Group CEO Message on DEI Initiatives
The Cosmo Energy Group is actively working to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
Active Participation of Diverse Human Resources
The Cosmo Energy Group Human Resources Policy explicitly states that we see human resources as a form of management capital and recognizes the importance of maximizing their value.
Cosmo Energy Group Human Resources Policy
In our Human Resources Policy, we clearly state our commitment to "promoting the active participation of diverse human resources." We strive to create an environment in which all executives and employees, regardless of gender or other attributes, are treated fairly and can fully demonstrate their capabilities.
As part of our efforts to ensure their collective success, we have implemented various measures, including workstyle reforms through flextime, teleworking, and other systems, support systems for balancing childcare and work that exceed legal requirements, efforts to raise awareness of gender equality, the proactive recruitment of women, and the expansion of roles for female employees.
Women's Empowerment
Among our diversity initiatives, we consider women's empowerment to be one of our most important management agendas. As of April 1, 2024, the percentage of women in managerial positions reached 7.1%. Under the current medium-term management plan, we aim to raise this figure to 10% and continue to ensure that women account for 50% or more of new graduate hires. To achieve these targets, we are actively recruiting women, providing opportunities to learn from female role models, holding cross-industry networking events, and implementing mentorship programs. Going forward, we will continue to drive organizational transformation by promoting women's active participation and advancement in the workplace and incorporating diverse perspectives and values.
Recognition by external organizations
Notes:
*The target covers core employees of Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd., and includes employees seconded outside the company.
*The percentage of women in managerial positions is calculated as of April 1 of the applicable fiscal year. Previously, the reference date for calculation was March 31, or the end of the applicable fiscal year. However, in order to reflect the most recent employment, promotion, and related results, the date for calculating the managerial percentage has been changed retroactively to April 1 of the applicable fiscal year. Please note that a managerial position refers to any individual who holds a role with subordinates and above, as well as individuals who may not have subordinates but who hold equivalent positions.
Support for Childbirth, Childcare, and Caregiving
The Group offers a limited work location system for employees with childcare or nursing care responsibilities. In addition, employees who need to resign mid-career for childcare or nursing care reasons can subsequently use the reemployment system as well as the limited work location system. We have also established programs that allow employees to continue or suspend their employment when their family or household circumstances change, such as special leave when the employee’s spouse is transferred to a distant location.
Childbirth and Childcare-Related Support Systems
Employees giving birth or raising children can use a childcare leave system with partial pay that exceeds the legal requirement, and can also take advantage of options such as shorter working hours and teleworking. We also encourage these employees to take other types of leave, such as special occasion leave for a child’s first birthday, and childcare leave when a child falls ill, which can be taken until the child graduates from elementary school. To make it easier for these employees to return to work after completing their leave, we have career and childcare support systems in place. This has helped us maintain a 100% return-to-work rate for those taking childcare leave.
Childcare Handbook
In recognition of its efforts to create a workplace that encourages employees to balance childcare and work responsibilities, Cosmo Oil, a member of the Cosmo Energy Group, has received Platinum Kurumin certification* based on Japan’s Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children (Next-Generation Act). Cosmo Oil became the first oil wholesaler to obtain Platinum Kurumin certification from Japan’s Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.
*Platinum Kurumin is a special certification program applicable to companies that have already received Kurumin certification under the Next-Generation Act, based on their efforts to support employees with childcare responsibilities. Platinum certification however, requires an even higher level of employee support initiatives.
Balancing Work and Childcare / Nursing Care Responsibilities
Caregiving Support Initiatives
As part of our efforts to support caregivers, we strive to boost caregiver literacy by holding nursing care seminars, distributing our Nursing Care Handbook, and undertaking other initiatives. In these ways, we strive to help our employees balance their work and nursing care responsibilities without having to leave their jobs when faced with caregiving challenges. We have also set up a Nursing Care Consultation Hotline in the Human Resource Department to foster an environment in which employees can feel free to ask for help.
