Responsible service provision
ー Policy
Based on our management philosophy, we improve our services by continually listening to customers and ensure safety so that customers can use our services with a peace of mind, thus contributing to customer satisfaction and to society.
ー How we implement the policy
We believe that customer feedback, including opinions, requests and complaints, are valuable management resources, and we strive to improve our products and services based on the feedback we receive. The feedback from customers we receive via our call center, portal site, stores and other channels is shared with the relevant departments. Every month, feedback is reported to the heads of departments involved in customer services and the responsible officer, who discuss countermeasures. This enables our company-wide quality improvement efforts.
ー Initiatives
Valuable feedback from customers is shared throughout the company using the CS/CX improvement cycle and the feedback leads to the development of new products, the improvement of services and other positive results that enable us to meet the needs of customers.
＜Structure＞
＜CS/CX improvement cycle＞
ー Management and training
To improve the quality of our customer service, we conduct customer service training twice a month and encourage employees to take the universal manners test course and acquire Consumer Affairs Professional (CAP) certifications.
Local communities
ー Policy
With our medium- to long-term goal of protecting the rich natural environment and culture that enriches life, and energizing people in the region and community, we pursue co-creation with governments and local communities, cooperate with local communities, governments, universities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and many other stakeholders to solve local and social issues and strive to enrich society.
Procurement
ー Sustainable procurement policy
By communicating with suppliers, we ensure consideration for the environment, human rights and other social issues throughout the supply chain and are pushing forward with responsible procurement activities. We will comply with related laws and ensure fair and proper transactions.
ー Funding policy
We strive to reduce liquidity risk by maintaining a certain percentage of long-term, fixed-rate funding, establishing commitment lines and other means of accessing supplemental liquidity and diversifying our funding methods and the timing of repayments.
Our procurement methods mainly include indirect procurement by means of negotiated transactions with banks, cooperative financial institutions, life insurance companies and non-life insurance companies, syndicated loans and the setting of commitment lines, etc., and direct procurement methods such as the liquidation of bonds payable and receivables and the issuance of commercial paper.
Among the global businesses, Kisetsu Saison Finance (India) Pvt. Ltd. acquired AAA long-term ratings from two rating companies and it raises fund based on its credit rating. As our operations expand in the future, we understand the need to diversify our fundraising methods and have started considering a comprehensive capital strategy that includes the issuance of NCDs, the acceptance of external capital, a future IPO and other potential options.
Information security
ー Policy
Based on our understanding that the appropriate management of information assets we own is an important task for businesses, we have established basic policies that our directors, executive officers, and employees should observe.
ー Management system
We have established rules on information security including rules on information management. In addition to observing these rules, we review our internal rules continually to improve the security level. In addition, we have assigned the head of each department as a compliance officer, thus building and promoting a framework for advancing information security.
ー Audits and training
To ensure information security, regular audits are conducted by our internal audit department or external auditors.
We also provide our directors, executive officers, and employees with information security training continually through various compliance training programs.
ー Security policy
We have set our own security policy.
Marketing policy
We ensure responsible marketing communication by complying with laws.
ー Policy
・We strive to ensure appropriate, easy-to-understand expressions and representations of our products and services so that they will not cause any misunderstanding among customers and trade partners.
・We protect personal information and will not use any expressions that will offend, discriminate, or exclude a specific individual, group, creed, religion, ethnicity, political orientation, or such like.
・We will not discredit other companies by giving false information about other companies' products and services to our customers or trade partners.
Social media policy
We strive to ensure the appropriate provision of information and communication via social media with the full understanding that social media are used by many and unspecified people and it is difficult to fully eliminate information that has been posted on or spread via social media. Please refer to our corporate website and press releases for our official announcements and views.
We observe our social media policy, which is stipulated in the following:
Human rights
1. Policy
We comply with the many different laws relating to human rights in the countries in which we do business. We understand and support international norms such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Bill of Human Rights and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and we respect basic human rights. Also, our business activities are in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
2. Respect for human rights in business activities
We respect basic human rights by understanding and supporting various international norms related to human rights in each one of the countries where we operate business. We have established policies to prohibit discrimination, respect freedom of association and collective bargaining rights, prohibit harassment, prohibit child labor and forced labor, to pay wages without fail and other policies and are committed to respecting human rights.
ー Prohibition of discrimination
In all of our corporate activities, we act fairly without tolerating any form of discrimination or human rights violation based on race, age, nationality, gender, background, sexual orientation, gender identity, place of origin, social status, creed, religion, ethnicity, political orientation, medical history, disabilities, physical characteristics, or other attributes.
