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Sustainable Procurement Annual Report

Initiatives to fulfill our responsibilities to society together with our business partners

The azbil Group is promoting initiatives to fulfill its responsibilities to society together with its business partners, with the aim of working with our business partners on the common goal of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and creating shared CSR value across the supply chain.

We have built longstanding relationships of trust with our business partners and we engage in procurement aimed at increasing added value for both our business partners and the azbil Group.

By disclosing the results of these activities to the outside world, we will receive opinions and requests from our shareholders, institutional investors, business partners, and other stakeholders, and reflect them in our future activities. Based on the above approach, the azbil Group will publish Sustainable Procurement Annual Report, which summarizes the SDG framework for supply chains and the results of our activities for each year. Please take a look at it.

Sustainable Procurement Annual Report

＊In June 2025, the SDGs Supply Chain Annual Report was renamed the azbil Group Sustainable Procurement Annual Report.

Reports and results of previous years

(Published in January 2024)
Since FY2022 the azbil Group has been working on measures to comprehensively encourage all its business partners in a variety of areas, including human rights due diligence and CO2 emissions reductions. In FY2023, the azbil Group conducted more visits and face-to-face interviews with individual business partners than ever, with the aim of matching the policies of the azbil Group with the needs of business partners, and the effectiveness of the measures that it is promoting. Through this process, we have been working to understand the environmental and social intentions and initiatives of each of our business partners, and to build consensus on the future direction of our activities.

The results of interviews and exchanges of opinions during visits, etc. to individual business partners:
Environmental aspects:
Interviews and actual inspections during visits to business partners (including some remote meetings) on environmental aspects to reduce environmental impact have been conducted with 50 companies.
The survey covered five areas: climate change response（CO2 reduction), pollution and resources, water security and water risk, biodiversity, and environmental management. Actual status checks have been conducted for each of the sub-categories in the table of the aG Sustainable Procurement Guidelines below.
https://www.azbil.com/corporate/procurement/policy/sustainable_guideline/pdf/azbilGroup_sustainable_procurement_guideline_06_EN.pdf
For example, under "Pollution and Resources", we conducted actual status checks from the perspective of green procurement and management of chemical substances contained in products.

  1. Correction of legal violations
    When verifying the status of each company's environmental efforts, we also conducted legal compliance checks.
    As a result, we found business partners with a risk of legal violations due to inadequate industrial wastewater treatment, and we requested that they correct the situation by asking for confirmation and guidance from the government.
  2. Exchange of opinions with business partners on reducing CO2 emissions
    We explained and shared with each of our business partners the following four steps to reduce CO2 emissions.
    • Business partners are to understand the amount of energy they use (Grasping Scope 1 and 2)
    • Business partners are to identify the items they purchase, as well as the cost and quantity of their purchases (Grasping Scope 3)
    • Based on an understanding of the current status, set targets for reducing CO2 emissions
    • Implement reduction measures in accordance with the set targets.

    Additionally, during the information and Q&A session, we also conducted an assessment to check which stages our business partners are currently in, and discussed the challenges they face in moving on to the next step.

Social aspects:
Interviews and actual inspections during visits to business partners (including some remote meetings) on social aspects have been conducted with 32 companies.
The survey covered five areas: labor practices, health and safety, human rights, community, quality/customers.
Actual status checks have been conducted for each of the sub-categories in the table of the aG Sustainable Procurement Guidelines below.
https://www.azbil.com/corporate/procurement/policy/sustainable_guideline/pdf/azbilGroup_sustainable_procurement_guideline_06_EN.pdf
For example, under "Labor Practices", we conducted actual status checks from the perspective of reducing excessive working hours, prohibiting discrimination, and promoting diversity.

  1. Correction of legal violations
    When verifying the status of each company's social initiatives, we also conducted legal compliance checks.
    As a result, we identified the following violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
  • Safety and health promoter is not appointed at workplaces with 10 or more employees : 14 cases
  • Safety and health training is not conducted : 8 cases
  • Special training is not conducted : 3 cases
  • Stress checks are not conducted at workplaces with 50 or more employees : 2 cases

We have requested the following corrective actions from these business partners.

  • Appointment of a health and safety promoter, and implementation of training for the promoter
  • Conducting appropriate safety and health training when hiring personnel and during job reassignments, and keeping records of it
  • Conducting the necessary special training and keeping records.
  • Conducting stress checks as a part of mental health care for employees
  1. Correction of aG Sustainable Procurement Guidelines violations While not legal violations, we have identified cases that are in violation of the aG Sustainable Procurement Guidelines.
  • Emergency response manuals, etc. are not in place as a measure against occupational accidents : 11cases
  • Measures to prevent recurrence or prevention of occupational accidents are not implemented : 6cases

We have requested that these business partners carry out corrective action.

We have confirmed that our business partners have completed corrective actions for both legal violations and violations of the aG Sustainable Procurement Guidelines.

As the interviews and inspections conducted during these visits were very fruitful, we will continue to conduct individual company visits on an ongoing basis. By combining these with comprehensive measures, we aim to maximize the effectiveness of the azbil Group's initiatives and contribute to enhancing the added value at our business partners.

We would like to reflect your comments and requests in our future activity. If you have any comments, requests, or inquiries regarding the Sustainable Procurement Annual Report or the SDGs in general, please fill out this form.

Participation in supply chain initiatives

  • Azbil joined the United Nations Global Compact in April 2021, and at the same time joined Global Compact Network Japan, a local network. Our employees serve on its Supply Chain Subcommittee. We proactively gather case studies and other information from leading companies at subcommittee meetings and use the knowledge of participating companies to implement CSR promotion activities for the environment and society, as well as to applying it to our own activities.
  • We also participate in the Material Procurement Committee of the Japan Electric Measuring Instruments Manufacturers’ Association (JEMIMA), which meets every two months to share and address various procurement-related issues. Azbil served as committee chair in 2018.