Corporate Creed

We aim to be a sincere company that our customers trust.
We aim to be a sincere company that our business partners, shareholders, and local communities trust.
We aim to be a sincere company that our employees trust.

Message

The Seven and i Group has strived to become a sincere company that our customers, business partners, shareholders, local communities, and employees trust since its establishment. This has been the foundation of our actions.
Today, rapid changes in the social environment, such as advanced development of information and communication technologies as well as globalization of the economy, are occurring. In response to such changes, we are drastically transforming our business by conducting business globally and building a new business model integrating the Internet, information media, and stores. However, no matter how the social environment changes and how drastically our business transforms in response to the changes in the future, the spirit held within our corporate creed will continue to remain as a firm universal principle. We must act in a manner to be a sincere company to be trusted in countries where our business operations are based under the principle.
The Seven & i Holdings Corporate Action Guidelines indicate necessary ways of thinking to realize the principle. I encourage each one of our employees to put the guidelines into practice and join me to build the sincere Seven & i Group trusted by the society.

Seven & i Holdings Corporate Action Guidelines

[ Preamble ]

The Company's mission is to provide customers with valuable products and services and to create new wealth and employment opportunities by conducting management based on social ethics. All the management and staff of the Seven and i Group view customer satisfaction as their highest responsibility, and all are engaged in the pursuit of this mission. To this end, we have established a sound management structure in accordance with laws and social norms. We conduct business with respect for human rights and the dignity of all people as well as the diverse values of international society. The Seven and i Group meets its social responsibilities through business activities toward realization of a sustainable society, based on the following guidelines.

[ Basic Policy ]

1. We demonstrate lofty ethical values, comply with laws and social norms, and provide safe, high-quality, and superior products and services that incorporate the customer's perspectives. We recognize the high public nature as a company conducting business closely related to the lives of customers and meet our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) required by the society for realization of a sustainable society with the global environment and the economy in harmony, through our business.
2. We respect free and fair competition; therefore, we comply with relevant laws such as the Act on Prohibition of Private Monopolization and Maintenance of Fair Trade, and internal corporate rules, and maintain appropriate relationships with people involved in political bodies and government agencies. We conduct transactions based on appropriate conditions by following sound business practice and receive no private benefits. Also, we do not associate with antisocial forces.
3. We value dialogue with stakeholders such as customers, business partners, shareholders, and local communities, handle received opinions in good faith, and fulfill our accountability by disclosing information in a timely and appropriate manner. Also, we record, store, and manage collected information appropriately, and in order to prevent accidents such as its leakage, we follow internal corporate rules including the one regarding handling of information equipment.
4. We comply with international standards on human rights and respect human rights and individual dignity of all people. We do not permit any discrimination for irrational reasons such as social status, birthplace, race, creed, and gender. To that end, we provide various education to improve the employee's understanding and awareness of respecting fundamental human rights. Also, in an effort to establish a supply chain* with respect for human rights at every level, we pay attention to human rights activities by business partners. We do not permit any child labor or forced labor.

*A series of activities and parties involved for providing products and services from purchasing raw materials to reaching consumers through manufacturing, distribution, and sales.

5. We operate without prejudice, based on fair and impartial standards with regard to employment, changes or promotions, facilitating full expansion of the capabilities of each individual, to create a vibrant work environment that fosters a sense of job fulfillment. We employ diverse human resources and endeavor to realize the greatest possible mental and physical comfort and sense of richness by seeking dialogue with them while maintaining a work environment that is free from discrimination or harassment in which employees can work together with mutual respect.
6. We fulfill our responsibilities as a member of local communities by seeking cooperative partnerships with them. We contribute to local development and establishment of a prosperous living environment through our business and provide support for society through appropriate contributions and other means in consideration of the social and public good.
7. We recognize preservation of the global environment as an essential issue in conducting our business; therefore, we always pay attention to environmental issues on a global scale including climate change and the conservation of biodiversity and contribute to realize the sustainable society. We comply with environmental laws and pursue efforts to reduce the environmental impact throughout the whole supply chain from product and service development, manufacturing, and distribution to product sales and service provision. Also, we provide active support for global environment conservation activities through cooperation with stakeholders.
8. We provide a consultation service that accepts reports from employees to discourage and prevent behavior or actions in violation of laws or the Corporate Action Guidelines and assure early resolution should they occur. Employees who find an action in possible violation of laws, social norms, or internal corporate rules may anonymously report and receive absolutely no unfair treatment by doing so.

