レ | レ | レ | ||
| Loss of children’s opportunity to learn, lack of consideration for impact on growth and health and for young workers under 18, etc. | |||||
| Freedom to relocate residence | レ | レ | レ | ||
| Relocation of residence against one’s will, eviction of residents due to business activities, forced job relocation, etc. | |||||
| Human rights issues related to ecosystem degradation, water stress, and climate change | レ | レ | レ | ||
| Environmental damage caused by business activities, ecosystem degradation and water stress, funding of projects that accelerate global warming, etc. | |||||
| Rights of foreign and migrant workers | レ | レ | レ | レ | |
| Discrimination against foreign and migrant workers, working conditions described in a specific language only, exploitation of recruitment commissions, etc. | |||||
| Right of access to redress | レ | レ | レ | レ | |
| Insufficient recognition of the complaint process, limited access, etc. | |||||
| Human rights issues related to technology and AI | レ | レ | レ | レ | |
| Discriminatory human rights issues arising from AI use, discriminatory use of own products | |||||
| Right to privacy | レ | レ | レ | レ | |
| Inappropriate acquisition, storage, disclosure, or provision of personal or sensitive information to third parties | |||||
Next, the Group assessed the impact on negatively affected stakeholders and the human rights issues based on the results of the RBA audit within the Group and the RBA SAQ results from stakeholders, identifying human rights issues that appear to be of high priority. The assessment results are reviewed regularly, and the departments responsible for human resources, legal affairs, procurement, quality, and sustainability will work to prevent and mitigate negative impacts through setting goals and implementing measures.
Human Rights Risk Issues Identified as High Priority by Each Stakeholder
•Group employees:
Excessive/Unfair labor, occupational health and safety, discrimination (women’s advancement), gender-related human rights issues, forced labor, child/youth labor, right to privacy
•Employees of our suppliers and contractors (* Production, development, and others):
Excessive/Unfair labor, occupational health and safety, discrimination, rights of foreign and migrant workers
•Customers:
Right to privacy
•Local Communities/Indigenous Peoples:
Forced labor, child/youth labor
２．Integrating and Acting upon the Findings
Group Employees
Konica Minolta believes that employee motivation, engagement, and leadership are based on the employees’ mental and physical health, and that improving the quality of health leads to improved quality of labor、products, and services, which in turn increases the Company’s added value. Konica Minolta recognizes that improving productivity and performance by promoting the improvement of employees’ mental and physical health, as well as organizational health, is an important management issue. Recognizing that employee health is the foundation of everything that it does, Konica Minolta is fostering a “health-first” culture and promoting health management. As part of this initiative, the Company is working to prevent excessive work and health problems caused by workload.
Furthermore, accidents at work sites not only threaten employee safety, but may also impact the local environment and business continuity. For this reason, Konica Minolta recognize that preventing workplace accidents and creating a safe working environment for employees are important management issues. Konica Minolta views workplace safety and the maintenance and promotion of each employee's health as the foundation of its corporate management, and seeks to create a healthy, safe, and comfortable working environment by conducting occupational health and safety initiatives that focus on daily prevention activities.
Konica Minolta believes that maintaining and increasing the trust of stakeholders, including customers, local and international communities, business partners, shareholders, and investors, is the basis of its business activities, and the practice of compliance is its underlying foundation. Compliance at Konica Minolta naturally involves complying with laws and regulations, but is also based on corporate ethics and company rules that define what the Company believe to be right.
The Konica Minolta Group has established the Konica Minolta Group Charter of Corporate Behavior, which sets forth the behavior required of all Konica Minolta Group companies and its personnel. The Group implements measures under a global promotion system to ensure that each employee acts in accordance with this Charter.
Through these compliance practices, the Company fosters a business environment that respects human rights and is free from discrimination and harassment.
In addition, we have been addressing gender-related human rights issues and women's advancement as part of diversity promotion. We believe that the diversity of our workforce is what brings about new innovative ideas and is a wellspring of solutions for achieving greater compatibility between our management vision of "supporting people to achieve their own purpose" and "realizing a sustainable society."
We have long been committed to improving fairness and inclusion for social minorities and to fostering an organizational culture that enables each employee to maximize their unique strengths and have been accelerating these efforts since the business integration of Konica and Minolta in 2003. To realize our management vision and achieve sustainable growth and societal recognition, we need to come together as one and further strengthen Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) on a global level at Konica Minolta.
