Japan to Quantify Companies’ Forest Conservation Efforts

Tokyo, Jan. 10 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Forestry Agency will introduce a system to quantify the environmental contributions made by companies engaged in forest conservation. By making the contributions “visible,” the agency aims to encourage corporate participation in forest conservation by making it easier for companies to gain recognition from customers and the market. Specifically, the system will be adopted for a so-called profit-sharing afforestation program, where local governments and companies act as afforestation partners to manage national forests and share the revenue from selling harvested timber with the state. The agency has been calling for corporate participation in the afforestation program. Companies that become afforestation partners take on roles such as planting trees, grass cutting and thinning. However, since it takes around 50 years to grow trees to a usable timber size, participation has been higher among local governments than private companies. Under the program this year, the agency will conduct an environmental contribution assessment to show how much participating companies contribute to forest conservation. It will quantify the contributions in terms of water storage in forests, preventing sediment runoff and absorbing carbon dioxide. Companies are increasingly expected to balance their business activities with environmental protection, making their contributions to forest conservation a potential selling point. Additionally, companies can utilize the forests themselves, for example, as recreational spaces for employees. An agency official expressed hope, saying, “As players involved in forestry, the role of companies will be increasingly important going forward.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]