Toppan, a global leader in communication, security, packaging, décor materials and electronics solutions, has devised and announced a new set of guidelines for driving sustainable procurement at the Toppan Group and across its supply chains. The Toppan Group Sustainable Procurement Guidelines represent a major overhaul of the second version of the Toppan Group CSR Procurement Guidelines, published in 2014, and aims to further enhance sustainable procurement activities from a global perspective to reflect the expectations of society and recent trends such as the establishment of related international standards.

The Guidelines consist of the Basic Procurement Policy, which applies to all workers involved in procurement activities at the Toppan Group, and a set of Sustainable Procurement Standards, which set out requirements and recommendations for suppliers and contractors. The Sustainable Procurement Standards cover a broad range of social issues that businesses are expected to address. They are comprised of nine sections including legal compliance and respect for internationally recognized standards; human rights and labor; health and safety, environment; fair business and ethics; quality and safety; information security; business continuity planning; and establishing a management system.

In addition to ensuring thorough awareness and understanding of the Guidelines within the Toppan Group and at suppliers and contractors, Toppan will work with related stakeholders in advancing activities based on them to identify and mitigate procurement risks across supply chains. By doing so, Toppan aims to facilitate solutions to social issues and raise the enterprise value of the Toppan Group as well as that of its suppliers and contractors.

Toppan plans to implement a range of measures to achieve sustainable procurement based on the Guidelines. These will include holding briefing sessions and asking major suppliers and contractors to respond to self-assessment surveys, the results of which will be analyzed to identify and ascertain risks.

“The Toppan Group has worked with its suppliers and contractors for many years on initiatives related to corporate social responsibility. We have established these new guidelines to help shape a sustainable society through further evolution of those activities,” says Hironori Majima, director & executive officer of Toppan’s Manufacturing Management Division. “With this fresh start, we will create a management system to ensure the Guidelines are put into practice by everyone in the Toppan Group and drive sustainable growth for society across our supply chains in collaboration with stakeholders.”