Employees of Our Suppliers and Contractors, Partners, and Others: (* Production, Development, and Others)：
Companies have to take social responsibility not only for their own products but also for improving labor conditions (human rights), health and safety, the environment, and ethics in the supply chain*1 used to deliver products to customers. In line with this recognition, Konica Minolta promotes CSR procurement that pursues these kinds of improvements together with its business partners who supply and produce materials such as raw materials, parts and components, as well as Group production sites, with the aim of establishing a sustainable society in which human rights are respected.
In recent years, several laws related to human rights protection, such as the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (USA) and the Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains (Germany), have been enacted. These laws demand that companies strengthen their human rights efforts. In response to these social demands, the RBA*2 has updated its code of conduct and various systems. As an RBA member, Konica Minolta will utilize the RBA’s framework to address these social issues.
- *1
- Supply chain: The series of activities involved in delivering a product or service to a customer, ranging from procurement and production to distribution and sales.
- *2
- Responsible Business Alliance (RBA): Organization that promotes CSR in the supply chain.
Local Communities/Indigenous Peoples
Konica Minolta deals with conflict minerals as an initiative against forced labor, and child, and youth labor of local residents and indigenous peoples.
The mining of tungsten, tantalum, gold, and tin mineral resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo and surrounding areas has been identified as a potential source of funding for conflicts. Konica Minolta deals with conflict minerals according to the OECD's Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict and High-Risk Areas under "A Five-Step Framework for Risk-Based Due Diligence in the Minerals Supply Chain.”
Customers
With cyber-attacks targeting individuals and companies increasing, their methods are becoming more sophisticated and ingenious. Konica Minolta's products and services may also pose a risk of exposing customers to security threats. Therefore, the Company is required to provide secure products and services, prevent product security incidents in the market, and if an event should occur, minimize damage to customers and quickly take steps to recover and resolve the issue.
Konica Minolta has established a company-wide system to promote product security, led by the Chief Quality Officer and is working to prevent serious security incidents in all products and services through its business divisions under the supervision of the Quality Division. The Company has established “Product Security Guidelines” to achieve secure development and operation and is promoting secure development and operation processes for products and services Groupwide.
Development and operation in compliance with the Product Security Guidelines, in principle, apply to all products and services of the Konica Minolta Group, and is implemented throughout the entire product and service life cycle, from planning and proposal to disposal and termination of service, as well as activities in the supply chain, such as development and operation contractors and suppliers.
In addition, Konica Minolta regularly convenes the cross-sectional “Product Security Promotion Committee” to discuss product security issues and share information on best practices both inside and outside the Company to continuously improve product security.
Konica Minolta has established "Imaging to the People" as its management vision with the aim of "supporting people to achieve their own purpose" and "realizing a sustainable society." To that end, the Company is promoting the use of AI in its products and services, and in its business activities including R&D, production, and sales.
However, misuse of AI could cause various problems, including privacy and human rights violations.
When using AI in new products or services, each department conducts risk assessment s at the product planning stage, and the "AI Ethics Review Committee" discusses the results in order to reduce the risk of problems arising from inappropriate AI use.
3．Tracking Responses
Group Employees
To prevent health problems caused by overwork, Konica Minolta is taking measures to curb long working hours.
The Konica Minolta Group provides health checkups by industrial physicians to employees who have logged more than 80 hours of overtime work in a single month, or who have logged 60 or more hours of monthly overtime work three months in a row, or who have logged 45 or more hours of overtime work, if they wish. These checkups prevent health problems caused by overwork and maximize performance. As a result of these countermeasures curbing employee overwork and creating a healthy and comfortable workplace that allows for good work-life balance. In fiscal 2024, the Company aims to further reduce the number of employees working long hours, while revising the medical checkup appointment system to facilitate medical checkups for those who work long hours.
