Promotion of Sustainable Procurement

The Fundamental Policy for Sustainable Procurement

We strongly believe that “Good products begin with good ingredients”. However, in addition to the focus on quality, we must also examine the impact on the environment and human rights caused by our products. Together with our suppliers, we analyse the impact of our products and work to increase sustainability while sourcing quality raw materials.

  • 1. We will conduct all trade in compliance with the law and in conformity with international rules and norms while taking strong measures against corrupt practices.
  • 2. We will engage in fair and ethical trade and use appropriate procedures in managing confidential information and intellectual property.
  • 3. We will protect human rights and refrain from discriminatory language or conduct, inhumane treatment, or any involvement in human-rights abuses.
  • 4. We will respect the labor rights of employees, adopting sound labor practices and providing a safe and clean work environment.
  • 5. We will work to prevent pollution and environmental degradation at the local and global levels through the sustainable use of resources.
  • 6. We will ensure sustainable access to safe, high quality raw materials, management will also take into account ecological impacts and animal welfare.
  • 7. We will contribute actively to support the sustainability of the local communities where our ingredients are produced.
  • 8. We will encourage our suppliers to adopt the foregoing policies.
  • 9. We will report publicly on the progress of the foregoing policies as appropriate.

Kewpie Group Supplier Guidelines

To realize the Kewpie Group's Fundamental Policy for Sustainable Procurement, we have established the Kewpie Group's Supplier Guidelines for our valued suppliers (i.e., all suppliers including our business partners). With these guidelines, we aim to achieve sustainable procurement and shared prosperity with our suppliers by resolving issues in the supply chain based on mutual understanding.

Sustainable Procurement of Eggs

Basic Policy

Eggs are one of the key ingredients for our various products including mayonnaise and processed egg products in Kewpie Group. We recognize that quality and influence on environment of eggs, concern on human rights and animal welfare for laying hens are critical challenges.
We, Kewpie Group are making efforts to build cooperation with domestic egg producers by hearing their opinions and conveying our customers' feedbacks to lead mutual growth and development.
Besides, we keep trying to enhance the value of eggs in our value chain including our customers through our products and service, continuously making progress the initiatives for lowering environmental loads on eggs, as a leading company of eggs.
Furthermore, we actively join the communications and initiatives with government committees, academic experts and advisers as well as supply chain partners including egg producers to increase the sustainability of egg-related industries.

Activities

Exchanging the quality specification agreement with our shell egg suppliers as well as visiting their facility in organized way to share our fundamental policy, we are working on the improvements together.
Additionally, by maximizing the excellent nutritional balance of eggs and enhancing the functions to construct various foods as well as "Contribution for Food and Health" and "Studies Against the Egg Allergy", we are working on the initiatives to solve social agendas regarding foods.

We also working on sustainability lowering global environment load by effectively utilizing eggs without waste. For children, we provide dietary educations to deliver the excellence of eggs.

Sustainable Procurement of Vegetables

The Kewpie Group offers salads and delicatessen foods made mostly from vegetable ingredients grown in Japan. We therefore consider the procurement of vegetable ingredients crucial to business continuity. Going forward, we will continue to communicate closely with producers to achieve the sustainable procurement of vegetables for the Kewpie Group and the continued growth and development of the producers.

Activities

Establishment of Recycling-Oriented Agriculture

Salad Club, Inc. is working to get our contracted farmers to utilize unused vegetable leaves, cores, and other unused parts generated at its seven directly managed plants during the production of packaged salads as compost and animal feed.
Contract farmers also benefit from the availability of inexpensive domestically produced compost, and the use of organic compost minimizes the environmental impact of their farming activities. By growing vegetables using compost made from unused portions of vegetables and producing products from them, we can build circular processes that do not waste resources, resulting in zero vegetable waste.

Spreading compost at contracted production sites

Production Awards by the Salad Club

Based on face-to-face interactions with growers, vegetables used in the Salad Club are sourced through “contract purchases” with approximately 400 farms around the country. “Contract purchases” are not just ways to securely source at set prices, but also allows growers to make strategic investments based on a steady income source.
As part of sourcing raw materials safety and reliability, employees from factories and ingredients teams visit farm regularly. Growers are also invited to join factory tours and we proactively work to connect with growers by supporting harvests, providing factory training, and holding barbeques.
Every April, we hold the Grower of Salad Club, an award ceremony to show our appreciation for contracted growers. We evaluate the quality of our primary raw materials and give awards like the Grand Prize, the Award for Excellence, and the Special Award (winners are posted in the Press Release section on the Salad Club website).
We are also building a circular agriculture system by partnering with the producers. We create feeds and fertilizers at our production plants with unused parts of vegetables that are left over from making packaged salad products. We then provide the fertilizers to farms to expand our connections.

Initiatives to Procure Sustainable Palm Oil

Palm oil is a vegetable oil harvested from oil palms grown in tropical regions, but recent developments have raised issues surrounding human rights abuses for farm workers and large-scale deforestation to develop farmland.
To ensure that we do not use raw materials that contribute to these issues and to help solve those issues, the Kewpie Group established the Kewpie Group Fundamental Policy for Sustainable Procurement in January 2018. Based on that policy, in July 2018, we joined the RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) to procure sustainable palm oil for our group in the future.

About this Initiative

In 2019, we began purchasing RSPO book-and-claim*1 certified credits for palm oil procured by the Kewpie Group, and we achieved our goal of purchasing certified credits for raw materials that are 100% palm oil by 2021. Starting in 2022, the Kewpie Group will work to source certified oil through the book-and-claim and mass balance methods. *2

*1 book-and-claim

Certified credits are issued for oil produced by a RSPO-certified manufacturer.
By purchasing those certified credits, this system supports producers of certified palm oil.

