Shimadzu Group Forest Cultivation Activities

Shimadzu Group is engaged in environmental conservation worldwide as part of its commitment to “Well-being of Mankind and the Earth (Planetary Health).” This article highlights forest cultivation activities carried out in Japan, the Philippines, and China this October.

Tree-planting activity in the Philippines

Japan: Maintaining the Shimadzu Corporation Forest

Shimadzu Corporation joined the Kyoto Model Forest Movement, an effort to protect and nurture Kyoto’s forests through the involvement of residents in the prefecture, in 2008. We named a roughly 52-hectare forest in Nantan City, Kyoto Prefecture, the Shimadzu Corporation Forest, and have continued forest cultivation activities there ever since. About 30 volunteers—Shimadzu Group employees and their families—took part. This was the 38th time the event has been held. That day, they carried out forest maintenance, built walking trails, and removed deer-deterrent nets.

Forest maintenance activities included thinning broadleaf trees such as longstalk holly that grow naturally along the ridge, and removing dead standing trees. Longstalk holly can spread aggressively and grow tall enough to block sunlight from reaching other plants. Thinning in this way helps maintain biodiversity in the forest.

The longstalk holly trees were cut into one-meter-long pieces to facilitate transportation

To improve the walking trail, the volunteers built a zigzag path further towards the summit from the previous worksite. Working on the slope was demanding, but using pickaxes they managed to build about 200 meters of new trail. The removal of deer-deterrent nets was carried out because the chinaberry trees planted in 2024 had grown sufficiently to eliminate the risk of deer browsing. This involved taking down the protective nets surrounding the planting area and removing the mesh wrapped around the trunks of chinaberry trees.

Building a walking path on a slope

Removing deer-deterrent nets

Philippines: Five-Year Forest Conservation Project Begins

Shimadzu Philippines Manufacturing, Inc. (SPM) carried out tree-planting in the Ramirez area of Cavite Province, with support from the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources and its local Cavite office.

A group of thirty people, including SPM members and their families, left at 5 a.m. and reached the site after a two-hour drive. The group trekked to the planting area, enjoying the natural surroundings, and planted 150 saplings that day. SPM has designated one hectare in this region as a forest-restoration area and will continue conservation activities there over the next five years.

Egg porridge was served for breakfast

Wearing matching T-shirts, the group planted trees together

China: Shimadzu China Friendship Forest Project

The Shimadzu Group in China, led by Shimadzu (China) Co., Ltd. (SSL), has supported environmental conservation activities along the Yellow River and Yangtze River basins since 2010, in line with the national Mother River Conservation Project. Through the Shimadzu China Friendship Forest Project, SSL alone has planted roughly 490 hectares of forest to date.

This year, tree-planting was carried out at the Shawo Forest Farm in Huimin County, Shandong Province, with a total of 5,000 trees planted over four months. At the project completion ceremony held in October, a representative of Huimin County expressed appreciation for SSL’s contribution to local environmental conservation efforts. In response, SSL President Koki Aoyama said, “Shimadzu will continue to play an active role in CSR initiatives and support sustainable development where people and nature thrive together.”

The Shimadzu China Friendship Forest monument with representatives from Huimin County (left) and SSL President Aoyama

Volunteers working together under the guidance of local forestry staff

Shimadzu Group will continue to contribute to environmental conservation through forest cultivation activities, as it pursues “Well-being of Mankind and the Earth.”