[ Code of Corporate Conduct ]

1.Compliance

1. We place the highest priority on complying with laws and social norms in our business activities and take special care for sound corporate governance to function in management and to be secured.
2. We carry on our business in good faith. We do not misappropriate tangible or intangible properties such as company products, facilities, equipment, and information for our own gain. We also do not receive personal benefits from business partners or give gifts to or entertain them with the aim of obtaining unfair gains.
3. We always pay attention so as not to be suspected of having collusive relationships with people involved in political bodies and government agencies. We do not provide an entertainment or treatment that exceeds socially acceptable limits or regulation limits in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.
4. We do not associate with antisocial forces, organizations, and groups that pose a threat to the social order and security of civil society, resolutely confront their pressure, and eliminate it.
5. We respect free competition; therefore, we do not attempt to obtain information by inappropriate means, including intellectual property rights, other corporate secrets, and know-how owned by a third party, or use the information without a permission from them. Also, we comply with relevant laws such as the Act on Prohibition of Private Monopolization and Maintenance of Fair Trade, and internal corporate rules and appropriately manage display of products and circulars so as not to mislead customers.

2. Relationship with Customers

1. We do everything to take safety measures and control the quality of our products and services to prevent accidents and troubles. We always adopt the customer's perspective to offer superior products and services that contribute to enrichment of the customer's life.
2. We strictly manage personal information collected from customers and take careful precautions to prevent accidents such as information leakage.
3. We respect human rights and individual dignity, serve every customer fairly and impartially in good faith, and endeavor to create sales floors and provide services that anyone can visit and use with a sense of security.
4. We endeavor to display information that is accurate and easy to understand for customers to make an appropriate selection of products and services so as not to mislead them.
5. We value communication with customers and leverage their opinions in good faith to improve our sales activities.
6. If an accident or problem should occur with respect to products or customer services, we respond quickly and appropriately in a manner that places the highest priority on ensuring customer safety, and make the greatest possible effort to enforce measures to prevent expansion of such accidents or problems.

3. Relationship with Business Partners

1. We conduct transactions with all of our business partners, including from those involved in supplying merchandise to those relevant to store and office facilities as well as store tenants, in accordance with relevant laws such as the Act on Prohibition of Private Monopolization and Maintenance of Fair Trade, and internal corporate rules. We clearly present transaction terms and conditions and conduct transactions of necessary products, materials, and the like with appropriate quality, price, and delivery date to establish mutually beneficial business relationships.
2. We select our business partners based on fair criteria such as safety and quality.
3. We have interest in considerations of human rights and the environment including legal compliance of business partners to meet our social responsibilities in cooperation with them.
4. We do not receive personal benefits from business partners or give gifts to or entertain them with the aim of obtaining unfair gains.

4. Relationship with Shareholders and Investors

1. We seek to maximize shareholder value by efficiently utilizing corporate assets in an effort to live up to the trust of shareholders and investors. We return profits to the shareholders according to our profit growth.
2. We act in a manner not to damage the Seven and i Group brand by making efforts to have appropriate accounting practices and appropriately recording, storing, and managing information to execute highly transparent management.
3. We value communication with the shareholders and investors. If there is a circumstance that affects our consolidated performance, we naturally announce it without delay and also fulfill our accountability by disclosing information regarded as necessary, in addition to corporate information specified by laws and systems, based on social and economic norms as well as principles of corporate governance, in a timely, understandable, and accurate manner.
4. We do not conduct stock trade that could constitute insider trading.

