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Initiatives for Biodiversity Conservation

Basic Philosophy

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Management System

As“living in symbiosis with nature” is one of the three priorities of the Nichirei Group’s Environmental Policy, the Group is committed to environmental conservation activities. Within its business activities, the Group actively procures sustainable materials and processed items, builds recycling systems in collaboration with business partners and local communities, and disseminates information and conducts activities for biodiversity conservation and environmental awareness raising at worksites and suppliers.
The biodiversity-related initiatives are reported at the Group Environmental Managers Meeting held eight times a year with operating companies and at the Group Sustainability Committee held at least three times a year. Depending on the situation, they develop policies or strategies covering the Group. We carry out biodiversity-related initiatives in accordance with the agreed plans.

Nicihrei Corporation, Strategic Planning, Nichirei Corporation, Quality Assurance Division, Nichirei Corporation, Technology Management, Nichirei Corporation, Corporate Internal Audit, Nichirei Corporation, Corporate Supervise, Nichirei Corporation, Legal Affairs, Nichirei Corporation, Human Resources Strategy & General Affairs, Nichirei Corporation, Finance & Investor Relations, Nichirei Corporation, Accounting & Tax, Nichirei Corporation, Group Communication, Nichirei Foods Inc., Nichirei Fresh Inc., Nichirei Logistics Group Inc., Nichirei Biosciences Inc., Hitachi Foods & Logistics Systems,Inc., NIchirei Bisiness Partners .inc

Initiatives

Conserving Biodiversity and Maintaining Sustainable Production: MSC Fisheries Certification at Clam Fishery

About 60% of Japan’s imported clams are sourced from wetlands along the Yellow Sea coast of China. Since 2006, Nichirei Fresh has procured clams from China for use as a premium ingredient. In recent years, however, we have become concerned about the declining yield of clams and the deterioration of the natural environment.
In 2016, Nichirei Fresh collaborated with Dandong Taihong Foodstuff Co., Ltd., a supplier of clams, and the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) in a fisheries improvement project.
In 2021, the shellfish fishery of the Yalu Estuary received Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification for sustainable fishing that considers the rich natural environment of the Yellow Sea coast, which is indispensable as a resting and feeding place for migratory birds. The certification was the first example of a shellfish fishery improvement project in China involving cooperation between participants in the supply chains of China and Japan.
Nichirei Fresh will continue to increase the number of products that bear the MSC certification* for sustainable fishing.

  • *MSC certification requires that wild seafood used has been caught using methods that do not deplete the natural supply.

Key Elements of the Coastal Wetland Ecosystem of the Yalu River Estuary

Key Elements of the Coastal Wetland Ecosystem of the Yalu River Estuary

Fukushima: Environmental Research and Protection, Conserving Biodiversity

Nichirei owns land near Lake Hibara in Fukushima Prefectureʼs Urabandai region. The Company supports research on the natural environment in the surrounding areas and environmental and biodiversity conservation based on that research.
Following the 1888 eruption of Mount Bandai, all vegetation disappeared from the Urabandai area, but more than 130 years on, one can see vegetation returning: red pine forests, white willows, reeded wetlands, and aquatic plant clusters in marshlands.
The red pine forests, planted by people who want to see the return of greenery, continue to spread.
But since the Companyʼs land remains unforested, it provides a valuable area for observing the transition of virgin nature.
Nichirei has supported the research activities—carried out since FY2012 in the Urabandai area—by the Support Division for Projects in Natural Symbiosis and Regeneration at Center for Practical and Project-Based Learning, Graduate School of Symbiotic Systems Science and Technology, Fukushima University.
In FY2020 (ended in March, 2020), we supported an investigation of insect fauna inhabiting reed marshes in Urabandai area Nichirei-owned land, as well as a study into the diversity of plant species conducted with the goal of publishing a book on Urabandai flora.

  • Water quality surveys in the Urabandai area wetlandsWater quality surveys in the Urabandai area wetlands
  • The Himeshiro dragonfly: a new speciesThe Himeshiro dragonfly: a new species
Protecting Endangered Orchids

Since FY2004, the Nichirei Group has helped in the conservation and regeneration of the endangered orchid Cypripedium macranthos var. macranthos and other species through research on and the breeding of orchids and other plants in Fujimi-machi, Nagano Prefecture. In 2014, some artificially propagated orchids of this species flowered and, in FY2020 they produced 32 blooms. Consequently, Nichirei entered a biodiversity conservation partnership agreement with Fujimi-machi, Nagano Prefecture, and the Fujimi-machi Atsumorisou Regeneration Committee in February 2019. The Group will provide the technologies necessary for the conservation and regeneration of Cypripedium macranthos orchids and cover a portion of the costs. In June 2021, the Committee began selling artificially propagated blooms and seedlings, which it hopes will help prevent excessive picking of wild indigenous species. In our artificial pollination efforts, we avoid mixing plants from the same lineage as much as possible in order to preserve genetic diversity.

Nicihrei Corporation, Strategic Planning, Nichirei Corporation, Quality Assurance Division, Nichirei Corporation, Technology Management, Nichirei Corporation, Corporate Internal Audit, Nichirei Corporation, Corporate Supervise, Nichirei Corporation, Legal Affairs, Nichirei Corporation, Human Resources Strategy & General Affairs, Nichirei Corporation, Finance & Investor Relations, Nichirei Corporation, Accounting & Tax, Nichirei Corporation, Group Communication, Nichirei Foods Inc., Nichirei Fresh Inc., Nichirei Logistics Group Inc., Nichirei Biosciences Inc., Hitachi Foods & Logistics Systems,Inc., NIchirei Bisiness Partners .inc