People

The Kuraray Group is a chemical manufacturer with eight production bases in Japan and 16 bases overseas. We are grateful to every member of the local communities that support our growth. We will continue to love our local communities and work with them sincerely.
　 In 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we had limited opportunities to meet and talk with local residents. However, while continuing to devise ways of preventing the spread of COVID-19, we held events and social contribution activities as much as we could.

Japan

Kurashiki Plant, Kurashiki Research Center

At Kurashiki Plant, we continued to hold events such as sports events (boys’ soccer tournaments) and festivals (a summer festival and a “Christmas Fantasy” event). Although these were scaled down, sponsored or held in a simplified format, they enabled members of the plant to continue to interact with local people. We also promoted volunteer activities that could be carried out even during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as cleaning local parks, rivers, and children’s gardens and mowing lawns. The Fun Chemistry Class, our chemistry classes for boys and girls, had been on hold, but we are exploring ways of restarting it in fiscal 2023. As a fundraising activity, we continued our donation matching program, the Kuraray Fureai Fund, through which we donate playground equipment to local elementary schools and children’s gardens.

Saijo Plant

Okayama Plant

Niigata Plant

We aim to contribute to the natural environment and residential environment so that our plant can earn trust from the community. Niigata Plant continued to hold its cherry blossom viewing party while making sure to carry out COVID-19 prevention measures. In addition, the Niigata Plant signed a forestation support project in Niigata Prefecture for the purpose of forest conservation. It also held the MIRABAKESSO Forest Creating Activity, which involves employees and their families carrying out pruning work in local forests. The soft tennis tournament for junior high school students continued in the form of a training session. The “Wondrous Laboratory” chemistry class for elementary schoolchildren was held with reduced numbers, taking place at the elementary school itself rather than at the plant. In 2022, through the Kuraray Fureai Fund, we donated sports equipment, toys, picture books, and picture-story cards to elementary schools and nurseries in areas that were severely damaged by the floods in northern Niigata Prefecture. Meetings with local communities have also resumed. Summer festivals and football sessions with facilities for people with disabilities have been put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but we are considering resuming these activities during fiscal 2023.

Kashima Plant

Tsurumi Plant

At the Tsurumi Plant, we long for children to become interested in chemistry by carrying out hands-on experiments, and we also want members of the local community to learn more about our plant. So, since 2019, the plant has held an open chemistry class in collaboration with the local tourism association. This event was held again in fiscal 2022. In fiscal 2023, a biodiversity learning event is planned as a new initiative. With a slogan of protecting the richness of the sea and land and creating a city we can continue living, we are also actively engaged in local cleanup activities. Many employees participate in picking up trash in areas around the plant, such as the waiting area of the Okayama Blue Line and nearby prefectural roads, and also in maintaining the grounds of a local elementary school.

Tsukuba Research Center

The Tsukuba Research Center sponsors vision-impaired futsal, an activity that began with a partially sighted worker at the center. As a result of this, the futsal club of our center is creating a social contribution circle to hold a training session for children together.

Osaka Office

Although the Osaka Office has limited direct interaction with the local community, it does play a role in the region through sponsorship and participation of various activities. Among these are the Umeda Yukata Festival, which connects workers, and Umeda Meets Heart, the aim of which is to help people rediscover all that Umeda has to offer. The Osaka Office also serves as a member of the council of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum, Osaka, helping to showcase outstanding technology in traditional crafts.

Tokyo Head Office

Overseas Affiliates

Kuraray Europe GmbH

Kuraray Europe GmbH not only contributes to society through its business, products, and services, but also considers itself a member of society and strives to act responsibly to promote the well-being of the community. It continued to do this to the best of its ability even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
　As a volunteer event in cooperation with educational institutions, Kuraray Europe GmbH participated in the Malteser Social Day, which was organized by an NGO. Teams from Hattersheim, where the Europe headquarters is located, and Troisdorf, where a manufacturing base is located, visited local elementary and nurseries where they repaired playground equipment, built terraces, and brightened up school buildings and schoolyards with decorations and markings. Hearty catering services were provided and a lot of fun was had by all, with many children playing under a blue sky. Kuraray Europe GmbH also continue its unique step challenge, where company colleagues walk together as much as they can over a set period of time. Steps are converted into distances, based on which the company increases the amount that it donates to sustainable projects. “Christmas in a Shoebox” is a volunteer effort that has continued for many years. Employees pack toys and treats into cute shoeboxes as gifts for children in need. Kuraray Europe GmbH also continues to donate to numerous social projects based on proposals by employees every year. In fiscal 2023, Kuraray Europe GmbH will continue to contribute to a sustainable world.

Kuraray America, Inc.

As a responsible corporate citizen, our first priority is to contribute to the communities in which our plants are located, and we focus on education - especially STEM -, environmental protection, health and safety, and promoting understanding of Japanese culture. We have also developed social action guidelines and support our employees' active engagement through matching gifts and volunteer grant program. In 2022, we again participated in the Trash Bash, the largest Gulf clean-up in Texas organized by the Galveston Bay Foundation, where employee volunteers worked to protect the Bay ecosystem and surrounding areas. We also participated in Bike Around the Bay, which helps protect the Bay's environment. In addition, they supported an initiative organized by the non-profit foundation Habitat for Humanity Baytown to provide economically priced housing to families in need. During the Christmas season, employees organized a donation drive at the non-profit foundation Depelchin Children's Centre to purchase toys and other gifts and household items. In addition, employees participated in the Fayetteville International Folk Festival, a cultural event, and in GEMS (Girls Exploring Math and Science) activities at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences.

MonoSol, LLC

In 2022, MonoSol, LLC’s social contribution activities were based on the idea of giving back to the local community. A team of employees provided meals to people in need. Cleanups were also held in outdoor areas such as local beaches and roads. Together with employees who have lost children to incurable diseases, MonoSol, LLC organized a fundraiser for an organization that focuses on research into treatment for incurable diseases in children.
　As well as these events, MonoSol, LLC is working as a company to reduce its carbon footprint outside of direct production activities. Styrofoam cups and disposable plastic bottles have been replaced with eco-friendly paper cups. In fiscal 2023, MonoSol plans to launch a program to reduce the amount of paper used for various records and data tracking.

Calgon Carbon Corporation

Although in 2022 many events were again suspended and limited activities were held due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Calgon Carbon Corporation contributed to a number of institutions that offer social and volunteer activities.

As well as the above-mentioned initiatives, the Kuraray Group will put its heart into carrying out social contribution activities wherever it has bases around the world.

Although each base normally carries out its own activities, in 2022 the Kuraray Group worked together as an organization to provide support for Ukrainian refugees. This initiative was led by Kuraray Europe, which has numerous employees from Ukraine, and MonoSol, which is building a new plant in neighboring Poland. As well as donating to humanitarian NGOs, we also held fundraising campaigns with elementary school students and provided shelter, clothing, food, and medical supplies to refugees. The Kuraray Group also made donations to UN agencies. We believe that even in difficult situations like war, companies should do whatever they can.

Kuraray was founded in Kurashiki City, an area of Japan that is steeped in culture. Although our founder lived during the Meiji era, as Japan was just opening back up to the rest of the world, he collected Western paintings for local citizens. This led to the establishment of the Ohara Museum of Art, which is famous worldwide. Since its birth, Kuraray has valued culture. We support many cultural facilities and cultural activities, including the Ohara Museum of Art and the Ehime Folk Crafts Museum, and other cultural facilities associated with Kuraray, honoring researchers of Japanese culture at the Kuraray Foundation, restoring paintings, and training young artists.