Compliance Management
Global Whistleblowing System
Our whistleblowing system, known as the Compliance Hotline, enables individuals who have obtained information related to risks—such as acts in violation of laws or regulations that have been or are about to be committed by Mitsui Chemicals Group employees or related personnel—to directly report the matter to and consult the Corporate Administration & Legal Division, Human Resources Division, or an outside attorney.
Overview of the Global Whistleblowing System (Compliance Hotline)
- The system is open not only to officers, corporate auditors, and employees, but also to all parties with an interest in the Group’s business activities, including the families of officers, corporate auditors, employees, retired employees, contractors at our works or other sites, and suppliers. (However, this excludes consultations or reports made with defamatory or malicious intent.)
- Any and all information related to risks received through the whistleblowing system is immediately and periodically reported to the Company’s corporate auditors, and important information is reported to the Company’s Board of Directors if necessary.
- Our "Whistleblower Management Regulations" clearly stipulate that whistleblowers will not be subject to penalty and retaliation because of whistleblowing. We also have established disciplinary measures and strictly enforce them for those who violate the regulations.
Reporting and Consultation Desk
◾️ This contact desk is established to receive reports and consultations regarding compliance violations, etc., by employees and related personnel of our Group. For general opinions or inquiries regarding our Group, please use the 'Contact Us' section.
◾️ There are three contact desks: the Corporate Administration & Legal Div. desk, the external lawyer's desk in Japan, and the harassment and human rights consultation desk (HR).
Target Case Studies (The following are examples only)
- Violation of safety, environment, and chemicals regulations
- Bribery
- Illicit gain
- Quality fraud
- Information leakage
- Accounting and tax fraud
- Discrimination and harassment
- Problems related to the employment environment
- Human rights [forced labor, child labor etc.]
- Misconduct in research and development (This item is open to anyone, regardless of their relationship with the Company.)
etc.
Operation of the Whistleblowing System
- Anonymous reports and requests for advice by letter or e-mail are accepted. However, please be aware that in the event that a person cannot be contacted by the Company’s Risk & Compliance Committee or an external contact, it may not be possible to fully understand the situation and take steps, such as conducting an appropriate investigation or implementing measures.
- The Group restricts the people who are able to view the e-mails and letters received by the Risk & Compliance Committee or the external point of contact to some members of the Secretariat of the Committee. Furthermore, those who are able to view the correspondence strictly observe confidentiality with regard to the name or position of the person making the report or seeking advice or with regard to the content of their report, etc. (including acts that would make it easy to ascertain the name or position of the person making the report or seeking advice, or the content of their report), which is not disclosed to anyone other than the minimum number of officers, employees, or attorneys required for the investigation.
- Internally stipulated regulations safeguard the information against further disclosure or leakage.
- The Group will keep confidential any information related to people who are cooperating in the investigation or information gained through the investigation will not be disclosed to anyone who is not involved. However, information on reported and consulted cases may be notified to the Group’s officers, corporate auditors, and employees in a way that will not identify the person who reported or sought advice in order to educate the others and prevent recurrence.
- Any person who has reported, sought advice, or cooperated in an investigation is not subject to penalty and retaliation as a result of making the report, seeking advice, or cooperating in the investigation. However, this does not apply to cases where the person who used the system to report or seek advice did so for the purpose of deceiving others, for example by deliberately conveying false information, or cases in which a report was made for the purpose of violating a law, regulation, etc., such as coercion or blackmail.
- A prompt and careful investigation will be conducted for all reports and consultations. If a legal or regulatory violation or a situation that may lead to such a violation is discovered, necessary corrective action, etc., will be taken properly. In addition, such corrective action, etc., is shared across the Group to ensure that a similar problem will not happen again within the Group.
- The details and usage of this system are appropriately communicated through Compliance training and other forums to employees and related personnel of our Group.
Whistleblowing Procedure
Whistleblowing System Operating Performance (cases)
* Breakdown of FY2024 reporting and consultation cases by instance:
Harassment: 33 cases; illicit gains and bribery: 5 cases; safety and environment: 2 cases; violation of quality and chemicals regulations: 0 case; others: 18 cases; 13 cases received through the external desk.