People are the most important driving force for the development of the company

Since its establishment in 1946, Techno Associe has continuously proposed a variety of products, technologies, and solutions with new value, creating a diverse lineup of products that respond to the needs of our customers by combining the technologies and products (Seeds) of a wide range of suppliers with our knowledge and know-how that has been cultivated over many years.

The development of our company is due to the power of the people responsible for this, and the importance of people is further increasing in the current business environment of globalized business and diversified needs.

In order to increase the power of people, the most important driving force for business development, we believe that the following two items are important:

1. Environments that allow each person to fully demonstrate their capabilities
2. Initiatives to help each person strengthen their capabilities (= capacity development)

We regard the following three points as important elements for enhancing and improving environments and capacity development and are promoting initiatives for them:

• Development of a corporate culture where individuality and values are respected to strengthen the capabilities of the team as a whole
• Creation of work environments where employees can feel rewarded and challenged and recognize their own growth
• Corporate behavior that enables employees to work with pride

Specific activities to create a comfortable work environment include various types of training; the creation of lively workplaces; the promotion of diversity and inclusion through such activities as the realization of flexible working styles according to life stage and the promotion of participation and advancement of women in the workplace; health promotion activities; and our mentoring system. We also believe that it is necessary to respond to growing social challenges and social demands in a flexible manner.

Commitment to"Business and Human Rights"

International norms such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct stipulate that corporations have an obligation to promote respect for human rights. In October 2020, the Japanese Government formulated the "Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (2020-2025)," which states that business enterprises are expected to (1) adopt a human rights policy, (2) implement human rights due diligence, and (3) establish remediation mechanisms.

Regarding respect for human rights, our Group has worked hard to protect human rights in our Charter of Corporate Behavior for many years, and in order to promote initiatives in line with this social requirement, we established the Techno Associe Group Human Rights Policy, applying it not only to our Group but also to all business partners, including our supply chain (suppliers and operations upstream from them), and strive to spread awareness about preventing infringement of the human rights of people affected by our business activities, while at the same time conducting human rights due diligence. Our Code of Conduct, which was established in April 2022, also recognizes respect for human rights in all local communities where we conduct business as one of the important themes for pursuing business with integrity, and we are committed to promoting it.

The TECHNO ASSOCIE Group will continue to pursue these kinds of human resource measures to support people-driven business activities and will create workplaces where each person can grow and fully demonstrate their capabilities.