Compliance

“Compliance” means „adherence to“, or „compliance with“, certain rules or prohibitions, especially as set out in mandatory law, like for example the

• Prohibition of competition-restricting behaviour
• Prohibition of the granting or accepting of inappropriate benefits
• Prohibition of the non-adherence to occupational safety regulations
• Working conditions, etc.

It is not alone the provisions of the country in which KONICA MINOLTA is active in the respective case, which are pertinent, but, irrespective of them, in many cases also foreign legal provisions (e.g. of the US, GB, EU), the violation of which may entail considerable and existence-threatening penalties, even if the misconduct is not related to that foreign country.

Compliance comprises adherence to our Corporate Ethics laid down in our Behaviour Guidelines/ Code of Conduct and made available to each employee via the inter-/intranet, and is of the highest priority for all our actions and company activities. We expressly commit to our responsibility not only to achieve growth but also to fulfil our social responsibilities and to make a contribution towards society.

Therefore, KONICA MINOLTA introduced measures at an early stage:

• Support of the corporate social responsibility (CSR)
• Code of Conduct (guideline)
• Konica Minolta Group Conduct Guidelines
• in order to promote adequate behaviour.

It is our common task to continue fulfilling this responsibility. It requires our constant efforts to provide for adherence to the existing regulations also in the future. This is why, at this point, we want to stress the particular importance of „Compliance“, also for KONICA MINOLTA.

At KONICA MINOLTA adherence to statutory and corporate regulations is a matter of course.

The practice shows, however, that violations in companies cannot be ruled out, nevertheless. Even uninvolved employees do not inform superiors or the confidential persons in charge about them, be it for ignorance, for the supposed protection of the company, for fear of disadvantages or for misunderstood collegiality.

We are aware that the mere knowledge of shortcomings can be really burdensome, also for otherwise uninvolved employees. They alternate between loyalty towards the company and their colleagues. They do not want to wrongfully incriminate somebody, but they also do not want to cover up unlawful behaviour or be jointly responsible for any damages resulting from it.

Undisclosed violations of compliance could quickly acquire an existence-threatening extent and have massive consequences for all parties involved, in particular when the competent authorities have already taken notice of the shortcomings.

Compliance also means to safeguard adherence to the statutory provisions and corporate rules and to support the employees in doing this.

For this purpose, we have created the necessary structures to warrant

• Knowledge of the rules
• Orientation/help towards the correct behaviour
• Discovery of any violations/shortcomings