ITOCHU ENEX CO.,LTD.

Health and Safety in the workplace

To make Itochu Enex a better company, a rewarding place to work, and a company that we are able to boast about to our families and society

At the Itochu Enex Group, we are creating work environments in which employees can maintain and improve their health and work with peace of mind. We are also promoting Health and Productivity Management so that every employee can work with enthusiasm, motivation, and a sense of fulfillment.

Commitment to Health and Productivity Management

At the Itochu Enex Group, we have been pursuing services and businesses that customers need, and working for the sustainable development of society in accordance with our Corporate Philosophy, “The best partner for life and society— with Energy, with the Car, with the Home.”We will work in close partnership with customers to create value, just as we have always done.We believe this will be driven by the sound physical and mental health of our employees.To enable all employees to fully demonstrate their abilities and individuality, and to continue contributing as the best partner for life and society, we will strive to maintain and improve the health of our employees and their families, and to be a company where employees can work with vitality and peace of mind.

April, 2023
Tomofumi Yoshida
Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer

Group Code of Conduct (Relationship with Employees)

We consider the health and safety of all employees with whom we are involved, and duly strive to create a safe and comfortable workplace environment for them.
*Excerpt taken from the Itochu Enex Group Code of Conduct
(All officers and employees check the Group Code of Conduct every year, and make a commitment to all of the Group’s stakeholders.) Full text of the Itochu Enex Group Code of Conduct

Enex Early Bird Working Style Reform Plan

Through the Enex Early Bird working style reform plan, the Itochu Enex Group is promoting employee helath and respecting each employee’s lifestyle by creating an organization in which diverse human resources can utilize their abilities and perform to their potential. Through this scheme, we aim to make Itochu Enex a better company, a rewarding place to work, and a company to be proud of with regard to families and society, for every employee.

【Approach and KPIs】
1.Encouraged a shift from late-night to morning-based work
2.Meals,etc.with customers or colleagues to end by 10:00p.m.
3.At least 80% of paid vacation days taken
4.At least 80% of employees with a BMI of less than 25
5.At least 80% of employees being nonsmokers
6.Improve quality of communication by two rankings
7.Improve quality of meetings by two rankings
8.Improve quality of documents and materials by two rankings

Implementation framework

The ITOCHU ENEX Group believes that ensuring that its employees maintain good physical and mental health can drive its social contribution as the best partner for life and society, which is the group's management philosophy. We engage in health and productivity management as an important business challenge under the workstyle reform "ENEX EARLY BIRD."
The Chief Operating Officer of Corporate Administration Division and the General Manager of Human Resources & General Affairs Department are responsible for promoting good health. The related departments and the persons in charge work together to operate the PDCA cycle for health and productivity management with the following framework.
The results of health and productivity management reviews throughout the year are reported to a meeting of the Board of Directors. The framework aims to ensure a health-conscious corporate culture while increasing its ability to serve as a model.

At a monthly Health Committee meeting at head office chaired by the General Manager of Human Resources & General Affairs Department, participants consult on and provide information with respect to improve employee health and create a safer and more hygienic environment. In addition, Health Promotion Managers regularly gather from different areas to hold general meetings to raise awareness of health and improve productivity throughout the company. The committee proactively collaborates with the health insurance union and outside program (EAP) providers as well as with internal staff.

Approaches to health issues

We have created a health management strategy map and promote health management, staying up to date on health issues leading to solutions to management issues and specific initiatives and connections related to the enhancement of expected benefits and health maintenance.

Specific Initiatives Aimed at Promoting Employee Health

Various figures from health management initiatives

Prevention of lifestyle-related diseases
Exercise
  • ・Providing subsidies for in-house sports clubs  (¥50,000/month)
  • ・Subsidizing fitness club memberships
  • ・Showing radio gymnastics videos on internal monitors
  • ・Encouraging the use of stairs
Health literacy
  • ・Holding lectures on health promotion at various in-house trainings
  • ・Health seminars by experts
  • ・Providing health information via internal portal sites and internal social media
  • ・Installing health-related books
  • ・Covering the cost of correspondance course tuition(including exercise courses, diet improvement   courses, etc.)
Smoking cessation
  • ・Providing subsidies to employees receiving smoking cessation treatment
  • ・Providing subsidies to employees receiving online smoking cessation support
  • ・Setting the office completely non-smoking
Internal equipment
  • ・Installing health equipment such as sphygmomanometers, body composition monitors, pull-up   machines, balance balls,etc.
  • ・Providing free healthy drinks such as fermented milk drink, green juice, and mineral water
  • ・Displaying calories and carbohydrates of beverages on the coffee machine
Collaboration with health insurance associations
  • ・Specific health guidance
  • ・Severe prevention program
  • ・Encouraging participation in health and fitness-related events (walking event, wellbeing program,   etc.)
 
