Corporate Social Responsibility Discussion (3/3)

En-Cycles October Seminar
After the speech, the whole room participated in the Q&A discussion facilitated by Arisa.

Question1： Is there any possibility that reporting on CSR issues will become obligatory through national or international legislation?

Peter：In some countries, such legislations already exist in France where companies have a reporting obligation on details of employee training. It is very difficult to lay out legislations with immediate enforcement, and it is also hard to compare reports from different countries because there are no set international standards. However, there are movements to create such common standards, such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

Question2：You have mentioned that EIRIS never gives advice to investors in order to keep its neutrality. However, don’t you think you also have to responsibility to enlighten public on issues which we should pay attention to in the field of responsible investment? Is there any risk that people will pay too much attention to major issues like climate change and ignore other issues like biodiversity?

Peter：It certainly is a problem that people pay attention to a certain issue and forget others according to short term trends of public opinion. However, climate change is quite a unique topic as it itself includes various other issues, and therefore means that through focusing on climate change one can address many other issues.
At EIRIS, we conduct research regardless of its popularity so long as there is a clients need for it, so we often research on issues which are not well know to the public. We believe it is our duty to provide information about unpopular issues to our clients who have not yet recognized its seriousness and contribute to raise awareness of investors. Biodiversity is already recognized as an issue that is as important as climate change internationally.

Question3：How do you think the current financial crisis will affect SRI?

Peter：It has made us reconsider the transparency of financial firms and what responsible business is. Many people think the “age of greed” has died and the “age of responsibility” is coming. I believe responsible investment contribute to it. The economist Sir Nicholas Stern has said that the cost of not taking action is far greater than the cost of addressing climate change now. The current crisis is a good example of the effects of not dealing with something everyone knew to be a problem.

Question4：When we evaluate “good CSR activity” based on global standards, isn’t there a danger of these standards to have a favorable bias towards Europe, and the potential of screening out all companies from South-East Asia and African countries?

Peter： If a local government does not act sufficiently, the role of companies which reflect opinions of European investors and clients will be very important. In addition, to achieve a global standard will be a large incentive for local companies for being recognized as a global market player. Japan also used to be reluctant in introducing global standard, but increased understanding for these standards have brought acceptance. It is important for companies from countries such as Japan who are outside Europe to be involved in the stage when such ‘global’ standards are being created.


Question5：It is evident that Japanese companies are making a certain level of effort in CSR activities, but I think it is not integrated into the corporate strategies. Is it just because they are not good at communication, or is rooted in the Japanese culture?

Peter：Insufficient communication can be seen as part of the reason. At the same time, companies may not be confident that they can implement outside of Japan the high standards of corporate activities they have done within Japan.

If you are interested in their activities, post a comment on this article or email en_cycles@yahoo.co.jp and they will get back to you for further notice.

Corporate Social Responsibility Discussion (2/3)

CSR in Japan and future perspectives＝Global strategy with local flavour
Japanese companies are on the whole better than their international peers at environmental management. While in Europe only companies with a large impact on the environment are enthusiastic about environmental management, Japanese companies address these issues well regardless of the size of the companies. In particular, Japanese companies are outstanding in environmental management systems. The widespread adoption of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in Japan is considered to be the reason.　

On the other hand, Japan lags behind European countries in human rights issues. The reason is European countries have been ahead of the world in this field through its experience of having been accused by NPOs and citizens.

As for equal opportunity for employees, Japan is superior to other Asian countries, but still behind European countries. In particular, employment conditions of women and the number of female executives need improving. Each country/region has different strengths in the corporate responsibility agenda; environment management for Japan, cooperate governance for the U.S., and human rights for Europe.

Although there was a rapid growth in environmental funds know as ‘Eco-funds’ in Japan around 2003, the amount of asset under management in each fund has been on the decrease thereafter. This is largely due to the fact that regardless of the type of fund (be it SRI or conventional funds) the Japanese investment product structure tends to prioritize the creation of constantly new funds. Therefore, it is natural for the total asset under management to decrease if new products are not constantly created. However, there may still be a big potential in Japan judging from the large interest in responsible investment by Japanese cooperate pension funds.

