Membership of Civil Society
Prevention of Bribery and Compliance with the Anti-Monopoly Act
Basic Stance
The basic philosophy of the Advantest Group, which is embodied in the ADVANTEST Way and Code of Conduct, attaches great importance to being aware of one’s responsibilities to society, and to the maintenance of integrity in one’s conduct. Advantest implements a variety of measures to prevent the occurrence of bribery or other corrupt practices, and to prevent anti-competitive behavior.
Prevention of Bribery and Other Corrupt Practices
As a supplement to the Code of Conduct, Advantest has also formulated an Anti-corruption and Anti-bribery Policy, which clarifies, in detail, Advantest’s rules in relation to prevention of bribery and other forms of corruption throughout the world.
To ensure that all Advantest employees fully understand the Policy, and to ensure that they do not engage in behavior that violates law or regulations in any country, all employees throughout the Advantest Group are required to undergo Anti-corruption and Anti-bribery Training on an annual basis.
In fiscal 2016, Advantest was not the subject of any legal action relating to bribery or other corrupt practices.
Compliance with the Anti-Monopoly Act
Advantest educates its employees about all aspects of anti-competitive behavior prevention as part of its Code of Conduct training, with particular emphasis being placed on the need to comply with the Act against Delay in Payment of Subcontract Proceeds, Etc. to Subcontractors; education regarding the Act is provided to new personnel in all relevant departments, including purchasing departments. In the future, Advantest intends to continue providing education and training aimed at ensuring the realization of fair and equitable transactions. In addition, Advantest’s Internal Auditing Department undertakes sampling of purchasing transaction content, to verify that there are no violations of any kind.
In fiscal 2016, Advantest was not the subject of any legal action relating to bribery or other corrupt practices.
Social Contribution Activities
Stance towards social contribution activities
Advantest’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Policy was stipulated as follows in April 2008: “Advantest respects each of its stakeholders and strives to maintain harmony with society in all its operations while contributing to the goal of a sustainable society.” Based on this stance, Advantest conducts social contribution activities focused on the areas of preserving the global environment, developing the next generation, and contributing to local communities.
Advantest seeks to respond to the needs of its stakeholders and the community in order to contribute to the development of an affluent society through its social contribution activities, thereby fulfilling its corporate social responsibility as a global company.
Advantest’s Organization for Promoting CSR
Advantest has a track record of promoting CSR and environmental initiatives in every country and region it operates in, especially Japan. However, it has been increasingly important for Advantest to conduct more global CSR and environmental initiatives through its supply chain as a company that contributes to a broader range of societies. We intend to continue contributing to regional societies through our CSR and environmental initiatives.
Advantest’s Organization for Promoting CSR
Framework to Promote Employee Participation
At Advantest we are actively promoting employee participation in volunteer activities.
Volunteer activities provide a way to contribute to society, and we recruit participants through our intranet. We also include reports on activities in each region and participants’ views in our internal newsletter which contributes to attracting new participants.
Employees can save up their unused holidays that would otherwise not be transferred to the next year and use them for volunteer activities.
Examples of Social Contribution Activities in fiscal 2016
Volunteers for Residential Renovations
Advantest America, Inc. (AAI) has supported Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley citizens’ group activities for more than ten years. AII employees and their families volunteer one day twice a year to repair and conduct maintenance on residences owned by low income families, persons with disabilities, and the elderly. The budget for the necessary materials for the renovations is also provided by AAI.
In 2016, volunteers conducted repairs and maintenance at the “Life Services Alternatives (LSA)” facility, which supports people with developmental disabilities, on April 23, and then also did work on October 22 for a resident living alone who would turn 100. Through this work, we have brought great joy to the facility and residents while volunteers had the opportunities to get to know their colleagues better.
Onsite Science Lesson for Elementary Schools
Advantest conducts onsite science lessons for elementary school students for the purpose of communicating the fun of our main characteristic (the fun of manufacturing) to children.
On December 13, 2016, the lesson explained the principles and characteristics of optical communications to 11 six grade students from Sendai Nenosiroisi Public Elementary School through an experiment with optical telephones through paper cups. On December 14, we created handmade speakers together with 47 fifth grade students from Kurihara Shiwahime Public Elementary School. The students eyes lit up about how the spectrum of light looked like a rainbow and laughed at the sudden dance when music came from the speakers. They also asked many searching questions directly to the adults.
These highly praised efforts also received letters of appreciation from Miyagi Prefecture as well as the Sendai City Board of Education.
Cleaning Volunteers
The Advantest Group supports the participation of employees in environmental conservation activities worldwide.
On September 17, 2016, roughly 60 employee volunteers from Advantest (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. and their families cleaned the coastline. These volunteers cleaned approximately a 100 m section of the coastline, collecting 743 pieces of debris with a weight of 103 kg.
On October 21, 2016, 22 employee volunteers participated in thinning wood and dealing with dead trees in a forest in Kusatsu, Gunma. Volunteers moved cautiously in the direction wood was cut to avoid accidents as they chopped fallen trees into smaller pieces for collection. The work was hard yet satisfying.
