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Human Rights

Policy and Basic Concept (Ricoh Group’s Human Rights Policy)

Human rights are fundamental rights that all people are entitled to, and the extent of that entitlement should be extremely deep and wide. The concept of human rights is now a fundamental international social issue that must be addressed by all companies wherever they operate. The global community expects companies to operate with due respect for the human rights of all people based on this basic concept.
The origin of Ricoh's respect for human rights lies in one of the Founding Principles —“Love your neighbor”— of our corporate philosophy, which is known as “the Spirit of Three Loves”. Not only do we meet all the regulatory requirements and social expectations in the countries and regions in which we operate, but we also demonstrate our commitment to human rights by following international standards such as the “International Bill of Human Rights” and the “ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work”. Furthermore, as a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, we support “The Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact”. We firmly believe that we enhance our corporate value by respecting the human rights of all people involved in the Ricoh Group's business activities and by avoiding risks of human rights violations.

Ricoh Group’s Human Rights Policy

In April 2021, the Ricoh Group established the “Ricoh Group’s Human Rights Policy” in accordance with the “United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.” This policy was formulated based on the opinions of experts inside and outside the company and was deliberated by the ESG Committee *. It is a commitment of the Ricoh Group to respect the human rights of all people, which was approved by the CEO of Ricoh. We had been respecting human rights in accordance with the Ricoh Group Code of Conduct, but we strengthened our efforts based on this human rights policy to comply with international standards, taking into consideration the widening range of human rights issues in the international community. The Policy is positioned at the top of all human rights-related standards and regulations within the Ricoh Group, with its goal as the prevention of human rights violations.
This policy is translated into English and eight other languages and communicated for educational purposes to major group companies in Japan and overseas.
The Policy must be followed by all executives and employees of the Ricoh Group. Suppliers and all forms of business partners of the Ricoh Group are also requested to support and implement this policy.

Ricoh Group’s Human Rights Policy(English) (183KB)
Ricoh Group’s Human Rights Policy(Japanese) (506KB)

Ricoh Group’s Human Rights Policy (Index)

  1. Position of the Policy and Scope
  2. Conforming to International Principles and Standards
  3. Respect for Human Rights of Stakeholders
  4. Human Rights Due Diligence
  5. Remedy
  6. Education and Training
  7. Dialogue
  8. Transparency

*ESG Committee is an internal organization that continuously discusses and makes decisions on mid-and long-term issues of the Ricoh Group in the environmental, social and governance fields at the management level. It is chaired by the CEO delegated by the Board of Directors and consists of executive officers of the Group Management Committee, corporate auditors, and the ESG officer.

Governance structure of the Ricoh Group

Structures and Systems

The Ricoh Group's efforts to respect human rights are promoted mainly by the Human Resource Division and ESG Division under the responsibility of the Chief Human Resource Officer and the executive officer in charge of ESG. The promotion department submits a report to the ESG Committee for discussion on the issues related to human rights, such as the mitigation and corrective measures to the salient human rights issues identified in the human rights impact assessment.
Human rights risks are positioned as key management risks and are handled within the Ricoh Group's risk management system. In 2021, we established a human rights risk management system, with a key person within all Ricoh business units, share human rights risks in business promotion with them, and we have set up a system to manage and respond human rights risks related to business promotion in cooperation with the Group headquarters.

Ricoh Group Human Rights Respect Promotion Framework

We are working on promoting respect for the human rights of all stakeholders in the Ricoh Group's business value chain (all employees, suppliers, business partners, people in the community, including indigenous peoples and customers) based on the framework of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

image:Ricoh Group Human Rights Respect Promotion Framework

Human rights due diligence

Through its human rights due diligence mechanisms, Ricoh strives to protect the human rights of stakeholders and promote sustainable corporate activities.
Under the responsibility of management, we will continue to work on 1. Identification and assessment of adverse human rights impacts, 2. Prevention and mitigation of adverse impacts, 3. Monitoring, and 4. Information disclosure through business activities and supply chains.

