Skip to main content
Contact Sales

Hitachi Vantara recognizes the importance of identifying and preventing modern slavery in our business and supply chain. This Statement sets out the steps we have taken to reduce the risk of modern slavery and human trafficking in our global business operations and supply chain as of September 30, 2024, as well as our future plans for the current year and beyond.

Our Business

Hitachi Vantara is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd, a company headquartered in Japan and listed on the Tokyo stock exchange. As part of the global Digital Systems & Services division of Hitachi, Ltd., we focus on delivering Information Technology infrastructure as well as digital and data solutions to enable social innovation and allow companies to deliver data-driven solutions for commercial and industrial enterprises.

Our Operations and Supply Chain

Globally, Hitachi Vantara has approximately 5500 direct and indirect suppliers. Direct suppliers provide products and/or services that are incorporated into the products and services that Hitachi Vantara provides to its end customers, whereas indirect suppliers provide products and/or services for internal use by Hitachi Vantara. The majority of our global suppliers are located in the United States.

Hitachi Vantara’s global business operations focus on product and service offerings, with a significant portion of the products supplied by Hitachi Vantara being manufactured by Hitachi Group companies. Additionally, Hitachi Vantara sources third-party products from reputable information technology partners.

Our products are assembled in four global distribution centers located in the Netherlands, the United States, China, and Singapore. They are then sold directly to end-customers or through our distribution channels of authorized resellers.

Working alongside each customer, we apply our industrial and digital capabilities to their data and applications to benefit both business and society. Our customers trust Hitachi Vantara to help them develop new revenue streams, unlock competitive advantages, lower costs, enhance customer experiences, and deliver social and environmental value. 

Hitachi Vantara aims to establish a relationship of trust and integrity with all our suppliers. Our supplier selection and on-boarding procedures include supplier due diligence checks and compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Hitachi takes every effort to act with the utmost respect for human rights by fostering a common awareness of social responsibility in the global business market. In undertaking responsible partnerships with business partners, our qualification process requires suppliers to disclose their external sustainability rating as verified by organizations such as EcoVadis and the Responsible Business Alliance.

Our Approach

We are committed to conducting business ethically and to minimising the risk of modern slavery and human trafficking in our own business and within our supply chain.

Our commitment and work is strongly supported by Hitachi, Ltd. In 2019, Hitachi, Ltd.’s President and CEO, Toshiaki Higashihara, signed the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s CEO Guide to Human Rights calling for CEOs to go beyond compliance to drive transformative change in corporate respect for human rights. 

In line with Hitachi, Ltd.’s global human rights approach to create a value chain where the human rights of all stakeholders are respected, Hitachi Vantara seeks to work with suppliers that actively address modern slavery.

Our Policies

We continue to apply our company policies:

Risks of Modern Slavery in the Supply Chain

According to the International Labour Organization (2021), the global estimates indicate there are 49.6 million victims living in modern slavery on any given day. Hitachi believes that upholding human rights is our responsibility as a global company and essential to conducting business. We refuse to engage in activities that have potential impairments on individual dignity and make continuous efforts to respond to human rights impacts effectively.

Hitachi Vantara’s commitment to the identification and prevention of modern slavery covers various exploitative activities such as forced labour, slavery, child labour, and human trafficking. By promoting awareness and understanding of the risks within our own sector, improving collaboration across our organization, and strengthening supply chain transparency, Hitachi Vantara continues to combat the risk of human trafficking or modern slavery from entering our supply chain. In our assessment, the manufacturing and call center sectors pose higher risks for modern slavery within our supply chain.

