Morioka's Sustainable Management Seminar Inspires Local Businesses
On May 21, 2026, a seminar titled 'Promoting Sustainable Management' was held in Morioka, aimed at local business managers and decision-makers. Participating as a collaborating enterprise, Sustainable Lab Inc.'s CEO, Renji Hirase, shared insights into the vital role of sustainability in business management. The event was organized in partnership with Morioka City and Iwate Bank, addressing crucial sustainability challenges such as climate change, human rights, and resource circulation. The seminar was designed to help businesses integrate these issues into their management strategies and operations to ensure long-term growth.
The seminar kicked off with a keynote speech from the Tohoku Regional Environmental Office, followed by presentations from Hirase and local businesses sharing their sustainability initiatives. Additionally, financial institutions introduced their own sustainability commitments.
Background of the Seminar
The current business environment for local enterprises is undergoing significant changes, driven by rising raw material and energy costs, talent acquisition challenges, population decline, and increased demands for environmental and human rights considerations from partners. In this context, sustainable management is emerging not merely as a social responsibility but as a vital approach for companies to capitalize on their strengths to improve recruitment, establish enduring collaborations, and maintain dialogues with financial institutions. The theme 'Connecting to the Future: Becoming a Preferred Local Business' aimed to impart practical ways for businesses to easily begin their sustainable management journey.
During his presentation, Hirase emphasized that sustainable management is not exclusively for well-established companies but is essential for survival and growth in a competitive environment. He identified five key benefits of sustainable management for local enterprises:
1. Improved Recruitment: Creating a work environment that attracts young talent and specialists by showcasing the company's values.
2. Enhanced Retention: Making efforts to ensure employee well-being visible to foster satisfaction and engagement.
3. Stronger Explanatory Power: Preparing to communicate corporate practices related to environment, decarbonization, and human rights compliance to large corporations and public entities.
4. Advanced Dialogue with Financial Institutions: Organizing non-financial information to better illustrate the company’s strengths and potential for improvement, facilitating better support like loans and grants.
5. Communication with Successors: Defining the company’s significance and values for future generations in the context of business succession.
Hirase also introduced the collaboration model involving the visualization platform 'TERRAST for Enterprise (T4E),' showcasing how local business non-financial data can be unified for collective dialogue among municipalities, financial institutions, and enterprises.
Moreover, he presented case studies from the transportation and construction sectors, underscoring that businesses do not need to start with massive investments or specialized knowledge. Instead, they should focus first on comprehensively understanding their current practices before engaging in meaningful discussions with partners inside and outside the organization.
Participant Feedback
Following the seminar, a survey conducted by Morioka City revealed an overwhelmingly positive reception. Of the 37 valid responses, the overall satisfaction rate stood at 91.9%, with 29.7% being 'very satisfied' and 62.2% 'satisfied', leaving no negative feedback. Furthermore, 83.7% found the seminar beneficial, with 37.8% labeling it 'very meaningful'. Notably, 91.9% felt they had acquired sufficient or somewhat sufficient knowledge regarding non-financial data utilization. Participants greatly appreciated the relatable case studies, with 81.0% expressing interest in pursuing their own 'visualization' efforts.
Voices from the Participants
Feedback from the open-ended survey questions included remarks like:
These sentiments suggest that participants no longer view sustainable management as an abstract concept but rather as a pressing issue tied to local workforce, partnerships, regional relationships, and business continuity.
Looking Ahead
Through this seminar, the interest in sustainable management and the specific needs for visualizing non-financial information amongst local businesses have been validated. Sustainable Lab will continue to collaborate with municipalities, financial institutions, and regional firms to empower businesses in presenting their strengths and challenges clearly, facilitating better dialogue with employees, partners, financial entities, and the community.
Sustainable Lab Inc. focuses on utilizing big data and AI for quantifying qualitative aspects of corporate environmental and social contributions. They have developed 'TERRAST', one of Japan's largest non-financial data platforms, alongside tools for ESG data aggregation and analysis. Furthermore, Sustainable Lab also oversees 'TERRAST for Enterprise' and 'Terrace TV,' aiming to bridge social and environmental advances with economic initiatives, driven by a team specializing in data science, sustainability, and financial engineering.
