Human Rights
Basic Approach and Policy
Olympus supports the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the 10 Principles of the United Nations Global Compact. To put international initiatives into practice in our business activities, we have also clearly spelled out respect for human rights in the Olympus Global Code of Conduct. In addition, we have formulated the Olympus Group Human Rights Policy that stipulates the implementation of human rights due diligence based on the UN Guiding Principles. We strive to respect human rights in the management of our businesses. We also urge our customers and third parties promoting business activities with Olympus to comply with the protection of human rights.
Initiatives
Human Rights Due Diligence
In FY2021, Olympus became a member of Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), a global organization offering support to businesses in the field of human rights and sustainability, and we engage in global activities in the area of human rights due diligence in compliance with the UN Guiding Principles (UNGPs) on Business and Human Rights. In FY2022, we conducted a human rights impact assessment on the entire Olympus Group. In FY2023, in light of regulatory trends in different countries, we conducted a human rights impact assessment at a site in Japan that manufactures medical devices. We worked with BSR on both of these initiatives.
Based on the results of these human rights assessments, Olympus provides the Olympus Group Human Rights Guidelines, which is intended as a tool to which Olympus Group members can refer. Further, the Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ), was launched in FY2024 as an annual systematic survey for managing and monitoring human rights issues in the Company. By conducting these surveys, Olympus confirms current conditions at the Olympus Group’s major companies in each country for nine items including forced labor, child labor, working hours, wages and benefits, discrimination and equal opportunity, elimination of harassment and violence, and freedom of association. The survey results confirmed that each company properly manages the above human rights categories in compliance with local laws and regulations in its respective country.
Olympus conducted global human rights awareness activities through the use of e-learning and other means to explain Olympus' responsibility to respect human rights in its supply chain and to provide an overview of the laws and systems in each country in FY2023. In Japan, 8,998 employees participated in this e-learning program (participation rate: 94%). Other initiatives designed to raise employee awareness of human rights include issuing a CHRO message on respecting human rights to mark World Human Rights Day (December 10) and publishing an interview with an executive on human rights initiatives.
In the future, the Olympus Group will continuously implement initiatives designed to respect human rights not just within the Olympus Group, but also throughout the supply chain. Not limiting ourselves to legal compliance, we work to consistently deepen and enhance these initiatives.
Initiatives with Suppliers
The following page provides details on Olympus’s initiatives with its suppliers.
Olympus Integrity Line
Olympus offers a global reporting system, known as the Olympus Integrity Line, which is available to all employees, external business partners, and other third parties who wish to report a concern. The following page provides details on this initiative.
Response to the UK Modern Slavery Act
Olympus KeyMed, the Olympus Group company in the UK, has issued a statement in accordance with the provisions of Article 54, Clause 1, of the 2015 Modern Slavery Act in the UK.
Olympus UK and Ireland: Modern Slavery Statement (In English only) 