THE SHISEIDO CODE is a set of specific corporate ethics and behavior standards that every employee should follow for realizing the Corporate Mission and THE SHISEIDO WAY (Corporate Behavior Declaration) and forms the basis of Shiseido's CSR activities. It provides behavioral guidelines aimed at forging a strong relationship of trust between stakeholders and the company. The content of THE SHISEIDO CODE is disclosed to the public via the corporate website(Japanese only).

The Position of THE SHISEIDO CODE

THE SHISEIDO CODE

The Compliance Committee (established in 1997 as the Corporate Ethics Committee) plays the central role in promoting Shiseido's corporate ethics activities, and is appointed by Code Leaders at each domestic site and by Business Ethics Officers (BEOs) at overseas sites to facilitate the implementation of THE SHISEIDO CODE.

Shiseido has placed about 500 Code Leaders in positions in all domestic divisions and worksites. Selected according to individual worksite characteristics regardless of position, gender, and age, these individuals create action plans for their worksites and conduct educational and training activities following the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) Cycle. The Company seeks to share information and utilize it in the formulation of action plans for the upcoming year by introducing examples of successful activities and annual reports on each worksite's initiatives in the Code Letter magazine and the Shiseido Corporate Ethics White Paper. The Company hosts informal gatherings where Compliance Committee members can meet with Code Leaders from around Japan as well as Code Leader Discussions where managers and Code Leaders from individual worksites can meet to improve communication, identify workplace issues, and help create a better workplace.
Code Leader activities in the fiscal year ended March 2009 revolved around the theme of "creating a company culture conducive to good internal communications."
Activities for the fiscal year ending March 2010 are currently underway in all domestic business locations under this year's theme focused on the "development of capable personnel and an appealing workplace."

A Code Leader Discussion (held in January 2008)

Company poster introducing Code Leaders

To ensure that THE SHISEIDO CODE is followed at all levels of the organization, Shiseido requires all employees and directors to undergo human rights awareness and corporate ethics training at least once each year.

In order to comply with the Whistleblower Protection Act passed in April 2006 and ensure that any illegal acts in the Company are resolved internally before they become serious, the Company is providing training for people in charge and distributing pamphlets to all employees as part of an effort to promote widespread knowledge of two entities for reporting (counseling) ethics concerns: the in-house Shiseido Consultation Office and the Shiseido External Consultation Office, which is located at a law firm. The Company also has created and publicized to employees a set of Shiseido Group Consultation Office Regulations setting forth an impartial means of investigating and resolving complaints and clearly prohibiting prejudicial treatment of whistleblowers (as well as individuals seeking advice).
The Shiseido Consultation Office welcomes individuals seeking advice on a wide range of topics, relating not only to THE SHISEIDO CODE but also to the Company's business and operations in general. The Office has worked to quickly resolve 206 inquiries in the year ended March 2009, bringing the total since April 2000 to 1,132. The Company also has distributed an Ethics Card to all employees, including employees dispatched from employment agencies.

Internal pamphlet
about the Shiseido Consultation Office

Ethics Card

Shiseido has conducted an annual Employee Awareness Survey since 1998 in which participants are asked to respond to questions designed to gauge their attitudes toward their jobs and the Company, as well as the extent to which THE SHISEIDO CODE is followed. Results of the survey are applied to the Company's activities.
Although the survey has targeted only regular employees in the past, the scope was extended from fiscal 2007 to cover all employees, including temporary contract employees and employees dispatched from employment agencies, to reflect increasing diversity in the Company's employment pattern. Observation of THE SHISEIDO CODE continues to steadily improve with each passing year. Looking to the future, Shiseido will work to energize the company culture to improve items related to workplace culture and how employees go about doing their jobs.

In September 2004, Shiseido announced that it was joining the United Nations Global Compact, declaring that it would voluntarily work to solve problems and create an international framework for realizing a sustainable society.
As a specific example of our initiatives in this area, in March 2006 we adopted the Shiseido Group Supplier Code of Conduct, a series of standards governing Shiseido procurement activities, based on the Global Compact’s ten principles. In this way, we have joined our business partners in making a commitment to society to pursue procurement activities based on high ethical standards.
In the area of human rights, we continue to pursue initiatives in the context of our own corporate activities. In addition, we joined the CEO Statement, an initiative launched by the Global Compact on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in December 2008, as part of our program of support for the Global Compact. The statement declares to the world, “We also reiterate our own commitment to respect and support human rights within our sphere of influence. Human rights are universal and are an important business concern all over the globe.”
In the area of environmental activities, we have announced our participation in Caring for Climate, a climate change initiative also being spearheaded by the Global Compact. In addition to striving to protect the environment in our own business activities, Shiseido is committed to offering support for, and actively participating in, international initiatives to address climate change.

Declaration of participation in the United Nations
Global Compact's Initiative on Climeate Change

Website is here

United Nations Global Compact

Proposed by then-United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan in 1999 at the World Economic Forum (a conference held in Davos, Switzerland), the United Nations Global Compact is a set of voluntary principles of action that are upheld by corporations, international labor organizations, and civil society. Participating organizations are required to support and practice ten principles in the four areas of human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption, thereby contributing to more sustainable and comprehensive growth of the world economy. Approximately 6,800 organizations worldwide (as of April 2009) have declared their support of and participation in the United Nationals Global Compact.

To address company-wide risk and implement preventive measures for specific risks across businesses and departments, Shiseido has created a Risk Coordination Subcommittee and liaison meeting of departments in charge of handling risk under the Compliance Committee, which is taking company-wide control of all risks and compliance related to corporate activities. The subcommittee advances a variety of measures to prevent risk and deals with manifest risk on a variety of levels through task forces, action projects and response teams.
The Company's approach to risk management is founded on a policy of fulfilling social responsibility by minimizing the effects of any manifest risk. We seek to the best of our ability to prevent the occurrence of any social loss and act in a responsible manner so as to contribute to society, thereby increasing our corporate value.