Mizuno Corporation
Masato Mizuno is President of Mizuno Sports, a member of the International
Olympic Committee's (IOC) Sports and Environment Committee and Chairman
of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI). He
will be attending G-ForSE 2003 next month and we look at the history
of his company and the environmental measures developed through Mizuno's
Crew 21.
Establishment in Osaka, Japan Mizuno Corporation has been involved
in sports since 1906 and follows a corporate philosophy of 'contributing
to society through the advancement of sports and quality sporting
goods'. Crew 21 (Conservation of Resources and Environment Wave 21)
is Mizuno's environmental program established in 1991, which revolves
around four main areas; employees' activities, packaging and distribution,
greener production and product development.
| 1 |
Employees'
activities |
| |
Common practices
adopted by staff members include the reduction of paper usage,
reduction of energy usage and the separation of used paper,
plastics and metals into categories. Recycle bins are installed
in offices and paper is separated as newspapers, magazines,
and copy paper. |
| 2 |
Packaging
and distribution |
| |
In order
to cutback on the use of cardboard boxes, foldable plastic
containers and plastic coated cardboard boxes have been introduced
to increase efficiency in the delivery system |
| 3 |
Production |
| |
"Greener" production
processes include the separation of industrial waste for
recycling, the separation and recycling of thinner liquid
waste, the reduction of wasteful wrapping and the use of
a smokeless furnace at the Yoro factory to dispose of burnable
waste (can burn plastic waste without releasing harmful dioxin
gases into the atmosphere and thus avoid disturbing the local
residents). The Yoro factory acquired ISO 14001 certification,
an international standard of environmental management, in
June 1997 |
| 4 |
Product development |
| |
Product development
incorporates environmental considerations such as energy
and resource use. |
|
|
Global Forum for Sports and Environment