Calbee, Inc. (“Calbee”) hereby announces this statement (this “Statement”) as set forth below, based on Section 54 of the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015. This Statement has been prepared on behalf of Calbee, a Japanese corporation, and Calbee Group(UK) Limited (“CGUK”), a UK corporation, and covers related efforts made thereby during the period of 1st January – 31st December 2022.
1. Business Outline
Calbee, with its head office in Tokyo, Japan, is the largest snack manufacturer in Japan and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Calbee has the following corporate philosophy: “We are committed to harnessing nature’s gifts, to bringing taste and fun, and to contributing to healthy lifestyles.” CGUK is a snack confectionery manufacturing and sales company incorporated in the United Kingdom, which is a 100% subsidiary of Calbee.
For more details of our management philosophy and business activities, please visit:
https://www.calbee.com/about/mission/
https://www.calbee.co.uk/
Furthermore, Calbee’s supply chain handles potatoes, flour, oil, etc. as principal materials, while also handling seasonings and packaging materials, etc. as secondary materials.
2. Policies Concerning Prevention of Forced or Compulsory Labor or Human Trafficking
Calbee supports and respects internationally recognized human rights protections, and strives to fulfill its social responsibilities. Calbee does not tolerate any forced or compulsory labor, human trafficking, or child labor, etc. whatsoever.
3. Efforts Toward Prevention of Forced or Compulsory Labour or Human Trafficking
Calbee has established the “Calbee Group Code of conduct” and “Calbee Group Procurement Policy” which stipulates the protection of human rights and the elimination of any forced or compulsory labor, and communicates these policies to all Group companies, including CGUK, and complies with them.
“Calbee Group Code of conduct”
Respect for Human Rights
We will treat all people involved in our business activities with respect at all times and value each other’s human rights.
We will not participate in any human rights violations.
We will also encourage our business partners not to be involved in human rights violations.
We will not discriminate or harass people on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, beliefs, birthplace, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc.
We will not tolerate any form of forced labor, child labor, or discrimination over employment or occupation.
“Calbee Group Procurement Policy”
Respect for Human Rights
We support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights and prohibit any inhumane treatment. Furthermore, we will not be complicit in any human rights violations and will urge our business partners to do the same.
We respect the human rights of business partners in our supply chain. We will not discriminate against or harass anyone on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, creed, place of origin, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
CGUK adheres to the requirements of the ETI (Ethical Trading Initiative) Base code, which is established under the Convention of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and is a code of internationally recognised labour practices.
CGUK ensures all staff understand the policies and the risks of modern slavery to our supply chains and our business, we provide training at the point of induction.
CGUK is a member of Sedex and is responsible for managing our business in a sustainable manner and protecting our workers by using the online platforms, tools and services provided by Sedex, managing supplier data, and analyzing potential risks such as human rights and the environment.
CGUK does not enter into business with any organisation which knowingly supports or is found to involve itself in slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour. CGUK ensures all our suppliers are aware of our expectations to work honestly, ethically and in line with all legislation and through our active communication with them, whilst our robust Quality Management System allows us to carry out appropriate risk based due diligence.
CGUK’s principle risk is the risk of slavery and human trafficking due to the temporary labour pool and the transient nature of this workforce. To minimise this risk, we operate a Preferred Supplier List (PSL) for the provision of agency labour and only work with agencies who are part of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, are members of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority and who work with the Stronger Together partnership. All agencies are audited by a qualified person on at least an annual basis.
CGUK ensure all our employees know who to contact if they have a concern about modern slavery and we also operate a Public Interest Disclosure Policy giving both employees and business partners the opportunity to confidentially raise any concerns. These policies and processes can be found on our Intranet, our wellbeing portal and also on our notice boards.
Further Efforts
CGUK understand that raising awareness if key and therefore we continue to develop our training to expand our current provision providing refreshers to our employees on a periodic basis and targeting employees who have a greater risk of encountering modern slavery. We are also aware that the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner ending mid-2022 reported a heightened level of potential Modern Slavery cases within the UK ending mid 2022. Therefore we will continue to adhere to our responsibilities as a business to maintain the safety of our staff.
This Statement has been approved by the Board of Directors of Calbee, Inc on Apr. 17, 2023.
April 17, 2023
Makoto Ehara
President, CEO and Representative Director
Calbee, Inc.