Respect for human rights

Respect for human rights forms the foundation of the ITO EN Group's management principle, “Always Putting the Customer First,” and underlies all of our business activities. In addition to observing laws and regulations, the ITO EN Group has established our stance concerning respect for fundamental human rights and formulated the ITO EN Group Code of Conduct. Besides referring to these guidelines for our business, we are implementing initiatives to provide a comfortable working environment by eradicating power harassment and sexual harassment, eliminating discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation (and gender identity), age, ethnicity, nationality, race, religion, ideology, beliefs, social status, family origin, disabilities, or other attributes, and complying with laws and regulations on working hours and minimum wages that apply in the countries and regions in which we operate.

Furthermore, with the diversification of the Group's business activities and overseas expansion, the importance of respect for human rights based on international human rights norms, including the prohibition of forced labor and child labor, is increasing. Against this backdrop, we have established the ITO EN Group Human Rights Policy, based on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, to publicly reaffirm the Group's stance on respect for human rights and our responsibilities in this regard.

This Policy has been formed based on advice from external experts who have specialist knowledge and practical experience in matters regarding human rights. We will continue to hold dialogues with stakeholders and reflect the outcome in the Policy and our initiatives on respect for human rights as needed in the future.

Implementation of activities to raise awareness about human rights and human rights training

The ITO EN Group provides training on human rights issues to employees as part of compliance training. The training deals with issues such as power harassment and sexual harassment in the context of human rights.

Meanwhile, by driving initiatives for tackling human rights issues through business activities, we have sought to make employees more aware and understanding of human rights issues in local communities.

Diversity

The ITO EN Group is committed to developing a comfortable and pleasant workplace environment in which diverse individuals feel motivated to work. By developing an environment in which diverse individuals can opt for flexible working styles and ensuring that all employees feel enthusiastic about their work, we aim to energize the company as a whole and improve the productivity of employees.

Equal employment opportunities for men and women

ITO EN has established an action plan based on the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace and is implementing initiatives to empower women. We have also established an action plan based on the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children and is developing working environments in which it is easier for employees to balance parenting and work. While the average length of service of female employees is increasing year by year, we currently have a high ratio of male employees because of our sales format, which mainly consists of route sales involving visits to customers and loading, unloading and delivering products. We will continue striving to develop workplaces in which both men and women can thrive, including expanding job categories and offering women more opportunities to fulfil their potential.

Support for development of the next generation

ITO EN has established an action plan to ensure that all employees take advantage of child-care leave and we are steadily implementing this plan. As a result, we have received Kurumin certification as a general business operator that has met standards based on the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children a total of three times, in 2010, 2015 and 2020. We have now formulated our fourth action plan and are continuing to implement initiatives.

Action Plan based on the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children（Japanese only）

Employment of persons with disabilities

At ITO EN, employees with disabilities work in a variety of occupational categories, and candidates are trained prior to hiring to confirm compatibility of the candidate and the workplace to increase the retention rate. After individuals with disabilities have joined the Company, we work to create a pleasant working environment for them by understanding their disability through regular meetings with professional training officers in the human resources department and in cooperation with the support center at the workplace and in the local community.

Hiring global talent

Aiming to become a Global Tea Company, the ITO EN Group runs campaigns to hire foreign nationals.

Development of scheme for reemployment up to the age of 70

ITO EN previously established a system under which employees could be rehired for a maximum of five years after mandatory retirement; however, aiming to further energize the company as a whole and improve productivity, in FY2017 we introduced a new system which allows employees to work actively up to the age of 70. Employees who wish to continue working after reaching the age of 65 are matched with a workplace according to their requirements and adjustments are made to enable them to carry on working. We will develop an environment in which employees can demonstrate the experience, knowledge and expertise they have accumulated to date in various work places, and encourage the creation of systems which allow employees to work in good health and with enthusiasm until the age of 70.

We are also working to develop comfortable and rewarding workplaces through continued implementation of initiatives such as the system for moving employees on fixed term contracts to permanent contracts and offering area-specific positions.

ITO EN aims to maintain a safe and healthy workplace as its policy for improving and maintaining employees’ health, and implements initiatives to maintain and improve the health of employees and their families. From the perspective of health and productivity management, which considers employee health management from a management perspective and puts it into practice strategically, we formulated the ITO EN Group Health Management Declaration.