In the area of mental health, we conduct stress checks for all employees twice a year, with more than 90% of employees getting checked each time (91% were checked in fiscal 2023). While utilizing the stress check results for self-care, we classify the four stress levels by workplace and provide feedback to the heads of each organization, and for Level 4 workplaces, which have the highest stress levels, we plan and implement improvement measures. As a result, the number of Level 4 workplaces in fiscal 2023 has been on a downward trend from the previous year, and the percentage of high-stress employees in fiscal 2023 was 8.4%, our lowest level ever. In addition, we regularly provide e-learning for all Group managers so that we can quickly detect and respond to employees with mental health issues by enhancing the line care function. The attendance rate remained at around 92%. A survey revealed that 90% of managers considered this e-Learning beneficial. In addition, Konica Minolta plans to further strengthen its proactive approach to mental health education aimed at improving workplace culture. Moreover, the Company is also engaged in workplace improvement utilizing the analysis results of the organizational health survey, whose scores have a strong correlation with productivity. In fiscal 2022, the average score was 6.1, but improved to 6.3 in fiscal 2023. There was an overall trend of improvement in each question, with particularly favorable results for questions related to growth, recognition, and progress.
In addition, Konica Minolta has established “a return-to-work preparation system" for employees resuming work after taking leave due to mental health problems and is providing thorough follow-up support to eligible employees to facilitate their return to work by arranging at least three meetings with an industrial physician, workplace supervisor, and human resources during a rehabilitation work period of up to three months.
As a result of these measures, the number of leave-of-absence days taken due to mental health problems among Konica Minolta, Inc. employees in fiscal 2023 declined by around 14% year on year. Furthermore, the number of new employees on leave of absence declined by 16% year on year. However, the average number of days of absence per employee, including both new and continuing absence—the KPI for absenteeism—Increased slightly. In fiscal 2024, we will take steps to reduce the number of leave-of-absence days taken due to mental health problems by further reinforcing managers’ oversight and implementing oversight in close cooperation with line personnel. In fiscal 2024, we will work to reduce the total number of days of leave taken due to mental health problems by further enhancing line care and providing care in close cooperation with line personnel.
In fiscal 2023, there were no serious accidents*1 within the Konica Minolta Group. Six incidents resulting in absence from work occurred, all of which were in Japan (4 male and 2 female victims), with no incidents reported overseas. The frequency rate of lost-worktime injuries*2 was 0.22 in Japan, 0 overseas, and 0.12 combined for Japan and overseas. The severity rate of accidents causing absence from work*3 was 0.0012 in Japan, 0 overseas, and 0.0007 combined for Japan and overseas.
According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s 2023 report on labor accident trends, the average frequency rate of lost-worktime injuries for the domestic manufacturing industry was 1.29, and for the electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing industry was 9.54, indicating that Konica Minolta’s rate remains below the industry averages.
*1:Serious accidents:
(1) Death, illness requiring (or likely to require) long-term medical care, injury resulting in (or likely to result in) disability, and specific infectious disease
(2) Accidents that result in the death, injury, or illness on the job of three or more workers at one time (including lost worktime).
*2 Number of workers absent from work per million of total hours worked by Konica Minolta employees
*3 Number of days of lost work per 1,000 hours of total hours worked by Konica Minolta employees
To maintain a work environment where employees feel “motivated and willing to take on challenges (engagement),” the Company conducts a Global Employee Survey (GES) of its employees worldwide on their attitudes toward work and the workplace. The current state of its corporate culture is measured by Engagement score*, and each organization takes action to improve its score, thereby raising the competitiveness of the entire Group.
* Engagement score: Average score of responses to the question “How likely is it you would recommend Konica Minolta as a place to work?” in the GES (Global Employee Survey) on a scale of 0 to 10.
In fiscal 2023, approximately 90% of the Group's employees participated in this survey, which elicited over 165,000 comments and enabled each organization to delve more deeply into issues and continuously plan and implement improvements.
In fiscal2023, the engagement score for the Group was 6.8, up 0.2 points from fiscal 2022. Although still below the industry average level target for fiscal 2025, it climbed to the lower 25% level in fiscal 2023, steadily approaching the target level.
Regarding compliance initiatives, in order to prevent all forms of discrimination, sexual harassment, and abuse of power, the Group prohibits discrimination and harassment in its "Guidance for the Charter of Corporate Behavior" and "Compliance Manual." In addition, Konica Minolta has established "Sexual Harassment Prevention Guidelines" and conduct harassment prevention training to educate its employees. The Group also educates its managers on sexual harassment
and abuse of power. If an employee discriminates or harasses someone, the Company will take corrective or disciplinary action according to our work rules.
