NYK Group Staff Members Participate in Beach-Cleaning Event at Katase Kaigan Higashihama Beach
June 5, 2007
Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK; Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Koji Miyahara), in collaboration with the Kanagawa Coastal Environmental Foundation,* conducted a beach-cleaning event named “Beach Cleaning @ Shonan” on May 26, 2007, at Katase Kaigan Higashihama Beach in the Shonan region of Kanagawa Prefecture.
The NYK Group, which has had a special affinity for the sea for over 120 years, decided to set up this opportunity for its staff members so that they could contemplate the importance of the environment while participating in an activity to help clean the seashore.
Early in the morning on what fortunately was a beautiful sunny day, 83 staff members who volunteered for the event gathered at Katase Kaigan Higashihama Beach. The participants collected about 340 kilograms of garbage, virtually equivalent to the volume that would fill the back of a pickup truck.
While it is commonly believed that most seashore garbage is left by beachgoers, through this activity, the participants learned that almost 70 percent of seashore garbage actually comes from towns upriver. Therefore, the most important point to keeping our beaches clean is for each of us to think carefully about how to reduce and at the same time properly dispose of garbage.
After the clean-up, participant comments included the following: “I realized that it is important for all persons to have an awareness of how they dispose of their garbage;” “I realized that even though it can be seen as a small thing to drop a piece of garbage, we can end up paying a heavy price for this act.” These comments demonstrate that this opportunity helped participants to think about the importance of environmental conservation.
NYK is committed to providing NYK Group members with opportunities to be exposed to different values and perspectives through volunteer activities. At the same time, NYK aims for all NYK Group companies to attain harmony with society through proactive interaction with local communities. As a good corporate citizen living together as we do in this global society, NYK will continue to conduct activities that make a contribution to society.
| * | Kanagawa Coastal Environmental Foundation |
| The Kanagawa Coastal Environmental Foundation promotes the beautification of the seashore, mainly around Sagami Bay, by conducting beach-cleaning activities, offering educational activities related to coastal beautification, researching issues related to coastal beautification, and supporting organizations involved in coastal beautification |