Going Green in Japan

TopMBA.com's Alena Eckelmann looks at how Japan is leading the way in environmentally sustainable markets, and how business schools there are reacting. 

Japan does not easily spring to mind when thinking of a green country. Its big cities’ ever-spreading concrete sprawl continually sacrifices green habitats and the country’s agenda on whaling does not help to promote an environmentally friendly image.

However, Japan has all the credentials of a leading player in the sustainable markets setting an example for governments and businesses in Asia and internationally, says Alena Eckelmann.

Former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama set the country firmly on a green course with his proposal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25% to 1990s levels by 2020. The recent launch of a mandatory scheme by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from large office buildings and factories has kicked off Asia’s first Cap-and-Trade Scheme, a model for Japan and Asia at large.

Japan’s business world followed suit with Sony Corporation announcing its ‘Road to Zero’ global environmental plan, with the long-term goal of achieving a zero carbon-emissions footprint by 2050.

In the spirit of the Kyoto Protocol

Doshisha Business School at Doshisha University in Kyoto, one of Japan’s top universities, follows the spirit of the Kyoto Protocol. In autumn 2009 they introduced a two-year Green MBA, taught in English, and the first batch of 20 students from 15 countries will be graduating in 2011.

“We talk a lot about corporate social responsibility but what about ‘academic social responsibility’?” asks Professor Kaoru Yamaguchi, program director of the Green MBA Certificate Program at Doshisha, which is the first business school in Japan to offer a Green MBA. “Being a start-up MBA is a great opportunity as we are able to build the most relevant green curriculum from scratch and attract world-class faculty and specialists in the field of sustainability,” he says.

The online Green MBA offered by Anaheim University, whose administrative office is based in California, USA has “seen an enormous growth in the last year in enrolment into our sustainable business program,” according to Darrell Nelson, Anaheim University’s Japan office director.

“With the shift in focus around the globe towards a greener side of business and life, education has also started to move toward sustainability. What’s more, consumers are now demanding more from companies in terms of sustainability and to address this demand companies in Japan and elsewhere in the world are looking to hire experts in the sustainability field,” he says.

Green leaders in the making

Australian Luke Poliszcuk, a student on the Anaheim online course, has been in Japan for eight years and has become a key figure in the areas of green business and communications. He is founder, chief sustainability officer and CEO of eQualC Sustainability Communications, a corporate communications firm specializing in CSR, and environmental and social responsibility.

He is also content director of the greenz.jp website, “the first bilingual Japanese-English social media website based in Tokyo dedicated to designing a sustainable society.” In 2009 he established the Green Leaders Forum, a highly successful monthly learning and networking event for people who are active or have an interest in sustainability, clean-tech, CSR and energy and climate change.

Poliszcuk believes that Japan is well on its way to be a pan-Asian leader in sustainable issues. He points out that the country has not only consistently ranked as the most energy-efficient economy in the world, according to Forbes Magazine, but it is also the world leader in eco-friendly automobile technology.

He adds that Japan is also becoming a world leader in green information technology with the Japanese government pursuing green computing projects in a number of key areas.

Building ‘green communication bridges’ between East and West

There is a huge volume of information about sustainable technologies and practices in Japan, which is only available in Japanese and hence never reaches green audiences around the world. However, Japan-based green leaders like Poliszcuk are trying to bridge this gap.

“Studying sustainable management issues in Japan not only gives you access to the latest information but it also makes you able to communicate this knowledge to the world,” claims Poliszcuk.

“In Japan green business has become a big trend and many Japanese corporations enter joint ventures with foreign partners in Smart Grids projects. They need a new type of manager to handle their green business,” explains Yamaguchi.

Smart Grids are projects that promote the efficient use of energy in a region or community by applying green technologies and by combining solar energies, IT network, electric cars and energy-efficient smart homes.

“We are expecting that international students who graduate from our Green MBA will have excellent chances to be employed by a Japanese corporation active in the green field. Japanese companies very much need bilingual green managers of whom there is currently a great shortage. The fact that we are increasingly getting corporate support for our Green MBA reflects this increasing demand,” adds Yamaguchi.

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