Japanese Business Group Turns Off Billboards and Serves Carbon-Offset Cocktails at Midsummer

Watami Co., a Japanese company group running various businesses, including restaurant management and elderly care services, in accordance with the Light Down Campaign organized by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment, turned off the signboard lights of its restaurants, nursing homes and headquarters on June 21, 2009, the day of the summer solstice. It also implemented a limited-time campaign, offering its original carbon-offset cocktails, from June 21 to 30, 2009, and pledged to donate the profits to non-political organizations.

The total number of facilities that had lights switched off was 622 (582 restaurants and pubs, 39 nursing homes and 1 headquarters), saving electricity that was equivalent to 42,016 kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The number of the cocktails sold amounted to 30,180 glasses, and under the offset system, one kilogram of CO2 was to be offset for each cocktail sold; thus, the total amount of the offset carbon was 30 tons.

Watami had already purchased 15 tons of emissions credits from a wind power generation project in the Argentine Republic, as certificated by the United Nations (UN registration number 0130). They originally had planned to sell 15,000 carbon-offset cocktails. As the number of cocktails sold was twice that originally planned, the company has since acquired the remainder of the carbon credits. The cost for the additional credits was covered by a portion of the profits from the cocktail sales.

Watami Co. official website
http://www.watami.co.jp/ir/english/index.htm

Posted: 2009/10/10 06:00:15 AM