The core mission of the Kumon Group is “By discovering the potential of each individual and developing his or her ability to the maximum, we aim to foster sound, capable people and thus contribute to the global community.” In order to provide a healthy environment for children’s development, The Kumon Group values the preservation of the global environment. “We have incorporated the environmentally-friendly vision into our business planning and will work on a permanent basis to protect our precious planet.” Since the establishment of Kumon China Green Team in March 2011, the team has been working closely with all offices of Kumon China to reinforce environmental protection of Kumon China. In order to merge environmental protection with business activities, Kumon China is striving hard for energy and resource conservation as well as recycling. With various kinds of promotion, Kumon China keeps enhancing associates’ awareness towards environmental protection. In this case, everyone can help protect the earth in every aspect of life.
Conservation of resources is one of the most direct ways to protect the earth effectively. Therefore, all offices of Kumon China have taken different measures to reduce paper usage. These measures include adopting double-sided printing, using electronic channels for filing and document sharing, collecting newspaper and cartons for recycling, etc. All associates have actively participated in the above activities and they have become more aware of making good use of paper. With the efforts of associates, the paper usage of Kumon Guangdong in the 1st quarter of 2015 has decreased by 8.5% compared to the same period in the previous year. From the 2nd quarter of 2014 to the 1st quarter of 2015, the paper usage of Kumon Shanghai and Kumon Hong Kong has decreased by 13.8% and 21% respectively. In this case, the overall paper usage of Kumon China has decreased by 13.3% and this result is encouraging.
Energy consumption has definite impact on the environment. Therefore, conservation of energy is another important green goal of Kumon China. With the efforts of all offices of Kumon China, Kumon China associates are highly alert of the electricity consumption in office environment. They would switch off electrical appliances right after using them and use energy-saving mode in various electrical appliances. Associates working in warehouses make good use of sunlight and reduce the use of lights during daytime. Some offices have reformed their lighting system and divided the office area into different zones to increase flexibility to reduce wastage. In the 1st quarter of 2015, the electricity consumption of Kumon Hong Kong and Kumon Beijing has decreased by 16.4% and 15.1% respectively, compared to the same period in the previous year. The electricity consumption of Kumon Shanghai has decreased by 11.1% from the 2ndquarter of 2014 to the 1st quarter of 2015. The above data reflected that associates have stronger awareness towards electricity conservation.
Treasuring our resources is an important principle of protecting the earth. All offices of Kumon China are active in promoting recycling and it is hoped that every associate can minimize the wastage of resources. Associates collect stationery, cartons, and magazines for recycling and avoid using disposable materials like paper tableware. The main purpose is to reduce the resource consumption at work and in daily life. From the 2nd quarter of 2014 to the 1st quarter of 2015, the recycling rates of Kumon Shanghai and Kumon Guangdong have increased by 18.4% and 35.2% respectively. Within the same period, the overall recycling rate of Kumon China has increased by 142%.
With the principle of “strive to make each and every Kumon associate more aware of environmental issues through education and consciousness-raising activities”, Kumon China Green Team keeps providing different kinds of information concerning environmental protection to enhance associates’ awareness. This includes tips for minimizing paper usage and electricity consumption, introduction of green activities and green labels in workplace. With this information, associates are encouraged to protect the earth with concrete actions.
In Kumon, everything is for children. To preserve a healthy environment for children’s development, all associates are willing to try our best to minimize wastage and the negative impact to our environment. Our ultimate goal is to achieve a green world for our next generations! There is never good enough, there must always be something better.” We will not only continue to strive for “better” instruction but also move forward to the “greener” Kumon China!
