Coca-Cola is installing solar panels on Japanese schools to help with the country’s rehabilitation. The Coca-Cola Japan Reconstruction Fund was established under the Coca-Cola Educational & Environmental Foundation. This fund has allocated 1.5 billion yen (US$18.9 million) to integrate solar power into the rebuilding of public elementary and junior high schools damaged by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Japan’s Cabinet Office estimated last June that damage on the country’s buildings, roads, and ports has reached 16.9 trillion yen, Reuters reported. The World Bank estimated that damage could amount to as much as $235 billion, while rebuilding could take up to five years.
The rebuilding program will be implemented with the support of Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Funding for the school rebuilding will be extracted from the overall 2.5 billion yen fund collected for the reconstruction of the affected areas.
Coca-Cola with the ministry, local governments, and other organizational bodies will select the schools that are eligible for the solar reconstruction funding.
Sustainability initiatives are part of Coca-Cola’s company wide efforts. Coca-Cola Japan has been working to reduce energy consumption and introduce renewable energy in business practices. The Japan subsidiary has previously been behind novel programs like the introduction of solar-powered “ecoru/Solar” vending machines.
The Coca-Cola Company aims to maintain a water sustainable business on a global scale, so they developed and implemented a water stewardship strategy, with a global goal to safely return to nature and to communities an amount of water equivalent to what they use in their beverages and their production by 2020. Since 2005, with the help of respected partners like WWF and USAID, Coca-Cola has engaged in more than 320 water projects in 86 countries. Projects have focused on watershed protection and conservation, expanding community drinking water, sanitation access, and improving water for productive use.
© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.
Related Posts
Green School Buildings Offer Many Benefits
The Campus Green Builder Online Portal
Organizations and Groups in the USGBC’s Center for Green Schools
USGBC’s Center for Green Schools
The Green Market’s Green Schools Series
USGBC’s Green School Building Resources
Environmental Revolution: Building and Operations
The Extraordinary Growth of Green Building
Green Building Environmental Benefits
Green Buildings Combat Climate
The Future of Green School Buildings
Green School Buildings Health and Performance Benefits Part 1
Green School Buildings Health and Performance Benefits Part 2
Green Building Economic BenefitsGreen Building Social Benefits
Green School Buildings: The Many Benefits of Natural Lighting
Green School Buildings: The Many Benefits of Ventilation
25 Blogs Leading the Sustainable Building Revolution
Green Campus Student Resources
Obama’s Jobs Plan Emphasizes Education and Greener Schools
The UK’s Sandal Magna Community Primary School
Princeton is Building the Largest Solar Array of Any University
Solar Powered Schools In California
Australia’s National Solar Schools Program
Bill Increases Energy Efficiency in Oregon’s Schools
NYU’s Energy Efficient Power Generation
Mississippi State University has the first LEED® Certified Chapter House in the US
Suffolk University’s Green Efforts Include Building Design
Green School Rejuvenates Dying Town
LAUSD Green School Initiatives
Da Vinci Arts Middle School in Portland
New York’s Leed Certified Universities
