Monday, October 18, 2021
H.E. António Guterres
Secretary-General United Nations
New York, NY 10017
USA

Dear Mr. Secretary-General,

I am pleased to confirm that LbE Japan Co. Ltd. continues to support the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact on Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-Corruption. With this communication on progress, we manifest our compliance and intent to uphold our implementation of those principles.

Further, we are committed to keeping the UN Global Compact and its principles part of the strategy, culture, and day-to-day operations of our company, and to engaging in collaborative projects which advance the broader development goals of the United Nations, particularly the Sustainable Development Goals. LbE Japan Co. Ltd. will continue to provide clear statements of this commitment to our stakeholders and the general public.

Furthermore, we continue to recognize key requirements for participation in the UN Global Compact being the annual submission of a Communication on Progress (COP) that describes our company’s efforts to implement the Ten Principles.

With utmost respect and continued support,

Koichiro Kita, CEO

LbE Japan Co. Ltd.

a) LbE Japan supports and respects the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights and ensures its separation from all incidences of human rights abuses.

b) Based on criteria and guidelines taken from the Risk Assessment Report at The Human Rights and Business Project, LbE Japan does not currently experience any risk of conflicting with human rights. This has been concluded after evaluating the company’s processes, including but not limited to our marketing and sales practices, product and service creation, and internal staffing and personnel guidelines.

c) LbE Japan’s goal is to continue its business without any incidences of human rights abuses through the upholding of its code of conduct.

a) To uphold The Ten Principles, LbE Japan has included its key ideas and guidelines in its code of conduct for both staff and clients. In addition, we have implemented a reporting process that allows all interested parties to oust their concerns in the areas of human rights, labour laws, the environment and anti-corruption, alongside discrimination and ethical concerns.

b) In detail, we have created a new database and employee space (GLE) that ensures proper handling of recruitment, HR, and private information. No people are employed that could pose a conflict to human rights. Also, we are measuring our progress and data and compare it to the standards set forth by Sustainable Development Goals 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 4 - Quality Education, 5 - Gender Equality, 10 - Reduced Inequalities, 16 - Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.

a) LbE Japan measures its outcomes by the amount of incidences and concerns encountered over the reporting period. To date, the company has not received any complaints or concerns from neither internal nor external stakeholders. However, in case the company receives any such complaints or concerns, a standard procedure has been created which looks as follows:

i) Once a complaint has been received, it will be discussed with company leadership. Then, the relevant parties will be invited for an internal hearing for the purposes of ensuring accuracy of information. Depending on the severity of violation, the involved parties can encounter a maximum punishment of termination and following legal actions in order to ensure the successful mitigation of further incidents.

​​a) To determine a baseline to compare to, LbE Japan has assessed its policies and concluded that it is actively upholding the right of freedom of association and collective bargaining, is not home to any forms of forced or compulsory labor (meaning slavery), is not employing children, and is not being non-discriminatory in terms of employment and occupation.

b) LbE Japan ties its core policies on labour laws to the eight fundamental and 4 governance conventions set forth by the International Labour Organization (ILO). In addition, the company adheres to the standards created by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and uses its framework to create reports on labour policies and incidences.

c) The company’s policies regarding labour laws are manifested in employment contracts and guidelines provided to our staff in the event of being hired.

d) LbE Japan’s goal for the future is to continuously update its labour guidelines and criteria in order to aid in the development and implementation of stronger job security and social safety frameworks.

a) In detail, our guidelines of ILO and GRI standards have also been made part of the new database and employee space (GLE) mentioned in the section on Human Rights earlier in this report. Aside from upholding standards of human rights, it also ensures the creation of sections focused on ethics in employment contracts and bill of procedures.

b) In addition, we have added to our process of measuring our progress and data by comparing it to the standards set forth by Sustainable Development Goals 1 - No Poverty, 8 - Decent Work & Economic Growth, 11 - Sustainable Cities & Communities, 17 - Partnerships for the Goals.

a) LbE Japan measures its outcomes of this implementation by the amount of incidences reported on issues of labour laws. To date, there have been no concerns of labour law violations reported. However, in case the company receives any such complaints or concerns, a standard procedure has been created which looks as follows:

i) Once a complaint has been received, it will be discussed with company leadership. Then, the relevant parties will be invited for an internal hearing for the purposes of ensuring accuracy of information. Depending on the type of incidence, the involved parties will be asked to be part of a special task force focused on mitigating the culprits of the incidence at hand and thus prevent future non-compliance.

a) LbE Japan has assessed its procedures in connection to environmental categories and is guiding its policies by including a precautionary approach to environmental challenges, undertaking initiatives to further greater environmental responsibility, and encouraging the development and diffusion of environmentally-friendly technologies.

b) In order to achieve greater environmental responsibility, LbE Japan has created.

a) LbE Japan has implemented many key strategies that help to reduce its environmental impact, both directly and indirectly. On one side, the company has employed 2 trained Sustainability Professionals to ensure precaution and started the process of creating a GRI report that tracks all environmental impacts such as fuel, resource, and material usage.

b) Further, volunteering efforts focused on environmental stewardship and conservation have been implemented as a company policy and requirement for all staff members.

c) Furthermore, LbE Japan has implemented programs in its office locations such as to save paper by digitizing most of its materials and documents, and reducing our energy consumption through utilizing LED technology for lighting.

d) In addition, we utilize environmentally friendly technologies such as walkability through Actionbound, using public transportation, digitizing our workbooks and supporting the development and diffusion of virtual working spaces.

e) Lastly, we have included another set of metrics to how we are measuring our progress and data. Aside from the aforementioned metrics stemming from the GRI standards, this is being done by comparing our data to the standards set forth by Sustainable Development Goals 2 - Zero Hunger, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 7 - Clean and Affordable Energy, 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production, 13 - Climate Action, 14 - Life below Water, and 15 - Life on Land.

a) LbE Japan measures its outcomes by counting our programs and participants as it qualifies as a measure of impact through focusing on teaching sustainability.

b) Within the reporting period, the company has witnessed a stark increase in demand for post-program activities which is identified to stem from an increasingly pungent, positive impact on our pupils' awareness of the importance of environmental protection. This relates also to the indirect impact LbE Japan is making through inspiring and guiding the direct actions of participants and public stakeholders.

a) LbE Japan is standing firmly with the laws of all countries we are engaged with in order to ensure that all company practices are free from corruption, including extortion and bribery.

b) Further, the company also ensures prevention of processes that may be considered corrupt in the future by not engaging in any forms of political contributions.

a) LbE Japan has implemented a reporting process that allows all interested parties to oust their concerns in the area of corruption.

a) LbE Japan measures its outcomes by the amount of incidences and concerns encountered over the reporting period. To date, the company has not received any complaints or concerns from neither internal nor external stakeholders. However, in case the company receives any such complaints or concerns, a standard procedure has been created which looks as follows:

i) Once a complaint has been received, it will be discussed with company leadership. Then, the relevant parties will be invited for an internal hearing for the purposes of ensuring accuracy of information. Depending on the severity of violation, the involved parties can encounter a maximum punishment of termination and following legal actions in order to ensure the successful mitigation of further incidences.