DE&I Management
Material Issue
DE＆I
Management information
Relevance to our business
As a corporate group operating globally, the Fuji Oil Group has a significant social responsibility to respect the diversity of our employees' values and attributes. Moreover, making the most of the strengths of a diverse range of employees in management is vital to ensuring our competitiveness and improving our corporate value. In recent years, the variety of work style choices has been increasing and there are now many different ways to contribute to the company. We strive to remove the barriers experienced by people from disadvantaged communities and to provide the opportunities and conditions that empower everyone to succeed. We promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) in the management of our business so that we can harness the power of diverse human resources and build a corporate culture where everyone feels that they belong and that their voice is valuable.
Basic approach
The Fuji Oil Group Management Philosophy is the basic guiding principle and states that “we will respect the diversity and individuality of Fuji Oil Group employees.” This exemplifies our efforts to create fulfilling workplaces free from discrimination and harassment, to respect the basic human rights, diversity, personality and individuality of everyone who works with us, and our approach to proper and fair evaluation of employee efforts and achievements.
Based on this principle, we formulated the Fuji Oil Group Diversity Vision in May 2020. As a forerunner to this vision, Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. established its Basic Diversity Policy in FY2015. Since our employees are the source of sustainable social value and better corporate value, we strive to fully leverage their diverse values and individualities. We open opportunities to posts and projects widely, regardless of nationality, gender or age, and objectively evaluate performance and potential skills to make the most of our diverse human resources.
Fuji Oil Group Diversity Vision
Enjoy diversity
Diverse human resources are a source of inspiration and innovation. We will contribute to society by “Work for people” and enjoying the synergy among us. In doing so, we will provide diverse people worldwide with deliciousness and health in a variety of food products.
Focus areas to promote diversity
On the Diversity Vision, the Fuji Oil Group defined gender, nationality, generation, specialization and experience as focus areas to promote diversity. We foresee awareness and system reforms to enable all our employees to use their diverse backgrounds and individuality as their strengths.
Fuji Oil Basic Diversity Policy
We will accelerate the creation and delivery of new value to society by seeking talented individuals from diverse backgrounds and by fostering a corporate culture, where everyone can demonstrate their abilities to the fullest.
- Pay attention to diversity in personnel composition at all stages of employment, including: recruitment, training and job assignment/promotion.
- Implement flexible personnel systems so that diverse human resources can fully demonstrate their abilities.
- Use diverse human resources in a strategic manner, thereby contributing to society and company growth.
Management system
The Global HR Group at Fuji Oil Holdings Inc. and the Human Resource and Administration Division at Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. oversee initiatives in this area. The Sustainability Committee,*1 an advisory body to the Board of Directors, monitors the progress and results of initiatives as a material ESG issue.*2
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*1 https://www.fujioilholdings.com/en/sustainability/sustainability_management/
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*2 https://www.fujioilholdings.com/en/sustainability/materiality/
Management system
Goals / Results
At least 90% complete At least 60% complete Less than 60% complete
| FY2022 Goals | FY2022 Results | Self-assessment |
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| Increase diversity on executive teams | ＜Group-wide＞ Increased diversity of the Management Committee Meeting (with foreign nationals and women) from 42% (as of April 1, 2022) to 45% (as of April 1, 2023) ＜Japan＞ Actively appointed women as outside directors and outside corporate auditors at Group companies in Japan, to foster female executive managers by building engagement and participation in management. Increased percentage of women from 9% (as of April 1, 2022) to 13% (as of April 1, 2023) |
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| Develop the next generation of executive talent | ＜Group-wide＞ ＜Japan＞
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| Develop global talent through our global trainee program | Sent two trainees from Japan on international assignments
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| Japan: Encourage diverse work styles |
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| Japan: Ensure equity |
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| Japan: Support long-term, meaningful employment of people with disabilities | Started regular consultations with occupational physicians (once a year) to provide a support system for long-term employment | |
| Outside Japan: Embed DE&I into company culture | ＜Blommer Chocolate Company (U.S.)＞ Recruited volunteers throughout the organization and established a DE&I Committee undertaking the following activities
＜Harald Indústria e Comércio de Alimentos Ltda (Brazil)＞ Has been undertaking long-term DE&I actions to create a workplace with inclusive leadership, equality, and equitable opportunities free of prejudice and discrimination
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| Outside Japan: Promote cultural reforms | ＜China＞
＜Fuji Vegetable Oil, Inc. (U.S.)＞
＜Southeast Asia＞ ＜Europe＞ |
Analysis
To foster the next generation of executive talent, our current executive team held comprehensive discussions to approach development strategically based on their future vision of the Fuji Oil Group. We aim to improve executive diversity going forward.
