With the aim of bringing enrichment and comfort to Urban Areas, Mitsui Fudosan not only secures green space at the time of development but also properly maintains and manages the green space even after it is provided. At the same time, we are working to effectively utilize such space. Furthermore, we secure forests the Group owns and support activities to preserve forests through fund-raising and other measures.
ASHIMIZU
Tokyo Midtown is an urban area born under the development concept of Diversity on the Green. Approximately 40% of the total area of this project is secured as a green open space, including Hinokicho Park sponsored by Minato Ward next to the site. Using this vast green space, we hold a wide variety of events. The events we have held to date include a café being open for a limited time only, a course for crafts using plants harvested in the site. In summer 2008, we held the event ASHIMIZU to enable visitors to enjoy cooling off by immersing their feet in the stream running through the Midtown Garden as well as other events, providing visitors with a time and place for recreation and relaxation in the city.
Hotel amenities with eco Garden Card
With the understanding and approval of customers, Mitsui Garden Hotels have been using the “eco Garden Card” since March 2008. The “eco Garden Card” is implemented under the objectives of reducing waste and environmental creation (preservation of greenery). Under this system, when guests who did not use hotel amenities supplied in guest rooms drop the “eco Garden Card” attached to the amenities in the collection box at the front desk, Mitsui Garden Hotels will make a donation to an environmental organization on behalf of the customers. We tally the number of cards submitted by participating guests and, based on that number, we make a donation to domestic activities that preserve forests conducted by the Organization for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement-International (OISCA)(*4) twice a year (in September and March).
(*4) The Organization for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement-International (OISCA) is an international nonprofit organization established in 1961 and based in Japan. It engages in rural development and environmental conservation activities mainly in the Asia and Pacific region. In Japan, it develops educational activities through agriculture and forestry experiences and environmental conservation activities through forestation and forest development.
A scene from ECO JOG
“Midori no Tokyo Bokin” is a system established by the Tokyo metropolitan government in December 2007 with the goal of regenerating a green Tokyo. The fund is used for development of a marine forest, maintenance of roadside trees, growing lawns in schoolyards, and creation of forests with less pollen. Mitsui Fudosan agrees with the purpose of the system and has called for its employees to cooperate in fund-raising. In addition to donations from employees, the Company also made a donation. Responding to this, the Tokyo metropolitan government offered the Company a certificate of gratitude (a Tokyo metropolitan government award) in June 2008.
In Tokyo Midtown, we held “ECO JOG,” a participatory eco event in which participants can contribute to environmental activities while enjoying jogging, in August 2008. The participation and registration fees as well as 100 yen per point per participation were donated under the name of Tokyo Midtown to “Midori no Tokyo Bokin” on behalf of the participants.
Mitsui Fudosan owns and manages woods and forests totaling approximately 5,000ha in Hokkaido centering on the Dohoku area (northern Hokkaido). About 60% of these are artificial forests comprising Sakhalin fir, Ezo spruce, larch and other trees, and less than 40% are natural woods consisting of Japanese oak, Japanese elm and white oak among others. Mitsui Fudosan properly maintains and manages its artificial forests by implementing cutting and thinning as well as systematic planting on a timely basis. A portion of the trees is lumbered and sold as timber.
Woods and forests play an important role in preserving the global environment, such as preserving the ecosystem, recharging water sources and absorbing and fixing CO2. Incidentally, the amount of CO2 absorbed and fixed by the woods owned by the Group is about 24,200 t-CO2(*5). Mitsui Fudosan will continuously endeavor to properly maintain, manage and cultivate the woods owned by the Group in order to contribute as much as possible to the preservation of the global environment. In addition, in an effort to raise interest in woods and forests, we are also planning to provide environmental education and hold environment-related events utilizing the woods owned by the Group. In autumn 2008, tree-planting activities were conducted by employees.
(*5) The annual amount of CO2 absorbed and fixed by the woods owned by the Group is calculated based on the calculation formula in Hokkaido and is the value arrived at when the growth increment is multiplied with the biomass coefficient (0.6) and carbon content rate (0.5).
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| Woods and forests owned and maintained by Mitsui Fudosan |
Atsuhiro Ishikawa
Office Building Division
Office Building Project Planning Department
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.
For our company, which aims to contribute to the global environment, the mountains and forests that Group companies own, covering about 5,000ha, are precious managerial resources. As a person in charge of the woods owned by the Group, I give top priority to continuing the proper management of the woods and forests when promoting the business in pursuit of fulfilling functions in the public interest, which include prevention of global warming by woods and forests, preservation of the land and preservation of biodiversity. To accomplish this goal, we conduct improvement cutting, thinning, development of forest roads and other projects indispensable for the cultivation of woods and forests and plant trees without fail after cutting down trees in our artificial forests. In addition, it should be remembered that proper maintenance and management of the forests owned by the Group is the fruit of steady efforts made by the local forest owners' cooperative that takes charge of practical managerial work and the staff at the Asahikawa Office that serves as a supervisory company. Needless to say, we will continue to properly manage the woods and forests, but moreover, we would like to take on the challenge of establishing a model for woods and forest management conducted by a company, including effective use of high-quality domestically-produced lumber resources generated from the Group-owned forests and volunteer activities utilizing mountains and forests.