Initiatives to Help Employees Quit Smoking

We have been working on smoking cessation since 2016 as a priority initiative under the Enex Early Bird workstyle reform.
In 2019, we enhanced our smoking-cessation programs.
As a result, the percentage of employees that are smokers decreased 6.6 percentage points from the FY2016 level, indicating steady progress towards our target.
Among the health seminars held in FY2021, 17 employees participated in the e-learning smoking cessation program. Moving forward, we will work to lead this interest and these concerns to action toward quitting smoking.

・Covering the cost of outpatient therapy to quit smoking
・Covering the cost of purchasing smoking-cessation products (nicotine gums, nicotine patches, and prescription medicines intended to assist smokers to quit smoking)
・Covering the cost of online support for quitting smoking
・Distributing books on smoking cessation therapy to smokers
・Communicating information to enlighten employees about the benefits of quitting smoking (via internal portal sites, etc.)
・Taking necessary measures at all business establishments, including both indoor and outdoor spaces

Implementation of work-life balance
Leave Programs
 Paid leave  20 days for all employees
※Up to 20 days can be carried over from the previous fiscal year.
※During extended leaves of absence taken due to illness, employees may use paid holidays which were unused and expired in the last two years.
 Special leave Special leave is provided in the event of a job transfer, marriage, the death of a relative(condolence leave), the birth of a child(maternity or paternity leave), a natural disaster or other unavoidable reason, menstruation, occupational illness or injury, to take a preschool child to a hospital, vaccination, health checkup, a family member in need of nursing care or jury duty.
 Refreshment leave  Length differs according to the number of years of service.

Pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare leave and support programs above and beyond legal requirements
Special maternity leave  10 days
 Paternity leave  5 days
 Lump-sum allowance for the birth of a child \300,000  for the first child
\500,000  for the each subsequent child
Reduced working hours  Until the child reaches the fifth grade of elementary school
 Staggered working hours Rules for childcare leave stipulate that parenting employees may work staggered hours
 Support for childcare  Distribution of babysitter vouchers

Other programs
 Workstyles
  • ・Introducing programs including hourly paid leave, flexible working hours, staggered working hours, and shorter working hours
  • ・Permitting employees to work remotely and making use of easy-to-use shared offices
  • ・Internally announcing department rankings for the utilization of paid leave, with the goal of ensuring that employees use at least 80% of their paid leave
  • ・Encouraging employees to take (five) consecutive holidays as a summer vacation
Welfare programs
  • ・Recreation facilities, recreation facilities affiliated to the health insurance association
  • ・Benefit Station
    (e.g., special subsidy for accommodation costs, theme park tickets, movie tickets, special subsidy for the use of fitness clubs,and support for daily life)
  • ・Length-of-service award program (granting special leave and travel vouchers)
Volunteering
  • ・Volunteer support program (also applies to employees' families)

Prevention of cancer and other diseases
 Preventioin/Early detection
  • ・Age-appropriate health checkups/Implementation of cancer screening and follow-up guidance
  • ・Subsidies for secondary inspection costs
  • ・E-learning on health checkups and cancer screenings
  • ・Subsidies for health checkups for spouses (dependents) aged 40 and over
  • ・Joining the corporate action to combat cancer initiative
  • ・Disseminating information on the internal SNS to improve cancer literacy
  • ・Implementing mass vaccination against influenza
      
 Support for balancing work and illness
  • ・Clarifying the process and support system from treatment to return to work
  • ・Formulating a plan that can be compatible with illness according to the medical condition, the frequency of hospital visits, and the work situation
  • ・Established a system that allows employees to consult with an in-house coordinator who supports balancing illness and work
  • ・Compensation for salary during absence due to medical treatment/ Salary during leave of absence (dependent on the length of service)
  • ・Financial support system for balancing cancer and work/ Medical exemption system
  • ・Paid leave (can be taken in hourly, half day, full day units)
  • ・Shorter working hours, flextime system, staggered working hours system
  • ・Transferred use of expired paid leave rights, back-up leave system (in case of illness)
 
Support for Balancing Work and the Treatment of Injuries, Cancer and Other Diseases

Since our foundation, we have always believed that our people are our greatest asset. Based on this, we support our employees with a system and program to help them balance work with medical care and programs enabling them to take leaves of absence and return to work, so that they are able to continue working with peace of mind and enthusiasm even in the face of an injury, cancer, or other disease.

