Promotion of Environmental Communication
The Kikkoman Group is dedicated to sharing information with its stakeholders through publication of corporate reports and case studies on environmental conservation activities. The group strives to contribute to environmental protection efforts of the global society by leveraging accumulated data, technology, and experience gained from years of corporate activities through partnerships and cooperation with various entities, including national and local government agencies, educational institutions, industrial and related organizations.
1) Exhibition of the environmental conservation projects at Kikkoman Soy Sauce Museum
In a section dedicated to the exhibition of soy sauce production processes inside the Kikkoman Soy Sauce Museum, there is a panel showing the Kikkoman Group’s environment activities.
2) Distribution of potted plants
The Kikkoman Group pays full attention to the prevention of the pollution of rivers by purifying and processing wastewater discharged from factories in the wastewater treatment facilities at the factories before the wastewater is released into them.
The Noda Factory of Kikkoman Food Products Company and Nagareyama Kikkoman Co., Ltd. outsource the treatment of all sludge generated during the purification process at their wastewater treatment facilities. The resulting compost is supplied to farmers.
The potted flower plants grown with this fermented compost come with illustration and information labels, stating that “the compost was made from sludge” and “even the sludge can be utilized effectively through recycling.” We distribute these potted plants to local city halls, elementary schools, chamber of commerce, and shopping districts, to promote the awareness of building a circular society.
People who received the potted plants gave us the following feedback: “Now we know that wastewater contains nutrients,” “the flower bloomed nicely without extra fertilizer,” “we can expect various benefits from keeping wastewater in a good condition,” “it gave us more opportunities to talk about water and wastewater with customers,” “we used this for my grandson's summer project,” “please continue this excellent project.”
(July 2019 in Noda City, Chiba)
(July 2021 in Noda City, Chiba)
In FY2023, with the help of the Noda Chamber of Commerce, we delivered potted Begonia plants to the members of the chamber. The Environment Department Manager and a vendor representative explained Mr. Mogi, the head of the chamber, about the sludge compost.
In June 2023, Kikkoman provided flowers grown with the fermented compost to the “Flower Project with Children” organized by the Women's Association of the Noda Chamber of Commerce. By touching soil and flowers with their own hands, it is expected that this project encourages children respect plants, to develop an interest in nature and the SDGs while having fun, and to broaden their perspectives and raise their awareness on the environmental preservation.
In July 2022, the Kamogawa Plant of Kikkoman Biochemifa Co. donated 200 Begonia plants grown with this sludge compost to Kamogawa City. Mayor Hasegawa expressed his appreciation, commenting “it is an excellent activity. I appreciate your efforts in making this city blossomed with flowers.” Begonia plants were transplanted in the flower beds at the city hall, delighting the eyes of the Kamogawa residents.
3) Cleanup project (community cleanup and trash pickup)
Each year, employees at Kikkoman Group offices and facilities regularly work with local community members and participate in a cleanup project (including trash pickup and cleaning) in the neighboring areas of the respective establishment. In May 2024, the Kikkoman's Environment Department joined the Edogawa Cleanup Project organized by the Save Edogawa Committee and cleaned the Edogawa riverbed together with local residents by picking up trash and cleaning the area.
4）Teacher-Private Sector Training Program
Since 2002, the Kikkoman Group has conducted 2 to 3-day training and hands-on experience programs, inviting about 15 teachers from mainly Tokyo elementary and junior high schools. These programs introduce Kikkoman's human resource and education systems, initiatives for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the environment, as well as corporate activities, including shokuiku (food education).
For this program, the Environment Department holds a lecture on 'Environmental Initiatives' that includes:
①The Earth’s various environmental problems and global initiatives to solve these
②The importance of corporate environmental management
③The Kikkoman Group’s environmental policies, management system and in-practice environmental conservation activities
environmental conservation activities
5) Weathernews Climate Change Forum Speaker
In April 2024, Weathernews Inc. held its “First Climate Change Countermeasures Forum”.
