Constructing a sustainable supply chain is an important issue for realizing the growth of a corporate group and a sustainable society.

The JVCKENWOOD Group is actively promoting sustainable procurement on a global basis, recognizing the importance of sustainable procurement in fulfilling its social responsibility in the supply chain, while considering social needs such as the environment and human rights.

JVCKENWOOD Group Procurement Policy (Japanese) (PDF:151KB)

JVCKENWOOD Group Procurement Policy (Chinese) (PDF:114KB)

To ensure sustainable procurement, the JVCKENWOOD Group confirms not only the quality, cost, turnaround time, and technological capabilities of its suppliers, but also seeks to ensure respect for human rights and proper labor practices. This includes the prohibition of child and forced labor and the establishment of appropriate wages and working hours.

In addition, as the supply chain BCP measures, we are advancing initiatives to achieve zero production line stoppage due to material shortages. To achieve these goals, we set the following key performance indicators (KPIs) by backcasting from the ideal state in 2030, and manage the progress of the initiatives.

We have New Supplier Selection Standard that address not only quality, cost, turnaround time, technological capability, and the ability to maintain a stable supply but also the sustainable use of resources, chemical substance management, and other aspects related to the environment, human rights, and occupational safety. 

When we start transacting with new suppliers, we make them aware of the JVCKENWOOD Group Procurement Policy, the JVCKENWOOD Group Human Rights Policy, and the JVCKENWOOD CSR Procurement Guidelines. Also, as part of our communication with global business partners, when opening a new account, we request that they adhere to our CSR Procurement Guidelines, and collect signatures from all business partners signifying their endorsement of our CSR Procurement Guidelines.

Constructing a sustainable supply chain is an important issue for realizing the growth of a corporate group and a sustainable society. The JVCKENWOOD Group is actively promoting sustainable procurement on a global basis, recognizing the importance of sustainability. In March 2022, we performed a major update of the SAQ based on the "Responsible Business Conduct Guidelines" published by the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA), an organization for the domestic electronics industry.

The new self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ) consists of eight items related to compliance with laws and regulations and respect for international norms, human rights and labor, safety and health, environmental conservation, fair trade and ethics, and the establishment of a management system. The form asks about the existence of policies, regulations, and systems and the implementation of specific initiatives.

We encourage business partners to actively submit reports and implement initiatives to reduce their impact, as part of our efforts to reduce our environmental and social impact across the supply chain as a whole.

In May 2025, we sent the new SAQ to all of our suppliers(including secondary business partners for specific products),and received responses from 100%.

We analyzed the responses and submitted written requests for improvement to major business partners that we consider to be at high risk and requiring improvement based particularly on their response to items that may be linked to material violations of laws and regulations related to human rights, health and safety, and the environment, "forced labor and child labor," which remained identified as an outstanding human rights issue again in FY2024, and information security, an area where we have been strengthening our countermeasures, as well as business continuity plan and suppliers, for which we see issues with progress. We are also promoting rectification measures, such as checking the status of improvement.

Special effort was made to quickly reduce risks in the supply chain by drafting the requests in the languages of the recipients.
We will study the potential for confirmations with on-site audits and changes to transactions if, despite ongoing requests for improvement, there is no improvement seen, or there are material violations of law. We will continue to take initiatives to avoid, prevent and mitigate risks in human rights and other areas of sustainability through ongoing efforts to seek and guide improvements.

As a new initiative since FY2024, we have begun collecting primary data by requesting that some business partners cooperate with CO2 emissions surveys, to enhance the accuracy of emissions calculations for Scope 3 Category 1. We plan to gradually expand the scope of our business partners, which will be included in the calculation.

The JVCKENWOOD Group implements supplier continuous evaluations and follow-ups in order to identify risks in its supply chain. We use evaluation results as one of the factors in selecting new suppliers and in determining whether or not to continue doing business with suppliers.

The JVCKENWOOD Group is strengthening communication with business partners in order to realize sustainable procurement together with them. At the annual Partners Meetings, we inform our suppliers of the JVCKENWOOD Group Procurement Policy, JVCKENWOOD Group Human Rights Policy, and JVCKENWOOD CSR Procurement Guidelines and explain specific CSR procurement initiatives, based on the understanding that building a sustainable supply chain is an important issue not only for corporate growth but also for the realization of a sustainable society.

We have prepared Japanese, English, and Chinese versions of the "JVCKENWOOD CSR Procurement Guidelines," and we ensure that our global business partners enhance their understand of CSR procurement.
We will continue to create opportunities for communication with business partners.
We also operate an educational program for business partners that mainly uses e-learning and focuses on various themes related to CSR as a whole and ESG. In addition to explaining specific procurement initiatives, we also focus on business partners capacity building by sharing good examples among business partners. We will continue working to strengthen the foundations of our supply chain through integrated activities with business partners.

