Prioritizing integrity as we engage in work
- Compliance Promotion
- Enhanced Data Privacy and Cybersecurity
- Enhanced Risk Management
- Enhanced Corporate governance
Compliance Promotion
At Dentsu Inc., the departments in charge of compliance formulate rules, prepare manuals, and conduct training programs to ensure that employees are thoroughly aware of compliance requirements.
We have set up two dedicated, internal contact points for the reporting of legal and regulatory violations within the Company. One is Compliance Line, for the reporting of internal violations; the other is the free, confidential SpeakUP portal, which is accessible around the clock.
In addition, there is an external contact point with a law office, while an operation and information management system ensures that no one who consults or reports is subject to disadvantages.
Further, to prevent fraud, Dentsu headquarters and branch offices conduct e-learning compliance training to raise employee awareness.
In addition, a compliance website is available to Group companies on the Company intranet. The site is designed to promote understanding of compliance. Further, compliance training is conducted monthly for our career employees to foster compliance awareness.
In FY2012, consultations related to harassment and related issues were centralized in the Harassment Consultation Section.
Related Information
Basic Policy on the Rejection of Antisocial Forces
Dentsu and all Dentsu Group companies established the 'Basic Policy on the Rejection of Organized Crime Groups and Other Antisocial Forces' articulating the determination of Dentsu and Dentsu Group companies to take a firm stand against antisocial forces. The Company also calls on business partners to take the same action.
Basic Policy on the Rejection of Boryokudan (organized crime groups) and Other Antisocial Forces
Dentsu and all Dentsu Group companies see it as the social responsibility of corporations to take a firm stand to sever relationships with and reject Boryokudan (organized crime groups) and other antisocial forces that threaten social order and safety. To this end, Dentsu has formulated and complies with the following 'Basic Policy on the Rejection of Boryokudan and Other Antisocial Forces'.
- We will sever any relationship with Boryokudan and other antisocial forces.
- We will resolutely oppose unwarranted demands from Boryokudan and other antisocial forces.
- We will not conduct transactions such as the provision of funds or favors to Boryokudan and other antisocial forces.
- We will take systematic and appropriate response to Boryokudan and other antisocial forces through the establishment of internal structures as well as through cooperation with police, the National Center for the Elimination of Boryokudan, attorneys and others.
Enhanced Data Privacy and Cybersecurity
Development of an Information Security Management System
At Dentsu Inc., to protect important information, including personal information held within the Dentsu Group or received from clients, in addition to formulating the Dentsu Group Basic Policy for Information Security, a system for strictly managing information security was created with dentsu Japan Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at the top.
The Dentsu Head Office in Tokyo received BS 7799-Part 2:2002 certification for information management security, the predecessor of ISO/IEC 27001:2005, in March 2003. This was expanded to the entire Company when the Kansai and Chubu offices received the same certification in April 2005. In 2015, Dentsu went on to implement ISO/IEC27001:2013 and JIS Q 27001:2014, the international standards for information security management system (ISMS).
Dentsu strives to implement stringent information security management through such measures for the entire Dentsu Group to flexibly respond to the ever-changing and increasingly sophisticated environment of information and communication technology.
Dentsu Group Basic Policy for Information Security
All of the companies in the Dentsu Group will address information security management as a unified group. In all of our business areas, the Dentsu Group will address information security management in order to protect important information held by our group.
1. Compliance with Laws | Based on requests from our stakeholders, including clients and other business partners, we will properly address information security management to ensure compliance with the relevant laws and regulations. In particular, personal information will be managed in a strict manner. |
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2. Strict Information Management | We will manage information strictly to prevent any leakage, loss, damage or misuse of information such as confidential client information and personal information. We will share such business information only among employees and group companies with the appropriate clearances. In selecting our subcontractors, we will fully consider how they are addressing information security. |
3. Maintaining & Improving Achievement Level | We will maintain the current security level which we have already achieved and improve it through our PDCA cycle activities. We will also enlighten and educate all of our employees, from executives downward, about information security so that they can acquire the appropriate knowledge and judgment. |
4. Adaptation to Environmental Changes | We will flexibly adapt to the environmental changes in our group's business areas, information assets handled by our group, and the information and communication technology (ICT) field, and will update our information security management system and rules accordingly. |
Enhanced Risk Management
Confirming Safety in Emergencies
Reflecting its duty to observe safety precautions and business continuity planning in the event of an emergency, dentsu has a system in place that promptly confirms the safety of employees overseas and in Japan. Whether staff are alive, the extent of their injuries, and whether they can be contacted are ascertained through the system.
Emergencies include earthquakes, windstorms, floods, infectious diseases, armed conflicts, and large-scale accidents that occur where the Group has offices, overseas and in Japan.
Safety confirmation is conducted mainly through the use of a dedicated system that simultaneously sends safety confirmation messages to contact points (email addresses and telephone numbers) registered in advance by employees, and collects safety information received in reply.
Safety confirmations are immediately reported to management through the department in charge, and a secretariat for business continuity is set up to conduct emergency activities.
Enhanced Corporate governance
Collaboration with our suppliers
The corporate philosophy (Northstar) of the Dentsu Group Inc. and dentsu companies is expressed as the Purpose of “an invitation to the never before.” as well as The Why/What/How, and the Group’s eight values, known as The 8 Ways. Further, as the foundation on which the Northstar is built, the Dentsu Group Code of Conduct outlines the behavior to which all members of the Group must adhere.