Initiatives for comfortable workplace environments

ITO EN has established the Workplace Environment Improvement Committee (convened twice a year, in principle) to comprehensively consider workplace environment issues and improvement measures and create a more positive workplace environment, and the proposals examined here are recommended to the Executive Board. With a view to implementing improvement measures which are based on actual conditions across the Group, district committees made up of representatives of each office have been established under the Committee to exchange opinions on issues such as working hours, workplace safety and hygiene management and review future work styles. Every employee is constantly thinking about improvements to resolve work-related issues and improving business processes independently based on internal cooperation.

In addition, ITO EN carries out an awareness survey every year to ask all employees for their feedback on systems and their workplace environment. Survey results are analyzed and organized by the department in charge and fed back to workplaces and are also used to revise HR systems and improve workplace environments.

Reducing overtime work and improving the rate of paid-leave usage

ITO EN is working continuously to improve safety in the workplace.

We established the Group-wide Health & Safety Committee, which is chaired by the Director responsible for employees' health and occupational health and safety, with the objective of improving our management framework for health and safety-related matters.

To implement basic measures for the prevention of worker health problems, etc., ITO EN has established health/hygiene committees (which meet once a month as a general rule) at its head office and at business locations with 50 or more employees, and a Health & Safety Committee in its Production Headquarters (which also meets once a month as a general rule). We also give care and consideration for employee health by participating in courses run by industrial physicians on occupational health and hygiene related themes, such as safety measures in the workplace, and measures against heatstroke, infectious diseases such as influenza, and passive smoking.

To ensure safety across the Group, we conduct internal awareness raising activities by holding regular safety and health/hygiene weeks and distributing various documents and have also established committees comprised of workplace representatives, and are working to formulate and implement working environment improvement measures by conducting workplace safety surveys and sharing the results amongst committee members.

Health and safety initiatives

ITO EN is working continuously to improve safety in the workplace.

We established the Group-wide Health & Safety Committee, which is chaired by the Director responsible for employees' health and occupational health and safety, with the objective of improving our management framework for health and safety-related matters.

To implement basic measures for the prevention of worker health problems, etc., ITO EN has established health/hygiene committees (which meet once a month as a general rule) at its head office and at business locations with 50 or more employees, and a Health & Safety Committee in its Production Headquarters (which also meets once a month as a general rule). We also give care and consideration for employee health by participating in courses run by industrial physicians on occupational health and hygiene related themes, such as safety measures in the workplace, and measures against heatstroke, infectious diseases such as influenza, and passive smoking.

To ensure safety across the Group, we conduct internal awareness raising activities by holding regular safety and health/hygiene weeks and distributing various documents and have also established committees comprised of workplace representatives, and are working to formulate and implement working environment improvement measures by conducting workplace safety surveys and sharing the results amongst committee members.

Ongoing infection control initiatives

During the COVID-19 crisis, ITO EN established a coronavirus infection control office to strengthen safety measures and focused on measures to prevent coronavirus infections based on the assumption of preventing infection and ensuring business continuity.

Improving workplace environments to eliminate occupational accidents

In the event of an occupational accident, ITO EN conducts a root cause analysis in an occupational accident report and endeavors to prevent a recurrence. Every year, the Human Resources Department reports to the Executive Board on the status of initiatives to prevent occupational accidents, the results of medical checkups received and other matters related to employees' health and occupational health and safety.

Because ITO EN has many sales personnel who use vehicles in their route sales activities, the company provides vehicle driving training that includes thorough observance of traffic rules and good driving manners. To promote safe driving we have also installed dashboard cameras in our vehicles and are seeking to ensure the thorough implementation of the content of our education programs, with the aim of achieving zero accidents.

We will continue striving to step up initiatives further in the future, aiming for zero occupational accidents.

In addition to conducting health and safety education and training for management-level personnel on a job-specific basis, ITO EN also works to make the relevant information widely and thoroughly known amongst all of its employees through the efforts of Health/Hygiene Committee and Workplace Environment Improvement Committee members selected by the representatives of each department.

Enhancing welfare and benefit systems for more fulfilling leisure time

The ITO EN Group believes that employees who lead fulfilling lives will perform better at work. We encourage employees to pursue a work-life balance and strive to develop environments with better systems aiming to create pleasant workplaces for everyone.

In FY2017, ITO EN launched the Family Support System to facilitate comprehensive support for ITO EN employees and their families during major life events through various support schemes, including work support, welfare benefit support and salary support schemes. As part of its most recent efforts, the Company has enhanced childcare leave (making it part of paid leave) and introduced systems to support for balancing work with illness (flexible work style), support for fertility treatment (leave of absence and subsidy) and support for nursing care (work arrangements to shorten work hours and days and the establishment of a consultation desk dedicated to nursing care), in a bid to develop an environment in which employees can continue working with peace of mind.