Seeking Customer Satisfaction Through Company-Wide Improvement Initiatives

The Renesas Electronics Group believes that customer feedback is a valuable management resource for enhancing customer satisfaction (CS). For a Group-wide initiative, we strive to make improvements so that this management resource can help increase CS. The results are reported to upper management and disclosed throughout the Group so that all employees have the same information.

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CS Management

Strengthening Customer Satisfaction and Communication

Each year, the Group designates March 11 as “The Day of Strength and Trust” on which CS is surveyed, allowing us to regularly verify the level of our customers’ trust in ourselves and obtain information that is used to further improve our products, services and business activities. We did a CS survey in March 2019 and received 280 responses from 168 corporate customers in Japan and abroad. We have been sharing the results throughout the Group to improve CS.

image, Customer Evaluation of the Renesas Electronics Group

Customer Evaluation of the Renesas Electronics Group

To help customers use the Group’s products safely, appropriately and effectively, we have established centers to provide technical support for users. These centers provide a variety of technical information on our products.

Product Quality Improvement

The Renesas Electronics Group sets concrete quality objectives every fiscal year based on the Quality Policy top management has committed to. To achieve these objectives, we work for continuous improvement of overall quality in the development, design, manufacturing, and support processes. Individual divisions and offices set prioritized semiannual projects for quality improvement, and they formulate and implement action plans to accomplish these projects. Action plans go through an improvement cycle that checks their progress during each six-month period and revises them.

Quality Assurance Systems

The Renesas Electronics Group has quality assurance systems Group-wide, which we use from development and design to production and delivery. This way, we are able to provide high-quality, reliable products and services for greater CS. We supply products to many companies involved with automobile production. In view of this, we use manufacturing tools that conform to automobile sector standards. Through such activities as these, we are continuing to improve the quality of our products and services so that we are always able to accommodate the specific requirements of our customers. Regarding quality management certifications, we have acquired ISO 9001 certification on a Group-wide basis. In the meantime, individual manufacturing sites and their support sites have acquired IATF 16949 certification.

Quality Assurance System

Quality Assurance System

Studying Defective Products and Taking Corrective Action

If a shipped product is found to be defective, the quality assurance department leads an effort to determine the cause and take corrective measures. The quality assurance department tracks defects found by customers and uses measuring and analysis instruments of various types to analyze the product failure. Design, production, and other concerned departments confer with each other and take the necessary corrective measures as based on study results, and those results are reported to the customer.

image, Defective Product Inquiry Flow

Defective Product Inquiry Flow

CSR Procurement Initiatives

CSR Activities through Procurement

The Renesas Electronics Group asks its business partners to actively work together to drive CSR initiatives that uphold social responsibility with regard to environmental protection, fair business and corporate ethics, quality and safety, information security, health and safety, and human rights and labor. In order to facilitate a deeper understanding of our position on CSR and to promote activities based on a shared perspective, we have created a CSR promotion handbook for the supply chain, which has been distributed to around 1,200 of our business partners.

Promoting Green Procurement

The Renesas Electronics Group is promoting green procurement. Specifically, when procuring raw materials for use in its products, the Group prioritizes eco-friendly products free of hazardous substances from suppliers who are proactively promoting environmental protection. These requirements have been codified as Green Procurement Guidelines and disclosed to all suppliers. We seek the understanding and cooperation of our suppliers as regards regulatory compliance with the RoHS Directive and the like, and in investigating the materials contained in purchased products. We also practice green purchasing of goods such as office supplies and IT equipment. When we select such goods, we give preference to eco-friendly products based on the environmental burden data for each item.

Initiatives against the Conflict Minerals Problem

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo and some of its neighboring countries in Africa, some minerals are a revenue source for armed groups and this may lead to violations of human rights and the generation of conflicts. The Renesas Electronics Group recognizes that this problem about conflict minerals is a very important concern, and we are working to eliminate conflict minerals from our supply chain. As regards our suppliers, we used an industry-wide type of survey through which we asked our suppliers to identify the refineries and smelters they use. The results of this survey are being disclosed to our customers as we strive to procure minerals responsibly through our supply chain.

