Hiratsuka, Japan—The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today that it joined Japan’s 30by30 Alliance for Biodiversity in January 2023.

The 30by30 Alliance for Biodiversity (hereafter, “the 30by30 Alliance” or “the Alliance”) is a coalition of companies, local governments, and other organizations committed to making efforts throughout Japan to achieve “30by30,” an international goal of conserving and protecting more than 30% of land and sea areas by 2030, and realize a nature-positive*1 world. The 30by30 Alliance was established in April 2022 by 17 founders from industry, the private sector, and government organizations, including the Ministry of the Environment. Currently, more than 300 companies, local governments, nonprofit organizations and other entities are participating in the Alliance.

Yokohama Rubber established its Guidelines for the Preservation of Biodiversity in 2010 and has been promoting efforts throughout its value chain to preserve biodiversity. Five Yokohama Rubber production sites in Japan have received the Association for Business Innovation in harmony with Nature and Community Certification (ABINC Certification)*2 in recognition of the company’s YOKOHAMA Forever Forest activities to plant trees and provide seedlings in and around its production sites and other biodiversity conservation activities to ensure its production sites have a positive effect on the local ecosystem.

As a member of the 30by30 Alliance, Yokohama Rubber aims to receive certification of its YOKOHAMA Forever Forest locations and production sites as OECMs*3, as it aims to achieve the “30by30” goal and contribute to the realization of a society in harmony with nature.

Yokohama Transformation 2023 (YX2023), Yokohama Rubber’s medium-term management plan for fiscal years 2021–2023, includes sustainability initiatives that are based on the concept of “Caring for the Future.” Yokohama Rubber believes that conducting business activities aligned with its sustainability initiatives will help resolve social issues and lead to continued increases in its corporate value.

*1 A philosophy that promotes halting the loss of biodiversity and putting it on a recovery track
*2 ABINC Certification: A system developed by the Japan Business Initiative for Biodiversity (JBIB) to certify that land used for business purposes is planned and managed in accordance with the concepts outlined in the “JBIB Guidelines for Sustainable Business Sites ” and meets or exceeds the standards outlined in the “JBIB Land Use Score Card.”
*3 OECM (Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures): A geographically defined area other than protected areas, such as national parks, which is governed and managed in ways that contribute to biodiversity conservation