Responsible supply chain management
Supplier screening and supply chain due diligence
Supplier screening and supply chain due diligence is aimed at ensuring the sustainability of the Group, as well as better understanding the challenges faced by suppliers and the communities in which they operate.
For example, by 2025, our tobacco business will proactively manage ESG risks in relation to all its critical suppliers. Also, by 2028, all tobacco supplying entities will achieve a Supply Chain Diligence maturity score >90%, verified by an independent third party.
Additionally, our pharmaceutical and processed food businesses will complete supply chain due diligence for all key suppliers by 2025.
For details about the supply chain of our tobacco business, see RRP sourcing , Empowering PEOPLE & Protecting PLANET
sustainability targets to deliver “Responsible supply chain management”
Materiality |
Target items |
Targets |
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Supplier screening and supply chain due diligence |
The JT Group will screen all key suppliers against ESG criteria. Our tobacco business will screen 100% of its key suppliers against environmental, social and governance criteria by 2023. The tobacco business will also implement Agricultural Labor Practices (ALP) program in all leaf-sourcing countries by 2025. Furthermore, by 2025, our tobacco business will proactively manage ESG risks with all its critical suppliers, to ensure a sustainable business continuity. By 2028, all tobacco supplying entities will achieve a Supply Chain Due Diligence maturity score >90%, verified by an independent third party. By 2025, we will complete supply chain due diligence of all key suppliers for our pharmaceutical business and processed food business and will also perform regular due diligence thereafter. Through the JT Group Supplier Code of Conduct and supplier questionnaires, our processed food business will work jointly with, share its values and communicate closely with its suppliers to realize a sustainable supply chain. |
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Grower living income |
In our tobacco business, the ambition is for all our leaf growers to achieve a living income. By 2025, we will implement our Living Income Calculator in 100% of our direct tobacco leaf supply chain origins. |
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Human rights in grower communities |
By 2025, our tobacco business will monitor 100% of farms in its direct tobacco leaf supply chain origins on human rights including child labor, and annually disclose related KPIs, prevention and remediation actions. |
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Grievance mechanisms |
By 2027, our tobacco business will provide access to remedy via safe, accessible and effective grievance mechanisms for 100% of growers and farm workers in its direct tobacco leaf supply chain origins. |
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Respect for human rights
Respecting human rights is essential in conducting our business based on our management principle, the 4S model. We also believe that respecting human rights is fundamental to the JT Group Materiality, which is the core of sustainability management.
We respect human rights across our value chain, and recognize the International Bill of Human Rights and the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. The JT Group Human Rights Policy follows the framework provided by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
A five-pillar strategy
Our human rights strategy is based on five pillars. This circular approach provides a systematic way of conducting ongoing due diligence and is in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines, and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) guidance on responsible agricultural supply chains.
- Embed
- Identify and prioritize
- Respond
- Measure
- Report
Our human rights due diligence
We have made human rights due diligence an essential and integrated part of our business. It helps us to prevent adverse impacts on people and ensure the highest standards of behavior are upheld within our business and value chain.
In promoting initiatives based on the concept of “prioritize,” we conduct assessments in countries where the greatest risks to people lie. We also regularly review high-risk countries with an eye to changes in business and social environments.
In 2017, we conducted human rights impact assessments as pilots in Japan, where the Group’s headquarters are located, and Switzerland, where the headquarter functions of the tobacco business are located.
Since then, our tobacco business has conducted assessments in identified high-risk countries for human rights, and as of the end of 2023, we have completed human rights impact assessments in 11 countries and self-assessment questionnaires in 17 countries. In addition, supply chain impact assessments focused on the leaf tobacco supply chain were conducted.
For the pharmaceutical and processed food businesses, self-assessment questionnaires targeting our domestic business locations were completed in 2023. In 2024, we plan to conduct assessments on-site in several locations.