CSR will become more global due to diversification of shareholders and globalization of various issues, but at the same time, it will definitely need to maintain a local flavour which reflects each region’s characteristics. One of the things that I hope for Japan is to take leadership in Asia, particularly to build good relationships with China.

Corporate Social Responsibility Discussion (1/3)

We will update the report from En-cycleS (London) about the latest session they had, inviting Mr. Peter Webster as the main speaker. Peter is the Executive Director of EIRIS (Ethical Investment Research Services). Their sessions are open to everyone positive, but the reports of sessions are usually closed within the participants, so this is a rare source to know what they are doing!

The debate of the seminar focused on 1) responsible investment and EIRIS, 2) key drivers of current SRI/CSR, 3) CSR in Japan and future perspectives, which was mixed with proactively discussions from the participants.

En-Cycles October Report

Responsible Investment and EIRIS
EIRIS, which has expanded its research coverage alongside the developments in responsible investment, conducts research on environmental, social and governance issues of companies and develops tools to help clients to make their own investment decisions. EIRIS relies mainly on public information and responses to questionnaires to conduct this research.

Substantial change in the ways companies address CSR both at home and abroad has been noticed during the last 25 years. Before, companies were concerned on how they operated abroad, while at home the focus was on philanthropic activities. In addition, external stakeholders were often only interested in the list of “bad ” companies. Currently, expectations both within and outside the companies are to build win-win relationships between ESG activities and financial benefit and long-term strategies. A diverse range of issues like bribery, HIV/AIDS and nuclear energy are being recognized as important by the international society, and the impact of social evaluation on company profit has been proven.

It is widely accepted that CSR brings long-term merits to a company, but it can be a challenge to link CSR strategies to short term company profit growth. However, it has been proven that investors can contribute to improving corporate responsibility standards by holding dialogues with companies to ask them to react to various international issues. This can be seen in the example where institutional investors took part in a dialogue with pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline when Oxfam urged these companies to react to issues of prices and patents of medicine for HIV/AIDS and so forth in developing countries.

Key Drivers of Current SRI/CSR
Climate change：
Although climate change requires international strategy and action including at a political level, sufficient countermeasures have not been taken yet. It is assumed that when a proper emission trading scheme like “cap and trade” is introduced, the cost of climate change will be integrated into cooperate value. However, this system has not been fully established yet, and energy users are expected to be ignorant of the added costs regardless of a cap and trade system. Investors have the potential to integrate climate change countermeasures into the valuation of business and to encourage companies to regard it as one of the most important issues that they should react to. In addition, they may also contribute to mitigating climate change through dialogue with numerous stakeholders such as policy makers, governments, NGOs and so forth.

UN Global Compact：
Although the credibility of the initiative has been questioned at certain stages, it has been increasing its value and reliability through the addition of the principle on countering bribery and by delisting non-active signatories. It is characterized by the 10 principles which are comprised of the basic values essential for any organization or government which takes part in the international society.

UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI)：
More than 400 institutional investors have signed UNPRI, which has more than 16 trillion US dollars of assets under management and can be said to be the UN Global Compact equivalent for investors. It is clear that it has contributed to investor engagement in policy making processes, but the feasibility of implementing these principles are yet to be seen.

En-CycleS in London

Engagement Cycle for Sustainability, known as "En-CycleS" in short, is a private committee taking place in London. Run by a 25 years old Japanese lady Arisa Kishigami and her colleague Ms. Mochiduki, they hold sessions every month to discuss about CSR and SRI in Japan and the UK.

En-CycleS’second seminar was held on 6th October with Mr Peter Webster who has 25 years of experience in the field of responsible investment. The seminar was filled with approximately 25 participants including both repeating and new participants from different professional backgrounds such as international organisations, government agencies and private companies. Thanks to the diversity of the participants, interactive discussions were held. I participated in this seminar too, and enjoyed the discussion myself. If you happen to be working or visiting London, it may be a good experience to enter the circle of positive and sincere people.

The summary of October will follow.