Since laying forth our B2B2S (Business to Business to Society) management policy in 2022, we have been collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders (including clients, suppliers, shareholders, employees, business partners, NPOs/NGOs, countries/governments, and local communities) to achieve a future in which society, companies, and consumers can all thrive together.
To support these undertakings, we established our Corporate Governance Policy (revised in March 2024) and Dentsu Group Code of Conduct (revised in 2021), defining the ethical standards that apply to all of our officers and employees. These steps are designed to ensure that we fulfill our responsibilities to all stakeholders as we continue to pursue our business.
Based on the Group’s activities, Dentsu Inc. has adopted the dJ Procurement Guidelines formulated by dentsu Japan. They serve as guidelines to further clarify our collaboration with suppliers who are our business partners, and we have designated them the Dentsu Procurement Guidelines.
In addition, the Company is requesting that our suppliers comply with said Policy and Guidelines and sign our Basic Agreement on Outsourcing Business.
Dentsu Inc. has also set up a Partner Hotline to enable our suppliers to report any violations by Dentsu directors or employees that may come to light in the course of business, so as to identify and deal with any regulatory compliance violations. Through these actions, we hope to achieve more effective collaboration with our suppliers.
In the area of procurement, Dentsu Inc. has adopted the dentsu Japan Procurement Guidelines (henceforth the Dentsu Procurement Guidelines.)
dentsu Japan Procurement Guidelines
Objectives
Through collaboration with its suppliers, dentsu Japan aims to address industry-wide issues and to build a sustainable supply chain that contributes to the advancement of both our clients and society.
To that end, we have formulated the dentsu Japan Procurement Guidelines, which are conditions that each company in our supply chain must meet. Our procurement activities are open to both domestic and international parties, but our selection of suppliers is subject to compliance with the dentsu Japan Procurement Guidelines.
Dialogue with suppliers
We will deepen communication with suppliers through ongoing dialogue, and work to achieve mutual understanding regarding the guidelines and related operations.
Improvement, support, corrective measures
We will monitor our suppliers to ascertain their compliance with the dentsu Japan Procurement Guidelines. Based on that monitoring, we will confirm the specific state of activities at our suppliers and provide support for corrective and/or improvement measures as necessary.
If, even after providing such support, we find that a supplier still fails to comply with our guidelines, we will reconsider continuing to deal with the supplier.
Dentsu Japan will conduct fair business activities, in accordance with the Dentsu Group Code of Conduct, as well as share these guidelines with its suppliers with a view to achieving sustainable growth.
1. Corporate governance
- The Company shall set up a system according to which it conducts sound corporate management and fulfills its social responsibilities
- The Company shall rapidly respond to accidents and emergencies; promptly ensure a recurrence is prevented; disclose relevant information; and be fully accountable to stakeholders
- Monitoring systems, such as a reporting desk, shall be set up for employees who are victims of discrimination or harassment, and witnesses of employee misconduct
2. Respect for human rights
- In the hiring and treatment of employees, compliance is required with relevant laws and regulations, while international standards are to be respected
- In the area of human rights, the Company shall respect diversity and foster a fair corporate culture, guaranteeing minimum wages and ensuring that labor management does not permit forced labor, child labor, or harassment
- Discriminatory expressions and actions shall not be used or proposed in advertisements, other creative work, or in the provision of services
- The Dentsu Group Human Rights Policy shall be understood and observed
3. Proper work environment
- Every effort shall be made to create an accident-free workplace and work environment, in which all employees are able to work energetically and enjoy good health
- The right of employees to organize shall be recognized, and the right to collective bargaining shall be respected as a means of achieving labor–management discussions on issues such as working conditions and wage levels
4. Environmental protection
- By reducing CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, efforts shall be made to ensure that business activities have less of an environmental impact, that biodiversity is conserved, and that measures are taken to achieve a sustainable society
5. Fair business practices
- Efforts shall be made to comply with domestic and international laws and regulations, and to conduct fair transactions that take business practices into consideration
- No transactions shall be undertaken with antisocial individuals or organizations; involving bribery for the purpose of obtaining or maintaining undue benefits or preferential treatment; or to give/receive benefits, monetary or otherwise, to/from any interested party
- Intellectual and industrial property rights shall be respected, and the rights and interests of third parties shall not be infringed during planning or in the drawing up of proposals
- Systematic, human, technical, and physical safety management mechanisms for information security shall be established to prevent the unauthorized possession, use, disclosure, or leaking of confidential information—including personal information—obtained or learned in the course of business transactions
- Business processes shall be properly managed, with delivery made possible at prices specified and within delivery dates determined through rational and appropriate processes
6. Resolving consumer issues
- In the conduct of business, efforts shall be made to provide consumers with proper information, take safety into consideration, and resolve consumer issues
7. Contributing to community development
- In the conduct of business, initiatives shall be undertaken to help find solutions to urgent social issues and contribute to local community development
Respect for Laws and Regulations and Various Rights in Business Activities
In order to maintain fair business practices in communications activities, compliance with various laws and regulations is expected and Dentsu aims for a corporate stance that takes initiative and implements best practices for the industry in order to maintain its stakeholders' and society's trust. Dentsu Inc. handles tax matters in accordance with the Group Tax Mission Statement and Strategy of Dentsu Group Inc.