Environmental Conservation Activities
Japan's Treasure to the World Supporting Conservation Efforts at Mt. Fuji
In 2009, the ITOHAM YONEKYU Group began donating to the Fujisan Fund in support of World Heritage Site registration. On June 22, 2013, Mt. Fuji was granted World Heritage Site status by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
We continued to support conservation activities at the mountain through donations, even after Mt. Fuji was registered as a World Heritage Site in 2013.
Since we began donating in FY2009, cumulative donations have reached 58,823,811 yen (as of August 2024).
We donate a portion of the sales of products such as GOTEMBA KOGEN® ARABIKI PORK and other products in the GOTEMBA KOGEN® series to the Fujisan Fund.
*The Fujisan Fund is operated by the National Council on Fujisan World Heritage and other organizations to ensure beautification of Mt. Fuji, a World Heritage Site.
This fund is used for environmental conservation and protection activities, visitor information, and educational activities at Mt. Fuji.
National Council on Fujisan World Heritage website
Forest Conservation Activities
Supporting the Activities of the Kobe Forest School
The year 2002 was the 100th anniversary of afforestation in the Rokko Mountains. The ITOHAM YONEKYU Group supports the Kobe Forest School, a citizen-led initiative that is part of the Kobe City "Mt. Rokko Forestation for the Next 100 Years" project to conserve and nurture the forest over the next 100 years.
Kobe Forest School is a program in which citizens, government, and corporations come together for forest conservation activities. As part of our nature conservation activities, we provide funds for activities and send employee volunteers to help with the program. Participants also receive a gift of ITOHAM YONEKYU Group products each time they participate.
Citizens care for the forest through tree planting and thinning, while thinned wood is used as the bounty of the forest in log houses and other woodcraft.
- Forest School Activity Days: Odd months: Second Saturday, Even months: Third Sunday
- Weekday Forest Care: Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday
*All activities are from 10:00 to 15:00.
Participation in these activities is open to all, and we look forward to seeing you.
Kobe Forest School ＨＰ：http://kobe-mori.jp/wp/morigaku/
Participation in the Takao Forest Development Society
The Takao Forest Creation Development Society is a citizen's group of volunteers established in January 2001, led by members of the Japanese Alpine Club. The goal of the group is to restore the rich and diverse forests that once existed in Takao, with a wide variety of plant species and forest structures, rich fauna, excellent scenery and vitality, and a bounty of forest products.
Activities focus on the 178-hectare Takao-Kogesawa National Forest administered by the Tokyo Kanagawa Forest Office in Uratakao-cho, Hachioji City, Tokyo.
Activities are generally on scheduled work days, and the ITOHAM YONEKYU Group employees and families participate as volunteers, clearing underbrush, thinning trees, and planting trees together with the society.
*Work days: Second Saturday of every month
*Website: Japanese Alpine Club Takao Forest Development Society:http://jactakao.net/
April: Tree-planting ceremony
May-September:
Undergrowth clearing
September-November: Thinning
December - March:
Ground preparation
Protecting and Nurturing the Shizuoka Forest
On October 29, 2009, we signed an agreement to protect 26 hectares of forest land under the Shizuoka Future Forest Supporter program.
This agreement represents one measure of our business activities that take the environment into account and covers land in the Mt. Fuji Children's World located in Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture.
We conduct forest maintenance activities (thinning, undercutting, tree planting, etc.) to raise awareness of the importance of conserving nature and preventing global warming. Each volunteer contributes to the local community and, by extension, to preventing global warming, working with an awareness of the cycles of the natural environment.
Cleanup Activities
Cleanup in Koshienhama
Since the fall of 2003, we have conducted our own Cleanup in Koshienhama project in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture. We enlist the cooperation of the Nishinomiya City Environmental Planning Section (Environmental Learning Center Promotion), NPO Koshienhama Conservation Society , and YAMASA Environment Engineering Co., Ltd. Our employees participate in the event every year, working together with local residents.
