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Donations to “Niigata Prefecture Japanese Crested Ibis Conservation Fund” and “Environment Improvement Fund for Japanese Crested Ibises in Sado City”
- For 14 years since 2011 -

At Niigata Prefectural Office
Right: Mr. Yasuyuki Suzuki, Deputy Governor of Niigata Prefecture
Left: Representative Executive Officer, Chairperson, and CEO, Hidenari Tanaka

Sado City Hall
Right: Mr. Ryugo Watanabe, Mayer of Sado City
Left: Kensuke Muraki, Executive Officer of Miru Mirai Head Office

Menicon Co., Ltd. (head office: 3-21-19, Aoi, Naka-ku, Nagoya, President and COO: Koji Kawaura) visited Niigata Prefectural Office and Sado City Hall and donated part of the sales of the “Agri Kakumei” series, a rice straw decomposition accelerator: 300,000 yen for the “Niigata Prefecture Japanese Crested Ibis Conservation Fund” and 200,000 yen for the “Environment Improvement Fund for Japanese Crested Ibises in Sado City.” We also donated 368,000 yen contributed by our shareholders through the shareholder benefit program and 102,000 yen from our customers who exchanged their “MENICOiN,”* a point service provided by Menicon, for the “Niigata Prefecture Japanese Crested Ibis Conservation Fund,”.

 

To support natural environmental protection and preservation activities for Japanese crested ibises, Menicon began donating part of the sales of the “Agri Kakumei” series to the Japanese crested ibis protection fundraising and environmental improvement fund in 2011, and has continued for the following 14 years. The donations are used to fund natural environment protection and preservation activities for Japanese crested ibises. Also, to further expand our Japanese crested ibis protection activities and for our shareholders’ deeper understanding of our environmental biotechnology business, a new business of our company, we have included “Japanese crested ibis protection fundraising” in our shareholder benefit program since FY 2018. We have also included donations for Japanese crested ibis protection fundraising to the point exchanging service for “MENICOiN” since the previous fiscal year, and many members have donated using points.

 

Niigata Prefecture focuses on the creation of a living environment suited to returning Japanese crested ibises to the wild in Sado. They are supporting the restoration of feeding grounds and satoyama (undeveloped woodland near populated area) preservation activities. In Sado City, the environment is being improved for Japanese crested ibises through chemical-free rice farming. According to Niigata Prefecture, as of the end of December 2023, the total number of wild Japanese crested ibises living in Sado is estimated to be around 532.

 

Also, it was decided by the World Heritage Committee that Sado Island Gold Mines would be included in the World Heritage List. Japanese crested ibises in Sado Island are expected to attract greater attention in the future.

Flying Japanese crested ibis

The “Agri Kakumei” series are environmentally friendly products to which Menicon applies the technology cultivated in the area of contact lenses and care goods to the environmental business area. Rice straw left in the paddy fields after harvests is degraded with enzymes, which reduces the poor growth of rice and “gas generation” and “floating straw” that cause greenhouse gases. We launched “Agri Kakumei” in 2005 and “Agri Kakumei Aqua” in 2012.

 

Sado City has implemented the Sado City Certified Rice System. To obtain certification, agrichemicals and chemical fertilizer-use must be reduced and “farming methods to nurture living creatures,” such as keeping water in the paddy fields in winter and constructing fish-ways, must be implemented. The farmers spray “Agri Kakumei” to degrade the rice straw before introducing the water kept in the paddy fields in winter, which helps them create an environment that Japanese crested ibises can inhabit.

 

Menicon will continue to develop environmentally friendly products and support the creation of an environment where people coexist with Japanese crested ibises.

 

■ To learn about Menicon’s other environmental initiatives, go here

 https://www.menicon.com/corporate/aboutus/sdg/environment

 

Agri Kakumei

Agri Kakumei Aqua (100 mL)

*About MENICOiN

The point service of Club Menicon is a means by which Menicon provides convenient systems, benefits, and latest information.

Users can accumulate points through campaigns such as MELS PLAN, answering questionnaires, and viewing content such as videos.

Menicon Co., Ltd.

21-19, Aoi 3, Naka-ku, Nagoya 460-0006 Japan

Tel +81-(0)52-935-1515

overseas-contact@menicon.co.jp

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