Corporate Spirit for Protecting Water and the Environment - April 1995

Corporate Spirit for Protecting Water and the Environment - April 1995
In the 1990s, after the bursting of the bubble economy, Japanese society was seeking a shift away from economic supremacy, and interest in environmental conservation and sustainability was beginning to grow rapidly. Pollution lawsuits were winding down, the people's standard of living was maturing, and the concept of corporate social responsibility was budding.
As if anticipating this trend, Sanei Chemical Industry, an environmental equipment manufacturer headquartered in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, was shedding new light on the nature of business. The company had been involved in water purification technology since the period of high economic growth, and had continued to supply wastewater treatment equipment to local governments and private factories. In the 1990s, the company succeeded in developing equipment with more sophisticated dephosphorization and denitrification functions. This technology attracted attention as an effective solution to the problems of eutrophication and groundwater pollution caused by domestic wastewater.
Sanei Chemical Industry's efforts were also the subject of joint research with the government as a way to help realize autonomous and decentralized water environment management, moving away from excessive dependence on public sewage systems. The company also focused on environmental education for employees and collaborative activities with local residents, and was recognized as a substantial practical example at a time when the term CSR (corporate social responsibility) was not yet in common use.
The company's pursuit of technology and ethical management were fused together. This approach was later widely introduced as the "Green Company" and became a corporate model that symbolized harmony between the environment and the economy.