In April FY2022, to promote active careers for older employees, we fully revised our contracted reemployment program and changed the program to allow for non-fulltime work. In accordance with the revised program, we started a career design training course for employees approaching the retirement age of 60, so that they can design their post-retirement financial plan, work style and lifestyle, and make the necessary preparations. We plan to expand the training course and make it available to a wider range of ages from FY2023.
Roadmap
As shown below, we drew a roadmap for our achievement of diversity as a source of innovation supporting our corporate management and contribution to society by creating the future of delicious and healthy food. Since FY1999, the Fuji Oil Group has promoted diversity and enhanced Group-wide systems and measures to enable our employees to continue pursuing their career goals. In the new phase, started in FY2020, we are practicing diversity in each department, with the strong commitment of management executives.
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* FDM: Fuji Diversity Management
Next step
We recognize that the Group-wide efforts we have carried out so far have room for improvement. To address this issue, we set the following goals for FY2023.
Group-wide
- Increase diversity on executive teams
- Develop the next generation of executive talent
- Develop global talent through our global trainee program
Japan
- Encourage diverse work styles
- Ensure equity
- Support long-term, meaningful employment of people with disabilities
Outside Japan
- Embed DE&I into company culture
- Promote cultural reforms
FDM 3.0 measures
Specific initiatives
Initiatives at Fuji Oil Co., Ltd.
Supporting continued active career development
Active careers for older employees
As one of the main pillars of our diversity management for the current fiscal year, we focused on drawing out the potential of the older employee class, which all employees will eventually belong to. In FY2021, we reviewed our contracted reemployment program to offer more choices to our employees. The revised system went into effect in April 2022. We also expanded our career development education for employees approaching the retirement age of 60, in line with the philosophy of the new system and as part of our efforts to facilitate active career development in every working life stage.
Female employees’ continued career development in balance with private life
At Fuji Oil Co., Ltd., the number of female employees taking parental leave has increased since the Act on Childcare Leave came into effect in 1992. On the other hand, many female employees see career continuity after parental leave as challenging. In FY2014 we drastically changed our way of supporting female employees. We adopted various new systems to support female employees who aim to continue actively developing their careers after life events.
In FY2014, we started conducting an interview with three parties: the parenting employee, their supervisor and their partner. It has helped form circles of supporters for parenting employees at home and in the workplace, and has been instrumental in changing the awareness of parenting employees themselves. At present, we offer the following assistance program.
＜Pregnancy＞
- Consultation service for physical health issues during pregnancy
- Interview before parental leave
＜Maternity leave＞
- Guaranteed bonus (20%)
- Parental leave (can be taken until the end of the first April after the child turns two)
- Support for returning to work through a parenting concierge service
- Continued subsidy for distance learning
＜Returning to work＞
- Provision of short hours of work for parenting employees taking care of a child up to the first grade of elementary school
- Babysitter subsidy
- Use of telework system or flextime system without core time
We also make efforts to encourage male employees to participate in childrearing. For example, we distribute materials explaining the parental leave system to male employees when their partner has given birth. This has resulted in 59% of eligible male employees taking parental leave (averaging 21 days) in FY2022. The length of leave taken has also increased in recent years, with six in 32 employees taking more than a month off in FY2022. We will work on promoting understanding of the program among managers and strive to improve the work environment, in order to further encourage all our employees to make use of the parental leave regardless of employment status or gender.
Ensuring equity
Managers’ attitude reform
The key to ensuring equal opportunity is held by managers who play a central role in human resource development. Since FY2019, we have enhanced the education program focusing on human resource development and diversity management for all managers at Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. and Fuji Oil Holdings Inc.
In FY2022, we conducted training to enhance the management skills of all supervising managers working at Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. and Fuji Oil Holdings Inc. Under the theme of practicing goal-based management, managers learned comprehensively about the essence of goals and about day-to-day management to achieve these goals. They also participated in small group discussions on appropriate behavioral assessment, based on actual case studies. From FY2023, we plan to conduct more practical training to bring about changes in the attitudes of managers.
