Kumon's Environmental Activities that
Spread throughout the World

KIE and other Group companies in Japan (Kumon LIL, Kumon Publishing, and KTRIE have been promoting environmental management activities through the Environmental Committee in Japan.

The year-on-year overall environmental data for Group companies in Japan for FY2021 showed good results at: electricity usage = 95.2%, paper usage = 74.5%, paper recycling amount = 102.3%.

In FY2021, as part of our efforts to reform operations and create new ways of working, we reduced electricity consumption by reorganizing our administrative offices in Saitama, Hyogo, and Chiba, following up on the Tokyo metropolitan area and Osaka Prefecture. In addition, the use of the Internet for student enrollment application forms, notices from the branch offices to Instructors, monthly reports, and other documents has significantly reduced the amount of paper used

At Kumon Publishing's distribution facilities, we are working to reduce electricity usage by making it "visible.” We receive real-time information from the electric power company via the Internet in the form of graphs and numerical values so that we can see at a glance how much electricity is being used at any given time.

(1) During the daytime when electricity consumption is high in the summer, work space is limited and work is concentrated. (2) Conversely, work processes are rearranged so that work is spread out in the morning and evening when electricity consumption is low. (3) Forklifts and other equipment are recharged at night after the end of the workday. The effects of each of these measures can be visualized, and this has changed the awareness of staff.

Kumon School in Aichi Prefecture Receives FSC Project Certification

The Kumon Method Gojo Nagomi Center in Kitanagoya City operated by Instructor Kazumi Nishikawa, which opened in November of 2021, is the first supplementary educational Center in Japan to be recognized by the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) as a certified project. The main components of the Center are made of FSC certified wood.　（FSC®️N004107）

We hope that the warmth of natural wood in the classroom will convey to children the importance of forests, and that the use of the classroom will also provide an opportunity for local residents to learn about proper forest management and responsible wood procurement.

*Project certification is for a one-time creation or a series of similar projects, such as the certification of a building, part of a house, or a boat, as well as infrastructure for civil works and events. The most famous example is the London 2012 Olympic Park, which received project certification, and 45 projects have been certified in Japan through May 2021.

Environmental data in Japan

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At KNA, the majority of staff have worked from home since March 2020. This has naturally decreased our electricity and paper usage.

Staff are actively involved in environmentally friendly activities such as composting, walking to work, making coffee at home, managing equipment use, and reducing the use of disposable products. In our monthly staff and Instructor newsletters, we provide helpful environmental tips to encourage each individual to become more aware and environmentally friendly. These tips include current environmental topics around the world, ways you can be environmentally friendly at home, and introductions to environmentally friendly products to help us adapt to this new way of life.

Recently at KNA, our staff in the US, Canada and Mexico participated in the annual #Daylight Hour Pledge, a social media campaign by Building Energy Exchange. In this pledge, staff were asked to turn off non-essential electric lighting at their home or branch office for one hour from noon to 1 pm on the Friday nearest the summer solstice, June 18, 2021. Below are some pictures of our staff and their naturally lit workplaces during this campaign.

Due to the pandemic many of our annual green events were cancelled last year, however we are hoping to resume them this fall as we make a return to the office. Some of the events in consideration include cleanup at a nature conservancy, winter coat donation drive and volunteering at a local farm. The purpose of these events is to promote green activities, build a green culture, and increase Kumon brand awareness.

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Under the slogan of "Protect the environment, protect our lives," Kumon Vietnam is engaged in the following activities:

1. Saving energy (electricity)
• Outside of working hours (lunch hour, break time, etc.), all unoccupied spaces should turn off all electrical appliances in unoccupied spaces.
• Replace all incandescent lights to fluorescent lights.
• Control electricity and water index daily.

This enables us to notice that you forgot to turn off an electric light or if our underground water system is malfunctioning. Thus, we can react quickly.

2. Posters in restrooms to promote hygiene and conservation of tissue and water.
3. Saving A4 paper, reused paper which has one unused side. Collecting two-sided used paper, sell to recycler.
4. Placement of greenery in the office area.

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Kumon China, in cooperation with all staff, has initiated various environmental protection activities, including the creation of a paperless workplace.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Hong Kong, KCN’s Regional Headquarters and Kumon Hong Kong have applied the “Work from Home” scheme to all staff from February 2022. All staff are strongly recommended to submit reports and documents electronically. The usage of paper in both companies has decreased significantly.

In the Guangzhou office, at the end of the lectures and trainings, staff are encouraging all Instructors to complete the feedback form online by sending the QR code to the Instructors. Such actions may create paperless workplaces and are more efficient to gather and analyze information.

In the daily operations of offices and warehouses, tens of thousands of sheets of paper and many cardboard boxes are used every month. Bearing the responsibility of preserving the natural environment, staff have been passionately joining the monthly activities of paper recycling and reusing cardboard boxes.

We will engage in many environmental activities to create a cleaner and healthier environment for future generations.

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At our last conference at the end of 2021, we gave out gifts to all our Instructors as we do every year. This year we chose our gifts with the environment in mind. All participating countries sourced the same or similar items locally resulting in less if an environmental impact usually caused by overseas posting.

The bags are made out of three recycled plastic bottles and have this message printed on them on the back with the Kumon logo on the front. These bags are foldable and, of course, re-usable.

Lastly, we always give our Instructors a notebook and a pen. Again, we made sure to choose high quality items that would still allow us to do our part for the environment. The notebook is made out of natural colored paper with a hardback cover made from craft paper. The pen, while not recycled, is made out of aluminum and not plastic, making it very durable and of high quality.

We will continue to contribute to the protection of the global environment by selecting and using environmentally friendly products.

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