Based on clause 5 of our Group’s Sustainability Policy, “Promotion of Environmental Education and Continuous Improvement of the Sustainability Management System,” we held an SDGs class on February 6 for 130 fourth-grade students at Kawachinagano Municipal Nagano Elementary School.
Under the theme “Will We Be Able to Eat the Same Food in the Future?”, the class explored the future of food broadly, with a focus on climate change, waste countermeasures, and food loss. Using products handled by our Group — such as coffee, tea, vegetables, and marine products — as teaching materials, the program was conducted over four class periods (two periods × two sessions). In the first half, we deepened students’ understanding through a lecture and quizzes. In the second half, students made deodorizer sachets using coffee grounds (used coffee residues) and jute bags, having an opportunity to think about the significance of recycling and the reuse of coffee grounds.
Through this program, we learned that elementary school children‘s perspectives on the “future of food” differ from those of adults, which also helped us recognize new social value in the products handled by our Group. We will continue to work together with our many stakeholders to confront social issues and explore pathways toward their resolution.