ー Respect for freedom of association and collective bargaining rights
We respect and protect the freedom of association, rights to organize, and collective bargaining rights as workers' rights and strive to improve the workplace environment.
ー Prohibition of harassment
We do not tolerate any form of harassment, including sexual harassment and power harassment.
Our office regulations define specific points related to harassment (matters that can result in disciplinary actions). We also include harassment education in the job-class-specific compliance training provided to our executive employees, including heads of departments and offices, new managers and others. Moreover, we assign a compliance officer in each department, and our departments take the lead in the implementation of training programs.
ー Prohibition of child labor and forced labor
We do not tolerate child labor and forced labor. We strive to prevent them by complying with laws and conducting monitoring regularly.
ー Payment of wages
We pay minimum or higher wages to our employees by following regional and industrial minimum wages stipulated in the Minimum Wage Act.
Our overseas Group companies also stipulate their own employees' wages by following laws on the minimum wages of each country and comply with relevant laws and regulations.
ー Universal manners test course and LGBT service manners training
Our employees are encouraged to take the universal manners test course so that they can acquire a mindset that enables them to see things from the perspectives of people other than themselves such as elderly people or people with disabilities, and so they can act accordingly. Moreover, our employees participate in LGBT service manners training and learn about how to interact with people who are diverse.
ー Initiatives on children's rights
In addition to eliminating child labor in Japan and other countries, we take initiatives to address problems faced by children in the aspects of education, environment, and others. To create a prosperous future for the next generation, we respect and support children’s rights through initiatives such as the “School Visit: SAISON TEACHER” financial education program and nature education through hands-on classes for parents and children at Akagi Nature Park (certified for forest therapy).
3. Efforts for correction and remediation (establishment of a Reporting system)
The Saison Group has established a whistleblowing system that can be used by employees of the Group's companies in accordance with the Whistleblower Protection Act. Organized by our department responsible for compliance, this system permits employees to blow the whistle to a whistleblowing office by e-mail, mail or other means. In December 2020, we set up an overseas hotline, which enables whistleblowing from Group companies located outside Japan. This hotline is available for consultation and whistleblowing concerning human rights issues and sexual, power and other types of harassment. An information center, Saison Counters and other customer support points are available to customers and other people outside the Group who wish to consult us.
4. Major initiatives
ー Personnel affairs and recruitment
We ensure strict, fair selection without any form of discrimination based on race, age, nationality, gender, background, or other attributes.
ー Management and training
We take measures including regular internal training sessions as a part of our compliance training, in our efforts to keep our employees thoroughly informed about compliance.
ー Reduction of overtime work
We monitor holidays and leave of absence taken by employees and their overtime work, on a daily basis.
In addition, Time Management Committee meetings are held by the labor and management to take initiatives for improving working hours.
ー Supply chain
We conduct irregular questionnaires and on-site surveys of our suppliers. Where a violation has been revealed, we conduct internal investigations, take appropriate corrective measures, and take punitive action against the doer.
ー Initiatives on children's rights
・Financial education
We visit schools around Japan to give classes, aiming to help children acquire correct financial knowledge and grow into independent consumers.
・Activities at the Akagi Nature Park
We promote hands-on activities for instilling the value of nature in children widely. They include hands-on classes for parents and children given by using the field that is richly endowed with nature.
ー Labor union's activities
The Union of Credit Saison Workers was established in January 1963 as Zen Midori-ya Roudou Kumiai, which is its predecessor. Through a company name change and other changes, it began to operate as the Union of Credit Saison Workers in 1989. It consists of union members from Saison Personalplus Co., Ltd. and SAISON COLLECTION SERVICE CO., LTD., which are Group companies, in addition to those from Credit Saison Co., Ltd. This union regularly holds labor-management consultations for sharing information about labor conditions and workplace issues, thus creating better workplaces. In addition, it organizes recreational activities for deepening exchanges between its members and engages in social contribution activities for revitalizing local economies.
In the regular labor-management consultations for sharing information about labor conditions and workplace issues, proposals are made and specific initiatives are suggested for creating motivating workplace environments for union members. The union side consists of the administration office while the company side comprises Directors. The main objectives are sound development of the companies and improvement of labor conditions.
Compliance
Anti-bribery and anti-corruption policy
ー Entertainment and gifts in moderation
We comply with laws and prohibit any illegal payoffs (bribery). We also prohibit giving or accepting excessive entertainment or gifts even from a trade partner, affiliate, or similar party.
