Finding Environmental & Energy Responsibilty in Japan

Surprisingly, I first experienced Japanese resource responsibility not from one of the 5 events that Net Impact and Net Impact-related people had helped us to organize for our International Management study group, but rather from giving in to my designer coffee addiction. After our contingent from the Graduate School of Management at University of California, Davis departed from an information session with the Japanese Automobile Manufacturing Association, I noticed a Tully’s Coffee in the corner of the ground floor lobby. Picking up the novel “Honey Comb Latte” – or something of that sort – I noticed that there were three waste holes in the “fixing” counter instead of just one for trash. Tully’s was not only participating in a recycling program, but the recycling infrastructure was relatively advanced. More importantly, I quickly realized that this was standard in other retail food outlets, on city streets, in subways, etc. Hence, the Japanese program of 3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) was more than just a catchy name.

The first Net Impact-connected visit that we engaged in will likely be the most important for this particular calendar year. The connection to Toyota Motor Corporation came directly from a series of referrals that began with Net Impact Membership Manager, Mr. Lars Olson. Upon inquiry, he provided me with three Japanese contacts who had been researching the feasibility of establishing a professional chapter. In turn, one of these three YEN members (Young Environmentalist Network) – Ms. Kaoru Kunita – responded to my outreach within 24 hours! After describing the interests of our International Study Practicum, she started a process that resulted in the longest event of our trip and included a guided tour of the Motomachi Plant, a self-guided tour of Kaikan Exhibition Hall, and a 1.5 hour long lunch and Q&A session with managers from Corporate Public Relations.

As exciting and rewarding as the morning session in Toyota City was, our second of five events occurred that evening and was especially unique. A man experienced in Toyota’s global environmental management efforts and one of the links in the chain that set-up our Toyota City visit, exposed us to traditional Japanese dining in the heart of Nagoya. Moreover, he treated many in our group to dialogue revolving around his Toyota environmental management and YEN experiences. A remarkable evening in which even conversations in which our host was not participating often revolved around responsible energy and environmental actions!

The third event occurred two days later. Our connection to Daikin Industries, Ltd – while not directly connected to my Net Impact outreach – began with a former president of the Davis Net Impact chapter. Mr. Benjamin Finkelor, Program Manager of the UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center, provided IST - Japan with the name and contact information of a GSM alum who worked for Daikin A.C. Americas, a subsidiary of Daikin Industries, LTD. Over the course of the Winter Quarter one thing led to another and, before we knew it, we were entering the Osaka headquarters of an Air Conditioning industry leader in environmental performance to speak with representatives from Global Operations and Global Environmental Affairs.

Three days, two hotels, and many hours of train travel later, our group entered the Muza Kawasaki Building in Kawasaki City in order to visit my personal headliner: The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). In many ways, NEDO represents why I opted to both participate in IST Japan and also re-prioritize my Winter Quarter planning to allow for an IST Class Chair leadership role. Not only did our host happen to be the project manager for the residential fuel cell program spot-lighted in an inspiring January article in The New York Times – but our Net Impact network – led by Kunita-san and a fellow YEN member from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry – literally came through where other network avenues failed…and did so at the “event planning buzzer”. As a result, the Graduate School of Management at UC Davis had the honor of meeting for two hours with a high level director of an organization on the cutting edge of facilitating new energy development, energy efficiency, Kyoto implementation, knowledge transfer to the developing world, etc. In many ways, NEDO is a model of what needs to happen within other industrialized societies if we truly wish to tackle natural resource constraints, and their related externalities, head-on. The correlation between the beginnings of NEDO in 1980 and the energy efficient nature of the Japanese economy (50% more efficient per capita than the U.S. while equivalent in GDP per capita) should be further investigated and analyzed.

The best meal of the trip occurred later that evening and, once again, was a direct result of Kunita-san. While we were working together to organize the NEDO visit, I mentioned my aspirations to meet with her and another YEN member so as to thank them in person for all of their efforts. As a result, she offered to explore whether the YEN members would be interested in holding a joint YEN/IST-Japan dinner. And they were! Thus, after giving us a personal tour of Yanaka on our second to last evening in Japan, she led us to a small organic, vegetarian restaurant – “Beans Kitchen” – that remained open especially for our fifth and final Net Impact-inspired event. Conversations about climate change, Japanese-U.S. business culture comparisons, and sustainability reports flowed almost as easily as the organic sake…or perhaps due to it!

In short, the majority of the 16 events we experienced incorporated an element of corporate social responsibility and/or environmental performance. I chalk this up to the current – and hopefully permanent – business climate combined with something innate about the Japanese people regarding public responsibility. For example, our Japanese-raised interpreter informed us that the periodic white masks we observed people wearing had nothing to do with a fear of getting sick, but rather was a societal norm that people already sick practiced in order to keep those around them from getting sick.

At the same time, thanks to Net Impact-referenced contacts, five of our events were strongly correlated with environmental performance and the responsible use of natural resources. Hence, in the space of 10 weeks, Net Impact originated 5 of 16 Japanese business events to a study group of 15 visiting a corporate culture renowned for slow contact development. Moreover, this trip occurred during the very busy end of the Japanese fiscal year. I like to think that this is the direct result of an intrinsic strength within our network.