This year, 26 children with high environmental awareness from seven European countries travelled to southern Germany to gain a deeper understanding for the significance of nature. Planting willow cuttings for beavers, building insect hotels and exploring nature off-road during a GPS tour were just three of the many environment-related workshops and activities they took part in. Surrounded by these activities, the children, officially appointed as SEKISUI Eco Ambassadors, worked on a common declaration to the SEKISUI Group and its top management. They committed themselves to undertaking environment-related measures in their own everyday lives. Furthermore, they made recommendations to increase the company’s sustainability engagement, such as the installation of photovoltaic systems on the roof of company buildings or the implementation of hybrid cars as company vehicles. Another suggestion was for the initiation of an international ‘Biodiversity Day’, an action day for all SEKISUI companies worldwide, to be used for joint environmental activities, and focused on biodiversity discussions.
Based on the proposals of the children, Teiji Koge, President SEKISUI Chemical Co., Ltd., made a commitment to keep on expanding collaborations with NGOs in his speech after the presentations. In addition, he urged the newly appointed Eco Ambassadors to turn their commitment for their own everyday lives into reality, and to share this amongst each other. All other company-related suggestions will be checked for feasibility by the Group’s executives and will be integrated into the company structure where applicable.
The declarations of participants from past events had a deep impact on the company’s corporate social responsibility activities. SEKISUI recently established the Environmental Week, an event involving all employees to execute a local environmental activity in August every year. Furthermore, the Group created the annual Greenest Person Award to reward high-level environmental engagement of employees.
For more information on the summit, please visit
www.ecosummit2015.com
SEKISUI in Europe
Tokyo-based SEKISUI Chemical Co., Ltd. is represented in Europe by ten companies. The European organisations provide products and technologies for automotive, construction, infrastructure and electronic industries. Furthermore, they produce materials for industrial and consumer goods and offer solutions for the medical industry. Each company integrates ecological, economic and social considerations into its daily operations and delivers valuable and responsible high-quality products and services.
Approximately 1,500 employees work and act with strong social and environmental responsibility. Although each European company is managed independently, all SEKISUI companies share the Group’s values and visions. Prime concern is the satisfaction, safety and health of all employees. Protecting the environment is a logical conclusion to ensure this effort.
Press contact:
Lena Tiedeken; phone: +49 (0)162 / 1050 786; email:
lena001@sekisui.com
SEKISUI Europe B.V.; Metaalweg 5, 6045 JB, Roermond, the Netherlands;
www.sekisuichemical.com
Global Nature Fund
The Global Nature Fund (GNF), headquartered in Radolfzell on Lake Constance, is an international non-profit organisation (NGO) for the protection of nature and the environment. The NGO continuously initiates and implements specific projects for the protection and preservation of endangered species and their habitats. In addition, GNF collaborates with corporate partners to develop preservation strategies for natural resources. In the light of enhancing their environmental engagement, SEKISUI Chemical Co., Ltd. and GNF began a cooperation in 2012. The main objective is to increase the efficiency of environmental sustainability measures and to integrate the aspects of biodiversity into the management strategy of all European SEKISUI companies.
Press contact:
Stefan Hörmann, Global Nature Fund; phone: +49 (0)160 / 5321 052; email:
hoermann@globalnature.org
Global Nature Fund, Fritz-Reichle-Ring 4, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany;
www.globalnature.org