1. Identification and assessment of adverse human rights impacts

The Ricoh Group identifies salient human rights issues of all stakeholders involved in the Ricoh Group's business activities through the assessment of their adverse impacts on human rights. In 2013, a workshop was held with the participation of experts to identify human rights risk factors at Ricoh. After that, we identified specific issues of concern that take into account the regional characteristics of the selected risk factors. In 2015, we organized the relevance of identified risks and stakeholders. In 2022, in response to the increasingly complex human rights issues in recent years, we identified major human rights risks in the Ricoh Group and sorted out their impact on stakeholders, referring to major international human rights rules and frameworks, as well as the "Major Human Rights Risks Related to Enterprises' Consideration and Corporate Activities" defined by the Ministry of Justice in Japan. [Table 1]

Table1:Representative human rights risks and stakeholder relationships

Negatively affected stakeholders
Representative human rights risks Examples of possible negative effects Employees Suppliers / Business partners Indigenous people / Peoples in the local community Customers
Wages and benefits
  • Insufficient wages, unpaid wages, living wages, and minimum wages
  • Non-provision of contractually agreed social security, welfare and benefits
   
Forced labor
  • Labor that is forced without the consent of the worker, falsification and failure to fulfl the labor contract
  • Involvement in human trafficking, Billing of bonded labor and hiring fees
  • Violation of the freedom to change residence and movement
Excessive and unreasonable working hours
  • Excess of statutory working hours, Consecutive excessive working hours and restrictions on the workers taking time off
Occupational Health and Safety
  • Industrial accidents due to inadequate safety and health environment
  • Adverse physical and mental effects due to lack of consideration for pregnant women and women raising children
Freedom of association
  • Forceful participation/non-participation in labor unions, collective bargaining and peaceful assemblies, unfair treatment in labor-management negotiations
Child labor and young workers
  • Impairment of children's learning opportunities, and impairment of health and safety
  • Overtime work, late-night work, and hazardous work by young workers under 18 years of age
 
Discrimination and harassment
  • Discriminatory expression in advertising
  • Gender pay gap
  • Insufficient consideration for diversity and minorities (e.g. sexual harassment, Abuse of authority, Pregnancy discrimination, Discrimination and harassment against male workers who have children and workers responsible for persons in need of nursing care, etc.)
  • Discrimination against foreign employees and job applicants
Freedom of expression
  • Prohibition or suppression of expressing opinions on corporate activities
Right to access remedies
  • Failure of the complaint process and retaliatory action against the complainant
Human rights issues related to technology AI
  • Discriminatory hiring practices through the use of AI
  • Discriminatory use of company products and services
  • Lack of consideration for accessibility
Right of privacy
  • Acquisition of Personal Information Requiring Care and Provision to Third Parties without ConsentI
  • Personal information leaked
Fair business
  • Failure to pay reasonable compensation to employees for inventions, infringement of intellectual property
  • Coercion or bribery, interference with the provision of proper administrative services by coercion or bribery
Human rights issues in the supply chain
  • Direct and indirect involvement in human rights violations* in the supply chain

* Serious risks such as forced labor, child labor, and poor working conditions

Impact on local communities and the environment
  • Forcing local residents to leave the area through business activities
  • Infringement of the safety and security of local life due to deterioration of the environment (fire, water pollution, air pollution, spillage of chemical substances, etc.)
Consumer safety and the right to know
  • Adverse physical and mental effects of using the company's products and services
  • Inappropriate representation in product labeling, etc., anxiety and adverse effects due to the inability to access necessary information (substances contained, materials, etc.)
     

