MOL Holds Session "Thinking about Social Contribution - 'Lessons from the WAKASHIO Incident and Insights into MOL Group's Initiatives'
On Wednesday, September 18, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Takeshi Hashimoto; Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo) held a session "Thinking about social contributions - Lessons from the WAKASHIO Incident and Insights into the MOL Group's Initiatives." After the grounding and oil spill incident involving the MOL chartered vessel WAKASHIO, MOL provided assistance to Mauritius through two funds: the MOL Mauritius International Fund for Natural Environment Recovery and Sustainability (the Fund) (Note 1) and the MOL Charitable Trust (the "Trust") (Note 2). The session was held as a follow-up event to the WAKASHIO Memorial Day, which has been held annually since 2021, with the aim of considering how each and every executive and employee in the group should engage in social contribution activities, with the goal of linking social contribution activities in Mauritius to the development of all people and communities related to the group.
At the beginning of the event, President & CEO Hashimoto spoke about the importance of engaging in social contribution activities from the perspective of aiming for sustainable growth in step with society. This was followed by the first half of the program, an introduction of MOL's initiatives in Mauritius and a report by participants of the MOL Group On-site training in Mauritius(Note 3) that MOL conducted in March. Event participants also shared the changing local response to the MOL Group initiatives, through a media consultant in Mauritius, who reported that the ongoing activities by the Fund and the Trust have led to a better understanding among the local residents.
The second half of the event featured a presentation on joint environmental conservation activities by Chugoku Shipping Agencies Ltd. and MOL's Hiroshima Branch and the project of Umimachi Inc. (Note 4), which supports the creation of seaweed beds to generate blue carbon through seaweed. The participants made a variety of comments, including the difficulties they experienced in getting executives and employees involved in the activities and the deepened relationships with stakeholders as a result of the activities.
At the end of the event, Chief Sustainability Officer Tatsuro Watanabe expressed his expectation that this event would encourage executives and employees to think about the significance of their social contribution efforts, thereby encouraging them to become more active in such activities through their businesses.
MOL aims to foster a strong awareness of safe operations and raise awareness of sustainability among all employees, while never letting the memory of the WAKASHIO incident fade away. The group is also committed to coexisting with stakeholders and to the sustainable development and advancement of local communities.
(Note 1) For information on the Fund, please see the December 1, 2021 press release, May 12, 2022 press release, November 15, 2022 news, April 3, 2023 news, and page about the Fund on this website.
(Note 2) For information about the Trust, please see the June 21, 2021 press release or the page about the Truston on this website.
(Note 3) For information about the training program in Mauritius, please refer to the March 27, 2024 information.
(Note 4) About Umimachi Inc.
With the mission of "Creating Umi Mirai," this company is deeply involved in the restoration of seaweed beds in the Seto Inland Sea, blue carbon projects, and energy independence of the islands, and is an affiliate of the MOL Group company, Asahi Tanker Co., Ltd.
https://www.umimachi.jp/
MOL Group 5 Sustainability Issues
MOL Group identifies "Sustainability Issues" (Materiality) as our key issues for sustainable growth with society through realization of the Group Vision.
We anticipate this initiative to contribute especially to the realization of "Environment -Conservation for Marine and global environment-" and "Human & Community -Contributing to the growth and development of people and communities-".
