The 24th Green Purchasing Awards Awards recognize leading examples of sustainable procurement (consumption and production)

Green Purchasing Network (Secretariat: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Chairman: Yasushi Umeda) has selected the winners of the 24th Green Purchasing Awards, which recognize initiatives that contribute to the expansion of green markets and the achievement of SDGs targets through "sustainable procurement" as follows.

24th Green Purchasing Awards Judging Results Announced

24th Green Purchasing Awards Judging Results

Grand Prize / Minister of the Environment Award

Japan Consumers' Co-operative Union (Government and Private Organization Category)

Procurement of raw materials and communication with stakeholders based on the "Basic Policy for Responsible Procurement" for Co-op products

Grand Prize, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award

Seiko Epson Corporation (Large Company Division)

CSR procurement initiatives aimed at building mutually trusting relationships with suppliers and developing together, based on the principles of fairness, justice, and coexistence and co-prosperity

Grand Prize, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award

Sugimoto Shoten Co.

Working together with the local community to bring "Only Made Here" to the world

Grand Prize

Mie University National University Corporation (Government and Private Organization Division)

Program for Co-creation and Development of Scientific Local Environmental Human Resources (SciLets) for Local and Environmental Transformation (Local Environment X)

Grand Prize

Akikawa Makien Corporation (Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Special Category)

Sustainable agriculture centered on livestock farming: Creating safe and secure food together with consumers

Grand Prize

Aeon Topvalu Corporation (Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Special Category)

What Aeon can do to expand the breeding environment for animals that provide us with food and allow them to live comfortably and freely.

Grand Prize

Yamanashi Prefecture (Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Special Category)

Yamanashi Animal Welfare Certification System - Aiming at sustainable livestock farming with high added value and small-scale production

◇Excellence Award

Super Bag Co.

Development of a resource-recycling product "Very Eco-friendly Garbage Bags" using waste stretch film

Excellence Award

Daito Kento Co.

Initiatives to enhance sustainability using the EcoVadis supply chain evaluation system

Excellence Award

L.COM Corporation (Small and Medium Enterprise Division)

Clean Ocean Project to protect future oceans with two sources of plastic waste

Excellence Award

Sustainable Story Co.

Fair Trade Coin, a form of economic circulation in which young people can easily participate

Excellence Award

Orikane Corporation (Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Special Section)

Development of bagasse series products and implementation of environmentally friendly initiatives with different industries utilizing the characteristics of the materials

Excellence Award

Mos Food Service Corporation (Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Special Section)

Environmental activities of the Mos Burger chain guided by the "Heart of Mos", a philosophy system that has been in place since the company's founding

Entry Categories

Large Company Category, Small and Medium Company Category, Government and Private Organization Category, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Special Category

■Screening Method and Results

The first round of judging (August 31) and the final round of judging (October 10) were held to select the award-winning organizations.

The Grand Prize was awarded to the following seven organizations: Seiko Epson Corporation in the Large Company Division; the Japan Consumers' Cooperative Union; Mie University; Akikawa Makien Corporation in the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Special Division; Aeon Topvalu Co, The Excellence Award went to six organizations in the Large Company Division: Super Bag, Inc. and Daito Kentori Co. In addition, the "Minister of the Environment Award" went to the Japan Consumers' Co-operative Union, the "Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award" to Seiko Epson Corporation, and the "Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award" to Sugimoto Shoten Co.

Screening Committee Chairman's Comment

Yasushi Umeda, Chairman of the Screening Committee (GPN Chairman, Professor of the Graduate School of the University of Tokyo)

In order to achieve the goals of the SDGs, there is a need to promote initiatives in various areas of society and industrial sectors. In addition, it is becoming increasingly important to promote effective initiatives not only in individual companies and organizations, but also through coordination and cooperation among stakeholders in supply chains, regions, and other areas.

This year's Green Purchasing Awards, the 24th of its kind, called for initiatives that contribute to the realization of a decarbonized society and circular economy through sustainable procurement (consumption and production). In addition, the "Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Special Category" was established to focus on the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries industry, which is closely related to the conservation of the natural environment, resource recycling, and the sound development of local communities, and called for initiatives to realize a sustainable agriculture, forestry, and fisheries industry. As a result of the screening process, 13 organizations that have implemented excellent initiatives were awarded.

In the supplier engagement initiatives for the promotion of sustainable procurement, we saw throughout that the organizations not only made their suppliers aware of their procurement policies, requested measures, and monitored the situation, but also shared their know-how with their suppliers and provided support while working together with them to make improvements. The company was also recognized for its ambitious initiatives with an eye to future society and the next generation, such as its efforts to preserve the marine environment through resource recycling of plastic waste, its educational programs to foster human resources who can contribute to solving local environmental problems, and its new system to promote fair trade among young people.

The "Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Special Category" also received many entries, and we were able to award a wide variety of initiatives, including the sustainable cultivation of local agricultural products, promotion of resource recycling by combining livestock and agricultural production, promotion of animal husbandry with an emphasis on animal welfare, and development of containers that utilize underutilized biological resources.

We hope that corporations, local governments, and various organizations will grasp the essence of not only the results and effects of the award-winning case studies, but also the processes leading to their realization and cooperation with related parties, and apply them to their own initiatives.

Green Purchasing Awards

The Green Purchasing Awards were established in 1998 to recognize organizations that promote and expand "green purchasing," the preferential purchasing of environmentally and socially conscious products and services from businesses that are committed to reducing their environmental impact and fulfilling their social responsibilities.

For the 24th Green Purchasing Awards, we invited and judged initiatives that contribute to achieving the goals of the SDGs through sustainable procurement (consumption and production), in particular, the realization of a decarbonized society and a circular economy. In addition, a special category, "Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Special Category," was established for initiatives aimed at realizing a sustainable agriculture, forestry and fisheries industry.

■About the Award Ceremony

Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 10:00-12:00

Venue: Congress Square Nihonbashi

(Tokyo Tatemono Nihonbashi Bldg. 2F, 1-3-13 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0027, Japan)

The award ceremony will be held only for award-winning organizations and media representatives.

If you wish to cover the event, please contact the GPN Secretariat (Attn: Takeuchi).

Organizer: Green Purchasing Network (GPN)

Supported by: Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Consumer Affairs Agency, Nippon Keidanren, The Yomiuri Shimbun, The Mainichi Newspapers, Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, Nikkei BP, Toyo Keizai Inc.

Green Purchasing Network (GPN)

Established in February 1996 to promote green purchasing, GPN is a loose network of companies, governments, and private organizations. The GPN promotes and educates purchasers, including local governments and corporations, on green purchasing, formulates purchasing guidelines for each product category that list important environmental aspects to consider when purchasing products and services, and operates a database (Eco Products Net) that contains environmental information on approximately 13,000 products. In fiscal 2018, we will begin to implement the Paris Convention on the Environment.

In addition, since FY 2018, in light of global trends such as the Paris Agreement and SDGs, the scope of activities has been expanded from green purchasing to sustainable procurement, and we are promoting projects such as support for the formulation of sustainable procurement policies and supplier surveys and training based on these policies.

As of October 2023, it has a total of 1,303 members (1,064 companies, 104 governments, and 135 private organizations).

Website: https://www.gpn.jp/