Interview with Ken Noguchi

We conducted an interview of our cover story, Alpinist and environmentalist Ken Noguchi. A powerful, positive and charming person he was!!
He talked about his strong will in cleanups ...the important thing is to "think" while cleaning. Think of the reasons why people dump trash, what actions to take in order to make a society that doesn't need cleanups.
We also had a discussion (apart from the interview) about how Japanese people who grew up overseas divide into two groups. One group wants to live outside of Japan, feeling negative about the Japanese society. The other group, where Ken and I position, starts to study more about Japan, to explore the forgotten virtues. His interview will be on our next volume coming out on December 10th. Check it out!!

Being a Bridge

OK, I may not the best artist, but this picture I drew on my notebook represents who we want to support.

The person on the right is a president of a small-scaled Japanese company with fascinating environmental technology or traditional eco-friendly products. There are so many honest and proven small companies in Japan (after all, 90% of Japanese companies are SMEs) but nobody knows about them, because of language and IT barriers. I've been making relations with these companies, and the more I know, the more I get drawn into this world of wonder. So what I do is gather these small jewels, and make a handbook in English so that people outside of Japan can know about them and approach them.

http://www.ecotwaza.com/service/media.htm#ecotwazatimes

The person on the left is a non-Japanese, possibly working in Japan as a transfer, or business people outside of Japan who are interested in Japan and environmental issues... it could be you, reading this blog! If you want to start a business in your country, and looking for a business seed, there are so many ideas and technology you can make partnership with in Japan.

▽Look for examples at our Biz-seeds articles

http://www.eco-friendly-japan.com/search/label/business%20seeds

And when the non-Japanese, who is not fluent in Japanese, finds a good business to become partner, he/she can contact Ecotwaza (us!) for assistance, and we can coordinate business sessions or tours to the company in Japan.

Overall, Ecotwaza wants to be a bridge between two groups of people, who know the value of living a nature-friendly life, and the value of keeping your business nice and small instead of rapid growth.

At a Local Cleaning Store

Business efficiency can sometimes be the easiest way of being eco-friendly. A large example can be McDonalds, famous for cutting down their cost and increasing profitability by reducing the amount of packaging.

A smaller, but effective effort can be made in local family businesses too. The poster was put up at a local cleaning store in Kunitachi.

1. If you pick up your finished laundry within two days, you get 5% discount.

2. If you give back the hangers, you recieve a 50 yen ticket.

3. If you use your own eco-bag to take home laundry, you recieve a 10 yen ticket.

Each one is a win-win solution for the customer, the store and the Earth. It is not just an economic insentive for the customers, it will also be a reminder to pick up your important clothes to wear to the next party, save place in your closet, and reduce the amount of trash.

Please post up if you found other interesting ideas from local businesses!

This can be an example of good SECOI!

Ikaho

My favorite Onsen area. It is about three hours from Tokyo. Take a local line from Takasaki Station in Gunma Pref. Just like many Japanese girls, I'm an Onsen (hot spa) freek too. Atami, Hakone, Izu, Tama... I've been to quite a few Onsen spots, but Ikaho was the best. The whole town is reserved from the old days, and it is not too touristic, but has a very authentic Japanese taste. Of course the hot water is relaxing too. Be sure to try out the Onsen Manju (dumpling with sweet bean paste).

Interior Exhibition

There is an interior exhibition going on at the Tokyo Big Sight. The interior industry seemed to be less conscious about environment compared to other fields, but some had good ideas. I went to see a client company, Marutaka Kogyo, and their curtain hook.

Curtains play a big role in maintaining your indoor temperature. If you put on a long curtain during winter, it will keep out the coolness especially against radiant heat. And if you keep the curtain shorter, it will take in the breeze.

Marutaka has a hook that can change the length of curtains easily, to make energy conservation easier for you. Their hooks are becoming smaller and smaller to reduce the amount of plastic as well. Check out the Tokyo Big Sight, the interior / reform exhibition will be going on till tomorrow.

