Asahi Glass | With Business Partners

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With Business Partners

For the fulfillment of its CSR, AGC Group believes it essential to cooperate with business partners who are the members of the Group's supply chain. Based on this belief, we will press forward with CSR measures in cooperation with our business partners.

AGC Group Purchasing Policy

The AGC Group values the idea of the Group Vision "Look Beyond" and the AGC Group Charter of Corporate Behavior and will regulate our performances on purchasing which are explicitly stated in the following AGC Group Purchasing Policy.

1. Basic Purchasing Principle

Fair & equitable trade
Our procurement policy is to consistently search for innovative technologies, products and services with a "Fair" and "Equitable" manner globally.
Compliance to related laws & regulations, and pro-environmental behavior
The AGC Group will comply with the applicable laws and regulations of each country where our procurement takes place, and give due regard to safety and the environment.
Partnership
The AGC Group will establish a long-term, mutual prosperous partnership, based on our shared vision, to produce a better product with our business partners. To this end, we shall endeavor to keep close communication with our business partners to build and enhance our trusting relationship.
Protection of information, intellectual property and other assets
The AGC Group will properly manage and protect the proprietary information, intellectual property and assets of our business partners while procuring goods and services.

2. Criteria for Selecting Business Partners

The AGC Group will apply key criteria to evaluate and select business partners, as follows.

Sound management, steady supply and flexibility to match with the fluctuating demand.
Appropriate quality, pricing, delivery data punctuality and technical service level.

3. Expectation of Business Partners

The AGC Group strives to be a company trusted by all its stakeholders, a company that meets the expectations of the world business community to grow and develop responsibility, and a company that significantly contributes to a healthier global society.
Essentially, CSR activities are performed on voluntary basis initiated by each individual company. However, for the AGC Group, to pursue the CSR policy, it is imperative for all the supply-chain linked companies to pursue their individual CSR activities as well. Accordingly, to enable us to jointly work with our business partners, we kindly ask our partners to understand our policy and to cooperate.

The factors related with our business partners are,

Concentrate to supply products and services with good quality, considering safety & environment and compliance to laws & regulations of each country.
Secure and proper managing of proprietary information and intellectual property.
Not to be engaged to forced labor or child labor and never tolerate infringements of human rights.
Make efforts to environment preservation and ensuring safety and security.
Maintain adequate level of occupational health and safety.

Ensuring Fair Purchasing Practices

In 2004 Asahi Glass adopted an ombudsman system for purchasing and has since been implementing the system to ensure transparency in its procurement activities and prevent misconduct. Under this system, business partners are able to report any problems concerning deals with AGC Group companies in writing to the General Manager of the Purchase and Logistics Center of Asahi Glass. We strictly respect the confidentiality of our business partners who make such reports and promptly implement measures to solve any identified problems.
In addition, we formulated the AGC Group Purchasing Policy in 2009 and have since been raising the awareness of the policy among Group companies. Moreover, we ask our business partners to support us in conducting purchasing activities in line with this policy.

Topic
Conducting a Satisfaction Survey to Improve the Relations of Trust with Business Partners

Questionnaire targeting business partners

From October to November 2010, Asahi Glass conducted a questionnaire survey among its approximately 200 major business partners to measure their levels of satisfaction with the company. The survey, which was started in fiscal 2008, is designed to help us maintain and improve the relations of trust with respondents and develop together as partners who aim to manufacture better products.
The survey results indicate that we were able to make improvements reflecting the results from previous survey, to our business attitude toward and communications with our business partners. From respondents, however, we have also received requests for closer communications and better treatment as well as proposals that will be beneficial to both sides. We sincerely accepted the results and will use them for future improvement.

Conference and Presentation of Letters of Thanks for Business Partners

A commemorative photo with business partners who received letters of thanks

AGC Group has been holding an annual conference for business partners since 1997, wanting to share information with the partners for the enhancement of business operations across its supply chain. The FY2010 conference was attended by about 250 people from companies engaged in a range of industries. At the event, CEO Ishimura explained the Group's management policy Grow Beyond to help participants understand the Group's business strategies. He also encouraged them to take the initiative in suggesting new products and businesses for their mutual customers. Subsequently, letters of thanks were awarded to five companies in recognition of their special cooperation with AGC Group.

