The Development Bank of Japan (DBJ), a government-affiliated financial institution, made a low-interest loan of 60 million yen (about U.S.$508,000) to Nara Co-op, a consumer cooperative in Nara Prefecture, on September 11, 2006. This loan was granted in collaboration with the Nanto Bank, Ltd., a regional bank based in the prefecture, as part of the DBJ's lending program for promoting environmentally conscious management.

In this lending scheme, the DBJ uses its own screening system to evaluate applicants in terms of environmentally conscious management, and awards applicants with one of three levels of favorable interest rates according to the rating results. The DBJ has so far financed 71 businesses, including Nara Co-op, under this program.

As an organization established by consumers, Nara Co-op has been very active in integrating environmental consciousness into its business activities. Its awareness promotion efforts led more than 80 percent of its customers to bring their own shopping bags to the supermarket. The co-op has also promoted local consumption of local products and worked on a project to recycle waste cooking oil into fuel for its delivery vehicles. These initiatives led the DBJ to rate Nara Co-op highly in its screening assessment.

http://www.dbj.jp/en/index.html

Posted: 2006/12/27 10:14:45 AM
Japanese version

TAG Non-manufacturing industry , System/Law