Interview with SAKAN Naoki Kusumi (4/4)

For the Future of a Japanese Meister System

SAKAN is such a traditional Japanese occupation; people may wonder why he goes overseas to work. "I want to learn more from overseas projects. There is much to learn from building projects abroad, since there are many old things left especially in Europe, and unbelievable effort is made for renovation. There are new large projects in emerging countries that you won't be able to experience in Japan too." While most craftsmen of Japan tend to keep their field within Japan for language barriers and traditional ways of thinking, Naoki's mentality to “learn more” just doesn't fit him within the small country border. A big issue about wall plasterer craftsmanship in Japan is automation, and too much labor division. Less building projects allow slow and handicraft process. Naoki’s long term dream is to learn how the Meister System works in other countries and bring it back to Japan to recover the thinning stream. When asked for a comment to following SAKANs and other craftsmen who are struggling, he shyly shrugged and said "I can't say anything special when I am still a learning person. I want people to feel from my works". Now this is the soul of Japanese craftsmanship. (Shokunin-damashii)

So the last question. What Kanji character will best express your relation with nature?
After thinking for a while, he smiles and answers "土" (earth). Well of course! We wish a good breeze will blow for our SAKAN Naoki Kusumi.

Interview with SAKAN Naoki Kusumi (3/4)

Where should the material come from?

It is interesting that he doesn’t bring the wall material from Japan for his overseas projects. He will use local earth, stone, glue and other natural resource to make his own wall paint. “Of course, the best earth for me is the soil of Awaji. I know the exact outcome if I use Awaji soil, because I know it so well. Earth is unpredictable at first. We blend it and create material for various use such as finishing, polishing and shaping. It does take time and effort to create wall material from earth I don’t know.


But what is the use of bringing massive amount of soil from Japan when there is plenty of local soil? It will have to go back into the ecosystem in the future anyway. Then it makes more sense to use local nature, doesn’t it? Some people think I have a strong opinion about which soil I use, but I don’t really mind about the ingredients. I do have a strong opinion about my own technique. The ability to use whatever kind of material is craftsmanship.” And he seems to enjoy adventures with new types of earth!

Interview with SAKAN Naoki Kusumi (2/4)

A Borderless SAKAN

After learning the basics in his hometown, Naoki ventures to other parts of Japan to master more design and garnishment skills. Not many SAKAN know how to create their own material from plain earth, but at the same time, not many have the skill of creating designs either. His curiosity and high leveled skills led him to more offers from different projects, including overseas. However he says Awaji has always been the origin of his creativity. “The traditional roofs, landscape with rice fields, the waves I enjoy surfing, the cliff you can see from the shore… what I felt beautiful seems to be reflected somewhere else in my works”.
Naoki participated in many projects around the world at places such as the world heritage Arc-et-Senans (France), Châteaudu de Chaumont sur Loire(France), Saltlake City (USA) and more.
You can see more about his work from his website (in Japanese but many pictures).
http://www.kusuminaoki.com/reki.html

Interview with SAKAN Naoki Kusumi (1/4)

Born in Awaji, life as a SAKAN


Naoki was born in Awaji as the son of a famous SAKAN, Akira Kusumi. Although he rebelled in his youth to succeed his father's occupation as a wall plasterer, a trip around Europe calls him back to the world of SAKAN. He recalls his days in Awaji as the time when he was taught the basics of work. Awaji, an Island in between Mainland (Honshu) and Shikoku Island, was left behind from the building rush of the rapid growth era in the 1970s. This was lucky for a SAKAN trainee since he had many models to learn from, and the people still kept the tradition of paying enough money to various craftsmen while the craftsmen of the Mainland were suppressed under cost cut and automation. SAKAN of Awaji knew how to create wall material from earth, stone, bamboo, sand and many more natural ingredients, a tradition that was again forgotten in many other places. They usually spend one to two years to build a wall for a house. Naoki was able to learn from his father and many other craftsmen of the area. His experience of fixing houses after the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake taught him lessons of building walls that won't collapse after ten years.

7+5+3=?

Do you know the answer to this question?

7 + 5 + 3 = A Japanese holiday to celebrate the health of children.
We write it 七五三(literally meaning seven five three).
Girls celebrate twice at the age of 3 and 7, and boys celebrate once at the age of 5. It is pronounced "SHICHIGOSAN"(*) and is on November 15th, meaning yesterday. You must have seen many girls and boys in mini kimonos running around yesterday. It is said to have been a custome around the KANTO area but now a national holiday. Orinigally people celebrated that their children grew up well when the mortality rate was higher in the older days, and there are many variations throughout Japan, combining other local customs. The rate of having atopic babies is said to be rising these days. It is time we should hault taking childrens' health for granted.

