Roundtable #12 – Sustainability with Ross Rowbury and Luke Date from marine protection NPO UMINARI

Roundtable: Sustainability with Ross Rowbury

The English-language events will invite readers of The Japan Times to be guest speakers. Ross Rowbury (former representative of Edelman Japan), who has a deep knowledge of Japan and boasts a wide network both here and abroad, will sit down in the role of host with Japanese and non-Japanese to discuss their lives in Japan. Held once a month, the format of the roundtable will include time for panel discussions with the participation of the audience.

For our special speaker, Rowbury will welcome Luke Date, a Japanese Gen-Z sustainability strategist, whose strategic planning is rooted in the concept of collective impact.

The contents of Roundtable by The Japan Times will be published as an archive at a later date and will be introduced in the main paper of The Japan Times and the website of Sustainable Japan by The Japan Times.

Luke Date Luke Date is a Japanese Gen-Z sustainability strategist, the Founder & CEO of UMINARI, and a Strategic Advisor for The Yield Lab. His strategic planning rooted in the concept of collective impact allows a variety of sectors effectively cooperate in achieving overarching optimizations for more dynamic, sustainable, and resilient ecosystems. Luke has experience in establishing a nonprofit organization at twenty, in starting a joint enterprise with United Nations Environment Programme at twenty two, and in consulting major corporates, startups, VC, associations, and other forms of sectors both within and outside Japan. Besides having a prime focus on circular economy for tackling marine plastic pollution, his work covers the ground of agriculture & food systems, impact investment, and urban development. Luke is the TEDx speaker for “How does generation z start taking actions for sustainability” and a presenter for UNEP Forum 2019.

Ross Rowbury Ross Rowbury has observed Japan while living and working here for four decades. Commencing his career in finance in Tokyo in the early 1980s, he later moved into public relations and communications, holding senior positions at Gavin Anderson & Co. (now Kreab) and PRAP Japan. Most recently, he headed the Edelman business in Japan for 10 years until July 2020. Ross is studying to become a kataribe (traditional storyteller) of Japanese legends while doing freelance consulting for a number of firms on their Japan business strategy. He is also visiting professor of Asian marketing at Doshisha University in Kyoto.