On Friday, October 18, in the 2nd and 3rd period, we held an open seminar on “Green Entrepreneurship,” which will be offered in the second semester of 2024.

The first open seminar featured Mr. Yutaka Okano, Senior Professional, Environmental Management Division and Carbon Neutral Business PMO Group, NEC Corporation.

First, in the 2nd period, Mr. Okano gave a lecture on the forefront of environmental management in business development and advancement in Japan and abroad based on his extensive experience. In particular, based on his expertise from his previous position at Toyota Motor Corporation, the students learned in a question-and-answer format about the importance of managing a wide range of specialized issues, including energy and CO2, emissions, water, waste, chemical substance management, soil and groundwater, and biodiversity, which have a strong impact on the development of business activities.

He also spoke about his experience in Nishiawakura Village, Okayama Prefecture, where he is currently working for NEC, developing consulting activities in collaboration with domestic and international companies and non-profit organizations, as well as various entrepreneurial activities in environmental business.

In the 3rd period, he gave an in-depth lecture on the latest trend from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) to the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), based on actual examples of TNFD reports at NEC, and had an enthusiastic dialogue with the students.

The lecture was followed by several discussion periods, which provided plenty of time for participants to deepen their discussions with each other and with Mr. Okano, resulting in a great learning experience.

The lecture was a great success, attended by about 60 people, including students of “Green Entrepreneurship” as well as students, graduate students, researchers, and members of the general public from a variety of Kyoto University affiliations and majors.