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The Hitachi Group operates on the principles of "conformance with the law and business ethics" and "fair and disciplined competition."
Reissued as Corporate Ethics and Compliance Handbook
In our corporate activities we must not only observe the law, but act as good citizens in accordance with corporate ethics (including internal company regulations and social norms), and swiftly and accurately grasp constantly changing social demands.
To have a stronger CSR focus and to account for recent changes in the law, Hitachi, Ltd. has completely revised the Business Ethics Handbook relied on as a code of conduct and reissued it as the Corporate Ethics and Compliance Handbook of Hitachi.
This Handbook is being distributed to all Hitachi, Ltd. employees to present specific codes of conduct for the company and all employees (including company officers and contract, part-time, temporary, seconded, and dispatched employees).
A continuous improvement of the compliance consideration is attempted by assuming this to be a text and executing the education in each business group and Hitachi group.
Here is the code of conduct part of the Corporate Ethics and Compliance Handbook.
Compliance Education
![[image]Compliance Education](/csr/csr_images/comp_img_01.jpg)
Compliance workshop
Now that the amended Antimonopoly Act is in effect, the Hitachi Group is implementing programs to educate salespeople around Japan about this new law. We are involving the entire Group, having invited outside attorneys to give workshops for executives (April 2006) and for Group compliance officers (March 2007).
Major Compliance Education Activities
| Hitachi, Ltd. Automotive Systems Group | "Compliance Made Simple" course implemented at 12 sites in Japan |
|---|---|
| Hitachi Cable, Ltd. | Printing and distribution of Brand/CSR Guidebook |
| Hitachi Capital Corporation | Compilation and distribution of Compliance Manual |
| Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. | "Grassroots Compliance Education" implemented at all sites |
| "Grassroots Compliance Education" implemented at all sites | "Code of Conduct for Managers" adopted; workshops carried out at each site |
Enhancing the whistle-blower system
In April 2003, Hitachi instituted a "companywide whistle-blower system" with the aim of preventing illegal or unethical behavior, promptly addressing infractions, and enhancing self-governing capacity. In response to the enactment of the Whistle-Blower Protection Law, we extended the system to all present and former Group employees, employees of suppliers, and temporary staff in October 2004. We also adopted a system in December 2003 whereby employees can report any problems directly to the Directors, and in May 2004, we revised the system to accept anonymous report.