Promotion of personnel diversity
Support for the active participation of women
In FY1999, the top management of the Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. adopted the policy of supporting the active participation of women. Full-scale initiatives were launched to pursue the policy under the newly established Committee for Women's Empowerment. As of April 2023, the percentage of women in managerial positions at Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. and Fuji Oil Holdings Inc. is 12%. Moving forward, we recognize the need for a greater focus on equal opportunity in recruitment and training. In the five years through FY2023, women have accounted for 44% of new graduates hired into management-track positions.* We also ensure a higher level of fairness in human resource development that is free of gender discrimination in work assignments, on-the-job trainings, and off-the-job-trainings.
Furthermore, in FY2016, the CEO of Fuji Oil Holdings Inc. endorsed the Declaration on Action by a Group of Male Leaders Who Will Create a Society in Which Women Shine, which was formed under the initiative of Japan's Cabinet Office. The CEO has been sending out messages to employees and society, regarding the importance of diversity in management. In FY2022, at the request of female employees, we held a health seminar on menopause and andropause given by a visiting lecturer and an occupational physician, which was attended by more than 100 people. We will continue to make plans for measures to promote women's active participation in FY2023.
- * One of two hiring categories commonly used by Japanese companies. The other is a non- career track for administrative support roles.
Support for the active participation of people with disabilities
Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. has been working on employing people with disabilities. Since FY2015, we have been focusing on creating workplace environments where they can play active roles. To do so, we collaborate with local schools, offer hands-on work experience programs, and exchange information with leading companies in this field. Going back to the fundamental principle of providing employees with opportunities to play an active role while taking into consideration their characteristics has also changed the attitude of managers in charge of training.
In FY2022, we continued to create multiple positions for people with disabilities and recruited two employees through individual interviews at a local public employment service agency. Since FY2022, we have also provided regular consultations with occupational physicians in an effort to create a comfortable workplace for them. As of April 1, 2023, we have 31 persons with disabilities under our employment. Although we have not yet reached the statutory employment rate, we plan to further intensify our recruitment efforts in FY2023.
Promoting non-regular employees to regular employees
The Group conducts a test once a year for highly motivated non-regular employees wishing to become regular employees. In FY2022, ten non-regular employees have passed the test. We will continue to actively promote talented and highly motivated individuals to regular employee status through this system.
Work style reform
At Fuji Oil Co., Ltd., in FY2016 we launched the Creative Work Project to promote work style reform, which is essential for achieving diversity. Aiming to reduce the total work hours by raising productivity and improving work-life balance, we have implemented four reform initiatives over the roughly five years through April 2022: attitude reform, operational reform, system reform and workplace reform.
As part of the reform, we have been exploring new work style possibilities. For example, since FY2017 we have assigned some employees to telework on a trial basis and introduced a satellite office to further develop our telework system. We also facilitated active communication and promoted paperless operations by introducing robotic process automation (RPA), digitizing application procedures, and actively using video conference systems. We will use IT effectively to firmly establish a system that allows employees to produce results regardless of time and place of work. In FY2022, around half of all direct employees used our telework system.
Global DE&I management
Each company in the Fuji Oil Group operates within a unique regional context and has a unique history and business characteristics. For this reason, in FY2022 we appointed a new person to be in charge of advancing DE&I in each region or company. They identify DE&I-related issues in their locale and set targets and propose measures to address them. We also set up a process in which the measures they propose are reviewed and monitored by the Sustainability Committee. Rather than setting targets that apply uniformly to all Group companies, this program will help us strengthen DE&I management across the Group by empowering each region or company to carry out their own DE&I initiatives in the spirit of the Fuji Oil Group Management Philosophy.
External recognition
By the end of June 2023, we received the following external recognition for our diversity initiatives:
Fuji Oil Co., Ltd.
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August 2017
Obtained “Platinum Kurumin” certification from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
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November 2022
Maintained accreditation from the Osaka City Mayor as a Leading Company in Women's Participation in Osaka City
Harald Indústria e Comércio de Alimentos Ltda (Brazil)
Received the following two accreditations at the company ranking for best workplaces by the Great Place to Work Institute
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November 2022
Certification in Brazil's Industrial Sector (third consecutive year)
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May 2023
Certification in Regional Sector/Barueri City (fifth consecutive year)
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* External Recognition
https://www.fujioilholdings.com/en/sustainability/evaluation/