NYK Mulls Ownership of Canola Oil Venture

 

NYK has concluded a contract with United Green for partial ownership of a canola flower field along the Sanriku shoreline, an area that suffered extensive damage from the tsunami that accompanied the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.

United Green is a general incorporated association that has implemented a recovery project involving canola flower fields in Kamaishi city in Iwate prefecture. To improve the landscape and help develop a sustainable regional industry, canola flowers have been planted in farmlands that had been damaged by salt or simply abandoned. The oil produced from the canola flowers will be marketed under the brand name “Yuicco.”

This contract will make NYK an owner of a specific area of the canola flower field. The company will organize volunteers to assist with the project, and the oil will be sold inside the company so that employees who may not have the opportunity to visit the region can be a part of the recovery effort and maintain a connection with the area’s residents.

Since the 2011 disaster, NYK has made numerous arrangements for employees who desire to assist in the region as volunteers. Since last year, newly hired employees have also actively participated, with each volunteering in Otsuchi town in Iwate prefecture. This new venture involving the canola oil is expected to help NYK employees expand their vision and gain experience outside the workplace through interaction with those working at the reconstruction sites for the region’s recovery.

NYK will continue its efforts to support those in need to fulfill the group’s commitment to remaining a socially responsible corporation.

After the earthquake, United Green implemented a recovery project by planting canola flowers in the region and promoted collaborative activities to encourage the residents and the region. The profit from sales of canola oil helps to create jobs and rebuild the region. In addition, the organization collects used cooking oil from revived stores and other places to recycle as a biodiesel fuel, which is used as eco-fuel to cover the electric power for regional events. The NPO aims to build a society resistant to disasters as well as to produce local energy for local consumption.