People

Kuraray plants sponsor “Chemistry Classes for Boys and Girls” and participate in outside events and sponsored sports tournaments to foster healthy juniors and teenagers by continuously supporting on-going activities.

Kuraray conducts the “Chemistry Classes for Boys and Girls” program with the goal of enabling elementary school students to experience the fun of chemistry through experimental work. In this program, employee volunteers of Kuraray serve as lecturers and assistants in dedicated classrooms in Kuraray plant premises, as well as in elementary schools and public facilities in the area. This program has been sponsored every year since 1992 at Kuraray plants in Japan.

In 2021, we refrained from holding in-person events at business sites in accordance with the events policy formulated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we held remote classes at business sites and local elementary schools (once at Kashima Plant) and at local cultural facilities outside the company (twice at Tsurumi Plant).

The Niigata Plant undertakes the “MIRABAKESSO Forest Creating Activity.” 43 volunteers, including employees and their families, joined the activities in FY2021. Also all the plants undertake continued volunteer cleaning work. The Group companies also periodically undertake voluntary environmental work such as cleaning of areas around their plants.

At each Kuraray plant, employee volunteers engage in cleaning parks, roads and mowing gardens in childcare centers in cooperation with local governments and NPOs.

Kuraray Europe GmbH (KEG) donated 10,000 euros to help victims in the Ahrtal region of Germany, where a flood disaster in July 2021 caused extensive damage along the river. In addition, employees belonging to Kuraray Europe collected and donated 4,115 euros for reconstruction work.

Kuraray America, Inc. has partnered the foundation since 2014. Trash Bash® is one of the foundation’s largest cleanup events in Texas for Galveston Bay. The Galveston Bay Foundation is a conservation nonprofit that has served as guardian of Galveston Bay since 1987. Since 2015, Kuraray America, Inc. has participated in the Trash Bash® event each year. In March 2021, Trash Bash® was switched to a “virtual” event in accordance with COVID-19 safety guidelines; participants cleared neighborhood, park, and sewer lines instead of Galveston Bay, and Kuraray employees and their families participated in local cleanup activities.

MonoSol, LLC, La Porte plant in Indiana, USA. employees volunteer in horticulture (tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, etc.). Freshly harvested fruits and vegetables are distributed to a local food bank (an organization that distributes free of charge to those in need due to lack of access to food).

Kuraray Kurashiki, Saijo, Okayama, Niigata and Kashima plants operate workshops and donate money raised in the campaign which aim to support and continue the employment of people with intellectual disabilities and to undertake the Kuraray Fureai (Rapport) Fund-Raising Campaign. Also, cherry blossom viewing parties are held at the Saijo and Niigata Plants tuned to the cherry blossoming season. Regrettably these events could not be carried out due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 but these activities will be continued in the future.

In cooperation with Nakajo Town (currently Tainai City) and Niji no Ie (meaning “Rainbow House”, operated by a social welfare corporation, Nanaho-kai), the Kuraray Workshop of Kuraray’s Niigata Plant opened in 1997 for people with intellectual disabilities. Participants in the workshop sort plastic waste generated in the production process for recycling and manufacture supplies and fittings. In 2007, the Himawari Sunflower Workshop opened at Kuraray’s Saijo Plant. In 2011, the Kashima Plant opened its Aozora Blue Sky Works assisted by a social welfare corporation, Kamisu Keiai-en. In 2017, Okayama Plant opened cleaning center ALESCO, assisted by the same organization. Currently, 15 instructors and 42 workers work at five of Kuraray’ s plants to accomplish a variety of job assignments, including those employees at Kuraray’s Kurashiki Plant engaged in cleaning uniforms and labeling Kuraray products. They mingle with Kuraray’s employees through sports events and other occasions. We will continue to hold these workshops and employ persons with intellectual disabilities.

On May 15 and November 6, 2021, Kuraray America, Inc. employees in Houston volunteered with Habitat for Humanity Baytown to help build homes for disadvantaged people. Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization that helps to provide housing for disadvantaged people. Their mission is to supply affordable housing for people who are not financially well off but play an important role in their communities. We were able to build quality, safe, and energy-efficient homes at affordable prices for the people we supported at the event, and everyone who attended had a great time.

MonoSol, LLC made an emergency donation to provide food for those who lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19. With the support of the Kuraray headquarters, MonoSol, LLC, secured masks for hospitals and nursing homes and provided non-contact thermometers to local police and fire departments. MonoSol, LLC also doubled the budget for its employee matching gift program to better support local charities.
At the same time, MonoSol, LLC provided support to local businesses in a variety of ways. As a specific example, the Health and Safety team advised local manufacturers on new safety protocols as part of its support for local businesses. The finance team provided advance payments to help small vendors with cash flow. Additionally, to help small and medium-sized local restaurants maintain operations, MonoSol, LLC initiated a "take-out and take-over" program to provide to-go meals to their employees. MonoSol, LLC also became a founding sponsor of the Business Recovery Fund, which provides microloans to small business owners in the Indianapolis area.

Although the pandemic has put constraints on activities, MonoSol, LLC, is devising support activities that all employees can participate in. Initiatives include outdoor service activities (cleaning local beaches, highways, and other areas), donating equipment to local schools, and donating to women’s associations in need of assistance.

In EVAL Europe N.V., a team of volunteer cyclists participated in a 1,000 km bike ride organized by the Kom Op Tegen Kanker (KOTK: a Belgian "organization that defends the rights of cancer patients, establishes care centers and provides financial support for scientific research, education, and prevention") and raised 5,668 euros. The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting everyone, but those whose lives were already precarious before the spread of COVID-19 are suffering greatly. We hope to ease these affects.

In addition, as in many previous years, Kuraray Europe GmbH (KEG) colleagues again supported “Christmas in a shoebox” by filling and packing giftboxes with toys and sweets, treating deprived children to a lovely Christmas surprise.