Yokowo Co., Ltd.

Sustainability

Society
Responsible Procurement　Practices

Basic Policies

The Yokowo Group conducts its purchasing activities worldwide in accordance with the Group's Corporate Philosophy, which comprises the three elements of Purpose, Vision and Values, and Yokowo works with its business partners to contribute to the development of a sustainable society and strive for mutual growth in accordance with the following Purchasing Policy and Business Partner Code of Conduct.

Purchasing Policy
Coexistence and co-prosperity with business partners

Build long-term trust relationships with business partners, and partnerships that mutually enhance value.
Procure from diverse business partners, and contribute to society by creating added value.

Fair and equitable transactions

Comprehensive evaluation based on quality, price, delivery times, service, technical capabilities, and CSR, to transparent selection of business partners.
Fair and equal entry opportunities for domestic or overseas suppliers regardless of their business scales.

CSR initiatives

Respect Yokowoʼs CSR Policy and Code of Conduct, and promote purchasing activities that take into consideration human rights and environmental conservation.
Work with business partners to promote CSR activities that include corporate ethics and compliance with laws and regulations.

Business Partner Code of Conduct 

With reference to the Yokowo Group's CSR Policy and Code of Conduct, Yokowo has summarized in the form of the Yokowo Business Partner Code of Conduct the standards of behavior that Yokowo expects its business partners to understand and support and to actually implement and comply with.
The purpose of the Code is to seek further enhancement of Yokowo's corporate value and to repay the trust of the Group's stakeholders. As such, the Code consists of the ten sections: Compliance with Laws and Regulations, Respect for International Norms, Labor, Health and Safety, Environment, Ethics, Quality and Safety, Information Security, Business Continuity Planning, Social Contribution, and Management System. 
*Ver2.0 Established on May 2024

YOKOWO Business Partner Code of Conduct
1.Compliance with Laws and Regulations, Respect for International Norms 2.Labor 3.Health and Safety 4.Environment 5.Ethics
Business partners must comply with
applicable laws and regulations
in their own country and the
countries and regions in which
they operate, and also respect
international codes of conduct.
  1. (2-1)Elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour
  2. (2-2)Prohibition of child labor, and paying due consideration to young workers
  3. (2-3)Consideration for working hours
  4. (2-4)Appropriate wages and allowances
  5. (2-5)Non-discrimination and non-harassment / Humane treatment
  6. (2-6)Freedom of association and collective bargaining rights
  1. (3-1)Health and safety licensing and reporting
  2. (3-2)Occupational health and safety
  3. (3-3)Emergency preparedness
  4. (3-4)Occupational injury and illness
  5. (3-5)Industrial hygiene
  6. (3-6)Consideration for physically demanding work
  7. (3-7)Machine safeguarding
  8. (3-8)Facility safety and health
  9. (3-9)Health and safety communication
  1. (4-1)Environmental permits and reporting
  2. (4-2)Pollution prevention and resource conservation
  3. (4-3)Management of hazardous substances
  4. (4-4)Waste management
  5. (4-5)Air emissions
  6. (4-6)Materials restrictions
  7. (4-7)Water management
  8. (4-8)Energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions
  9. (4-9)Conserving biodiversity 
  1. (5-1)Corruption prevention
  2. (5-2)Prohibition of giving or accepting inappropriate advantages
  3. (5-3)Appropriate information disclosure
  4. (5-4)Respecting intellectual property
  5. (5-5)Conducting fair business
  6. (5-6)Whistleblower protection
  7. (5-7)Responsible sourcing of minerals
  8. (5-8)Proper control of imports and exports 
  9. (5-9)Exclusion of anti-social forces
6.Quality and Safety 7.Information Security 8.Business Continuity Planning 9.Social Contribution 10.Management System
  1. (6-1)Ensuring product safety
  2. (6-2)Quality control
  3. (6-3)Providing accurate product and service information
  1. (7-1)Defense against cyber attacks
  2. (7-2)Protecting personal information
  3. (7-3)Preventing leakage of confidential information
  1. (8-1)Formulating and preparing a business continuity plan
  1. (9-1)Contributing to society and communities
  1. (10-1)Company commitment
  2. (10-2)Management accountability
  3. (10-3)Legal and customer requirements
  4. (10-4)Risk assessment and risk management
  5. (10-5)Improvement objectives
  6. (10-6)Education and training
  7. (10-7)Promotion of communication
  8. (10-8)Internal reporting system 
  9. (10-9)Assessments
  10. (10-10)Corrective action process
  11. (10-11)Documentation and records
  12. (10-12)Supplier responsibility
CSR purchasing

Previously, the Yokowo Group has conducted audits of business partners into general matters, information security, the environment, and CSR, both when commencing new business relationships, and on an ongoing basis. As of 2024, in order to strengthen ESG activities, we have started a systematic approach to our CSR purchasing operations based on the PDCA cycle.
This year, we conducted supplier briefings and self-assessments for suppliers in Japan, and based upon the results of the evaluation/audit, we have implemented improvement activities in cooperation with business partners.
From FY2025 onwards, we will expand these activities to include overseas business partners.

PDCA cycle considerations in CSR purchasing
  1. Plan

    Develop annual activity plan

  2. Do

    Conduct business partner briefing and supplier assessment

  3. Check

    Evaluate and monitor supplier assessment

  4. Action

    Create improvement plan, improvement activities

CSR purchasing activities during FY2024
Activities Target Purpose Results
Establishment of purchasing policy All business partners Raising of awareness about Yokowo Group's Purchasing Policy Established May 2024
Published on website
Establishment of Business Partner Code of Conduct Ver2.0 All business partners Raising of awareness about standards of conduct Yokowo expects business partners to implement and comply with Established May 2024
Published on website
Business partner briefing Business partners accounting for 90% of domestic transaction volume Raising of awareness of Yokowo's CSR purchasing activities Attendance rate
100%
Submission of letter of consent to Business Partner Code of Conduct Business partners participating in briefing Confirmation of consent to cooperate with Yokowo's CSR purchasing activities Submission rate
100%
Implementation and evaluation of self-assessment Business partners submitting letter of consent to Business Partner Code of Conduct Self-assessment of CSR initiatives and visualization of risks Response rate
100%
Improvement activities (ongoing) Business partners not conforming to priority requirements in Yokowo's Code of Conduct Cooperation between Yokowo and business partners to build advanced CSR systems Business partners responding to request
10%
CSR Purchasing Guidelines

Yokowo established the CSR Purchasing Guidelines to help business partners better understand the Business Partner Code of Conduct through explanations that incorporate actual initiatives.
Through the CSR Purchasing Guidelines, Yokowo and its business partners will be on the same page when it comes to Yokowo's CSR activities, and together they will keep society on-side by contributing to the creation of a sustainable society.

Letter of consent to Business Partner Code of Conduct

As a business partner of the Yokowo Group, we expect you to implement initiatives to address the requirements set out in the Business Partner Code of Conduct. We would also be grateful if you would submit the Letter of Consent to the Business Partner Code of Conduct.  

The CSR Purchasing Guidelines and the Letter of Consent to the Business Partner Code of Conduct can be accessed and downloaded here. （Documents in English version are being prepared now）