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In addition, we identified salient human rights issues among the typical human rights risks. First, we identified issues for employees working in the Ricoh Group from the perspective of protecting workers, and conducted a human rights impact assessment for Ricoh and Ricoh Group manufacturing affiliates, with advice from outside experts. The results of the impact assessment were reported and discussed with management, including the CEO. As a result, seven prominent human rights issues have been identified. [Table 2]
We plan to conduct periodic reviews of salient human rights issues for our stakeholders. In consideration of the importance of risk management, human rights impact assessments are scheduled to be conducted annually throughout the Ricoh Group.
We will gradually review and expand the scope of human rights impact assessments for other stakeholders.

Outline of human rights impact assessment

[Evaluation timing]
January to March 2022

[Evaluated]
1) Ricoh Co., Ltd. (Approx. 300 divisions)
2) Ricoh Group production-related sites (19 sites, Coverage: 76%) in Japan and overseas

[Concept of salient human rights issues]
The severity (*1) and likelihood (*2) are the two axes for assessing the adverse impact on human rights for each of 15 representative human rights risks. Evaluation identifies issues that are "very serious" or "very serious and likely" as significant human rights issues.

 

Evaluation tool Definition of evaluation axis Evaluation process
(*1) Severity

The seriousness of human rights violations that would occur if risks materialized. Evaluation based on the following three axes;

  1. Scale; Impact on human rights
  2. Range; Number of people affected or likely to be affected
  3. Difficulty in Rectification: Possibility of returning affected victims to their original state of enjoying the human rights in question

 

Evaluation is conducted based on external information* and the opinions of outside experts after discussions between the human rights department of Ricoh and management.

* Guidance issued by governments, NGOs and industry associations on measures to deal with corporate human rights, examples of human rights violations by companies in the past, etc.

(*2) Likelihood of occurrence

Possibility of adverse human rights impacts. Evaluation based on the following two axes;

  1. Obviousness; issues that have already become obvious and are highly likely to occur
  2. Potential; Issues that have not yet become apparent, but are likely to occur in the future if no measures are taken.

 

A self-assessment questionnaire was conducted for the evaluation subjects, and the evaluation was made based on the response results.

 

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[Identified Salient Human Rights Issues]
Seven salient issues; forced labor, excessive and unfair working hours, labor and safety and health, child labor and young workers, discrimination and harassment, rights to privacy, and human rights in the supply chain

[Table 2] Major human rights challenges and suspected causes

 

Salient human rights issues Possible perpetrator Presumed victim
Forced labor Companies (employers), employees All workers in the workplace
Business partners (subcontractors on premises, etc.)
Excessive and unreasonable working hours
Labor safety and health
Child labor and young workers
Discrimination and harassment Companies (employers), employees All workers in the workplace, Suppliers and business partners Acquired companies/distributors, local communities, customers, etc.
Right of privacy
Human rights issues* in the supply chain Companies (employers), employees All workers in the workplace, Business partners (suppliers and business partners), Acquired companies/distributors, customers, etc.
Suppliers and business partners Employees of suppliers and workers who have entered into temporary staffing/mediation/contracting contracts with suppliers, Local communities, secondary business partners, etc.
Acquiring companies and distributors Purchaser/Distributor employees, community, customers, etc.

 

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* High-severity forced labor, child labor, labor environment risks, etc.

[Future Actions]
For the salient human rights issues identified, the department responsible for human rights will promote initiatives to prevent or mitigate adverse impacts in consultation with the relevant departments.

Participation in stakeholder engagement programs
The Ricoh Group believes that it is important to understand the adverse impact of business activities on human rights from the perspective of stakeholders. In 2023, we participated in a stakeholder engagement program sponsored by the Caux Roundtable Japan Committee.
Through dialogue with other companies, NPOs/NGOs, academic experts, etc., we reaffirmed the importance of business activities that take human rights into consideration, and deepened our understanding of the relationship between our business activities and human rights by identifying important human rights issues in our industry(manufacturing (electricity/information)).
Final Report ”Human Rights Issues by Sector v.12"

