Mazda is actively promoting various means of communication with stakeholders so that they have a deeper understanding of Mazda's wide-ranging environmental activities.
Since FY2006, in order to raise individual employees' awareness of the environment and bring the subject of environmental issues closer to home, Mazda has been inviting staff to submit ideas for improvements that will help preserve the environment, and has been giving awards for outstanding proposals.
The ideas submitted are publicized in-house so that individuals can consider suggestions that might be useful in everyday life, while those ideas that may play a role in corporate activities are examined by the departments concerned.
Mazda is also actively committed to communicating with stakeholders outside the Company.
The Company held a three-day Mazda Environmental Technology Forum on March 28-30, 2009 at the Mazda R&D Center Yokohama with the participation of customers, shareholders, and students. It provided a good opportunity for us to explain our long-term vision - the Sustainable Zoom-Zoom plan - and Mazda's environmental technologies, enabling participants to understand our technologies and our attitude toward environmental issues.
Engineers provided direct explanations of the “i-stop” idling stop system and hydrogen rotary engine environmental technologies, and participants had the chance to take test drives in cars fitted with these technologies.
About 185 people attended the event over three days, with favorable comments including “it deepened my understanding of Mazda's environmental technology” and “I enjoyed the test drive.” There were also requests for more information about Mazda's wide-ranging activities on behalf of the environment, such as initiatives in factories, and we will engage in continued communications in response to these opinions and requests.
Ideas on all scales are welcome, from individual activities to major projects, and this grassroots program will continue as a way of contributing to the raising of environmental awareness.
Forum Participants
- I realized that, because improved fuel economy initiatives in internal combustion engines account for much of the market, they are influential and important matters. I'm looking forward to Mazda's 2011 models.
- I enjoyed riding in a hydrogen-powered vehicle. I hope they will go on sale in about 10 years' time.
- I was amazed at the i-stop's smooth start.
- I hope more such events will be held in the future.
- I would have liked to find out more about Mazda's Company-wide environmental initiatives.
- I want to hear about initiatives in Mazda's production facilities, too.
| Date | Event | Organizers |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | ||
| March 14-16 | VIP transport at G20 Gleneagles Dialogue | METI |
| May 3-6 | 2008 Shibuya DE Domo (BS Eco Park) | NHK |
| May 5 | Tsukuba Circuit event | LDP Motor Sports Legislators Association |
| May17-18 | Eco Car World in Kobe (event associated with G8 Environment Ministers Meeting) | Ministry of the Environment |
| May 21-23 | Automotive Engineering Exhibition | JSAE |
| May 23-26 | Environment Fair in Kobe (official event associated with G8 Environment Ministers Meeting) | Ministry of the Environment, Kobe Prefecture, Kobe City, etc. |
| May 23-27 | VIP transport for G8 Environment Ministers Meeting | Ministry of the Environment |
| June 7-8 | Eco Car World in Yokohama | Ministry of the Environment |
| July 5-7 | Toyako Summit | MOFA |
| August 9-10 | KIDS ENGINEER 2008 | JSAE |
| October 1 | Japan Petroleum Energy Center test drives | JPEC |
| October 3-5 | Thailand National Bio Lecture Technical Exhibition | Ministry of Science and Technology, Thailand |
| October 4-5 | Nara Motor Fair | Nara Television, etc. |
| October 10-12 | AJAJ + Metropolitan Expressways Company Eco Car Event | AJAJ, Metropolitan Expressways Company Limited |
| October 17-19 | Hiroshima Industrial Promotion Organization Information Plaza 20th Festival | Hiroshima Industrial Promotion Organization |
| October 18 | Hatsukaichi City Event | Hatsukaichi City |
| October 19 | Chugoku District Transport Bureau GoGoCarnival | Chugoku District Transport Bureau |
| October 22-24 | Hydrogen Energy Advanced Technology Exhibition 2008 | Fukuoka Strategy Conference for Hydrogen Energy |
| October 22-24 | Ministerial Conference on Global Environment and Energy in Transport | MLIT |
| October 24 | Russian Government Eco-Car Parade | International Council on Alternative Energy for Major Cities |
| November 1 | Eco-Car Experience Fair in Odawara | CEV Project |
| November 3 | Japan EV Festival 2008 | Japan EV Club |
| November 7-9 | Super GT 2008 × JHFC Collaborative Event | GTA/JHFC |
| November 11 | FCV Mobile Classroom @ Toda City | Toda City, Japan Energy, JHFC |
| November 12 | Beijing Environmental Safety Technology Exhibition | MCO |
| November 16 | Kyoto City Eco Drive Mass Movement | Kyoto City Environmental Policy Bureau |
| November 23-24 | Hiroshima Student Symposium | US Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEEE) Hiroshima Branch |
| December 6 | Hiroshima "Stop Global Warming Fair" | Hiroshima City |
| December 11-13 | Eco Products 2008 | Nikkei Shimbun |
| 2009 | ||
| February 28-March 1 | Energy & Ecology Exhibition 2009 | CEV Project |
| February 25-27 | FC Expo 2009 | Read Exhibition Japan, JHFC |
| February 25-28 | ITS-Safety 2010 Joint Experimental Exhibition | Cabinet Secretariat, ITS Japan |
Protecting the New Zealand Monarch Butterfly
Preserving biodiversity is an important issue worldwide. The Mazda Foundation New Zealand, as part of its activities to benefit society, is supporting the preservation of a species of monarch butterfly unique to New Zealand.
The monarch butterfly population is believed to be declining, and Mazda is assisting the Monarch Butterfly New Zealand Trust in surveying the butterfly's numbers and carrying out educational activities at flower shows.
Creating a Biotope
Since 2004, the Mazda R&D Center Yokohama has been participating in a collaborative project implemented by corporations, residents, and the local government, to restore dragonfly ponds and improve the natural environment in Yokohama. In March 2009 we supported a project to plant woodlands in the Keihin (Tokyo-Yokohama) area, and we are involved in ecological improvement activities to restore the natural environment and expand green areas.
In June, wild water plants in the neighborhood were transplanted into a pond in the Center's garden, creating a habitat for waterside creatures such as dragonflies and ducks. We will continue to survey dragonfly numbers and monitor the garden's environment in the future.