BCM* Initiatives with Suppliers

The Renesas Electronics Group requests that its suppliers immediately notify its emergency information center of any damage in the event of being affected by natural disasters or major accidents. The Group has a system in place to ensure that, in such an event, information from suppliers reaches all concerned Group employees, both in Japan and overseas, regardless of when the event occurs. Based on this system, the employees in question take appropriate measures in a swift and efficient manner in order to address our customers’ concerns.

*BCM = Business Continuity Management

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BCM Measures When a Procurement Problem Occurs (Flow from Occurrence to Launch of BCM System)

Procurement Policies

1. Provision of equal, competitive opportunities

  • Information on procurement is provided in an appropriate and timely fashion so as to provide equal, competitive opportunities to all companies, both domestic and overseas, who express an interest in working with us.

2. Evaluation and selection of suppliers in a fair manner

  • We follow a comprehensive supplier evaluation and selection process that places top most emphasis on CSR and BCM, needless to mention the reliability of the prospective supplier's management, as well as commercials, quality standards, delivery schedules and advanced technical features of the products to be procured.

3. Development of mutual trust

  • We believe that close communications with our suppliers is extremely important for the development of mutual trust, which will become the foundation for building long term win-win business relationship.

4. Management and protection of information

  • We recognize the value of the information that we learn through our materials-related transactions and manage it accordingly.

5. Sustainability and continuity of business

  • We create viable BCM system with entire supply chain based on the importance of the continuity of business.
  • (Details) Suppliers’ BCM in the supply chain is very important to ensure our BCM system to continue business as usual when the risks such as natural disasters occur. Therefore, all key suppliers are required to present to us their business risk management plan for their offerings. Especially, the evaluation and the analysis of the risks, plan for countermeasure, method of recovery, business continuity through alternative supply methods are important elements. We evaluate suppliers’ BCM and its viability based on these. That constitutes a part of the supplier rating system.

6. Quality management

  • We purchase from suppliers having Quality Management System which can meet our procurement specification, with “zero defect”.
  • (Details) Suppliers’ Quality Management System in the supply chain is very important to sustain and improve the quality of our products. Therefore, all key suppliers are required to build the Quality Management System which can meet our procurement specification. It is important to establish a system which controls the quality of their offerings to maintain and help accelerate our approach towards “zero defect”. We evaluate suppliers’ Quality Management System and its execution status based on these. That constitutes a part of the supplier rating system.

Developing Human Resources

For the Renesas Electronics Group to achieve sustainable growth and contribute to society in a global market, all of its employees must grow and be active. Our human resource development system aims to realize “value” defined by the talents, skills and actions required for achieving the Corporate Vision and Mission. The following graphic lays out the specific characteristics we are trying to develop.

VALUES FOR GROWTH CUSTOMER CENTRICITY
CREATIVITY & IMAGINATION TECHNOLOGY & EXPERTISE APPRECIATION OF DIVERSITY
OWNERSHIP & INTEGRITY OPEN COMMUNICATION VALUE FOR LEADERSHIP

Values (Capabilities, Skills, and Conduct Guidelines Required of Employees)

Fostering Human Resources Able to Flourish as Leaders on the Global Stage

Human resources who act as leaders have a great influence on organizations and affect the outcomes of those organizations. The continuous fostering of these human resources is an important initiative from the perspective of a company’s growth, sustainability, and stability.

In addition, we aim to ensure a stable supply of individuals to each post through 1) succession plans (plans for successive personnel to fill a post) and 2) a system for the cultivation of leaders (plans for the fostering of human resources).

Creating an Environment to Invigorate Human Resource Cultivation in the Workplace

Because on-the-job training (OJT) is the foundation for cultivating human resources, the nurturing of subordinate staff members is an evaluation metric within the system of management by objectives and evaluation of behavior applied to those in managerial positions. Linking this to evaluation contributes to further enhancements in the awareness of the need to nurture subordinates and to a reassertion of the importance of OJT and OJT methods, leading to more effective cultivation of subordinate employees. Training opportunities are provided to those evaluating others to impart the knowledge and skills required to conduct fair and objective assessments.

