About the project
The project site consists of the first and second floors of a tenant building leased by Woonerf, Inc. The first floor is mainly used as a multipurpose space (rented out as an event space and meeting room, as well as for planning and holding various events that people can enjoy, such as live jazz performances and cooking classes, to contribute to the revitalization of the community) and office space. The second floor is used as office space. The first floor has been certified with the WELL Health-Safety Rating and currently pursuing LEED v4.1 O+M Interior.
Zero waste practices and policies
Although there were no examples of acquiring TRUE certification in Japan at this moment, we gradually made progress toward zero waste through measures such as reducing paper use by creating an online meeting and attendance management system and double-sided printer setting, reducing food waste by introducing a composting system. In addition, we have been gradually promoting zero waste through policies such as avoiding disposable resources such as batteries and paper tableware in favor of reusable, rechargeable batteries and ceramic tableware.
By changing meetings online, the need for large amounts of printed materials for meetings has been eliminated, resulting in significant savings in paper resources. The upcycling of empty metal cans and glass bottles to the vase of plants has also improved the aesthetics of the office. Moreover, the company is trying to reduce the generation of waste itself by introducing a system where reminders such as "Do you really have to throw that away?" are written on the wastebaskets to make people stop and reconsider the effective use of resources before throwing them away. In the composting system installed on the limited site of the facility, we are also trying new ways to improve fruit production by feeding the compost to the fruit trees in the facility.
How employees were engaged
By introducing a system that collects chairs, desks, stationery, and other items generated at the facility at designated locations and distributes them to any employees who want them, we could inform employees about the importance of waste reduction. Also, an EPP and waste policy were established and disseminated within the company to raise employee awareness about zero waste. Each waste audit was conducted by employees without hiring a contractor, which provided an opportunity to learn the importance of proper waste separation.
How practices are benefiting the community
This time, we only acquired TRUE certification for our Tokyo office, but in the future, we are considering acquiring TRUE certification for our satellite office located on the shores of Lake Hamanako in Shizuoka Prefecture. The satellite office has a farm and a café, so we believe that it will be able to try zero waste more closely connected to the local community. We would like to take advantage of the experience gained through this certification and challenge ourselves to achieve even higher levels of zero waste.
"Since its foundation, our facility has been working to reduce waste by having our employees organize the layout of the office and even sort out the trash on our own. As an sustainability consulting firm, it was only natural to aim for zero waste in our facilities. The challenge of TRUE certification has allowed us to build a composting system, retrain our employees, and try to reduce the chances of further waste generation. With the knowledge gained from the TRUE certification, we will continue to challenge ourselves to achieve zero waste."
- Ryoji Nakayama / Sustainability Consultant, TRUE advisor at Woonerf, Inc.