Human Rights Assessments in new business relations (mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, etc.)
At Ricoh, when conducting new transactions such as mergers and acquisitions, etc., we carefully assess the risk of the counterparty in accordance with the standard due diligence process established by the Investment Committee.
“Human rights due diligence” is included as part of these risk assessment items, and we conduct a detailed assessment of the human rights risks of the counterparty company regarding items equivalent to due diligence at our company, such as child labor and forced labor to ensure that there are no issues before making our final decision on the mergers and acquisitions, etc.
After the acquisition, we will promote understanding and dissemination of the Ricoh Group’s human rights policy and related initiatives and will continue to implement human rights due diligence as a group company.

2. Prevention and mitigation of adverse impacts

The Ricoh Group implements measures to prevent and mitigate identified salient human rights issues which have high adverse impacts on human rights of others.
For particularly salient Human Rights Issues, SAQ confirms the details of the relevant bases where there are concerns about adverse impacts and promotes improvements on individual sites.
Examples of correspondence are as follows.

「Forced labor」
In 2020, for example, a third-party audit (RBA Validated Assessment Program (VAP)) was conducted voluntarily by a production site in China. As a result of the audit, it was revealed that some of the labor agencies contracted by the site had required workers to pay a part of the recruiting fees. As a corrective measure to this issue, the site completed the refund of the fees incurred by the workers. Regarding preventive measures, in the same year, Ricoh ordered the prohibition of charging workers recruitment fees.
In addition, to protect workers, we have decided to abolish pay reduction measures in disciplinary actions in FY2022 based on international standards, and we are taking steps to gradually address this issue, with plans to abolish these measures at all domestic and overseas Group companies by FY2023.

「Discrimination and harassment」
We provide e-learning education on human rights for new employees and mid-career hires as well as harassment education during our annual management training for managers in the domestic Ricoh Group.
At a production site in Thailand, female workers engaged in standing work had their pregnancy status confirmed prior to employment from the viewpoint of work safety considerations, but this was discontinued in 2023 in accordance with international standards because of the possibility of discrimination.

「Human rights issues in the supply chain」
The Ricoh Group revised the Ricoh Group Supplier Code of Conduct in August 2020 based on the RBA Code of Conduct. Ricoh now requires major suppliers, who account for more than 80% of the total purchase amount, to sign and comply with our supplier code of conduct.
In April 2023, we revised [Ricoh Group Supplier and Partner Code of Conduct」as a code of conduct that we would like all our business partners to follow.
By requesting our suppliers and partners to conduct their business activities in compliance with the Code of Conduct, we are working to prevent and mitigate adverse impacts in our extensive supply chain.

Supply chain management

As a preventive and mitigating measure against 15 representative human rights risks for the Ricoh Group as defined in the 2022 Human Rights Impact Assessment, we plan to distribute a guide summarizing specific measures for each human rights risk to Group companies globally.
We will continue to give priority to addressing salient human rights issues and take measures to prevent and mitigate adverse impacts on human rights.

3. Monitoring

Implementation of Periodic Assessment for Ricoh Group
Regularly review the status of efforts to address adverse impacts through annual SAQs and other means.
The Ricoh Group recognizes that the human rights risk at production sites is of high importance, and continuously monitors it.
In 2019, we joined the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), a corporate alliance that promotes corporate social responsibility in global supply chains.
In 2020, we started annual risk assessments using the RBA SAQ for major production sites of the Ricoh Group, and In 2022, we conducted them at 21 production sites.Of these, concerns about adverse impacts were identified at 4 sites.
In addition, a third-party human rights audit was conducted at a domestic production site in December 2022. Although no serious risks were identified, the recruitment process that could lead to age discrimination and other issues were pointed out, so we will continue to make improvements to prevent negative effects.