For this forum, Weathernews Inc., which analyzes the effects of physical risks (such as flooding and high tide) on corporations, assesses water risks concerning TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures), and supports risk quantification, focused on companies committed to disclosing information related to climate change.
The Environmental Department Manager from Kikkoman introduced our company’s sustainability initiatives and a case example of information disclosure, then participated in a panel discussion to exchange ideas and strategies aimed at solving the 'Quantitative Analysis of Physical Risk Issue.'
Partnership and cooperation with related organizations
The Kikkoman Group is committed to promoting environmental conservation activities in a diverse spectrum as a corporate member of various organizations, including Kanto Environmental Council on Related Industries of Agriculture, Forestry and Marine Products, JFIA (Japan Food Industry Association) Sustainability Committee, Environmental Conservation Association of Chiba Prefecture, the Council for PET Bottle Recycling, Glass Bottle 3R Promotion Association, PET Bottle Recycling Division of the Japan Containers and Packaging Recycling Association, Chiba Biodiversity Center.
1) Affiliation with JCLP
The Kikkoman Group has been a member of the Japan Climate Leaders' Partnership (JCLP) since May 2015. JCLP is a business coalition in Japan established in July 2009 to promote various inter-industry and industry-government-academia activities beyond the scope of individual companies, based on the recognition that the industries should develop a sound sense of urgency and initiate autonomous and preemptive action, with the goal of realizing a sustainable decarbonized society. The organization facilitates information exchange and joint projects among industry, government and academia, runs the initiatives including RE100, EP100, EV100, and Renewable Energy 100 RE Action, provides recommendations on long-term strategic policies in line with the Paris Agreement, for example.
2) Participation to the Japanese Project for the “10x20x30 Food Loss and Waste Initiative”
In 2019, Kikkoman Food Products Company decided to participate in the Japanese Project for the “10x20x30 Food Loss and Waste Initiative” organized by AEON Co., Ltd. About 800 million people in the world (one out of nine) are estimated to be undernourished, while about 1/3 of the food equivalent to 1.3 billion tons produced for human consumption is being wasted annually, even though they are still edible. This is referred to as a food loss problem. Of the 27.59 million tons of food wasted in Japan during FY2016, the food loss comprises 6.43 million tons (3.52 million tons generated from businesses including manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and restaurants, while 2.91 million tons generated from households), which is equivalent to about 1.7 times the amount of food that the UN World Food Program (WFP) donated to countries facing poverty and hunger.
(December 2019 at Bellesalle Kanda)
The “10x20x30 Food Loss and Waste Initiative” is an initiative sponsored by the WRI (World Resources Institute), a non-profit US think tank engaged in policy research and technology development related to the global environment and development. This initiative was brought together by ten (10) of the world's biggest food retailers, each engaging with their twenty (20) suppliers to halve rates of food loss and waste by the year 2030 (30). Following the launch of this international initiative in September 2019, WRI authorized AEON Co., Ltd. to work with 21 food manufacturers (suppliers) in Japan, including Kikkoman Food Products Company, and they started activities (projects) to halve food waste.
3) Participation to the Japan Clean Ocean Material Alliance (CLOMA)
In September 2021, the Kikkoman Group became a member of the Clean Ocean Material Alliance (CLOMA) to track progress in addressing the issues of marine plastic pollution, three Rs for plastic materials, development and commercialization of environment-friendly plastics, all of which contribute to the activities of the group's environment vision.
4) Participation to the Japan Climate Initiative (JCI)
Our commitment to addressing climate change led us to join the Japan Climate Initiative (JCI) in September 2021, with the aim of mitigating global warming and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
5) Participation to Marine Ecolabel Japan Council (MEL)
In June 2023, we became a full member of the Marine Ecolabel Japan Council (MEL) in support of its objectives, “to protect Japan’s diverse nature, fish species, fishing methods, processing and distribution, and diverse fish-eating culture, as well as serving them for the healthy and enriched lives of people in Japan and around the world”.
Release of the Kikkoman Group's Corporate Report
Kikkoman Group’s Corporate Report, which is available on our website, introduces the Kikkoman Group’s environmental protection activities.