Sustainability - Community
The Meiden Group gains awareness of issues and forms positive relationships with communities through lively two-way communication in countries and regions in which we conduct business.
Furthermore, the Meiden Group is aware of the importance of local hiring and local procurement to contribute to sustainable development in these countries and regions.
The Meiden Group is working to contribute to the economic development of countries and regions in which we conduct business through a range of initiatives.
We are working to conduct positive communication with people in the local community and our stakeholders that support us on a day-to-day basis, through contributions to society according to the Meiden Group Social Contribution Policies.
In 1918, Take Shigemune, the second President of the Company and wife of the Founder, Hosui Shigemune, used her own funds to establish Hosui Elementary School in Osaki (Shinagawa City, Tokyo), an area where the Company had a factory. Following in her footsteps, the Meiden Group will make a wide variety of social contributions through our active involvement with local communities and with society.
The Meiden Group aims to be a company that accepts the challenge of solving social issues by providing new value created through its business activities, in order to achieve our ideal state of being “work to build a new society through integrity to the earth, society, and people, and through the power of co-creation”. Solving social issues through our core business leads to growth, and this aligns with the Meiden Group Social Contribution Policy.
In terms of our social contribution activities, by conducting social contribution activities that are suited to the Meiden Group, with features that leverage the skills and knowledge of employees, such as manufacturing classes and visiting science lectures that leverage the technology and products developed through our business, we contribute to the solution of social issues, such as lack of engineers and STEM personnel due to children drifting away from science, and the development of local communities. We believe that these activities will eventually lead to the building of a relationship of trust with our stakeholders, which in the long run will lead to the enhancement of corporate value and the securing of excellent human resources.
In order to tackle a range of issues arising from aging water service personnel employed by local governments, such as labor shortages, skills transfer, and risk management, the Meiden Group not only designs and manufactures electrical equipment, but also offers comprehensive consignment services that include facility maintenance, management, and operations. In April 2017, a private sector group, for which Meidensha is the representative company, established East Gunma Water Supply Service Co., Ltd. along with the East Gunma Water Supply Industry Association through joint financing, and commenced water supply operations and comprehensive projects including extension works in three cities and five towns in the East Gunma region. Through this venture, we were able to achieve efficient business administration and transmission of skills to personnel, achieve public benefit, create new employment opportunities, and reduce maintenance costs, by leveraging the skills and knowhow of private enterprise.
In the Kingdom of Thailand, we donated facilities for two schools in the mountainous regions of the north of Thailand, which are populated by ethnic minorities, in FY2017, to celebrate Meidensha’s 120th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of THAI MEIDENSHA CO., LTD. We donated a library and a water tank to Kalayaniwattana Secondary School, which was one of those schools. As these regions are surrounded by mountains, it takes a long time to travel to school and many students choose to live in dormitories. With this water tank to store the water that is necessary for life and this library to help students learn, Meidensha was able to support children’s rights and business principles, improve the learning environment for children in accordance with these principles, and contribute to the provision of opportunities for children to receive reliable and high-quality education. Employees of THAI MEIDENSHA CO., LTD. visit the two schools to which facilities were donated on an ongoing basis, conduct learning activities, etc., and maintain connections with teachers and the local community through activities with students.
Since FY2007, which was our 110th anniversary, we have held Meidensha Manufacturing Classes at elementary schools located nearby each of our sites, including Hosui Elementary School. Through these Manufacturing Classes, we will enable children to experience the joy of manufacturing by having them assemble and operate toys that incorporate motors by themselves. More than 10,000 children have participated the activity so far. Since FY2018, we have held Manufacturing Classes at Iwakuni Elementary School, which was attended by our founder, Shigemune Hosui.
In FY2022, we held these classes at Iwakuni Elementary School, Shinagawa Municipal Hosui Elementary School, and Ota Municipal Ikushina Elementary School, with a total of 51 Meiden Group employees and 326 children participating in them.