5. Relationship with Local Communities

1. We respect cultures and customs of countries and regions where our business operations are based and provide products and services matching individual regional characteristics.
2. In conducting our business, we value dialogue with local residents and endeavor to obtain their understanding of business activities by the Seven & i Group. We take an active role in addressing problems involving such factors as transportation, noise and odors in consideration of local living environment and actively participate and cooperate in local community activities to build positive relationships with the local residents.
3. We endeavor to contribute toward the development of the countries and regions through our business by not only providing superior products and services but also developing local human resources, localizing management, and transferring business infrastructure and expertise.
4. In the event of a large-scale disaster such as a natural disaster, we, retailers, do our best to play a role as a local community base on the basis of our belief that it is our mission to continue delivering products essential for our customers’ lives. Also, we cooperate with relevant bodies such as government agencies to conduct relief efforts by leveraging our Group stores and distribution network.

6. Human Resources and Workplace Environment

1. We respect individual fundamental human rights and do not permit any discrimination for irrational reasons such as social status, birthplace, race, creed, and gender or overlook discriminatory remarks. Decisions on employment, changes or promotions will be made, based on non-discriminatory, impartial, and fair criteria.
2. We mutually respect our human rights, personality, and diversity, construct work environments free from discrimination or harassment, and provide education to increase understanding and awareness of defending human rights and other rights deriving from them. Also, we contribute to realization of normalization so that disabled and non-disabled people can work and live together.
3. We absolutely do not engage in any act of harassment, based on gender, authority, position, and the like, that impairs individual dignity. Also, we endeavor to build work environments that do not tolerate such an act.
4. Seven & i Group companies actively provide support for employee capability enhancement such as obtaining expertise and knowledge to endeavor for construction of fulfilling work environments and offer programs to realize mental and physical comfort as well as a sense of richness for employees, thereby enriching their work and private lives. Also, the companies respect workers’ rights such as the right to organize based on international norms and endeavor to have dialogue with employees regarding improving their work environments.
5. We take careful precautions to handle privacy information including human resources information to avoid infringement of their privacy.
6. We comply with laws and internal corporate rules relevant to worker health and safety as well as prevention of industrial accidents and take all necessary measures to ensure the safety and sanitation of buildings and equipment to build comfortable work environments.

7. Environmental Management

1. We take special care for sustainability of resources and the environment in developing and manufacturing our products and services, sell those with low environmental impact, not to mention safe products, and propose eco-conscious lifestyles.
2. We seek for reduction of energy usage by assuring environmental management in our stores and offices and considering introduction of energy efficient facilities and leveraging of renewable energy (such as natural energy using the sunlight, solar heat, wind power, and the like).
3. We endeavor to push ahead with waste reduction, at the same time efficiently recycling waste that could be turned into a resource and stressing use of recycled materials, for realization of a recycling-oriented society* that efficiently leverages limited resources.
4. We strive to reduce the environmental impact by reducing use of containers and packaging materials and selling products that donate part of their sales proceeds, with cooperation and participation of customers.
5. We, in an effort to reduce the environmental impact throughout the supply chain, pay attention to environment conservation activities by business partners and cooperate with them.
6. We recognize preservation of the global environment as an essential issue in conducting our business and endeavor to cultivate environmental awareness of employees so that each one of them understands the importance of the preservation of the global environment and pursues efforts to reduce the environmental impact in one’s daily life.
7. We engage in activities by setting our own yearly goals and disclose the results in an accurate, reliable, and timely manner.

   *A society where waste generation is reduced and waste is used in a continuous cycle through appropriate reuse or recycling.

8. Social and Cultural Contribution Activities

1. We, as a member of local communities and international society, contribute to local development and establishment of a peaceful and prosperous living environment through our business.
2. We engage in active social and cultural philanthropy including donations toward resolution of social issues such as human rights and environmental issues from a global point of view in cooperation with NGOs and NPOs.
3. We support participation of employees in volunteering activities.

9. Reporting Misconduct and Violative Conduct

1. We always ask ourselves whether our acts are against laws or social norms in carrying out our business and surely consult with superiors or appropriate and relevant departments when we have a question. Also, when we find an action in possible violation of laws or social norms, we report to superiors and, as necessary, to a help line. If a violation is found as a result of prompt fact-finding reviews by the superiors and the help line as well as relevant departments, corrective measures are implemented to prevent its recurrence, and the violative conduct is handled in a strict manner.
2. The Seven & i Holdings provides a consultation service that accepts reports on compliance violation from its employees. They may anonymously report and receive absolutely no unfair treatment by doing so.