Legal Employment of Contract/Temporary Workers

Contract workers and temporary workers dispatched from employment agencies play an important role in the many businesses of the AGC Group. In light of this, Asahi Glass formulated the inhouse guidelines for the proper treatment of these workers and held briefing sessions at each of its plants to ensure compliance with the guidelines. Moreover, we have been providing education to employees and managers in charge on the so-called cooling-off period*1 and 26 designated jobs*2.

*1 Period during which the dispatch of workers who have been engaged in the same job at the same site need to be suspended
*2 Jobs without limitations on the length of the dispatch period.

Compliance with the Act against Delay in Payment of Subcontract Proceeds, Etc., to Subcontractors

The AGC Group checks the details of agreements with subcontractors and is educating employees and managers in charge of subcontractor matters to comply with the Act, in order to ensure fair trade with subcontractors. In fiscal 2010, we expanded the target of e-learning to include employees of Group companies.

Cooperation with Business Partners

Training program for cooperating companies

The AGC Group conducts its business in cooperation with a large number of business partners, and implements a range of measures with the entire supply chain.
Cooperating with our business partners is important to ensure occupational health and safety. Accordingly we hold lectures on health and safety, and invite external speakers to participate and organize tours to the plants of other companies with excellent safety records jointly with the business partners. In fiscal 2010, employees of business partners also participated in our safety promotion activities.
For contract workers and temporary workers dispatched from employment agencies, we hold seminars jointly with business partners to ensure the legal employment of these workers. Specifically, we introduce the AGC Group's measures and invite external experts to present lectures to help the participants deepen their understanding of the issues at hand.
We also hold seminars for business partners, with a view to fostering quality manufacturing and personal growth throughout the supply chain.

Voice
Given an Opportunity to Identify a Possible Field of Contribution

Mr. Haruyuki Sugita
Vuteq Corporation

In the training seminar held in fiscal 2010, I was able to obtain meaningful information about a range of fields, including the relationship between mechanisms of human errors (caused by unsafe behaviors) and safety, the direction of the machinery and equipment safety on which the AGC Group was focusing, and points to remember in regard to mental health issues and labor-related laws. Many of these topics are related to the problems we face in the course of our daily operations as a business partner of the Group. The seminar provided us with tips to solve these problems and was indeed very useful. At the event with the heads of the Group's In-house Companies/SBU, I was able to learn about each division's situation and future management policies in-depth. I think it has provided us with a good opportunity to identify fields in which we can make more contributions to the Group as a business partner.

Green Procurement

AGC Group is implementing its procurement criteria, which now includes environmental friendliness as one of the items, eventually to deliver environmentally friendly products to customers. We operate in a range of fields, including glass, electronics, and chemicals in which we deal with materials that have different properties. In view of this fact, we have established green procurement guidelines for each of our In-house Companies/SBUs under "AGC Group Integrated Green Procurement Guideline." Based on these guidelines we manage the procurement of materials in a manner that is suitable for them in cooperation with our business partners.
In fiscal 2010, we checked how green procurement was conducted by our business partners and asked them to cooperate in our procurement activities.

The Integrated Green Procurement Guideline(Corporate Information)

The Glass Company: Green procurement

The main materials for glass are silica sand and soda ash. Silica sand is imported mainly from Australia and soda ash is mainly from the US. We manage the procurement based on AGC Group's Integrated Green Procurement Guideline.
As for the materials and parts for automotive glass, we ask our suppliers to submit data to check that substances of environmental concern such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium are not contained.

The Electronics Company: Green procurement

AGC Electronics Company manages the procurement of materials for display parts in accordance with AGC Group's Integrated Green Procurement Guideline. As for the materials for electronics parts which amount to more than 1,000 types, we have independently set the Green Procurement Guidelines and implement green procurement measures for each of our product groups.

The Chemicals Company: Green procurement

We manage our procurement based on AGC Group's Integrated Green Procurement Guideline and also with our own guidelines for the management of chemical substances, in order to comply with related regulations such as PRTR.

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