Since FY2017 we have held visiting lectures entitled “How does electricity reach us?” for second-year junior high school students in the areas around our sites, through which children can learn about the importance of electricity through experience.
In FY2022, we conducted visiting lectures for 305 second-year students at Shinagawa Gakuen, Shinagawa Municipal Osaki Junior High School, Shinagawa Joshi Gakuin, and Ota Municipal Junior High School. A total of 20 Meiden Group employees served as instructors and assistants.
In December 2022, 20 local technical high school students visited Manabi-ya, the new skills training center at Numazu Works, for an observation designed to provide students from local technical high schools with hands-on safety experience. The students visited the Manabi-ya Digital Zone, the practical training area, and the study area.
Going forward, we will hold more observations for local schools and continue to provide learning experiences for even more students.
Meidensha and M WINDS Co., Ltd., which operates and maintains wind farms, hosted Global Wind Day, an event both to thank local residents and to provide more information on wind power generation. Global Wind Day coincided with Mitane City’s Sand Craft 2022 in Mitane on July 30 of that year.
Held for the first time in three years, the event featured a booth at Kamayahama Beach, a place for visitors to stand directly underneath the 18 wind turbines of the Hachiryu Wind Farm, video tours of the inside of a turbine, pinwheel making, and a decorative arch of multi-colored pinwheels between turbines for photographs. A large number of people came to the event, including local residents.
M WINDS Co., Ltd., a wind farm operation and maintenance service company, conducted visiting lectures on maintenance for wind power generation systems and the job of a chief electrical engineer at two high schools in Akita Prefecture in February 2023. These lectures were provided to high school students as part of the Akita Prefecture Wind Generator Maintenance Personnel Education Project, which aims to train technicians and retain young people in the prefecture.
During the lecture, an instructor conveyed the allure of the job to the high school students, saying, “I’m responsible for the safety of both the on-site technicians and the electrical equipment. It’s hard work, but very rewarding,” and encouraged them to “start studying while you are in high school and work to obtain certification as a chief electrical engineer.” As momentum builds for the introduction of renewable energy to create a carbon-free society, the world will expect even more from the wind power sector, so securing and training maintenance personnel in the future will be essential.
The M WINDS Akita Sales Office maintains its own 18 wind turbines at Hachiryu Wind Farm, as well as 8 other regional wind turbines owned by other companies. We are strengthening efforts to hire employees from within Akita Prefecture and focusing on training technicians. Going forward, we will continue to contribute to the growth and steady supply of renewable energy with local roots by focusing on coexistence and co-creation with regional communities to expand business.
Since 2019, Meidensha has been endorsing initiatives of Shizuoka Prefectural Mishimakita Senior High School whereby students focus on global issues and work together to try solutions, as well as supporting their overseas training programs. Nine first-year students were scheduled to travel to Vietnam for on-site research in FY2022, but the travel plans had to be canceled because of the continued threat of COVID-19, so an alternative curriculum was devised where they presented the results of their research at Meidensha’s headquarters.
Three groups of students gave presentations on their research and findings to Representative Director President and Executive Officer (at that time)Takeshi Miida, Managing Executive Officer Akio Ikemori, and members of VIETSTAR MEIDEN CORPORATION, our local Vietnam company, who joined the presentation remotely.
The presentations covered topics such as power generation methods that combine the issues of power in Vietnam with food loss, menu planning apps to address issues in nutrition and health, and alternative containers to help address the issue of microplastics, with each team proposing innovative solutions to their social issue.
Following the presentations, the Director and other employees offered feedback and everyone participated in an exchange of meaningful ideas for use in future research.
The Meiden Group engages in daily environmental beautification activities such as picking up litter and maintaining grassy areas to stay true to our mission of existing harmoniously with local communities. Residents appreciate these long-standing beautification activities that improve awareness of employees contributing to society and help foster a sense of unity with the community.