Continuous RBA VAP audits
Among the production sites that have implemented the RBA SAQ, major production sites evaluate the effectiveness of preventive and mitigating measures and corrective measures through the continuation of the third-party audit (RBA VAP) every two years.
All five sites audited from 2022 to 2023 have been certified by the RBA. Three sites have acquired Gold certification [Table 3]. At the sites that have conducted the VAP, they have formulated an improvement plan regarding non-conformances with RBA's compliance requirements and are working toward improvement.
We plan to expand third-party audits to other major production sites. We will continue to conduct on-site audits at necessary sites and monitor the effectiveness of countermeasures against human rights risks.

[Table 3] RBA certification status

 

Facility name Country of Location The latest Time for auditing Score (out of 200 points) Recognition level Certification deadline
Ricoh Industry Tohoku Plant Japan May 2022 189.6 Gold June 2024
Shanghai Ricoh Digital Equipment Co., Ltd. China November 2022 177.4 Silver November 2024
Ricoh Manufacturing (Thailand) Ltd. Thailand

October 2023

193.2 Gold April 2025
RICOH Eco Business Development Center Japan October 2022 196.5 Gold October 2024
Ricoh Manufacturing (China) Ltd. China December 2022 170.7 Silver December 2024

 

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RBA Validated Assessment Program (VAP)

Implementation of Assessment for Suppliers
IIn order to ascertain human rights risks in the supply chain, we conduct CSR assessments including the assessment of human rights risks every year with a focus on our major suppliers, who account for more than 80% of our purchases, in target areas. We will conduct onsite audits to the supplier whose result of the assessments have showed high-risk and request to improve findings.
From 2020, we conduct CSR self-assessments in compliance with the RBA globally.
In FY2022, we conducted assessments of 216 companies and evaluated their human rights risks.
For suppliers with concerns about human rights risks in FY2022, Ricoh provides some advices for improvement, regularly check their progress, and continue to support them in their efforts to improve.
The CSR assessment will be reviewed and monitoring of human rights risks at suppliers will be strengthened.
Refer to Supply Chain Management for details.

Supply chain management

4. Information disclosure

In accordance with the Ricoh Group’s Human Rights Policy, the Ricoh Group discloses in a transparent manner the progress of its efforts to deal with adverse impacts on human rights on the website and in the Integrated Report.

Integrated Report

Education and Training

Education and Training on Human Rights

Our respect for human rights prioritizes due consideration for all stakeholders associated with corporate activities and requires that each and every employee who is involved in daily operations has a proper understanding of human rights and a deep awareness of human rights issues.
In fiscal 2012, we provided human rights education (e-learning on corporate activities and human rights) for executives and employees of affiliated companies in Japan to learn about human rights from the viewpoint of avoiding human rights risks and improving corporate value.
In 2021, we held a study session for Ricoh executives with the aim of understanding business and human rights, and we invited outside experts to attend.
Along with the revision of the Ricoh Group's Human Rights Policy, we provided human rights education to more than 75,000 executives and employees in Japan and overseas through e-learning and webinars from 2021 to 2022, for the purpose of understanding the Ricoh Group's Human Rights Policy and the relationship between Business and Human Rights.

Results of Human Rights Education in FY2021
1) Approximately 32,000 employees and executives of Ricoh Group companies in Japan.(The implementation rate: 94%)
2) Result of questionnaire after attendance: 96% responded that they "understood very well" or "understood well" when checking the degree of understanding.

Results of Human Rights Education in FY2022
1) Target company: 80 overseas Ricoh group companies
2) The number of participants: Approximately 45,000 employees and executives. (The implementation rate: 96%)

We will continue to provide education and training so that each and every employee can understand the necessity of respect for human rights in business.

