News Release

Yokohama Rubber Supporting Steady Progress of Environmental Protection Activities in China’s Yunnan Province

2014.September.03

  • Management relation
  • Sustainability relation

Tokyo – The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today that its holding company in China, Yokohama Rubber (China) Co., Ltd., held an opening ceremony on July 24 for the Sales Platform of Ecological Agricultural & Forestry Product established in Heyuan Village on Lijiang Laojun Mountain in Yunnan Province. This Sales Platform was established to sell the products generated by Heyuan villagers’ beekeeping, herb cultivation, and other agricultural activities in harmony with the local ecology. The Sales Platform is expected to enable the village to better turn its products into economic profits and to autonomously operate activities aimed at realizing economic development while preserving the local ecology.

Laojun Mountain is part of a mountainous area that is rich in natural beauty. It is one of the major tourist destinations within the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas, which was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. Heyuan Village is an ethnic minority community in the Laojun Mountain Nature Reserve. Lacking other income sources, the villagers used to cut down trees in nearby forests. To prevent this destruction of nature, the Beijing SanSheng Environment and Development Research Institute, an NGO dedicated to preserving the environment, in 2010 proposed the “Project for Sustainable Development and Ecological Preservation in the Heyuan Community”. In wholehearted agreement with the project’s aims, Yokohama Rubber (China) has been a staunch supporter of the project since activities were started in 2011.

In line with its goal of achieving the sustainable development of the Heyuan community by realizing a balance between environmental protection and economic development, the “Project for Sustainable Development and Ecological Preservation in the Heyuan Community” has made steady step-by-step progress, similar to the adage that “First, you give a man a fish, next you teach him how to fish, and then you provide support for the sale of his catch.” In 2011, Yokohama Rubber (China) participated in the establishment of a “Village Bank” to provide financing to support the shift in Heyuan villagers’ economic undertakings from activities resulting in deforestation to more ecological agricultural activities. In the same year, the Chinese subsidiary supported the establishment of the Laojun Mountain Heyuan Natural Ecosystem Industry Cooperative, which conducts training programs on agricultural products and techniques. In 2012, Yokohama Rubber (China) established an educational support program to provide financial assistance to families that had difficulties meeting their children’s educational expenses because of a temporary decline in income caused by their shift to more environmentally friendly agricultural activities. In 2013, Yokohama Rubber (China) donated equipment required for the processing of agricultural products, including beekeeping equipment.

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Yokohama Rubber (China) Chairman and President Shigetoshi Kondo (left) attends the opening ceremony of the Sales Platform of Ecological Agricultural & Forestry Product in Heyuan Village.

Yokohama Rubber (China) Chairman and President Shigetoshi Kondo (left) attends the opening ceremony of the Sales Platform of Ecological Agricultural & Forestry Product in Heyuan Village.