Our Progress to Date

Over the last year, Hitachi Vantara has:

  • Continued to enhance staff training on sourcing procedures and supplier due diligence to better identify and address modern slavery risks. Our Procurement Department and select other employees are required to complete on-line training focused on modern slavery red flag identification in our supply chain.
  • Achieved a Gold Ecovadis rating (https://www.hitachivantara.com/en-us/blog/awarded-gold-medal-rating-for-sustainability-by-ecovadis) validating that the company’s commitment to and operational controls regarding sustainable business practices, including the prevention and detection of modern slavery.
  • Launched its inaugural Sustainability Report (https://www.hitachivantara.com/en-us/company/business-sustainability) also highlighting the efforts that the company has undertaken and intends to undertake in its efforts to combat modern slavery in its own operations and within its supply chain.
  • Built a framework for tracking currently applicable and developing human rights regulations around the globe to address the requirements in a timely fashion.
  • Developed a written framework for assessing human rights-related risks amongst the company’s prospective and existing vendor/supply chain communities.
  • Incorporated social practice questionnaires into our RFP process.
  • Raised questions regarding sustainability rating by external organizations (e.g. EcoVadis) during the onboarding process of our suppliers.
  • For new suppliers, provided current business standard policies and required a registration completion email.
  • Improved our due diligence process for assessing and addressing risks in supply chain using a risk-based approach and identifying high-risk suppliers as appropriate.
  • Reviewed the Hitachi Vantara Code of Ethics and Business Conduct, Hitachi Vantara Partner Code of Ethics and Business Conduct, and Hitachi Vantara contract templates and revised these documents where we saw opportunities to enhance the modern slavery compliance of our suppliers and partners.
  • Continued to integrate our acquired companies’ supply chain operations into Hitachi Vantara’s global process to increase procurement governance.
  • Using a risk-based approach, we have continued to incorporate learnings related to modern slavery, unfair labour practices, and the identification of any association with trafficking into our updated partner due diligence reports.

Our Future Plans

Over the coming year and beyond Hitachi Vantara will focus on: 

  • Updating various company policies and procedures related to detection and prevention of forced labour, child labour, working hour and leave violations, and other modern slavery challenges.
  • Enhancing our vendor/supplier categorizations to improve modern slavery risk analysis within Hitachi Vantara’s supply chain community.
  • Implementing the human rights risk assessment as part of Hitachi Vantara’s supplier on-boarding process.
  • For Hitachi Vantara’s existing suppliers, implement the following:
  • Desktop-based screening of existing suppliers; and
  • Initiation of a periodic supplier survey to assess and identify potential issues related to modern slavery, among other supply chain risks.
  • Creating risk mitigation framework and guidance for prospective and current suppliers lacking sufficient controls to manage modern slavery risks in their own operations and/or supply chains.
  • Readying Hitachi Vantara’s initial filings under The European Union’s (EU’s) Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
  • Forging alliances with strategic partners to combat modern slavery. Through close collaboration, we aim to enhance our collective efforts in ensuring ethical practices throughout our supply chain.
  • Selecting and implementing an on-line platform for tracking vendor/supplier adherence to Hitachi Vantara’s responsible supplier requirements, including those related to human rights.
  • Requiring suppliers to certify that materials incorporated into their products comply with laws regarding modern slavery and human trafficking of the country or countries in which they are doing business.
  • Finalizing a supplier audit program to monitor indications of modern slavery.

Review

The above constitutes Hitachi Vantara’s modern slavery and human trafficking Statement. The term “Hitachi Vantara” as used herein refers to Hitachi Vantara LLC and its wholly owned subsidiaries including, without limitation, Hitachi Vantara Limited (a UK based subsidiary) as well as Hitachi Vantara Asia Pacific Pty Limited and Hitachi Vantara Australia Pty Limited (Australian based subsidiaries and reporting entities) and Hitachi Vantara New Zealand Limited (a New Zealand subsidiary which is wholly owned by Hitachi Vantara Australia Pty Limited).

This Statement is made pursuant to the requirements of section 54(1) of the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015, Part 2 of the Australian Modern Slavery Act 2018, The California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, and The Norwegian Transparency Act, and has been approved by the relevant board of directors of Hitachi Vantara and its subsidiaries as applicable. All necessary consultation related to this Statement has taken place between Hitachi Vantara and its subsidiaries.

 

Signed by:

Sheila Rohra
Chief Executive Officer, Hitachi Vantara
Date: September 2024