Based on the Business Philosophy, which has been passed down for 400 years since the founding of Sumitomo in the 17th century and forms the core of the Sumitomo Corporation Group, the Sumitomo Corporation Group has established Management Principles and Activity Guidelines as a basis for value judgment.
The basis for the Sumitomo Corporation Group’s compliance is to win the trust of society by practicing the Activity Guidelines that state “to comply with laws and regulations while maintaining the highest ethical standards.”
Accordingly, we follow our principles of “Giving First Priority to Compliance,” which means that compliance takes priority over all activities of the Group and that we must never violate compliance as a result of giving priority to the pursuit of profit, and “Reporting Compliance Issues Immediately” or “Immediate Report,” which means, in the event of a compliance problem, employees must report the situation without delay to their line manager, including the management level personnel, or to the relevant department of the Corporate Group.
In March 2019, the Sumitomo Corporation Group Compliance Policy was established as guidelines applicable throughout the Group.
Our company is committed to thorough and continuous compliance based on this Policy, which aligns with the traditional compliance guidelines.
To respond to compliance issues more flexibly, we have a compliance management organization in place comprising the president and CEO as the chief compliance officer, the heads from the Corporate Group, branch office managers, and business unit managers, to consider measures suitable to the conditions of the Company comprehensively.
We will continue to actively develop systems to ensure “Giving First Priority to Compliance” at the Company.
The Speak Up System is a system that allows employees to directly report to the Compliance Committee or other relevant parties when a compliance-related issue arises.
The reporters and the content of reports are strictly kept confidential, and reporters are guaranteed that they will not be treated adversely because of the report.
In the Speak Up System, all employees of the Company, including officers, can report compliance issues by contacting the Compliance Committee of the Company, the Secretariat of the Sumitomo Corporation Compliance Committee, or designated lawyers.
