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Supply Chain Management
- Procurement Policy
- CSR Procurement Guidelines
- Management of Chemical Substances Contained in Products
- Responsible Raw Materials Sourcing
The smooth operation of our business requires cooperation from our business partners based on their excellent technologies and services. We are committed to ensuring fair transactions and appropriate procurement, and to working together to resolve various social issues.
Message from the Executive Officer
Promoting CSR Procurement throughout the Supply Chain
The Techno Associe Group is committed to "putting customers first" and doing our best to provide services that meet their needs, while expanding our business in Japan and abroad with products and quality that are environmentally friendly and safe. The importance of CSR initiatives in the international community is becoming increasingly diversified and sophisticated, including matters such as global warming prevention, environmental protection, and improving labor environments with respect for human rights, and the scope of these initiatives is expanding beyond our own efforts to include our entire supply chain. In order to meet such social demands, the Techno Associe Group has established the "Techno Associe Group CSR Procurement Guidelines" which we use when engaging in CSR activities with all members of our supply chain, including business partners. In November 2022, we established the CSR Sustainability Committee as part of our efforts to strengthen our activities and promote initiatives aimed at solving social problems and enhancing corporate value, with our first priority being contribution to a sustainable society. The Techno Associe Group conducts surveys on the progress of our major business partners in the promotion of CSR initiatives and provides feedback on the survey results to help them understand the situation of their initiatives for improvement. In particular, we are making efforts to strengthen our "human rights due diligence" ? the awareness of human rights issues that companies have a responsibility to address ? and promote prevention and mitigation measures throughout the supply chain. We would like to ask our business partners for their continued understanding of the Techno Associe Group's efforts as well as for their ongoing guidance and encouragement.
Procurement Policy
Techno Associe Group Procurement Policy
- Optimal procurement activities to support business activities and the sustainable development of society
Our group contributes to the development of the economy and society by expanding our business globally, providing superior products and services, and responding to the needs of our customers. In addition to continuing to support our business, we will conduct optimal procurement activities from a global perspective that comprehensively takes into account factors such as quality, cost, delivery time, development capabilities, continuous supply capacity, and CSR initiatives in order to contribute to the sustainable development of society. - Fair, transparent, and appropriate procurement activities
Our group will conduct fair, transparent, and appropriate procurement activities by providing open and fair business entry opportunities and selecting business partners based on reasonable processes and judgments. - Compliance
Our group complies with relevant laws and regulations and carries out procurement activities based on social norms as well. - Partnership
Our group believes that collaboration based on mutual understanding and mutual trust with our business partners is essential to providing customers with socially useful, safety, and superior products and services in terms of quality, cost, etc. We will conduct procurement activities that strive to improve the satisfaction of not only our customers but also our business partners so that we can continue to be a good partner trusted by our business partners. - Consideration for the global environment
In order to contribute to the development of a sustainable society by acting positively on the protection of the global environment, our group will conduct procurement activities with consideration given to the reduction of environmental impact in accordance with our Quality and Environmental Policy.
CSR Procurement Guidelines
These guidelines deal with CSR items that are commonly demanded by society, and clarify matters that we ask our suppliers to do.
With the purpose of contributing to the sustainable growth of society, we are promoting CSR procurement that extends our CSR initiatives to the entire supply chain in cooperation with our business partners.
- Requests for Compliance with the Techno Associe Group CSR Procurement Guidelines (English) (PDF:317KB)
- Requests for Compliance with the Techno Associe Group CSR Procurement Guidelines (Chinese) (PDF:480KB)
Briefing on CSR Procurement
As in fiscal 2021, we held an online briefing on CSR procurement for domestic business partners in consideration of the spread of COVID-19 again in fiscal 2022. We conveyed the importance of tackling CSR efforts across the entire supply chain in order to promote responsible procurement activities in cooperation with business partners, including matters relating to human rights due diligence, which we will be strengthening moving forward.
Communication with Business Partners
Using the Techno Associe Group CSR Procurement Guidelines business partners' handbook, Techno Associe engages in awareness-raising activities that take into account business partners' individual circumstances. We also communicate with the business partners that require improvement according to our judgment based on the results of the CSR procurement questionnaire survey and make suggestions on training and improvement.
Management of Chemical Substances Contained in Products
Techno Associe Environmental Standards
In order to respond to regulations on chemical substances contained in products, such as the EU RoHS Directive, ELV Directive and REACH Regulations, we have established "Techno Associe Environmental Standards" and released the environment standards on our website, and we request understanding and compliance from our suppliers.
Transmission of chemical substances contained in products
For response to regulations on chemical substances contained in products, it is absolutely necessary to procure and transmit accurate information on chemical substances contained in products throughout the supply chain. In order to comply with various domestic and international regulations and to meet customer needs, Techno Associe gains the cooperation of suppliers for surveys on chemical substances contained in products using chemSHERPA* and other communication tools.
In fiscal 2022, we received 982 requests from customers to investigate chemical substances contained in products and responded for a total of 13,941 products.
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- ChemSHERPA is a scheme for communicating information on chemical substances contained in products, and aims to reduce the burden on both the providers and recipients of information. It has been operated by the article management promotion council since April 2016.
Analytical verification of substances subject to environmental regulations
We are expanding a lineup of devices to analyze contained chemical substances. We verify that no hazardous substances are contained through periodic analysis of parts with use of a "fluorescence X-ray spectrometer" to determine whether prohibited substances are contained in a non-destructive manner and an "ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer" to quantitatively analyze the amount of hexavalent chromium eluted.
In FY2022, 34 analyses were conducted for confirming the content of "four phthalate esters."
Responsible Raw Materials Sourcing
As stated in Techno Associe Group procurement policy, we "comply with relevant laws and regulations" and carry out "procurement activities based on social norms as well." We recognize the risks listed in Annex II of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas as one of the most significant social issues in our supply chain, including human rights violations and labor issues in conflict-affected and high-risk areas (CAHRAs), in addition to issues of conflict minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its neighboring countries and cobalt-related issues in which there have been concerns about the worst forms of child labor. In order to fulfill our corporate social responsibility in our procurement activities, we have established an internal system under the leadership of the following three Sales Units: Electronics Products Sales Unit, Automotive Products Sales Unit, and Area Sales Unit, to aim at "responsible mineral procurement" that does not use these illegal minerals as raw materials. The Techno Associe Group, including its business partners, conducts ongoing investigations and have confirmed that none of them are involved in any conflicts.
Responsible Mineral Procurement Survey Results FY2022
In fiscal 2022, the Techno Associe Group responded to a total of 199 requests for surveys from customers (110 for CMRT, 18 for CRT, 13 for MRT and 58 for EMRT) in cooperation with business partners. We will conduct risk analysis and evaluation based on the collected reporting forms, and continue to respond to them in good faith.
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- We use the Conflict Mineral Reporting Template (CMRT) and the Cobalt Reporting Template (CRT) , Mica Reporting Template (MRT), Extended Minerals Reporting Template (EMRT) issued by the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) as research tools.