(*)The pronounciation can be HICHIGOSAN as well. I come from Tokyo, so tend to pronounce HI as SHI. Both are correct, but if you want to make yourself hear like a EDOKKO (Edo cool kid?) try out with "SHI".

American Express Charity in Japan

Are you planning to go shopping this weekend? If you are, American Express is putting on a one month Charity from today, Nov15 until Dec14. If you shop using your American Express card at the partner shops of Banana Republic and Barneys NY in Japan, you will get a 5% discount and 100 yen will be donated to the non-government-organization Médecins du Monde (France). The donation will be used for polio vaccine and prevention of malaria.



You can participate in this charity at the following shops.
Barneys New York (Ginza, Shinjuku, Yokohama)
Banana Republic (17 stores throughout Japan. Details will be updated on their website)

If you need a winter coat anyway, this can add some value on your selection of stores. But be careful not to buy more than you need... that will not be eco-friendly!

ITADAKIMASU

This is one of the few words that I cannot find a counterpart in any other language. ITA-DAKI-MASU is a word we all have to say in Japan before eating something. It is literally the nice and humble way of saying "I will eat it". This word itself can be used for other situations such as when given a present, meaning "I will take it", or by putting it after other passive verbs, it will mean "A pleasure to be able to do".

Anyway, who are we saying ITADAKIMASU to before eating?
Directly it will be to the person who cooked the food for us. Secondly it will be toward the food itself.
But the word also indicates grace to the farmers and fishers who prepared the ingredients, and in a broad sense mother nature who let us have enough food to eat. Our parents will tell us to thank the farmers who prepared the rice before eating, and will scold us for leaving a few grains of rice left in the bowl.
I feel so startled when my friends from other countries start eating without saying anything. So if you are in Japan, please join us with ITADAKIMASU. And even if you are living in other countries, how about starting an ITADAKIMASU movement?

Yanaka

Yanaka is an area around Nippori Station (Yamanote Line) and Sendagi Station (Chiyoda Line). There is a very friendly SHOTENGAI, a shopping lane of daily goods and local shops. A sense of Japanese old town is left around this area, with humanly relationship between neighbors. I used to live in an apartment inside the SHOTENGAI. There are many cats sleeping on the stone stairs, shop owners will greet me when leaving for work, I just loved the atmosphere.

Sharing is Caring

Sharing is an important concept when thinking about sustainability. Share offices, car share, work share... two of my closest CEO girlfriends are both in charge of share businesses.

Jungae Lim on the left holds a work-share company named AMAPRO. She has a network of professional writers and editors who used to be professionals in the job market, but now retired because of marriage or children. The women are willing to work, but not for fulltime. Companies can ask Jungae's company to edit magazines, write mail magazines and other jobs so she can organize a team of professional-but-halftime writers and get the work done. She is trying to realize a working environment that women with children can join without stressing theirselves out.
http://www.amapro.jp/

Norie Mizutani on the right owns a share-house management company named Tulip Real Estate. Her mission is to let potential mothers around the age of 25-35 gain confidence to bring up children in the future. She manages seven share houses with 100 girls. The share houses have events and small tricks so the "unconfident" girls can educate themselves to get better jobs, live on their own, and prepare for the day when they start bringing up their own children.
www.tulip-e.com

The photo is when we had tea together at Jungae's office.

SENSU (Japanese Fan)

SENSU is a Japanese fan that can be folded into a bar. It is different from fans of other parts of the world, since it can become so compact (2×2×10cm~) and also colorful. The material depends on which part of Japan it is from. EDO SENSU, made around the eastern area of Tokyo, is made of bamboo sticks and WASHI (Japanese paper). Japanese people have a SENSU to fan theirselves, even nowadays. SENSU is also thought to be a lucky figure, since it is broader in the end, indicating "more luck in the future". The relation between SENSU and a Japanese person starts from the 100th day from birth at a birth ceremony, and lasts till when the last SENSU is put inside his/her casket.
The above picture is Mr. Hiroshi Matsui, one of the four last SENSU craftsmen left in Tokyo. His interview will be coming up soon!

