Respect for Human Rights

“Respect for human rights” is one of our Key Sustainability Issues (Materiality). While we do not violate human rights as a business entity, we also eliminate any human rights abuses, discrimination, or corruption from all businesses and supply chains involving Aozora and take appropriate countermeasures through dialogue when improvements are necessary in order to fulfill our social responsibilities. We identified and evaluated human rights issues with a high potential negative impact and developed a human rights issues map as a component of our human rights due diligence in FY2023. We will continuously inspect and review the map in tandem with changes in the business environment.

Identification and Evaluation of Human Rights Issues with a High Negative Impact

Response to Human Rights Issues with a High Negative Impact

Human Rights Issue	Current Response
① ⑦ ⑪	Our Investment and Lending Policies regarding Environmental and Societal Issues ban investments and lending sector-wide for businesses engaged in child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking. When considering investments and lending to businesses that may violate human rights in conflict areas or aid in doing so, we examine whether customers have made efforts to reduce and avoid risks and make decisions on transactions with caution. We signed the Equator Principles and conduct initiatives considering the negative impact that large-scale development projects may have on the environment and societies.
⑫	Aozora determines a policy for responding to each individual case according to reputational information and other matters related to individual business partners.
⑧ ⑬	We create a basic check sheet regarding outsourcing management for annual reviews of whether there is negative or reputational information related to matters such as outsourcees’ violation of human rights. Furthermore, when we place an order for construction, etc., we also produce an outside vendor risk evaluation check sheet to examine and evaluate risks related to the environment and human rights.
⑨	Aozora has formulated the personal information protection policy (Privacy Policy) and disclosed it at branches and on its website, while implementing organizational, personnel, and technical safety management measures such as the establishment of rules for managing personal data, training, and system improvements.
⑩	Aozora’s Code of Ethics and Conduct, which sets ethical and behavioral standards for our officers and employees, declares efforts to create workplaces free of discrimination and harassment, and we produce and disseminate a Compliance Handbook. We also regularly conduct training covering the various forms of harassment and have established the Aozora Hotline Program as a whistle-blower program.