・Entertainment and gifts for public offices
We provide no entertainment or gifts to public civil servants or equivalents who are prohibited by law from receiving entertainment or gifts.
・Entertainment and gifts for business partners
We comply with the laws of the different countries and regions we operate within and avoid giving entertainment or gifts to business partners by implementing policies more restrictive than what may be acceptable in terms of social common sense.
Via our intranet and training programs, all of our employees remain correctly up to date on the information for limiting entertainment and gifts to an appropriately moderate level.
ー Prevention of insider trading
To prevent insider trading or similar misconduct, we have set out rules on the management of insider information obtained by our directors, executive officers and employees in relation to their duties and standards of behavior, in our insider trading management rules, thus managing insider information strictly. We also provide heads of departments with training two times a year on preventing insider trading.
ー Ant-corruption initiatives
We provide our employees with regular compliance training on anti-corruption initiatives including the exclusion of anti-social forces and prevention of money laundering.
・We have established a whistleblowing office, which accepts reports related to compliance issues, misconduct, etc.
・When we have a new deal or expand our business, we comprehensively check matters related to the exclusion of anti-social forces and prevention of money laundering and report the results to the Risk Management Committee or Compliance Committee, depending on the field and the subject matter.
ー Political donations
We do not make political donations.
ー Spending related to anti-corruption
There is no serious violation of laws or spending for penal charges or settlement related to corruption.
ー Other
We have no expenditures relating to penalties specified in relation to ESG issues.
Response to Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing
To prevent money laundering and terrorism financing, the Company has established internal rules to ensure compliance with relevant laws, regulations, etc. and has put in place a system for implementing preventive measures.
It implements risk mitigation measures, such as filtering transactions at the time of business deals, in addition to identity verification based on relevant laws and regulations, and monitoring of transactions on a periodic basis after contracts are concluded.
It also strives to reinforce the system by improving employees’ knowledge by holding regular internal training sessions.
Response to anti-social forces
It is stipulated in our basic policy on measures against anti-social forces that we reject any relationships with anti-social forces, which threaten public order and social safety through organized crime, terrorist financing and other conduct, and maintain a firm attitude against them. We keep our employees thoroughly informed of this policy through regular training and other initiatives. When we start a new transaction or enter a similar situation in any of our businesses, we conduct sufficient investigations as to the level of social credibility of our trade partners and include a clause on the elimination of organized crime groups in the contract, so that we can cancel the contract ex-post facto if the trade partner should turn out to be anti-social forces.
Tax policy
ー Basic policy
We pay taxes appropriately by complying with the tax-related laws and regulations of each country and region where we operate. We understand that an appropriate tax payment contributes to the economic and social development of each country.
ー Measures related to Base Erosion Profit Shifting (BEPS)
We do not avoid tax intentionally by making use of tax incentives with measures not involving actual business activities or by using locations deemed to be tax havens.
International deals between Group companies are made by observing the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines.
ー Relationship with tax authorities
We provide information to tax authorities appropriately and respond to them faithfully in our efforts to build a sound relationship with them.
ー Management system
We have a governance structure in which the CFO assumes ultimate responsibility. The heads of responsible departments report the status of accounting and tax affairs appropriately.
People in charge of tax affairs consult external tax advisers in a timely manner in their efforts to ensure appropriate tax processing and reduce tax risk.
Compliance with the Antimonopoly Act
We comply with the Antimonopoly Act. Our Standards of Conduct stipulate that we shall promote free and fair competition and business.
Internal reporting system
In accordance with the Whistleblower Protection Act, the Credit Saison Group has established an internal reporting system that can be used by Group employees.
Under the system, Group employees can report via email or post to a designated whistleblower hotline, which is administered by the unit responsible for compliance matters. Since December 2020, we have set up an overseas hotline for reporting from affiliated companies locating overseas. The hotline can be used in the language of each country. Consultation topics include fraud that violates laws, internal regulations, general social norms, and corporate ethics, harassment such as sexual harassment and power harassment, and workplace environment issues.
Reports can be made anonymously, the privacy of whistleblowers is protected, and the whistleblower rules clearly state that they will not suffer any retaliation or disadvantage for reporting. The operating status of the whistleblower system is regularly reported to the Compliance Committee. We also conduct compliance training according to rank, including training for department heads and other executive staff and new managers. We appoint compliance officers in each department and implement department-led training programs, in order to fully inform trainees about the system and the importance of compliance.