Risk Management and Compliance
Risk Management System
The Iwatani Group has established a Risk Management Committee to ensure integrated management of risks across all Group companies. Specialized committees set up beneath the Risk Management Committee address main anticipated risks such as compliance risks and plant safety risks, to enable comprehensive responses to corporate risks, both apparent and potential.
The Risk Management Committee holds regular meetings overseen by the chairperson, reports to management on the meetings, and strives to manage risks groupwide, including risks related to compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Special individual committees meet regularly to monitor the status of compliance and efforts related to the risks. The individual chairpersons of these committees report on the content of their meetings to the Risk Management Committee.
Specialized Individual Committees
| Committee | Goals and Overview |
|---|---|
| Security and Export Control Committee | Enhancing management structures for compliance with the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act and preventing improper exports |
| Personal Information Control Committee | Comprehensive protection of personal information |
| Compliance Committee | Comprehensive compliance with laws and regulations |
| Factory Safety Control Committee | Formulating priority measures on high-pressure gas safety and other matters |
| Sustainability Promotion Committee | Deliberating on important matters related to sustainability including climate change |
| Global Security Control Committee | Comprehensive international risk management |
| Customer Satisfaction (CS) Committee | Increasing customer satisfaction |
| Products Safety & Brand Management Committee | Examining the safety and compliance of products handled, establishing the image of Iwatani brand, and maintaining and increasing brand value |
Compliance
Iwatani acts with uncompromising respect for the letter and the spirit of applicable laws and regulations and fulfills its social responsibilities through free and fair competition. To prevent the occurrence of corporate misconduct, in 1998 we established the Iwatani Code of Corporate Ethics as “a norm to be observed in all aspects of business activities on the basis of sharing the corporate philosophy, morality and values among management team members and employees in the Group.” We publicize this code throughout the company and Group companies to raise awareness of compliance groupwide, and also revise the Iwatani Code of Corporate Ethics to reflect recent changes in the social conditions in which we do business as well as amendments in laws and regulations.
Compliance Committee
The Compliance Committee is set up under the Risk Management Committee to comprehensively promote legal and regulatory compliance by enforcing and enhancing compliance structures in Iwatani Group business activities. It reports on compliance to the Risk Management Committee via the Compliance Committee chairperson and to the management team via the Risk Management Committee chairperson.
We have also established a whistleblowing program to enhance compliance through the rapid discovery and rectification of improper actions.We have established a structure whereby reports from employees and others concerning organizational or individual actions in violation of laws or regulations can be addressed properly. Under this system, the Compliance Committee investigates the facts of the matters reported and, as necessary, takes swift corrective and preventive action. Contact points for whistleblowing reports from employees and others have been set up both inside and outside the company. Response is based on advice from independent experts. Rules prohibiting retributive and disadvantageous treatment safeguard the rights of whistleblowers.
Prohibition of Bribery and Corruption
The Behavioral Guidelines in the Iwatani Code of Corporate Ethics prohibit giving and receiving business related entertainment or gifts beyond social and international norms. They strictly prohibit actions that qualify or may be construed as bribery of public officials or quasi-public officials (e.g., employees of local governments, independent administrative agencies, or auxiliary organs), in Japan or overseas, in connection with doing business. By formulating guidelines such as these and striving to raise awareness among individual employees, we strive to prevent bribery and corruption.
Internal Awareness-Raising Activities
In addition to sharing our corporate philosophy, ethics, and values through the Iwatani Code of Corporate Ethics —a set of norms with which group management and employees must comply in various aspects of business activities—we also implement compliance training to raise awareness of compliance. This training ensures that all employees fully understand the importance of compliance, including compliance with the Antimonopoly Act and other laws and regulations, through lectures by attorneys as guest lecturers.