Environmental Initiatives
Hikari Miso established an environmental policy and introduced an environmental management system in 1998. Under this single, integrated management system, we continue to reduce our ecological footprint and improve our systems.
A large amount of energy is used in the production of miso, and the consumption of energy results in the emission of carbon-dioxide, a greenhouse gas (GHG) that induces global warming. With production volume increasing by the year, Hikari Miso’s main plant, the Iijima Green Factory, is seeing energy use, and thus CO2 emissions, trend upward. To help curb our emissions, we installed new equipment in January 2009, replacing our heavy oil boilers (which burn No. 2 fuel oil) with new, eco-considerate liquid natural gas (LNG) boilers. The new equipment includes a 50-kl LNG satellite tank and six once-through LNG boilers (five that produce the vapor equivalent of 2500 kg/h each, and one that produces the equivalent of 2000 kg/h). This change is projected to cut the Iijima Green Factory’s overall CO2 emissions by about 16%.
In addition making major investments in this type of greener capital equipment, we have instituted factory-wide efforts to reduce our ecological footprint. As part of this, we have established an Energy Conservation Committee whose mission is to maximize energy efficiency and eliminate waste.
Corporate Citizenship
Hikari Miso has a responsibility to society to provide consumers with safe, delicious products that are a part of a healthy diet. But we recognize that the social responsibility of corporations goes beyond this. That is why Hikari Miso will continue to demonstrate good corporate citizenship and engaging in actions, both local and global, that have a long-term positive impact on society.
- Hikari Miso has been providing food aid through an NPO since October 2004. The NPO and its roughly 40 volunteers regularly donate food to institutions such as orphanages and nursing homes. Food banking, a movement to provide hunger relief for the needy that has spread particularly in Europe and North America, is attracting considerable attention as a means of using food that would otherwise be wasted.
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Hikari Miso continues to provide support to The C.W. Nicol Afan Woodland Trust, a nonprofit organization that is working to restore woodlands in Kurohime, in Nagano Prefecture.
Our environmental protection activities began with participation in the Suwako Adopt Program, a program to beautify and maintain the natural environment around Lake Suwa, not far from Hikari Miso’s headquarters. Having “adopted” one of the 32 sections of shorefront around the 16-kilometer lake, Hikari Miso volunteers periodically donate their time on weekend mornings to keep the section clean and beautiful.
Meanwhile, the Iijima Green Factory has begun participating in a program to help maintain and preserve ancient cherry trees in Senninzuka Koen, a park in the township of Iijima. Nestled in the foothills of the Central Japanese Alps, the park affords a spectacular view in spring of cherry blossoms against a backdrop of soaring, snow-covered peaks. This preservation program, the mission of which is to preserve this stunning scenery for future generations, is just one of the small ways we are contributing to society and the environment.
