The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) invited entries for this year's "Green Servicizing Model Business" competition in May, 2005 ("servicizing" being a play on words for turning something into a service business), and selected three projects out of 42 applications, after a judging process involving document review and interviews, the ministry announced on August 15. The results of the three projects will be announced in early March 2006. The aim of the program is to promote environmentally-friendly service businesses.

One of the projects is a leasing service project for wooden play equipment, started by Amita Corp., a Japanese company involved in recycling services. Its aim is to establish a recycling system for wood materials. The company leases wooden play equipment to kindergartens and day nurseries. The equipment is produced by a forestry cooperative in Nishiawakura, Okayama Prefecture, and is made of forest thinnings (Japanese cedar or cypress wood) generated in forest management operations in the local village. Through the service the company also hopes to promote environmental education.

The cooperative fixes, reprocesses and reuses returned or damaged play equipment in order to avoid creating waste. The proponent believes that using wood from forest thinning will promote good forest management, and that by taking play equipment that is damaged or no longer usable and converting it into fuel for biomass energy, it can reduce the impact on the environment.

The other two winners this year are a leasing service project for company uniforms by Unifolk Co., a Japanese uniform distributor, and a bottle-leasing service project by Erix Co., a Japanese bottle distributor. The uniform project involves leasing uniforms to companies for employees to use, and then collecting, reusing, and recycling the material after they are worn out. The aim of the bottle project is to shift the company's traditional business model of selling bottles as a product, to leasing bottles as a container rental service.


- METI Supports "Green Servicizing Business" (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/db/1112-e

Posted: 2005/12/16 09:46:53 AM
Japanese version

TAG Eco-product/Business , Government , Manufacturing industry , Non-manufacturing industry