Supply Chain Management

KDDI Group's Approach and Structure

In today's world where globalization has progressed, corporate procurement activities are influenced by social issues around the world.
The KDDI Group believes that driving sustainability initiatives not only within the company but also throughout our supply chain will make our business more sustainable.
We aim to establish a partnership system that does not cause labor problems related to human rights and health and safety at our suppliers, aiming to further improve the level of sustainable procurement centered on human rights and the environment in collaboration and cooperation with our suppliers.
The materiality established in the Medium-Term Management Strategy (2022-2012) addresses the elimination of human rights violations in the supply chain, and we have set a goal of achieving thorough human rights due diligence on 90% of the top suppliers of the KDDI Group in terms of procurement value by FY2024.
In addition, we are enhancing the various forms of support we provide to distributors, who are important partners.

For Sustainable and Responsible Procurement

The KDDI Group Sustainable and Responsible Procurement Policy and Multilingual Support

As a general telecommunications operator that supports social infrastructure, we are working on risk awareness and the enhancement of supply chain risk management with all business partners inside and outside Japan, in line with the KDDI Group Sustainable and Responsible Procurement Policy, to meet social demands at a higher level and avoid procurement risks as much as possible.
The policy defines eight applicable themes for appropriate supply chain management: Co-existence and Co-prosperity with Business Partners, Consideration of Global Environment, Fair and Equitable Trade, Considerations for Human Rights and Labor Environment, Fair Management of Information, Ensuring Quality and Safety, Co-existence with Society and Applicable Scope.
To offer satisfactory services to our customers and achieve the sustainable development of the company and society together with our business partners, we are extending our demands and support based on this policy to all business partners inside and outside Japan.
This policy has been rolled out in four languages (Japanese, English, Chinese, and Korean), with the aim of spreading the policy throughout the entire supply chain.

Selection of Business Partners

KDDI utilizes external research organizations to conduct risk assessments of new business partners from environmental and social aspects. KDDI investigates the partners' scale, background, credibility, business conditions, financial conditions, etc., and if they meet a predetermined standard, we conduct business with them. In case of a serious violation of compliance, such as those related to human lives, we deal with issues, including conducting reviews of transactions, until corrective actions are completed. Through Responsible Procurement Surveys targeting our tier-1 suppliers, we have also conducted surveys of tier-2 and tier-3 suppliers on issues such as human rights and conflict minerals since fiscal year 2018. In this way, we confirm each supplier's compliance with the KDDI Group Sustainable and Responsible Procurement Policy.

Formulate and Publish Guidelines Concerning Human Rights and the Environment

We established the KDDI Group Sustainable and Responsible Procurement Guidelines for implementing its procurement policy and published them on our website (in Japanese and English). The guidelines were formulated based on the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA; formerly called the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC)) code of conduct and Responsible Business Conduct Guidelines published by the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA). The guidelines provide criteria to consider in selecting business partners and procurement items, not only for quality, price, delivery and stability of supply but also for environmental and social impacts. In response to the results of the human rights impact assessment conducted in March 2020, we revised the content of the guidelines in March 2021 to further include consideration for human rights.
We have also established the KDDI Green Procurement Guidelines to reduce CO2 emissions throughout the entire supply chain and are cooperating and collaborating with our business partners to achieve carbon neutrality.

Promoting Sustainable Procurement

To gain an understanding of the status of the entire KDDI Group supply chain and risk assessments, we also conduct surveys targeting our leading business partners to support their understanding of our sustainable procurement initiatives and communicate the current situations and the progress made. In case of compliance violations committed by business partners, KDDI requests them to identify the causes and requests improvement. We offer guidance and support action if necessary.
Based on our Code of Business Conduct, we do not perform any transactions with organized crime groups.

Helpline for Suppliers: Grievance Mechanism

The KDDI Group has formulated the "KDDI Group Human Rights Policy" and promotes respect for human rights by encouraging suppliers and business partners not to infringe on human rights and working together with them. In addition, in the "KDDI Group Sustainable and Responsible Procurement Guidelines", we clearly state the prohibition of forced labor, inhumane treatment, child labor, and discrimination, and ask our suppliers to understand and practice such prohibitions.
We have established a helpline for employees of KDDI Group suppliers to consult or report violations of corporate ethics and legal compliance, including human rights issues, that deviate from the "KDDI Group Human Rights Policy" and the "KDDI Group Sustainable and Responsible Procurement Guidelines". We always accept consultation and reports by e-mail, etc., through the internal or external contact point established in collaboration with external experts.

Helpline for Suppliers (Japanese, English support)
e-mail: kddi-supplier-helpline@city-yuwa.com

  1. *This is different from the reporting contact from KDDI Group employees.

We accept anonymous reports, giving due consideration to the privacy of the consultants and the protection of the informants. In accordance with the Whistleblower Protection Act, we ensure the confidentiality of those who consult with us and report to us and make every effort to protect them so that they will not be treated unfairly because they have consulted with us or have reported something to us .KDDI concludes nondisclosure agreements with external contacts with whom we work together to resolve issues.
If it is identified that its business activities has caused, or had any adverse impact on human rights, KDDI ensures that it will provide relief for those affected.

Conflict Minerals

The U.S. government requires companies listed in the United States to disclose the use in their products of conflict minerals [1] or minerals produced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other disputed regions.
Although KDDI is not listed in the United States, we are promoting initiatives to eliminate the use of conflict minerals through Responsible Procurement Surveys in collaboration with our customers to fulfill our social responsibilities in our procurement activities.

  1. [1]Tantalum, tin, gold, tungsten, cobalt and other minerals designated as such by the U.S. Secretary of State are applicable
Society
Supply Chain Management