・Clarifying processes and support systems for employees needing long-term care
・ Formulating plans to help employees who need long-term care to balance work and medical care, based on their symptoms, frequency of hospital visits, and how they work
・Describing the details of measures and systems for helping employees balance work and medical care and the details of each program in the handbook regarding Health and Productivity Management
・ Utilization of paid leave (by the hour, half day, and whole day)
・ Carryover of unused paid leave(Carryover and use of unused paid leave for the past two years) (Back-up leave)
・ Use of shorter working hours, flexible working hours, and staggered working hours programs
・ Paying leave salary (salary paid to employees on leave) in accordance with the duration of service
・ Monetary support program for balancing work and cancer treatment(Subsidy for advanced medical care not covered by health insurance: 5 million yen/ occasion, provision of income support during leave of absence)
・Support program for employees receiving medical treatment
・Return-to-work program with considerations for the management of condition, care, etc. after return to work
・ Consultation service provided by an internal coordinator who supports employees in their balance of work and medical care
Measures for Improving Health Literacy

Health Issues Specific to Women

Under the SHIFT! 2022 medium-term business plan, we have set the cultivation of multi-talented human resources who will work actively in Japan and overseas, the continued promotion of diversity, and the fostering of diverse values as our basic approach to human resource strategies, aiming to achieve sustainable growth and the continued improvement of our corporate value.
The percentage of employees that are women has exceeded 20%, with increasing opportunities for them to work actively. Therefore, we believe that helping all of our employees understand women's health issues and the differences in life events attributable to gender will lead to the improvement of productivity, the development of a corporate culture that enables excellent communication, and innovation.

・Conducting training programs on women’s health issues at training sessions for management personnel
・Covering the cost of gynecological examinations
・Establishing a women’s only rest/break room(A men-only rest/break room is also available)
・Publishing a handbook to help employees balance work and childbirth/childcare
・Supporting the career development of employees on childcare leave (both men and women)
・Offering subsidies for spouses' health checkups (provided separately from the subsidies from the health insurance union) and providing information about health checkups

Mental Health Initiatives
Surveys
  • ・Conducting stress checks and providing support for employees with high stress levels (such as interviews with industrial doctors or public health nurses and the introduction of counseling services)
  • ・Conducting employee awareness surveys
Training
  • ・Mental health training given by public health nurses
  • ・Harassment training
  • ・Providing self-learning opportunities related to mental toughness
Support
  • ・Support provided by public health nurses and industrial counselors before, during, and after leaves of absence
  • ・Implementation of a program under which the employee begins working again on a trial basis, and takes a rehabilitative business trip before returning to work
  • ・Regular interviews with industrial psychiatrists at the time of and after returning to work (head office only)
Others
  • ・Prohibiting harassment under work regulations
  • ・Publishing harassment guidelines and power harassment guidelines and informing employees of them
  • ・Establishing a harassment consultation office, whistleblowing office, and internal and external mental health consultation offices
 
Managing the Health of Employees Assigned Overseas

We make it possible for public health nurses to interview employees before they travel to foreign countries, arrange health checkups and vaccinations before leaving Japan, provide information about the medical services available in their destination countries, and support them in other ways.
While living and working overseas, employees are interviewed online by health nurses on a regular basis to confirm their health condition and to advise them on lifestyle habits, counseling, and other services.
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Health Management Office, Human Resources & General Affairs Department, and related departments have been working together in measures including the collection of information about local medical environments and arrangements for employees' temporary return to Japan for vaccination, with the safety of our employees working overseas as our top priority.

