September 22, 2022

Sustainable Japan Award 2022

TRANSLATOR:EMI MAEDA

Representatives from the awarded companies (front) and judges of the Sustainable Japan Awards (back) take a commemorative photo.
PHOTO: HIROMICHI MATONO

On Sept. 15, The Japan Times Co. Ltd. held the Sustainable Japan Award ceremony to commemorate the 2022 awardee companies. About 40 guests witnessed the selected eight organizations being recognized for their efforts in the ESG or satoyama categories. Following this, two panel sessions were held where representatives of each organization explained their efforts to contribute to a more sustainable society.

In 2017, The Japan Times launched two consortiums: the ESG Consortium and the Satoyama Consortium. The consortiums have focused on individuals, companies and organizations who have been active in various positions to realize a sustainable society, including key people who are active in Japan and overseas and who have disseminated their efforts both domestically and overseas.

Though the ESG Consortium and the Satoyama Consortium had different approaches, they had the same goals. Thus, in June 2021 both consortiums were merged into the new Sustainable Japan Network. The first Satoyama and ESG Awards were held in 2019. Three years later, the name was changed to the Sustainable Japan Award, with both a satoyama section and an ESG section established within it. Our goal is to commend individuals, companies and organizations who have made advances in sustainable efforts, and we hope to convey their activities both domestically and internationally. Here is a glimpse of what happened on Sept. 15.


Sustainable Japan Award Grand Prize

Nomura Research Institute Ltd.

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to The Japan Times and the committee for awarding us the Grand Prize in the Sustainable Japan Awards 2022.

NRI has contributed to creating a safe, secure, convenient and affluent society by solving social issues with our clients through consulting, IT solutions and other services.

The spirit of creating new social value through our core business and taking on the challenge of solving social issues was written in 1963 in NRI’s founding prospectus and has been passed down to the present day as part of NRI’s corporate DNA.

In the midterm management plan (2019-2022), NRI has advanced its sustainability management and aimed for sustainable growth by working toward creating a sustainable future. As for our aspirations for the future, the new long-term management vision called Group Vision 2030 and the Medium-Term Management Plan (2023-2025) will start soon, and we will continue to pursue contributions to society and enhance economic value as twin goals. We will focus on our digital transformation plan DX3.0, which will change social paradigms through digital technology, as the pillar of our growth strategy, and expand our business in themes that will lead to solutions to social issues such as carbon neutrality, a circular economy and the food value chain.

Aizu-Wakamatsu Wind Farm in Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima.
NRI procures a portion of its electric power through the “Good Around” renewable energy bidding system. Part of the charges paid is returned to the local community as “regional revitalization funds.”

NRI is supporting Tsuruoka to create a smart city and digital government. The city is working on digital transformation in various social areas such as transportation, agriculture, disaster prevention, energy and health care.

PHOTO: HIROMICHI MATONO

Sustainable Japan ESG Excellence Award & ESG Special Award

Lion Corp.

A collection box for recycling toothbrushes at a junior high school

Nippon Life Insurance Co.

Nippon Life Insurance Co. introduced renewable energy at certain buildings it owns and plans to use LED lights and highly energy-efficient facilities when constructing new buildings.

Japan Clean Ocean Material Alliance

A CLOMA technical seminar introduces members to best practices and new technologies from research institutes.

From left: Michiyo Morisawa, director of CDP Japan; Takeshi Hihara, senior managing director, Nomura Research Institute; Tomomichi Okano, executive officer of Lion Corp.; Kazuo Sato, director and managing executive officer of Nippon Life Insurance Co.; and Chika Morishima, chair of dissemination and promotion WG of Japan Clean Ocean Material Alliance.
PHOTO: HIROMICHI MATONO

Sustainable Japan Excellence Award

Sakaue Inc. Ltd.

Thank you very much for selecting Sakaue to receive such a wonderful award. The satoyama beef project, using regional resources and engaging in sustainable recycling-oriented agriculture, aims to preserve the spirit of the rural upland satoyama areas that symbolizes the harmony that has been achieved between nature and Japanese people.

Cattle live off of natural energy, and that energy is transformed into great meat to keep consumers healthy and well nourished. Sustainability is a concept that has already been firmly established in our society. People incorporated it into their everyday lives a long time ago. This is what we call “satoyama culture,” and it has existed in Japan since ancient times.

In accordance with the spirit of learning new things from the past and aiming to continue creating a sustainable society, the satoyama beef project learns from the knowledge handed down from our ancestors to redefine the methods of agriculture in order to meet the requirements of the present day so that nature and people can keep living together in harmony.

PHOTO: HIROMICHI MATONO

Sustainable Japan Satoyama Excellence Award & Special Award

Satoyama Experience

A sustainable room in a renovated 120-year-old storehouse used local wood and scrap cloth for the furniture.

Hayama

Beach cleaning, which has been held since 1996, has an average of 500 participants every year.

Certified Non-profit Organization for Nature Conservation and History Transmission of Shishitsuka Satoyama

Themed observation gatherings are held on the first Sunday of every month in the woodlands of Shishitsuka with an expert providing explanations — in this photo, of bees nesting in bamboo.
PHOTO: KIMIE TANOUE

From left: Kosuke Motani, chief senior economist of the Japan Research Institute; Takashi Sakaue, CEO of Sakaue Co. Ltd.; Takahito Yamanashi, mayor of Hayama town; Taku Yamada, founder and CEO of Chura-boshi Co.; and Nobuo Morimoto, chairman of the Certified Non-profit Organization for Nature Conservation and History Transmission of Shishitsuka Satoyama.
PHOTO: HIROMICHI MATONO

Yojiro Hatakeyama, director-general, industrial science and technology policy, Environment Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
PHOTO: HIROMICHI MATONO

Ono Hiroshi, vice minister for global environmental affairs, Ministry of the Environment
PHOTO: HIROMICHI MATONO

Shunichi Suzuki, minister of finance, minister of state for financial services and minister in charge of overcoming deflation

第4回Sustainable Japan Award 表彰式及び受賞企業によるパネルセッション

株式会社ジャパンタイムズ主催のSustainable Japan Award 表彰式及び受賞企業によるパネルセッションを9月15日に国際文化会館で開催。今年度の受賞企業・自治体・団体を表彰し、その後ESG部門、Satoyama部門、それぞれの受賞者によるパネルセッションを行った。

Sustainable Japan Award大賞を受賞した株式会社野村総合研究所はコンサルティングやITソリューションなどを通じて、お客様と共に社会的課題を解決し、安全・安心で便利で豊かな社会の実現に貢献。Sustainable Japan Award優秀賞を受賞した株式会社さかうえは、先祖から学び、今の時代に求められる農業の在り方を再定義することで、自然と人とが共に生きる持続可能な社会づくりを見据えている。

Return to Sustainable Japan Magazine Vol. 16 article list page

Subscribe to our newsletter

You can unsubscribe at any time.

PREMIUM MEMBERSHIPS

1-month plan or Annual plan 20% off!

Premium membership allows members to Advance registration for seminars and events.
And Unlimited access to Japanese versions of articles.

CHOOSE YOUR PLAN

Subscribe to our newsletter