Remedies

Whistleblowing system and Grievance mechanism

The Ricoh Group provides a whistleblowing system and grievance mechanism that allows stakeholders of the Ricoh Group to report their concerns about human rights without fear of retaliation.
In the event that a petition is made for infringement of human rights, we will promptly investigate the petition and take measures to rectify the adverse impacts on human rights.
For details of each reporting system;

Supplier hotline
“Ricoh Group Hotline” and “Ricoh Group Global Whistle-Blowing System”

Initiatives

The Ricoh Group's past activities to ensure human rights
November 1991 The Human Rights Enlightenment Committee was established and staff in charge of human rights enlightenment were assigned to each office and plant and the Business Assistance Division.
October 1994 A guidebook for enlightenment of human rights "Hito-o Aisu (Love your neighbor)" was issued and education to raise awareness of human rights was initiated.
September 1998 The Human Rights Counseling Center was established.
April 2002 The company signed the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC).
November 2003 Respect for basic human rights was clearly stipulated in the Ricoh Group CSR Charter and the Ricoh Group Code of Conduct.
January 2006 The Ricoh Group Supplier Code of Conduct was established, which requested that suppliers respect basic human rights, and in 2009 the self-assessment system was established.
December 2008 The company signed the CEO Statement for the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
February 2011 The company signed the United Nation's Women's Empowerment Principles.
March 2012 The company announced its policy on conflict mineral issues.
August 2014 The Ricoh Group Supplier Code of Conduct was revised to include requests for suppliers to address the issue of conflict minerals.
August 2019 Ricoh commits to tackling inequality by joining the Business for Inclusive Growth coalition (B4IG) as a first Japanese company to participate.
November 2019 Ricoh Joins the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), the World's Largest Industry Coalition Dedicated to CSR in Global Supply Chains.
April 2021 Establish “Ricoh Group’s Human Rights Policy”.
April 2023 Revised “the Ricoh Group Supplier and Partner Code of Conduct.

Major international standards and regulations implemented by the Ricoh Group

  • International Bill of Human Rights (Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
  • United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
  • ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
  • The 10 principles of the United Nations Global Compact (Recognized as an Advanced Level)
  • OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
  • Children's rights and business principles
  • the United Nation's Women's Empowerment Principles
  • ISO 26000 (social responsibility standard)

The main activities we have implemented so far as measures to mitigate risk to human rights are as follows.

Response Regarding Conflict Minerals

The Ricoh group recognizes that the procurement of some minerals from states in conflict areas and other high-risk areas may become sources of human rights abuses and labor problems, etc.
In order to prevent the occurrence of problems, we have been conducting investigations into responsible mineral resource procurement in cooperation with suppliers every year since FY2013. And simultaneously, we have been conducting and continuing due diligence activities in cooperation with industry groups. The Ricoh Group, as a global citizen, is conscious of the respect for human rights due all the stakeholders involved, will proactively pursue due diligence for human rights.
For more details about Conflict Minerals, please see “Addressing the conflict minerals issues” at the Supply Chain part on our web site.

Addressing the conflict minerals issues

* The “Conflict Minerals Issue” is an issue in which the profits from minerals mined or traded finance armed groups and foster conflicts, and often involves human rights abuses, labor issues and environmental destruction, etc. The Dodd- Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, enacted in July 2010, requires specified companies to report the use of conflict minerals--tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold--and any other minerals determined by the U.S. Department of State which originated in the Democratic Republic of Congo and/or an adjoining country.

UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 and The Australian Modern Slavery Act 2018

The Ricoh Group has issued its Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement in accordance with the Modern Slavery Act.

Ricoh Europe Holdings PLC "Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement"
Ricoh Australia "Modern Slavery Statement"

Response to Broad-Based BEE Amendment Act in South Africa

On August Ricoh South Africa was verified for compliance with B-BBEE Amendment Act of 2013 and the ICT Sector Code 40407 of 7 November and received Broad-Based Bee Verification Certificate.

Broad-Based Bee Verification Certificate

Ricoh's Basic Approach to Living Wage

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for companies to pay living wages. In response to this trend, starting with initiatives at our U.K. operation, Ricoh has been continuously investigating an appropriate approach to ensure that living wage is addressed from the following three perspectives.