・Various vaccinations before leaving Japan
・Using medical assistance and medical consulting intended for employees making overseas business trips and those assigned overseas
・Use of the 24-hour emergency support system
・Setting up a health consultation office (using an international toll-free phone number)
・Sharing information calling attention to overseas safety measures, measures addressing crises from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and overseas travel alerts

Preventing Infectious Diseases

At the Itochu Enex Group, we work in accordance with our Corporate Philosophy, “The best partner for life and society— with Energy, with the Car, with the Home,” and position the stable supply of energy as our mission. We regard infectious disease epidemics to be events and risks that may affect corporate operations. To ensure that we are able to continue delivering the energy needed by customers safely and reliably even during an epidemic, we conduct company-wide management with the health and safety of our employees, including infection control, as our top priority.

・Performing group influenza vaccinations within the company
・Distributing surgical masks
・Encouraging employees to be vaccinated against rubella
・Offering vaccinations for trainees and employees travelling to overseas posts
・Our response to the COVID-19 pandemic
 - We have established a COVID-19 task force headed by the president.
  The task force manages the situation by determining and implementing company-wide policy and measures that are deemed necessary and sharing information about these actions.
 - Establishing the COVID-19 business continuity plan (BCP)
 - Establishing COVID-19 guidelines
 - Working from home, staggered working hours, and provision of information
 - Disinfecting offices, using a hygiene control system, ensuring disinfectants and hygienic goods are placed in workplaces
 - Ensuring social distancing in workplaces and installing droplet barriers
 - Maximizing ventilation volume in workplaces
 - Encouraging staggered use of dining areas
 - Conducting PCR tests
 - Implementation of workplace vaccination
 - Time spent by ITOCHU ENEX employees receiving the vaccinations will be counted as work hours and special leave (paid leave) will be granted to employees who experience side effects.

Measures for Improving Health Literacy

We hold health seminars every year based on the results of health checkups and employees' interests and concerns.
In FY2020, the Company held the Renaissance Inc.-designed original seminar, "Do Not Overlook Small Signs of Disease! — Addressing Presenteeism," live online to enable employees to learn about measures for preventing stiff shoulders, eyestrain, and lower back pain caused by working from home, to which employees are not yet accustomed to , and a lack of exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 120 employees participated in the seminar.
In FY2021, the "Take on Challenges to Establish Healthy Habits," program provided via the internet by Pasona Inc. expanded the targets of the health seminar program to the Group companies.
Each employee selected one of 14 themes, such as diet and exercise, that interested them, participated in an e-learning program, and then stated their goals. All employees continued to strive to establish healthy lifestyle habits for three weeks by sharing their goals with each other.
A total of 260 employees participated in the seminar which included 358 e-learning events, and 78% of participants reported being satisfied ("Very satisfied" or "Satisfied") with the seminar.
In this e-learning program, the responsible officer shared a message about our health and productivity management policy. The Representative Director and other management team members worked together on the program.

・Conducting training programs on Health and Productivity Management at training sessions for management personnel
・A training program on Health and Productivity Management was provided as a part of new employee training and training for managerial employees.
・Organizing lectures given by industrial doctors
・Holding health seminars for employees
・Disclosing health check results and analyses, and communicating health-related information via employee portal sites and in-house social media
(Itochu Enex has joined the corporate action to combat cancer initiative, and is communicating information for improving cancer literacy.)
・Covering the cost of correspondence-based educational course fees (e.g. Mental Health Management proficiency test, dementia care qualifications, coping with stress)
・ Mandatory e-learning for all officers and employees (about health and productivity management, health checkups and secondary examinations)
・ The health insurance association's provision of a health portal site for individuals
・ Implementation of walking events

Initiatives to Encourage Active Communication
活発なコミュニケーションを促す取り組み

Emergency Lifesaving and Disaster Response

Itochu Enex engages in the following lifesaving and disaster response initiatives:
・Holding ordinary lifesaving training courses
・Displaying emergency first-aid manuals
・Providing lifesaving equipment, disaster readiness supplies/provisions and equipment, and disaster readiness (hazard and evacuation) maps
・Conducting disaster readiness and evacuation drills
・Supporting employees in obtaining disaster readiness qualifications (over 200 employees have already obtained qualifications)
・Conducting regular BCP (Business Continuity Planning) activities
・Establishing disaster-response vendors
・Satellite telephones carried by people in charge of disaster control at the head office and specific areas
・System for confirming the safety of employees
・Establishing an emergency contact network

Disaster readiness and evacuation drill