The JVCKENWOOD Group spreads awareness among business partners of our basic environmental policy, "JK Green 2030," as well as the "JVCKENWOOD Group Procurement Policy" and the "CSR Procurement Guidelines," and we require cooperation with these policies from business partners. As part of this, we require cooperation with four important items related to the environment: "responses to climate change," "effective use of resources," "environmental conservation and management," and "conservation of biodiversity."

In addition to publicly disclosing our basic environmental policy "JK Green 2030" and our "CSR Procurement Guidelines" at all times on our corporate website, we also provide explanations to business operators as necessary when entering into transactions, etc., and create opportunities to train employees at business partners in partners meetings. In these ways, we take steps to ensure the further dissemination of our environmental policy.

The Company has declared that it will work to build new partnerships by promoting cooperation, co-existence, and co-prosperity with suppliers in the supply chain and businesses that are striving to create value.

Against the backdrop of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement adopted in 2015, which called for immediate action from the private sector to mitigate global environmental problems, such as climate change and ocean plastic pollution, the JVCKENWOOD Group is aiming to contribute to an environmentally friendly and sustainable society. As part of the efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of our products during their lifecycle, we developed a Green Procurement Guideline in 2008 to provide guidance on managing and sharing information on chemical substances throughout the supply chain. We also ask our suppliers to cooperate in the management of chemical substances contained in products and conduct self-assessment on green procurement to preferentially procure environmentally and human friendly products and components. Thus, we are promoting green procurement in an integrated supply chain where our Group and suppliers work together.

Based on the Green Procurement Guideline, we explain the JVCKENWOOD Group's policies and requirements on management and information sharing on chemical substances contained in products in its supply chain. Moreover, we ask our suppliers, whether new or existing, to complete the Green Procurement Assessment Form to check their compliance with the requirements. We evaluate our suppliers based on the answers submitted by them and provide feedback on assessment results and the demand for betterment. Through these efforts, we manage environmental risks and assist suppliers to promote chemical substance management.

To promote sustainable procurement on a global basis, JVCKENWOOD continues to work to establish a responsible supply chain and ensure responsible mineral sourcing based on its policy of not using any components or parts that may contain four minerals (tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold) from regions that finance or benefit armed groups, and source from Conflict Free Smelters (CFSs).

Significant human rights violations and environmental destruction by armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and surrounding countries have been broadly recognized as serious issues in the international community. While it has been noted that the minerals produced in this region finance or benefit armed groups, the U.S. Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd–Frank Act) names four minerals (tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold) produced and refined in this region as conflict minerals and requires companies to disclose information on the smelters and refiners that supply components and parts that contain these minerals. Since 2014, JVCKENWOOD has conducted a Conflict Minerals Survey on subject parts with the cooperation of our business partners. In addition to the four minerals above, from FY2025 we began EMRT^*1 surveys covering cobalt and mica. If the use of an RMI non-compliant smelter^*2 was discovered in the course of this survey work, we have requested the business partner to switch to an RMI-compliant smelter.

A proactive approach to conflict minerals is important for establishing a responsible supply chain. Due attention should be paid so that we will not become complicit in human rights abuses or other violations in the course of sourcing materials. The JVCKENWOOD Group will continue its group-wide efforts to address the issue of conflict minerals in collaboration with various other stakeholders, including public and private sector partners engaged in the establishment of responsible supply chains for minerals.

"The JVCKENWOOD Group participates in the CSR Committee of the Policy and Strategy Board of the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA). The CSR Committee is an organization that addresses issues common to the industry related to CSR, and conducts surveys, research, information dissemination, and makes external proposals from a professional CSR perspective.

As part of the CSR Committee's initiatives, a Responsible Supply Chain Working Group has been established to improve the efficiency of CSR procurement management, and the JVCKENWOOD Group serves as a member.

Within the working group, the JVCKENWOOD Group participates in a task force that formulates and maintains the ""Responsible Business Conduct Guidelines"" and the supplier SAQ based on the Guidelines, through which member companies share issues they face in building sustainable supply chains and consider solutions."

In the future, we will consider participation in such partnerships as the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) and utilization of global frameworks.

As an environmental initiative related to the supply chain, we are a corporate member of the Joint Article Management Promotion-consortium (JAMP). JAMP is an organization whose objective is to create and popularize concrete mechanisms for appropriately managing information on chemicals, etc., in articles (components, molded items, etc.), and smoothly disclosing and communicating it within the supply chain.

Among supply chain-related initiatives, particularly those related to the environment, JVCKENWOOD participates as a member of the Global Environmental Committee and the Environmental Laws and Regulations Expert Committee of the Japan Machinery Center for Trade and Investment (JMC). Regarding trends in environmental impact in the supply chain, the committee brings together information on trends in overseas product-related environmental laws and regulations, and exchanges opinions on the interpretations and responses of member companies.