The seminar kicked off with a keynote speech from the Tohoku Regional Environmental Office, followed by presentations from Hirase and local businesses sharing their sustainability initiatives. Additionally, financial institutions introduced their own sustainability commitments.
Background of the Seminar
The current business environment for local enterprises is undergoing significant changes, driven by rising raw material and energy costs, talent acquisition challenges, population decline, and increased demands for environmental and human rights considerations from partners. In this context, sustainable management is emerging not merely as a social responsibility but as a vital approach for companies to capitalize on their strengths to improve recruitment, establish enduring collaborations, and maintain dialogues with financial institutions. The theme 'Connecting to the Future: Becoming a Preferred Local Business' aimed to impart practical ways for businesses to easily begin their sustainable management journey.
During his presentation, Hirase emphasized that sustainable management is not exclusively for well-established companies but is essential for survival and growth in a competitive environment. He identified five key benefits of sustainable management for local enterprises:
1. Improved Recruitment: Creating a work environment that attracts young talent and specialists by showcasing the company's values.
2. Enhanced Retention: Making efforts to ensure employee well-being visible to foster satisfaction and engagement.
3. Stronger Explanatory Power: Preparing to communicate corporate practices related to environment, decarbonization, and human rights compliance to large corporations and public entities.
4. Advanced Dialogue with Financial Institutions: Organizing non-financial information to better illustrate the company’s strengths and potential for improvement, facilitating better support like loans and grants.
5. Communication with Successors: Defining the company’s significance and values for future generations in the context of business succession.
Hirase also introduced the collaboration model involving the visualization platform 'TERRAST for Enterprise (T4E),' showcasing how local business non-financial data can be unified for collective dialogue among municipalities, financial institutions, and enterprises.
Moreover, he presented case studies from the transportation and construction sectors, underscoring that businesses do not need to start with massive investments or specialized knowledge. Instead, they should focus first on comprehensively understanding their current practices before engaging in meaningful discussions with partners inside and outside the organization.
Participant Feedback
Following the seminar, a survey conducted by Morioka City revealed an overwhelmingly positive reception. Of the 37 valid responses, the overall satisfaction rate stood at 91.9%, with 29.7% being 'very satisfied' and 62.2% 'satisfied', leaving no negative feedback. Furthermore, 83.7% found the seminar beneficial, with 37.8% labeling it 'very meaningful'. Notably, 91.9% felt they had acquired sufficient or somewhat sufficient knowledge regarding non-financial data utilization. Participants greatly appreciated the relatable case studies, with 81.0% expressing interest in pursuing their own 'visualization' efforts.
Voices from the Participants
Feedback from the open-ended survey questions included remarks like:
- - 'The statement that sustainable management could become a weapon resonated deeply with me.'
- - 'I learned that sustainability can enhance governance and management practices.'
- - 'We must cherish and grow our local community to avoid losing 'Iwate.'
- - 'Understanding what can be done now and familiarizing ourselves with our inner workings clarified our next steps.'
These sentiments suggest that participants no longer view sustainable management as an abstract concept but rather as a pressing issue tied to local workforce, partnerships, regional relationships, and business continuity.
Looking Ahead
Through this seminar, the interest in sustainable management and the specific needs for visualizing non-financial information amongst local businesses have been validated. Sustainable Lab will continue to collaborate with municipalities, financial institutions, and regional firms to empower businesses in presenting their strengths and challenges clearly, facilitating better dialogue with employees, partners, financial entities, and the community.
Sustainable Lab Inc. focuses on utilizing big data and AI for quantifying qualitative aspects of corporate environmental and social contributions. They have developed 'TERRAST', one of Japan's largest non-financial data platforms, alongside tools for ESG data aggregation and analysis. Furthermore, Sustainable Lab also oversees 'TERRAST for Enterprise' and 'Terrace TV,' aiming to bridge social and environmental advances with economic initiatives, driven by a team specializing in data science, sustainability, and financial engineering.
Topics Business Technology）
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