Thanks to measures such as rigorous age verification when hiring in each country, there have been no cases of child labor, nor of forced labor.
Since fiscal 2017, Konica Minolta’s diversity initiatives have promoted an understanding of DEI among Group company employees in Japan by regularly sharing interviews with executives and role models and present positive examples of in-house DEI promotion via its internal portal site, and by implementing a Company-wide program.
Since 2021, staff responsible for DEI promotion in Europe, the United States, and Japan have gathered to plan global programs, including programs linked to International Women’s Day and Pride Month* in order to promote unified activities across the Konica Minolta Group, including overseas. In addition, we hold programs simultaneously in Japan that are in line with the theme of our global program to get more employees involved in DEI promotion.
* June is recognized around the world as “Pride Month” for promoting awareness of LGBTQ+ rights, and numerous events are held at various locations.
Gender equality and women's empowerment are key themes globally emphasized and are crucial for achieving the SDGs. In Japan, despite women being highly educated, their leadership and participation in various fields remain limited. Konica Minolta recognizes the urgent need to create an environment where women can actively contribute across the entire industrial sector to which it belongs.
Employees of Our Suppliers and Contractors, Partners, and Others: (* Production, Development, and Others)：
The CSR assessment evaluates site initiatives to address social issues such as labor (human rights) protection, health and safety, ethics, as well as environmental issues such as minimizing environmental impact. Konica Minolta classifies the results of the self-assessment questionnaire from rank A to C. The targets for overall scores are rank A for all Group production sites and rank B or higher for all suppliers. Rank C suppliers are considered to be high-risk, and CSR audits are conducted for those suppliers that have not achieved their targets even after implementing improvements. Suppliers who received the rank of C and did not achieve their target rank even after receiving improvement support are considered to be high-risk suppliers and are subject to the CSR audit in STEP 3.
In fiscal 2023, nine production sites within the Konica Minolta Group, and 30 of the 103 companies (84 primary suppliers and 19 secondary suppliers) identified as major suppliers conducted the CSR assessment, with all production sites achieving rank A and all suppliers achieving rank B or higher on their overall score. There were no high-risk suppliers. These assessment results met the target, but scores tended to be low in the areas of labor, the environment, and ethics. Specifically, the declining score in the areas of labor and ethics was due to the establishment of management systems, and in the area of the environment, the decline was due to items related to resource usage, waste, and GHG reduction programs. We have asked suppliers whose assessments have declined to make voluntary improvements.
The final production sites for Konica Minolta's mainstay digital workplace and professional print businesses, including those of outsourcing partners, are located in Japan, China, and ASEAN countries. Konica Minolta emphasizes audits at these sites to ensure the practice of high-quality manufacturing as a manufacturer and CSR-conscious production activities. The rate of RBA third-party audits (VAP audits) and Konica Minolta CSR audits at MFP and printing equipment production companies has reached 73%, covering 8 out of 11 target sites. In fiscal 2023, CSR audits were conducted at five sites, including both company-owned and outsourcing partner sites, uncovering issues such as the management of working hours, the implementation of education in labor and ethics, the establishment of an internal audit system, and preparedness for emergencies. A total of 38 non-conformances were identified, with a non-conformances rate (number of non-conformances/sites) of 760%. For all five sites, the necessary improvement plans were formulated and implemented. The completion rate for corrective actions on Priority findings reached 100%, while the completion rate for other non-conformances was 68%. Konica Minolta will continue to make improvements by advancing the PDCA cycle.
To maintain a wage level that allows employees of the Konica Minolta Group and its suppliers and contractors to feel rewarded for their work, Konica Minolta not only complies with the minimum wage in each region, but it also conducted a study on living wages in fiscal 2021. A living wage consists of basic living expenses and taxes, with the basic living expenses estimated using the Market Basket Method, but the Basic Needs Budget standard is used in some countries. Since regional differences in the same country must be considered, living wages are calculated by referencing the Japanese Trade Union Confederation and the Wage Indicator Foundation. No special issues were found among employees, business partners, contractors, and others. As a result, no special issues were found among the Group, suppliers, and contractors.
Local Communities/Indigenous Peoples
The response rates to the Conflict Minerals Survey using CMRT, the Cobalt and Mica Survey using EMRT conducted in fiscal 2023 in the Digital Workplace and Professional Print businesses were 95% and 93%, respectively.