Greenz

There is an Eco-drinking session at Harajuku this Thursday.
It is hosted by Greenz.jp, an international nonprofit organization that networks eco-conscious business people and students. I won't be able to participate this time, but there are many interesting people so if you are interested, try it out!

Greenz English Website
http://greenz.jp/en/

Interview with "SAKAN" Naoki Kusumi

Have you ever heard of a "SAKAN"?
SAKAN is a traditional Japanese occupation which can be translated into "plasterer". Somebody that can paint walls and even create walls made of soil, since traditional Japanese architecture uses bamboo and dirt to build walls. It is more of a craftsmanship, or even art than just simple painting skill. A traditional SAKAN can make their own wall paint from plain soil.
However, since Japanese traditional architecture reduced through the rapid growth period after the second world war, not many true SAKAN are left.
SAKAN Naoki Kusumi is one of the precious SAKAN left in Japan, he is still young in his thirties, but is the heir of his famous father, Akira Kusumi.
We conducted an interview with SAKAN Kusumi, and will put up his article within the next few days.

Fake Style

(Interior designer Ryoko Ando in front of her exhibition)

There was a prototype exhibition at 5Tanda Sonic last week. I found an interesting booth named "Fake Style Fantasy". As you can see in the photo, large white boards were cut out into castles, trees and a tea table. No colors, but the light and shadow creates a mystic layer of distance. Interior disigner Ryoko Ando says "Many client shops ask for 18th century style, or French so so style space design, but the archades are filled with such shops. By cutting off all colors and laces and expressing everything by shadow, this FAKE STYLE can express so many more things within its simplicity." The exhibition included many essense of "Girls' Fantasy" without using extra frills. Because Japan is always lacking space, you can see FAKE beauty in many places. Bonsai, Kabuki, Gardens...simplicity is beauty, and an idea for sustainable design.

More about Ryoko Ando (only in Japanese)
http://andoryoko.blogspot.com/
http://www.ms4d.co.jp

The Story behind Technology

The reason why Onewill started to develop this old and new technology was interesting. Onewill Co., ltd. used to import Canadian houses about ten years ago, but during their first construction, they became aware of the indoor air pollution because of the plastic wallpaper. It was even before the "sick house syndrome" became a social issue, but since the company vision was to "supply houses that are cool in summer, warm in winter, and healthy", they decided that it was conflicting their vision to supply such houses to their customers. According to Mr. Kohbuchi, who was in charge of the project at the time, they postponed the delivery date to bake out* the walls and also installed a ventilation system on all houses. This made the company start a quest in search of materials that won't do harm to people in order to fulfill their vision.

*bake out means to heat indoor air to let the chemical compounds come out of the material, and release it outdoors.

Most KEISO-DO (diatome earth) products use synthetic resin to keep the soil together for cost reasons, but KEISO-KUN really insists on not using chemicals.
The reason why this company developed this wall material stems on the background of the CEO, Mr. Iwamoto. His former profession was related to PPT products, and he insisted on creating a material without using synthetic resin, since that will ruin the virtue of the nature-born diatom earth. There are many local company owners that have this kind of "Soul" in Japan.

Their product has too many appealing points, and it is quite difficult to explain at once. Well it is my job to figure out a way to clearly communicate, but it is quite difficult! If you feel like using KEISO-KUN for your new house, or even for painting over your normal wall, please tell us which point grasped your heart!

It will look like this from near distance.→

KEISO-KUN

KEISO-KUN is the name of a wall paint /wall paper series including diatom earth supplied by Onewill Co., ltd.. Diatom earth is a "breathing soil", which can absorb and release moisture depending on humidity. There are quite a few diatom earth wall materials in Japan, but their product is different from others in three ways.