Creating a System for Voluntary Learning by Employees

In order to carry out voluntary learning by employees, we believe it is important that individuals be aware of the importance of their own growth, that they understand what they should learn, and that they put what they have learned into practice in the workplace. We have prepared a wide variety of training courses. Specific options available to those taking this step include e-learning courses in which employees are able to freely select the topic in which they want to improve their skill from among some 100 courses, business skills courses that employees can sign up for, and specialized technological courses in each field.

Building a Rotation System

We allocate human resources by considering the career objectives and abilities established during MBO* discussions with subordinate employees, and make use of a rotation system in the context of career development. In addition, in order to increase the motivation of our employees and invigorate our organization, we make personnel changes through open recruitment, and individuals are given opportunities to independently build their own careers.

Educating New Employees and Invigorating Young Workers

With the aim of nurturing new self-reliant work-ready employees and encouraging younger employees to be more active, we have implemented introductory training, practical training at factories, and a personnel training system where younger employees teach our new employees one-to-one. New employees also have firstyear review training and hold meetings at which they report on the results of their training. In addition, we have laid the foundations for preparing human resources that can play an active role in the Group by enabling them to understand the basic technology and acquire skills necessary to do their jobs, and by developing their general business execution capabilities.

*MBO = Management By Objectives

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Skill Development System

Promoting Diversity in Human Resources

The Renesas Electronics Group is strengthening initiatives to promote diversity. At Renesas Electronics, we respect differences. We aim to actively use differences to respond effectively to the changing business environment and diversifying customer needs and thereby establish an advantage.

Specifically, we recruit people so that, regardless of nationality, gender or physical constitution, they can apply their individual abilities and contribute to society. In addition, the Group aims to create more employee-friendly, pleasant workplaces by placing particular focus on diversity. For example, we are promoting the hiring of more female employees and people with disabilities.

Respecting Human Rights

Both the Renesas Electronics Group CSR Charter and the Renesas Electronics Group Code of Conduct clearly state that the Renesas Electronics Group will respect human rights in hiring, human resource development, employee treatment and all other aspects of employment, while eliminating any discrimination based on race, philosophy, belief, gender, age, social position, family origin, nationality, ethnicity, religion, or physical and mental disability, to ensure that all of its employees are treated equally. Also, the charter and the code of conduct clearly prohibit sexual harassment, as well as forced labor and child labor. In line with the principles, each Renesas Electronics Group company must not only comply with relevant laws and regulations, but also implement educational and awareness-raising programs on human rights and other related subjects.

Specifically, we raise employee awareness of human rights during new-employee and position-specific training and e-training programs for all employees, as well as various events during Human Rights Week every year. We put up posters in places visible to employees and use our intranet to inform them about our in-house service for consulting on issues of sexual harassment, harassment of subordinates by superiors, equal opportunity for men and women, and other issues. In these ways, we are endeavoring to facilitate consultation and enable appropriate responses to employee concerns.

Work-Life Balance

The Renesas Electronics Group is working on the development of various systems and environments designed to help each employee maximize their individual ability, while at the same time achieving a balance between their private life and fulfilling and rewarding work.

We provide many support systems that help employees to balance work with family and childcare. Employees can use these systems at different life stages, such as pregnancy, childbirth, childrearing, and nursing care. We also give employees the option of utilizing various forms of workstyle support according to their needs, including short leave, leave of absence, shorter working hours, and working at home.

Examples of the Main Measures Supporting Work-Life Balance

Flex-time system, discretionary work system, maternity leave, spouse paternity leave, childcare and nursing-care leave system, childcare and nursing-care shorter working hours system, home-based working system for childcare and nursing care, partial home-based working within a discretionary work system (working at home)

Childcare leave system Childcare shorter working hours system Nursing-care leave system Nursing-care shorter working hours system
17 persons
Breakdown of childcare leave-taking by gender
Women: 100%; Men: 0%
84 persons 0 persons 1 persons

System Usage Results (Fiscal 2018)

Moreover, the Renesas Electronics Group has formulated an action plan based on Japan’s Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace (known informally as the Female Employees’ Promotion Law), and we are engaged in implementing measures to bring about the corporate success of women in the future.

