The Suntory Group carries out various water-related activities, driven by its core corporate mission of “To Create Harmony with People and Nature” and social contract of “Mizu To Ikiru.” Since 2003 Suntory has worked on Natural Water Sanctuaries to cultivate forests that nurture groundwater, and since 2004 has conducted the Suntory Mizuiku-Natural Water Education Program for environmental education for future generations in Japan.

The Kyushu Kumamoto Plant is conducting forest protection activities under its Natural Water Sanctuary Aso project in the roughly 420ha of forests around the plant, which is the water resource cultivation area. We are also engaged in groundwater cultivation through “fuyumizutanbo*”, which are inundated agricultural fields near the plant used in water resource cultivation, as an integral part of the Natural Water Sanctuary project.

Fuyumizutanbo is a traditional agricultural method which entails the spreading out of the water over rice paddies during the winter when they fallow, with the goal being the formation of fertile soil and the reduction of weeds. Efficient groundwater cultivation is expected as the result of water penetration into the ground. At the Suntory Group, we have been conducting fuyumizutanbo activities in cooperation with the government and region in the town of Mashiki in Kamimashiki District, Kumamoto since 2010, in an effort to bring about more broad-ranging functionality of groundwater cultivation.

Project Results

The Kyushu Kumamoto Plant has received certification by the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) with regard to its sustainable use of water in the basin around the plant. It is the second plant in Japan to obtain this certification after the Suntory Okudaisen Bunanomori Water Plant received the first certification in December 2018. The AWS certification indicates approval of the Suntory Group’s grasp of water intake and outgo in the basin around the plant, water resource cultivation based on scientific data, water conservation and water quality management at the plant, collaboration with other stakeholders in the basin, and suitable information release, in accordance with its Sustainable Water Philosophy.

In Suntory Natural Water Sanctuary "Aso", mid-to-long-term agreements are established with local government and Forestry Agency. Cultivation of forests has been implemented collaborating with experts from Miyazaki University.

As of 2020, there are 21 Suntory Natural Water Sanctuaries in 15 prefectures which comprise a total area of approximately 12,000ha nationwide in Japan.