The purpose of this activity is to preserve for future generations the rich and precious natural environment of Nishinomiya City, which is home to our production plants, sales offices, and other business offices. As a food manufacturer, we are committed to preserving the precious environment and water resources that are essential to our production activities. We are also committed to preserving the only natural sandy beach and tidal flats remaining in the Hanshin area (designated as a national wildlife sanctuary in 1978). Our activities also protect the precious natural environment of Koshienhama for the migratory birds that travel between Southeast Asia and Japan.
This activity is also an Itoham Eco Up Program, certified as a Partnership Program by Environmental Learning City, Nishinomiya .
We intend to continue participating in this activity in the future.
NPO Koshienhama Conservation Society : http://www.npo-koshienhama.com/
Izunuma/Uchinuma Cleanup Campaign
Since the fall of 2004, our employees have participated in the Izunuma/Uchinuma Cleanup Campaign, part of our activities to contribute to society and conserve the environment. The program, sponsored by eight groups, including the Miyagi Prefectural Izunuma-Uchinuma Environmental Foundation , cleans up the areas around Izunuma and Uchinuma in Wakayanagi-cho, Miyagi Prefecture.
This volunteer cleanup campaign is held every spring and fall to protect the nature of Izunuma and Uchinuma swamps, which are world-famous bird migration sites. We intend to continue participating in this activity in the future.
About Izunuma and Uchinuma
Izunuma and Uchinuma are 4 square kilometer lowland lakes on the Senboku Plain of Miyagi Prefecture. The region is at the northern edge of Miyagi Prefecture on the Pacific coast, where snow is scarce and the water does not freeze easily. This environment provides foraging and resting areas for many waterfowl, including ducks and geese. In 1985, Izunuma and Uchinuma became the second wetlands in Japan after Kushiro to be designated as a registered wetland under the Ramsar Convention (a convention for the protection of waterfowl and the conservation of wetland environments). Accordingly, Japan earned the international responsibility of conserving this area.
Byodonuma Cleanup Operation
As part of the Tome City Lake and Marsh Cleanup activities, employee volunteers participate in the Byodonuma Cleanup Operation near our facility in the area.
Byodonuma Fureai Park (Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture) is famous for its cherry blossoms and hosts many visitors.
We plan to continue supporting this project as part of our social contribution and environmental preservation activities.
Numazu Senbonhama Beach Cleanup
As part of our social contribution and environmental preservation activities, we conduct a cleanup activity in the area around Senbonhama Beach in Numazu City, Shizuoka Prefecture.
The purpose of this annual employee-volunteer activity is to protect the beautiful scenery of Numazu City and surrounding environment, including evergreen pine trees, snow-capped Mt. Fuji, and the setting sun over Suruga Bay.
We intend to continue participating in this activity in the future.
Meguro River Cleanup Operation
The Meguro River Cleanup Operation (sponsored by the Meguro River Upstream and Midstream Association (upstream) and the Making the Meguro River a Rich Living Environment Association (downstream)) is a large-scale cleanup activity held three times a year in spring, summer, and fall. Local residents and the government agencies in the Meguro River area in Tokyo participate in the event.
As part of our social contribution and environmental preservation activities, employee volunteers participate in annual cleanup activities along the downstream river path, working shoulder-to-shoulder with representatives from town councils, companies, and elementary school children.
We intend to continue participating in this activity in the future.
We actively participate in cleanup activities throughout Japan.
- Cleanup Ishikari Shinko Beach, Hokkaido
- Ishikari Bay New Port Clean Operation, Hokkaido
- Oirase River Cleanup Operation, Aomori
- Route 4 Cleanup, Miyagi
- Oyabe City 530 (Garbage Zero) Campaign, Toyama
- Environmental beautification campaign (Operation Garbage Zero) organized by Kitaibaraki City, Ibaraki
- Cleanup Operation “I'm glad to live in Masumori" Saitama
- Tokyo Bay Cleanup Operation, Tokyo
- Kiyama Town Cleanup Operation, Saga