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| Taking advantage of the potentials in Kansai and cultivating environmental businesses of the future generation |
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Taking advantage of the social background in the environmental field or the potentials in Kansai area, the Project pursue the environmental businesses which utilize scarce resources and contributed to reduce environmental burden and focus on organic resources, waste utilization devices/equipments, environmental cleanup equipments/services, and so on. |
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1) Use of organic resources, recycling of resources (material, chemical, and thermal),
2) environmental purification, pollution control (in water, soil, and the atmosphere),
3) green products (eco-design, eco-materials), and 4) environmental services
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Entire Kinki region |
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NPO Recycling System Center
URL: http://www.npo-rsc.org
TEL: +81-6-6942-0310 FAX: +81-6-6942-0290
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Hyogo Prefectural Environmental Create Center Public Corporation, Sakai City Industrial Promotion Center |
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| A network has been formed that includes 239 companies, 26 universities and public research institutes, 13 local governments and chambers of commerce and industry and so on. |
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Launched in FY 2006, the Green Cluster has made rapid progress by forming a closely linked industry-university-government network, while at the same time creating new business tie-ups and enterprises. To form the network, we have visited company and university researchers, along with cluster managers, coordinators, and other personnel.
With regard to the creation of business tie-ups and new enterprises, we have been holding workshops, seminars, and working group sessions. Business tie-up partners who have successfully obtained good prospects for commercialization are working to put their products or technologies to practical use with their own money or other means. Business tie-up partners highly likely to achieve commercialization intend to put their products or technologies to practical use by utilizing a technological development assistance program. We are also providing support to the creation of new environmental businesses in coordination with the Exchange Promotion Forum for Environmental and Energy Conservation Businesses in Kansai and Asia and the Kansai Eco-product Forum. |
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| While collaborating with NEDO, SMRJ, industry support organizations, local governments, and other entities, we classify our themes on a short-term, medium-term, and long-term basis, and create new enterprises from business tie-ups where industry, university, and government employ their respective capabilities. |
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Aizo Takada
General Cluster Manager,
NPO Recycling System Center
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Entering the fourth year of the Second Term Industrial Cluster Project, efforts are now being focused on Strengthening support for the cluster core which has reached the stage of developing sales channels, Strengthening matchmaking activities to connect firms to effective supply chains in fields having high concentrations of companies in Kinki, and Strengthening interaction and collaboration with clusters in other fields and other regions with the aim of forming synergistic combinations of products and businesses and advancing into other regions. Of particular importance is the creation of new environmental businesses in coordination with the Exchange Promotion Forum for Environmental and Energy Conservation Businesses in Kansai and Asia and the Kansai Eco-product Forum, which began last autumn.
While picturing multi-faceted cluster collaboration that results in win-win situations for all parties, we want to work to produce tangible results visible to all. |
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(Accumulating total to FY 2007) |
| Number of new businesses launched: |
418 |
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| Number of new businesses launched: 1,000 businesses in 5 years |
| Nmber of businesses tie-ups: 100 groups in 5 years |
| Growth in sales of cluster core companies: 25% in 5 years |
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Main Participants of the Project
Private companies (239 companies): Kinki Environmental Industry Co.,Ltd., Ohmi Bussan, Inc., Toyo Screen Kogyo Co.,Ltd, Hitachi Zosen Corporation, TAKUMA Co.,Ltd., SHARP Corporation, Kanazawa Sangyo Co.,Ltd., Taki Chemical Co.,Ltd., Sakai Steel Sheets Works Ltd., J Top Service Co.,Ltd., etc.
Related administrative organizations (13 organizations): Osaka Prefecture, Hyogo Prefecture, Sakai City, Sakai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, etc.
Universities and public examination and research institutes (26 organizations): Osaka University, Kyoto University, Kobe University, Osaka Prefecture University, AIST, etc.
Financial institutions (3 organizations):
Shiga Bank, Bank of Ikeda,Ltd., Bank of Kyoto
Business Incubators (1 facility): Sakai Business
Incubation Center Corporation
Others: SMRJ, New Industry Research Organization, The Osaka Doyu-kai, etc. |
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| ACHIEVEMENT EXAMPLE 1 |
Promoting environmental businesses |
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In FY 2008, the Environmental Businesses KANSAI Project led two forums. The first was the Kansai Eco-product Forum for promoting companies with an orientation toward the environment. Events included seminars on material flow cost accounting and carbon footprints. The other forum was the Kansai-Asia Envivonment and Energy-saving Business Promotion Forum to support business development in Asia. Activities included an exchange for Chinese and Japanese companies as well as a presentation by a business mission to Asia.
As a result of the exchange, some cluster member companies have entered into contract negotiations with Chinese companies, a strong start toward expanded business.
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A presentation is given for Chinese businesses at the Kansai-Asia Envivonment and Energy-saving Business Promotion Forum |
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| ACHIEVEMENT EXAMPLE 2 |
Developing and producing school lunch dishes using bamboo from neglected groves |
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Throughout Japan, the neglect of bamboo groves is increasingly causing the bamboo to go to ruin while multiplying bamboo stalks are invading nearby forests and woodlands.
In conjunction with the FY 2007 Regional Consortium Research and Development Project, Iwamoto Corp. extracted fiber from bamboo cut down in neglected groves and mixed it with biodegradable resin (polylactic acid) at a 51-49 ratio by weight. From this, they created resin pellets with a low environmental burden for use in food utensils and plates they manufacture and sell to schools.
Because these products are carbon neutral, they help decrease carbon dioxide, and it is also hoped that they will contribute to environmental education when used in the schools. Local governments looking into using the products in their school systems have begun watching elementary schools to see how the adaptation is working.
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A neglected bamboo grove
A bowl made from extracted bamboo fiber |
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| ACHIEVEMENT EXAMPLE 3 |
Developing and spreading general soil diagnosis to promote organic agriculture |
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Much attention is currently focused on organic farming because of its advantages in ensuring safe food supplies and preserving the environment. An important part to expanding the reach of organic farming is establishing technology for diagnosing soil.
The Department of Biofunctional Engineering (headed by Dr. Motoki Kubo) at the College of Life Sciences at Ritsumeikan University has developed a general soil diagnosis technology to evaluate the state of soil as well as the degree of its richness. The technology combines a technique for quantifying the amount of bacteria in soil using environmental DNA as well as a technique for quantifying the quantity of nitrogen circulation in soil.
Through seminars and lectures, this new technology is being introduced. Additionally, contact is being made with cluster coordinators to create a business plan and build a business structure for the diagnostic work. Furthermore, development of additional safe food production technologies based on this new technology is going forward.
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Soil diagnosis device |
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