Nursing Care Handbook
Increasing Employee Awareness of Gender Equality
To increase employee awareness of gender equality, we are encouraging fathers of young children to participate more in childcare. By providing seminars for both men and women on balancing childcare and work responsibilities, offering paternity leave as special paid leave, and providing individual consultations to new fathers on relevant programs, we saw 62% of eligible male employees take childcare leave in fiscal 2023.
We believe it is important to build a workplace where every employee can demonstrate their abilities to the fullest. Accordingly, we offer employees on leave the opportunity to take part in e-learning, as well as have one-on-one meetings with their direct supervisor before and after childcare leave. There are also e-learning options for supervisors with subordinates who are raising children. These initiatives demonstrate our commitment to ensuring that childbirth and childcare does not hinder employees’ career development.
Please see below for more information on the number of employees taking childcare leave, the childcare leave utilization rate, etc.
Promoting the Success of Mid-Career Hires
The percentage of mid-career hires among employees in senior management positions has increased to 21.8%, and the percentage of line managers who joined the company mid-career has continued to rise, now standing at 11%.
The Group continues to hire mid-career employees and promote line managers based on their individual abilities and aptitude, harnessing this process as a force to drive organizational change. We also continually raise manager awareness via training and other means, focusing on the need to respect the knowledge and opinions of mid-career hires and encourage them to take on new challenges.
Respect for Diversity
Employing People with Disabilities
As part of our focus on respecting diversity, the Group also works to maintain and increase the employment rate of individuals with disabilities. As of June 1, 2024, employees with disabilities accounted for 2.76% of all Group employees, exceeding the percentage mandated by Japanese law.
The Group’s basic approach is one of inclusion, placing differently abled people in the same workplaces. The Group strives to cultivate an environment in which people with disabilities can play an active role by ensuring that workplaces are accessible, enhancing communication tools, improving consultation systems, and conducting internal awareness-raising activities. The Group will continue efforts to improve the workplace environment in this and other ways.
LGBTQ+ Initiatives
The Group’s Code of Conduct sets forth our commitment to “respecting diversity and each individual,” while our Human Resources Policy calls for “respecting employee diversity and treating everyone fairly to foster corporate unity.”
Group rules of employment clearly state, “We do not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation (i.e., orientation with respect to gender as the object of romantic or sexual feelings) or gender identity (i.e., perception of one’s own gender),” and employees are required to comply. In addition, the Group includes preventing discrimination and harassment on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression among the topics covered in its annual Corporate Ethics and Human Rights E-Learning program.
As a result of these efforts, we received a "Bronze" rating in 2022 and a "Silver" rating in 2023 in the PRIDE Index, a measure established to evaluate workplace initiatives related to LGBTQ+ issues.
Fiscal 2023 Human Rights Training
| Training title | Topics | FY2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | Training time | ||
| New recruit training | General knowledge on basic human rights | 42 | 60 minutes |
| Newly appointed line manager training | Human rights/harassment training | 33 | 60 minutes |
| Work site training | E-learning on corporate ethics and human rights (including preventing harassment) | 6,753 | 60 minutes |
Recognition by external organizations
Initiatives Related to Preventing Harassment
Recognizing our responsibility to ensure a healthy workplace environment free from harassment, the Group respects the human rights of each employee and works to eliminate harassment and create friendly and comfortable workplaces.
Notably, an e-learning course on human rights and harassment is provided for all Group employees, and harassment prevention training is specifically offered to line managers and employees in leadership roles.
Harassment Prevention Training
Fiscal 2023
| Training title | Topics |
|---|---|
| New recruit training | General knowledge on basic human rights |
| Newly appointed line manager training | Training on prevention of harassment |
| Group-wide employee training | E-learning on corporate ethics |
The Group has established a Corporate Ethics Consultation Helpline both internally and externally, which allows employees to anonymously report and discuss incidents of harassment or human rights violations by their colleagues.
This helpline is available not only to regular employees, but also to other workers such as temporary and part-time workers. By establishing a system to address violations of human rights and incidents of harassment appropriately, the Group is working to improve the workplace environment.
For information on the number of consultations received, see “Corporate Ethics Implementation Structure” on the following page.