Major Initiatives

Human Resources Development to Enhance Procurement Knowledge

We proactively provide personnel in charge of procurement at Toyota Industries and affiliated companies with education to enhance procurement knowledge. In fiscal 2023, we provided education mainly on Japan’s Subcontracting Law as well as topics related to sustainability such as human rights and the environment.

We also utilize e-learning to thoroughly inform personnel in charge of procurement about our response to the Japanese government’s activities to prevent the unjust use of a superior bargaining position as stipulated in antitrust laws as well as initiatives and guidelines aimed at ensuring fair subcontracts.

Safety and Health Activities for Suppliers

We visit the sites of our major suppliers in person to conduct a genchi genbutsu safety and health inspection*1. We also hold sessions to explain our Occupational Safety and Health Policies. Based on the analysis of accidents that occurred in the previous fiscal year and information on legal revisions, we promote safety and health activities for the next fiscal year for the prevention of similar accidents through these sessions.

With a view to seeking zero accidents (fires and explosions), industrial accidents and disorders on the premises of Toyota Industries, we have established the Safety and Health Council with subcontractors located on our premises. When an accident or industrial accident does occur, we ask them to report it to us and investigate the cause in accordance with the rules and procedures stipulated by Toyota Industries. Also, we jointly create a comfortable working environment by sharing information on accidents and disorder prevention activities of Toyota Industries.

Using past accident cases as a reference, we periodically share various information, including matters that should be observed to prevent similar accidents, with subcontractors of outsourced work. We also request their cooperation to perform risk assessment in the construction work planning stage to identify associated risks. In addition, we encourage them to always discuss in advance a safe work method with the departments of Toyota Industries planning a construction project.

*1: Canceled due to COVID-19 from fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2023

Sustainability Guidelines for Suppliers

To work together throughout the supply chain to realize a sustainable society, we distribute the Sustainability Guidelines for Suppliers, which describe our requirements for suppliers related to safety, human rights, labor practices, the environment, compliance and other topics, to suppliers while thoroughly informing them about the content. In April 2023, we made revisions to the guidelines, such as adding provisions on cybersecurity. We inspect their compliance with the guidelines by performing an annual check on existing suppliers and requesting new suppliers to perform a selfinspection using a checklist and following up on their efforts. Through these checks, we confirmed that all suppliers comply with the guidelines in fiscal 2023. Moreover, through a periodic check on commodity items of concern, such as conflict minerals, we strive to maintain healthy transactions and reinforce a related structure throughout the supply chain.

■Rate of performing a sustainability check on applicable suppliers (non-consolidated): 100%

Reinforcing Relationships with Suppliers

■Declaration of Partnership Building

We publicly announced our Declaration of Partnership Building on September 1, 2021, and have been striving to form a good relationship with our suppliers. The declaration clarifies that we make corporate and focused efforts to realize co-existence and co-prosperity with our entire supply chain, start new forms of collaboration regardless of a company size and corporate group affiliations, and observe the preferred trade practices between a parent business operator and its subcontractors (included in the business promotion criteria of the Act on the Promotion of Subcontracting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises).

■Hotline for Suppliers

In 2016, we set up a hotline for our suppliers to report and inquire about possible compliance violations in Toyota Industries’ procurement activities to ensure early detection and the prevention of problems.

■Toward Achieving Carbon Neutrality in Our Supply Chain

Toyota Industries holds sessions to explain carbon neutrality to its major suppliers. In fiscal 2023, we described our initiatives for reducing CO₂ emissions and asked for their cooperation in managing their emissions. Jointly with suppliers, we will continue to step up our efforts toward achieving carbon neutrality throughout our supply chain.

Business Continuity Management (BCM)

In further promoting BCM, we are making concerted efforts with suppliers to reduce associated risks by implementing specific measures. In fiscal 2022, to deal with frequent natural disasters in recent years, we rebuilt a system to identify disaster-induced damage to suppliers. Previously, we had conducted an impact survey on suppliers by concurrently using multiple systems for various customers. In place of these systems, we adopted a new, unified system, which has enabled us to perform the impact survey in a more efficient and timely manner and contribute to their BCM.

Moreover, in order to recover quickly and maintain production, we continued to reinforce our earthquake and flood control measures at each base while at the same time reevaluating an appropriate level of inventories and examining ways to decentralize suppliers and production bases.