Due diligence conducted on Conflict Minerals, Cobalt and Mica survey responses identified 461 smelters, 276 RMAP purchased smelters, and 13 Active smelters. We also identified 139 countries or territories in the supply chain that are considered 3TG countries of origin (as of April 30, 2024).
As a result of these surveys, we confirmed that one of our main products, toner, and some of our other products such as optical lenses, and functional films, were conflict-free. No evidence of conflict involvement was found in any of the supply chains surveyed.
Customers
The Group has been working to eliminate serious information security incidents by setting “the number of serious information security incidents” as KPIs. In fiscal 2022, as in the previous fiscal year, the Group again achieved the target. Konica Minolta will continue to pursue various initiatives to develop and operate secure products and services.
To ensure the appropriate use of AI, we have established the Responsible AI Office, a cross-company organization consisting of all divisions involved in AI use. The Responsible AI Office, in cooperation with the persons responsible for promoting AI use appointed to each business division, supports developers to conduct appropriate risk assessment at the product planning stage, and conducts educational and awareness-raising activities for all employees. Since fiscal 2021, we have worked to improve employee literacy by proving in-house training for all employees of domestic Group companies to put our basic policy into action based on AI ethics-related issues occurring in society and our approach to them. To date, about 10,000 employees have taken the training.
In fiscal 2022, outside experts lectured employees with the aim of raising awareness of AI use. Further, the rules for using generative AI, represented by ChatGPT, were rolled out in Japan in May 2023 and internationally in June. With this initiative, we aim to ensure that employees gain a proper understanding of the potential and risks of generative AI, and use it in a safe, ethical, and responsible manner worldwide.
In addition to continuing our annual training for all employees, we will provide specialized training tailored to the audience, such as training for risk assessment personnel, in order to improve the overall training.
4.Information Disclosure
Konica Minolta will regularly disclose the details of its initiatives on a timely basis via its website.
Remedy and Grievance Mechanism
Group Employees
Konica Minolta has established a Whistle-blowing System (Help Line) not only within the Group in Japan but also overseas. The Help Line is an anonymous reporting system, and whistleblowers are not subject to adverse treatment.
In fiscal 2023, of the Help Line cases reported that related to human rights (abuse of power /sexual harassment/discrimination/inappropriate treatment), 7 were domestic and 14 were overseas.
Employees of Our Suppliers and Contractors , Partners, and Others: (* Production, Development, and Others) , Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples:
In Japan, China, and Southeast Asia, “Help Lines” are now open to suppliers, and we have begun opening them to suppliers in Europe, too. In North America, Help Lines are open to all stakeholders, including suppliers.
Customers
Konica Minolta has established KONICA MINOLTA PSIRT as a Companywide organization to manage information on the vulnerabilities of its products and services, and to pursue necessary measures. When KONICA MINOLTA PSIRT receives a vulnerability report from an outside stakeholder about Konica Minolta's products or services, it takes appropriate action in compliance with the international vulnerability handling process.
Stakeholder Engagement
Group Employees
Konica Minolta shows that it guarantees freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining through its participation in the United Nations Global Compact. Konica Minolta, Inc. has concluded a collective labor agreement, and regular meetings of the joint management council are held four times a year with the president’s attendance to provide an opportunity to explain the Company’s management situation to the labor union and give the labor union an opportunity to explain its policies to Company management. Many other Group companies also have their own labor unions and employee associations and have built good labor-management relations.
Employees of Our Suppliers and Contractors, Partners, and Others: (* Production, Development, and Others):
Through supplier’s meetings and the procurement collaboration system, the Konica Minolta Procurement Policy is explained, procurement results and plans for the next fiscal year are reported, and targets and issues are shared. At the same time, the Group encourages its suppliers to further improve their quality, delivery, productivity, and environmental performance by commending suppliers for their outstanding achievements.
Customers
Konica Minolta has established call centers and web-based consultation services around the world for each of its products and services. Not only does it swiftly respond to inquiries and information on product defects received at each contact point, but Konica Minolta is also consolidating this information to monitor quality status and customer requests. The Company has also established an AI Ethics Review Committee with outside experts to verify the appropriate use and application of AI technology.