  1. Recognizing the importance of implementing a living wage equivalent in addition to the minimum wage.
  2. Recognizing possible scope to be covered as " Ricoh Group" and " Supply Chain".
  3. Necessity to identify the gap between salaries paid and implemented living wage equivalent, in order to promote our initiatives in the future.

 

Ricoh HQ has started to conduct research on living wage calculation method with the assistance of third-party experts. Internal discussions at the management level have also commenced and is recognized that it is important to find an appropriate living wage calculation method for the entire Ricoh Group. It is also acknowledged that it would require sufficient time and deliberation to achieve this goal.

Ricoh UK Limited Accredited Employer Letter 2023

Response to the Power Harassment Prevention Law

The Ricoh Group in Japan is to comply with the Power Harassment Prevention Law that was introduced in June 2020. We revised the Group Standards and made sure to comply with the measures required by the law.

Implementation of internal standards for human rights violations

The Ricoh Group is working to develop internal standards for human rights violations such as Harassment and Discrimination. The Ricoh Group Standards not only stipulate policies to strictly deal with acts that deviate from the "Human Rights Policy" and "Ricoh Group Code of Conduct," but they also promote "Education to prevent human rights violations," "Clarification of the reporting process when human rights violations occur" and " Disciplinary action if and when necessary”.

Reference ;
  • RGS-C0001 Human Rights violation prevention standard
  • RGS-C0002 Harassment prevention standard

Inclusion of LGBTQ+ community

The Ricoh Group is implementing measures to promote understanding of the LGBTQ+ community, with the aim of creating a work environment where everyone can feel at ease with their own personality. We believe that properly understanding various genders and sexual minorities is indispensable for the realization of a work environment in which everyone can work comfortably, with discrimination resulting from incomprehension completely eliminated.
In FY2018, we revised the Ricoh Group Code of Conduct by adding "sexual orientation and gender identity" in consideration of LGBTQ+ community. In fiscal 2019, we held LGBTQ+ seminars and e-learning training for Group employees in Japan. As of the end of March 2020, 89.3% of employees completed the e-learning training. In addition to continuing to promote employee understanding through e-learning, we are making various plans for gender-free considered facility renewal and the establishment of a consultation desk in consideration of LGBTQ+ community.

Escalation process for reporting incidents on discrimination/harassment

If any employee at Ricoh Group is the victim of discrimination or harassment, or if they witness such an incident, they can immediately and safely report the incident or consult with a contact person at the global, domestic group, or each company level (in case it is difficult to consult with a superior or the company at which they are employed. Each system prohibits any disadvantageous treatment of whistleblowers or those who cooperate in investigations due to the fact that they consulted or reported a matter or cooperated in an investigation triggered by a consultation or report. The district in charge of each reporting system confirms the facts of the reported or consulted case and after obtaining the consent of the whistleblower, and in cooperation with the personnel district of the district where the case occurred, plans how to proceed with the investigation. The fact that various reporting systems have been established is made known to employees during various training sessions and at the time of policy announcements at each company and organization.

image:Ricoh Group Human Rights Respect Promotion Framework

Corrective or disciplinary action taken in case of discriminatory behavior or harassment

In the event that a violation of human rights or harassment is confirmed, the Ricoh Group places the highest priority on restoring the victim's ability to work safely and securely with zero tolerance policy, while appropriately punishing the perpetrator (including the perpetrator's supervisor in some cases) and providing guidanceappropriate to the severity of the offence. For malicious acts, the perpetrator is subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the work rules and Group standards for human rights violations established by each company, and the perpetrator is warned so that similar acts will never occur again, and management and supervision by superiors are strengthened. In addition, after giving utmost consideration to the privacy of both the victim and the perpetrator, the case is shared with management and managers in the area where the incident occurred, and management checks are conducted to ensure that similar violations do not occur in other organizations.