Sustainability | GovernanceCorporate Ethics and Compliance
- Our Approach
- Compliance
- Help Lines
- Spreading Awareness of Corporate Ethics
- Preventing Discrimination & Harassment
Our Approach
The TDK Group’s top management takes the lead to ensure that all TDK Group directors, officers and employees are familiar with the Group’s Corporate Philosophy, the TDK Code of Conduct, and the TDK Charter of Corporate Behavior and that they are thoroughly aware of and committed to corporate ethics and compliance.
In addition, the TDK Group regularly monitors compliance with the TDK Code of Conduct and provides global annual training to employees, including e-learning and other educational activities relating to corporate ethics.
Furthermore, the TDK Group has built a global corporate ethics management structure centering on the Business Ethics Supervisory Committee, which regularly receives reports on TDK Group employees’ compliance with corporate ethics. In addition, the Business Ethics Supervisory Committee regularly reports on TDK Group compliance to the Board of Directors.
TDK Code of Conduct
The TDK Code of Conduct stipulates specific behavior guidelines for the TDK Group, and constituent officers and employees, to observe laws, regulations, social norms. Among them, items that should be shared and practiced by the TDK Group have been formulated as the TDK Charter of Corporate Behavior.
Compliance
Through a resolution of the Board of Directors, TDK appoints the Global Chief Compliance Officer from among the corporate officers and the GCCO heads the TDK Group Compliance Committee. Furthermore, the GCCO appoints Regional Chief Compliance Officers for four regions around the world in addition to Japan. Through these efforts, the TDK Group has further strengthened the company’s compliance structure in order to ensure that all employees act in accordance with compliance based on global common standards, while fostering corporate culture of integrity, fairness and transparency to meet the trust and expectations of customers and society.
In addition, the Compliance Committee assigns relevant functions to be in charge of compliance risk management related to their functions. The relevant functions are taking actions to resolve potential compliance risks relating to their functions, as well as adopting necessary preventive measures.
In Japan, the TDK Group also provides employees with an opportunity to periodically review their own behavior and motivates employees to act in accordance with TDK compliance standards by including a compliance and ethics related metric in personnel evaluations.
Helplines
The TDK Group has established structures to enable employees to anonymously make internal reports and consult regarding issues of corporate ethics through channels other than their regular work chain of command. Each Ethics Council has a consultation hotline, and internal helplines have been established on a regional basis for the direct collection of information and opinions relating to corporate ethics and other issues within the Group. In addition to the regular reporting routes within the Group, alternate reporting routes that provide access to outside law firms and other third parties have also been established in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. As a result, employees and others making reports can select the reporting route that they believed to be the most appropriate.
Reports received via the helplines are investigated. In the event of a violation of the Code of Conduct being confirmed, the parties concerned may be subject to penalties in accordance with the work rules and other internal regulations.
The TDK Code of Conduct Program stipulates the protection of informants so that they do not suffer any unfair treatment or disadvantages.
| Fiscal 2019 | 115 |
|---|---|
| Fiscal 2020 | 46 |
| Fiscal 2021 | 54 |
| Fiscal 2022 | 79 |
| Fiscal 2023 | 141 |
- The scope of figures includes the Ethics Councils of affiliates.
Spreading Awareness of Corporate Ethics
TDK provides every TDK Group employee with a copy of the TDK Code of Conduct Handbook and recommends them to carry it around with them. Employees can use the handbook as a guide in their individual business activities. We also endeavor to spread awareness of the Code of Conduct’s content through, for example, the display of posters.
Also, in order to deepen employees’ understanding of corporate ethics, TDK implements training for specific ranks of employees and e-learning for all employees, as well as lectures for management by responsible directors and outside speakers.
Preventing Discrimination & Harassment
TDK Code of Conduct clearly states that the TDK Group will not engage in any discrimination based on including, but not limited to, race, belief or gender, or any offensive or degrading conduct, such as corporal punishment, mental or physical violence, abusive language, sexual harassment, power harassment, or moral harassment, and will take measures to prevent unjust treatment and discrimination in the workplace.
The TDK Group companies have established policies and procedures, in accordance with the TDK Code of Conduct and national and local laws and regulations, that define and strictly prohibit discrimination and harassment. Based on the policies and procedures, the companies seek to provide an environment in which employees can consult with appropriate representatives regarding their concerns, and have set up mechanisms and reporting structures for employees to use to file complaints of discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Specifically, the TDK Group has established a global whistle-blowing mechanism that allows employees of the TDK Group to consult and report through internal and external helplines that are independent from the business lines. If Business Ethics Supervisory Committee, Ethics Councils or the relevant department investigates a report received through the helplines and finds that the TDK Code of Conduct has been violated, the Company will take
disciplinary action against the violator, while protecting the informant from any unfair treatment or disadvantage.
In addition, in order to promote appropriate conduct and prevent discrimination, harassment, unfair treatment and disadvantage from occurring, the companies provide training to employees and managers.
Business Ethics Supervisory Committee shall report on the execution and operation of the TDK Code of Conduct to the board of directors of TDK every quarter term.
TDK Corporation has established "Detailed Regulations on the Prevention of Harassment," which defines harassment and prohibited acts, and set up a harassment consultation desk in each workplace to provide an environment where employees can consult with appropriate representatives, including female counselors, regarding harassment. In addition, in an effort to prevent harassment from occurring, "Harassment Prevention Communication Training" is provided for managers to learn how to deepen communication while preventing harassment.