*2 mass balance methods

A certification model in which certified palm oil is mixed with other non-certified palm oil during the production and distribution process.
While it physically contains non-certified oil, the proportion of palm oil sourced from certified plantations is guaranteed.

Sustainable Procurement of Paper

In December 2023, we established the Kewpie Group Paper Procurement Guidelines. We also established standards and targets for procurement.
The Kewpie Group procures paper and paper products from businesses that do not contribute to new deforestations, comply by the laws of the timber producing region and international human rights standards, and produce products through proper procedures.
We therefore aim to procure paper and paper products that are recognized by forest management certifications (such as the FSC® certification*). This allows us to confirm that the products were made from recycled paper or, depending on the business partner, through activities that do not contribute to new deforestations or human rights violations.

*An international forest management certification that ensures products were appropriately procured from responsibly managed forests and that limited forest resources can continue to be used in the future.

Activities

Use of FSC-certified Paper

Our Nico Nico Box series for baby food began using FSC® certified paper in March 2019. A change in the design of the box enabled new functions like trays and puppets* to provide a fun meal experience while also conveying the importance of paper(FSC® N002978).

*Trays: two cups can be safely held in one hand. Puppet: the animal on the package opens and closes its mouth to encourage babies to chew.

Ingenuity of Corrugated Cardboard structure

We push forward reduction of the paper consumption by devising corrugated cardboard structure and making it thinner while maintaining its strength.

Initiatives to Reduce Packaging (FY2015)

We changed the way we stack palettes for our main product, mayonnaise, when transporting them. By adopting a stacking method that capitalizes on the characteristics of cardboard boxes, we were able to reduce the amount of materials used. Producing less paper waste leads to reducing the burden on the environment. Using this method, we were able to reduce the amount of cardboard boxes used by around 590 tonnes a year.

Modified Carton Shape

Aohata adopted the use of shelf-ready packaging for the Aohata 55 Jams UD150 series and the Calorie Half series to reduce the use of cartons by approximately 56 tons per year. In 2022, the company changed the carton liner* used for the Verde Toast Spread series to reduce carton weight and to reduce CO2 emissions during carton production, while maintaining carton strength.

Used in FY2022 138,000 sheets per year
Weight reduction 2,500 kg per year
CO2 emissions reduced during carton manufacturing 1,800 kg per year

* Liner is containerboard used for the front and back of corrugated cardboard

Resource Conservation Efforts in Packaging

The Aohata 55 Jam (small size) carton*

Change in the size of the flap on the carton resulted in an annual reduction of 14 tons of material and 11 tons of CO2 from the cardboard manufacturer.

* Started in 2015

At the same time, we implemented a "Pop Carton" for easy opening and displaying, improving work efficiency at stores.

Aohata Initiatives with Fruit Growers

The fruit production areas used by the Kewpie Group have expanded worldwide.
Based on the understanding that "70% of the taste of a processed agricultural product is determined by its ingredients," we are striving to secure stable supplies of high-quality ingredients by researching cultivation techniques while building trusting relationships with producers.

Policy and Activities for Animal Welfare

Basic Policy

The Kewpie Group recognizes that the animal welfare of laying hens is one of the most important issues for the sustainable production and procurement of chicken eggs as well as considerations for impacts on quality and environment or human rights.

The Kewpie Group agrees with the five freedoms* in principles of animal welfare indicated by WOAH (World Organization for Animal Health), and we think it is important that the farming laying hens based on WOAH's principles. And we recognize that we should have deep consideration for dignity of life of laying hens since we have utilized chicken eggs for our business for a long time.

*The five freedoms in principles for animal welfare

  • Freedom from hunger, malnutrition and thirst
  • Freedom from fear and distress
  • Freedom from heat stress or physical discomfort
  • Freedom from pain, injury and disease; and
  • Freedom to express normal patterns of behaviors

Activities

We confirm that egg producers who provide shell eggs to Kewpie Group in Japan comply with “the animal welfare guidelines for laying hens”*1 published and being tried to be standardized by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF). Moreover, we will confirm that these producers comply with “Technical guidelines for breeding management of laying hens” *2 established by MAFF.

We have kept discussing with administrations including academic expert, NGO, NPO, and partners in the supply chain of chicken eggs what the sustainable breeding management of laying hens should be. And we have also kept taking actions in the Kewpie Group on behalf of animal welfare by cooperating with these organizations.
We have developed and sold products which contains eggs derived from cage-free farms,*3 and we have kept working on them with watching customer’s demand and reasonable price level for customers carefully.

Shell eggs procured in the Kewpie Group in overseas are complied with standards and legislation in each country and region or considered its social environment in each country and region.

We will confirm that the breeding conditions take animal welfare into consideration for livestock products other than shell egg, procured in the Kewpie Group based on “Technical guidelines regarding feeding management” established by MAFF.

*1“Guidelines for breeding management of hens that correspond to the concept of animal welfare” by Japan Livestock Technology Association 5th edition (March 2020)

*25 Livestock No.1066 “Technical guidelines for breeding management of laying hens” was established by MAFF on July 26th, 2023.

*3Breeding style of cage-free farm
In “(2) General principles for animal husbandry management that correspond to the concept of animal welfare” of “Promotion of livestock feeding management based on international standards for animal welfare in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the World Organization for Animal Health” (Notification from MAFF Director-General of Livestock 5 Livestock No. 1062, July 26, 2023,) livestock keepers should understand the “Five Freedoms” which are the principles of animal welfare, and continuous efforts through proper husbandry management such as daily observation and recording, careful handling, and provision of high-quality feed and water. It is said that it is necessary for all concerned parties to fully recognize that this is a matter of making improvements and that it cannot be achieved by simply installing specific facilities and equipment, and to promote this.

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