Context

For Suntory Group, which operates globally, respecting the human rights of everyone involved in our business is a crucial responsibility and a foundation for sustainable growth.
Under the Suntory Group Human Rights Policy, we emphasize dialogue with stakeholders and strengthen our efforts to promote respect for human rights across the entire value chain.
In this Human Rights Policy, Suntory Group clearly states our commitment to upholding internationally recognized standards for human rights, including the United Nations’ International Bill of Human Rights and Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, as well as various labor standards (including the International Labour Organization’s core labor standards: freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively, abolition of forced and child labor, and elimination of discrimination in employment).

Governance

The Suntory Group Human Rights Policy establishes a clear governance structure to ensure implementation of our human rights initiatives.
Our Human Rights Policy is developed and revised with the approval of our Board of Directors, which also supervises the reporting and oversight of all important matters relating to human rights.
At the management level, our Chief Sustainability Officer takes Group-wide responsibility for ensuring respect for human rights and we guarantee commitment to these issues from our top management through measures such as incorporating progress on human rights initiatives and similar metrics into evaluations for executive compensation.
To deal with more practical aspects, we have established a multidisciplinary Human Rights Working Team that brings together functional divisions such as our sustainability, supply chain, human resources, legal, and compliance divisions, as well as major operating companies, to formulate strategies and monitor policy progress on a regular monthly basis. This Team relays its activities to the Global Sustainability Committee, and reports to and engages in discussion with the Board of Directors as necessary.
In addition, human rights issues have also been integrated into our Group-wide risk management process, and our Global Sustainability Committee collaborates with our Global Risk Management Committee to discuss actions to be taken, positioning human rights risks as one of the top priorities. In Japan, we have operated Human Rights Education Promotion Committees at individual business site level, and continue to promote human rights awareness and take action on any issues on a regional basis.

Strategy and Risk Management

Suntory Group carries out human rights due diligence (HRDD) at a global level. In the Suntory Group Human Rights Policy, we identified significant human rights risk areas within our operations, such as child labor, forced labor, long working hours, fair wages and benefits, discrimination and harassment, freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively, access to remedy, and occupational safety and health. With a focus on these priority themes, we carry out regular human rights risk assessments for both within our operations and throughout our value chain. During these assessments, we leverage dialogues with external human rights experts and NGOs, information from United Nations and industry body reports, and global risk data (for example, Verisk Maplecroft indices) to identify and prioritize potential risks.
Particularly within the supply chain, we emphasize the risks of child and forced labor at raw material procurement sites, using platforms such as use the Sedex platform and SMETA auditing to monitor the working environments provided by our business partners. Our HRDD process encompasses not only risk identification and evaluatiion, but also incorporates a PDCA cycle that includes preventative and corrective measures. If any negative human rights impact from Suntory Group's business activities becomes evident,, we promptly implement corrective action to rectify the situation and offer remedy to those affected. These initiatives are integrated with our global operational risk management and are ireflected in our strategy through regular reporting and reviews.

Human Rights Due Diligence

Suntory Group has identified key themes for global human rights, including forced labor and human trafficking, child labor and dangerous or hazardous work for young workers, discrimination, and foreign and migrant workers’ rights, and promotes human rights due diligence in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).
This process is led principally by our Human Rights Working Team, which consists of members from functional divisions such as our sustainability, supply chain, human resources, legal, and compliance divisions. This Team regularly formulates strategies and monitors progress on various actions, reporting its activities to the Global Sustainability Committee and additionally to the Board of Directors when necessary.
Within our human rights due diligence process, we give particular consideration to the human rights of women, children, migrant workers, and other vulnerable groups. Our efforts take into account the United Nations Women's Empowerment Principles, the same organization’s Children's Rights and Business Principles, and similar frameworks.

Grievance Mechanism

At Suntory Group, if any negative human rights impacts stemming from our business activities are identified, we are committed to engaging in prompt corrective action through appropriate procedures that follow international standards. To this end, we have established several contact points for consultation and reporting both within and outside the Group, and a system for responding to any grievances or reports of harm. We ensure the protection of the privacy of any persons making a report and prohibit retaliation at all touchpoints, while relevant departments collaborate to resolve issues.

As outlined above, Suntory Group has established due diligence and remedy processes based on our Human Rights Policy in accordance with international standards. We are advancing responsible initiatives to meet the expectations of our l stakeholders.

For more information on this subject, see Respect for Human Rights