1. It includes about 40% diatom earth to maximize the effect of absorbtion

There are many products which claim to include diatom earth, but the amount varies, and of course it effects the ability to absorb water. You can actually feel how this wall material absorbs moisture at their showroom. The two doors lead to two small rooms with the same humidity, and when you touch the walls, you can feel that the one with ordinary plastic wall paper is wet, while the one with KEISO-KUN is slightly sweating but not so much. By data, it can breathe in 125g/m2 moisture in a room set at 30C and 95% humidity. This is twice as much as ordinary KEISO-DO wall material.

2. It uses lime paste instead of synthetic resin to keep the soil together

So what is good about using lime?
First of all, you need to use some kind of glue to stick the soil together, but you don't want it to be synthetic resin. By using lime, which is a natural glue also popular for old Japanese architecture, KEISO-KUN does not include chemical compounds that does harm to your health.
Secondly, lime is alkaline, which means it can prevent mold without using mildew-proofing agents. This was commonly known in old Japan, a wisdom of living in such humid country.
And third, formaldehyde〔HCHO〕in air is acid, so when the wall absorbs this compound from the air, the lime will neutralize it. This means that the wall can literally absorb (and won't release) harmful chemicals to prevent sickhouse syndrome!
Now this is technology... or even craftsmanship.

3. They developed a new technology from Soy-sauce?!

A soy sauce production company asked Onewill to do a research for recycling diatom earth after used for soy sauce production. Although it was too cost consuming to recycle the earth into wall paint, they figured out that Amino had a great effect on increasing the amount of moisture absorption. Onewill and the Kanagawa Industry & Technology Center conducted further research, and came out with this breathing wall that can inhale formaldehyde and control humidity.


The picture is the showroom of Onewill Co., ltd.. The statue of the elephant was brought from Thailand by the CEO. Elephants are said to be able to communicate at long distances using ultrasonic sound, and their message is that "direct communication is important in this world of electric communication". You can visit Onewill Showroom from Ohfuna Station (Tokaido Line). Contact Mr. Kohbuchi from 0467-43-1415 (Japanese only) or if you need assistance in English, call Ecotwaza at 042-573-5613 or email info@ecotwaza.com

Onewill Co., ltd. website (Japanese only)
http://www.onewill.co.jp/

Breathing Wall (KEISO-DO)

Have you ever heard of a breathing wall?

KEISO-DO, or diatom earth, is a common material for traditional Japanese architecture. Diatom earth is fossils of plankton taking the shape of soil. (Yes it is the similar to fossil fuel, only shaped differently)
It has numerous tiny holes which can absorb moisture and other small particles in the air, including harmful substances. The amazing thing is, it doesn't just absorb moisture when it is humid, it can also automaticaly release moisture into air when it is too dry.
In modern buildings, moisture control is a big issue since it consumes much energy. Keiso-do can be one way of reducing your use of air conditioner.

Tomorrow I will write about my visit to a showroom of Onewill Co. ltd., located in Ohfuna. Among the numerous KEISO-DO related materials, so far their product is the best. Amazing experience.

Kamakura Temples

Whenever a friend from abroad comes to Tokyo, I recommend to take a day or two to visit Kamakura. It is an old area in the Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. There was a shogunate government called the "Kamakura Bakufu" (1192-1333) around this area. Secured with mountains on three sides and the sea on the south, it was said to be a natural fortress. There are many temples in this area, they mey not be beautiful like churches, but are sublime and peaceful, a beauty of simplicity. The temples of Kamakura have a taste of ZEN Buddhism because ZEN came into Japan during this period and was a boom among the Samurais of Kamakura.

I visited Enkaku-ji Temple at Kita-Kamakura Station on Sunday with my business partner Naomi, saw the Shari-den (meditation room) which was luckily open to the public for Culture Day, and had some tea at a nearby cafe. Refreshing and inspiring. You can take the Shonan-Shinjuku / Yokosuka Line from cetral Tokyo. It is about an hour ride from Shinjuku and other major stations. If you are staying in Tokyo for a while, definately, Kamakura is a place you don't want to miss out!