Occupational Health and Safety

Basic Policy

In line with the basic policy, “Renesas Electronics shall protect the safety and health of its employees and work to realize employee-friendly, safe workplace environments,” the Company is implementing various measures.

Group-Wide Initiatives

The Renesas Electronics Group is promoting activities aimed at ensuring disaster prevention, occupational health and safety. More specifically, a Company-Wide Safety and Health Conference—consisting of occupational health and safety officers at individual business sites and Group companies—has deliberated and decided on the Renesas Electronics Group Disaster Prevention and Occupational Health and Safety Management Policy. Meanwhile, the Company is promoting the sharing of information related to occupational health and safety within the Group. Such information is utilized to prevent disasters and reinforce the Group's occupational health and safety activities.

Specific Activities

  • Occupational safety activities:

    Through risk assessment processes and Danger Anticipation activities, disaster risks are identified and countermeasures are prepared. These processes are helping us prevent disasters and accidents. For Group factories with production lines, Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems have been adopted and labor accident prevention activities are being conducted. We have designated March 11 of each year as “The Day of Strength and Trust” in the Group. We conduct disaster preparedness inspections on workplaces and employee homes, all on this one day.

  • Occupational health activities:

    Programs are being implemented by occupational health physicians, public health nurses and occupational health and safety staff working together to follow up on the results of medical examinations, offer counseling, provide stress checks, and educate regarding mental health, conduct medical checks on those who have performed long-term overtime, as well as implement measures to help stop or reduce smoking. Themes include “Promoting and Keeping a Healthy Body,” “Better Mental Health” and “Overwork Countermeasures.”

Contributions to Society

Financial Contributions to Society

The Renesas Electronics Group has endorsed the objectives of the “1% Club,” established in November 1990 by KEIDANREN (the Japanese Business Federation), which encourages businesses to contribute at least 1% of their recurring profits to society. As one of these business, we have been proactively pursuing activities which contribute to society in a number of fields.

Providing Electronics Creation Opportunities for the Local Community

The Renesas Electronics Group provided opportunities for children to deepen their interests in electrical machinery and electronics by utilizing its semiconductor products, such as holding electronics workshops that parents and children can attend together.

In July 2018, at Renesas’ Takasaki site, the Group collaborated with neighboring companies such as “Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd” and “Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd” to organize a “3-company Open Factory” event, where each company held events related to their specialty. The Group organized the “Micon Racer Class”, mainly targeting pupils of elementary and junior high schools. 106 people ranging from kindergarteners to high school students and their parents living in the three neighboring towns, including Nishi-yokote where the Takasaki site is located, attended the class. Participants experienced programming and assembling of the Micon Racer kit which uses Renesas’ microcontrollers and played games of bowling and darts using the kit, which ran autonomously based on the programs they created. Children were able to experience the joy of creating objects through programming, and the participants were able to deepen their understanding of Renesas’ activities. The Group will continue to organize events to educate the next generation, as well as to exist harmoniously with the local community.

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Recycling Used Clothes as a Community

The Group participates in charity work alongside with local residents to make social contributions.

In October 2018, Renesas Semiconductor (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., a manufacturing company in Suzhou, China, collaborated with Yī Jiā Yī, a Suzhou-based charity organization and asked for donations of used clothes and bedding from employees. Within 10 days, around 100 items of clothing and bedding were collected and donated to residents, mainly the elderly and children, living in remote, isolated areas of China. From this activity, the company was able to reduce waste and contribute to environmental protection through recycling. The Group will continue to make social contributions to the local community as a good corporate citizen.

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Promoting Women in Engineering

Renesas Electronics Europe GmbH has been working together with ChanceMINT NRW, run by the University of Duisburg-Essen, which concentrates on offering female MINT (Maths, Information, Natural Sciences & Technology) students a platform, and network with companies in North-Rhine Westphalia for several years. The Group offers in-house seminars and workshops to students on a broad range of topics from AI to ADAS. This year’s session with 15 female students included a laboratory tour and a workshop on computer graphics. Several participants have now started/requested practical work experience slots with the company. Going forward, the Group will continue to support education and endeavour to coexist with the local community through activities in human resource development.

image, Promoting Women in Engineering

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