Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with Our Business Partners

At Kao, we drive efforts to ensure traceability and conduct ESG supplier surveys in order to know with certainty that there are no human rights violations occurring throughout the supply chain.
Through dialogue with our suppliers, we strive to establish a sustainable supply chain. This is evident in our ethically-driven, fair and equitable procurement.

We have established requirements in areas such as legality and ethicality, human rights and labor, and sustainability, and commit to favoring procurement from partners that comply with these requirements. This includes the establishment of a diverse and inclusive working environment.
Through evaluations by Sedex and supplier assessments, we request that our partners drive efforts to meet these requirements, including initiatives in human rights and DE&I.

SMILE is a program in which Kao, Apical Group, and Asian Agri support 5,000 independent oil palm smallholders in Indonesia improve their yields and acquire certification for sustainable palm (RSPO) over the 11-year period spanning from 2020 to 2030. The RSPO certification evaluates key human rights and DE&I factors such as fair trade and treatment. By supporting the acquisition of this certificate, we contribute to improving the safety and QOL of workers, while raising the standard of living in the communities. We will continue to strive towards a sustainable supply chain and fair society.

The Kao Grievance Mechanism, in collaboration with Caux Round Table Japan (CRT Japan Committee), a non-profit organization that supports corporate initiatives in human rights, is a grievance mechanism for independent oil palm smallholders in Indonesia across Kao’s supply chain.
The grievance mechanism is designed to comprehensively process claims and inquiries received from smallholders, from their investigation to addressing and resolving them as well as follow-up and reporting. Through this, we aim to resolve essential social and environmental issues, with a strong focus on human rights and DE&I. We are working to expand the program to more plantations and wider areas, in order to give more people a voice.