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EDO is ECO Rule #7

REMEMBER THE SENSE OF AWE TOWARD WHAT YOU CAN'T SEE

It is so easy to forget about the "unseen" in this modernized world. The "unseen" doesn't necessarily mean God, or anything religious. As I wrote before, there are numerous spirits in Japan (expressed as the "Eight million Gods"). There are also many local "YOKAI"s, which are creatures that can be seen occasionally. YOKAI are different from ghosts, since they are alive and usually represent natural phenomena or certain types of people, rather a folklore than religion. People of the Edo period "saw" YOKAI often, and there are many documents left. Some examples (and please note that this is not the one and only explanation) would be a RYU (dragon) meaning flooded river, KAMAITACHI meaning a wind that cuts your skin. The boundary between god and Yokai is very vague. That is how close human was with natural phenomena. Nowadays, western science will analyze everything into categories, but there are things that cannot be explained so clearcut. The relation between nature and human should be like that too. Human is a part of nature, and of course there are many things that cannot be explained. Of course there are things that cannot be seen. It is time when we remember the existence of these unseen creatures and feel a sense of awe toward the magic of the natural cycle. YOKAI, just like nimphs and fairies, disappear when less people believe their existense. Let's leave some space in our heart for them...

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A Message from Tokyo to the World

After the Low Carbon Seminar (see the past four articles), all audiences participated in a workshop to create a message from Tokyo to the world.

70 people were devided into groups of 7 or 8, and were given different themes to talk about. The discussion was to be wrapped up into one sentence each. A wide range of people (from ages 0 to 60!) were participating, quite a hastle!

Some groups talked about the past, some talked about what kind of future they want to create, according to the given theme.

And the sentenses they came up made a single long message from Tokyo to the world.


Today, we learned we have to take an action with our family and friends.
Reflecting our everyday life, although we think important of environment we sometimes act against it.
ECO is our DNA!
Starting today, we will choose Eco-friendly products.
For our next generation, we will compensate our negative impact. Think together, act together continuously.
In 2050, we wish we are linked with the world.
In 2050, we wish our lives will rotate around a natural cycle (work during the day,　when it’s not hot, etc.).
Let’s pay attention, communicate, and just do it together!

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Low Carbon Seminar (4/4)

Special Seminar 2008
HOW TO CREATE A LOW CARBON SOCIETY IN JAPAN
--A MESSAGE FROM TOKYO TO THE WORLD--

Moderator: So lastly, please tell us here today about actions we can take as individuals. Of course using less energy and buying energy-saving products is important, but are there other actions or subjects to think about?

Mr.Ehara: In our research, we introduced 2 types of ideal societies. One was the “technology-centered” model in which economical development is pushed for the cause of technological development for the environment. The other model was the “relaxed” or “slow life” model in which we try to decrease energy usage by reconsidering our lifestyles. It is up to the individual to decide which is better. Also, we can’t limit the ideal future as two scenarios. It is rather important that there are proposals from all you young people when rules change as they do today. Let’s try to make a new society towards the next generation.


Mr.Nishikawa: A low-carbon society is not a miserable one, but one in which the whole world can also experience economic development. There are aspects which we must endure, but it is important to gain a new sense of value which is to feel satisfaction through it. I think a new idea of trying to suppress CO2 when energy is acquired should be woven into at the time of investment.
Recently, I was involved in an emission credit project in which we collected funds from Europe’s largest investor. In such case, it is important to; use the funds to contribute to the world; to have a sufficient amount of return for the investor; to disclose information; and to have a good eye in evaluating technology. Without such guideline, we would not have been able to move money as much as 45 trillion dollars.
It is fairly easy to change awareness from the individual, so what’s important at the final realization part is for companies to thoroughly plan their businesses. There is demand in the environmental area so profit is promised.
I also agree about the generation issue. It is important that we pass it on to a next generation that believes it is common sense to think of the environment rather than looking for its merit.


Mr.Mori: Recently, I often feel society is starting to move towards a low-carbon one. When I talked about global warming, I realized the awareness of people in the business world has changed significantly. People who are struggling with CDM in NGOs in China are also happy about creating a new society themselves, and we are also happy we can do business together with them to build a new society. If one person takes action, more people start to move, and the system changes, and so does another, which is how I believe the world will change. I think we have just recently experienced the turning point of such scenario.


Moderator: Thank you for sharing us your wonderful insights, Mr.Ehara, Mr.Nishikawa, and Mr.Mori.


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