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Tamachi Building Co. Invites Local Nursery School Children to Turnip and Potato Dig at Company's Rooftop Garden
-- CSR Activity Provides an Enjoyable Opportunity to Learn about Growing Healthy Food and Safeguarding the Environment --

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On May 31 Tamachi Building Co., Ltd., a Group company of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), invited children attending a nearby nursery school to a turnip and potato digging event at the rooftop garden of a company-owned building in Minato-ku, in central Tokyo. The event had two aims: to provide the youngsters an enjoyable opportunity outside the classroom to learn about growing healthy food and safeguarding the environment, and to promote exchanges between employees and people from the local community. Tamachi Building has been holding events of this kind regularly since November 2009 as a way of making social contributions in line with its CSR (corporate social responsibility) commitments. Until now, strawberry picking events have been held each summer and a sweet potato dig, every autumn. For this latest event, the twelfth to date, the company switched to a dig of turnips and potatoes, owing to poor growth of strawberries in recent years.

The dig took place on the roof of the Dai Ichi Tamachi Building, which is situated directly across from East Japan Railway's Tamachi Station in Minato-ku. The rooftop of the main building is home to a garden 219 square meters in area, of which 21.5 square meters is used as a vegetable garden. On March 25 children aged 3 to 5 attending the local Petit Nursery Tamachi had planted turnip seeds and seedlings of two varieties of potato. These items were chosen because they could be harvested in early summer. During the two months after planting, great care was exercised to protect the young plants from sickness or harmful insects, and these efforts were rewarded by the growth of healthy crops ready for harvesting.

A total of 21 children, the youngsters who had planted the turnips and potatoes in March, participated in the dig. The children first received explanations, mostly using photographic display panels showing how the turnips and potatoes had progressively grown. Next came the dig itself, with assistance provided by Tamachi Building employees. Each year, children who have participated in the strawberry picking events and sweet potato digs have later drawn pictures capturing the enjoyment they experienced. This year's young participants too clearly spent an enjoyable and rewarding early summer day at one of the office buildings within a stone's throw from their school.


Having fun harvesting turnips and potatoes

After the rooftop dig, the children next were ushered to the "vegetable factory" located in the dining room in the Dai Ichi Tamachi Building's underground level, where they were given the opportunity to experience sowing lettuce. Lettuce sowing involves placing small seeds individually in sponges, and it was heartwarming to watch how carefully the children went about their task, making sure not to drop any seeds.


Seeing how lettuce grows in a "vegetable factory"

Tamachi Building is an active participant in Minato-ku's current greening campaign, which targets a 25% cover ratio by 2026. Since May 2009, for seven years the company has conducted experiments toward achieving full greening of its rooftops, with subsidy assistance provided by the local government.

Tamachi Building was established in 1964 as a wholly owned MHI Group company. Today the company's business scope includes ownership and operation of rental office properties, operation and management of MHI buildings, and related businesses. In line with its business philosophy pledging the provision of safe and comfortable office spaces and high-quality services, and in reflection of MHI's CSR Action Guidelines and environment policies, Tamachi Building proactively undertakes initiatives to protect nature and support education during the performance of its core business operations. Since April 2012 the dining facility in the Dai Ichi Tamachi Building has offered a menu of dishes making use of fresh organic vegetables grown in its own "vegetable factory." Through this and other initiatives Tamachi Building is a pioneer in striving for consumption of in-house grown products.

Going forward, Tamachi Building will continue its activities making environmental and local contributions as a way of promoting enhanced employee awareness toward CSR.


The 21 young participants from Petit Nursery Tamachi


About MHI Group

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group is one of the world’s leading industrial groups, spanning energy, smart infrastructure, industrial machinery, aerospace and defense. MHI Group combines cutting-edge technology with deep experience to deliver innovative, integrated solutions that help to realize a carbon neutral world, improve the quality of life and ensure a safer world. For more information, please visit www.mhi.com or follow our insights and stories on spectra.mhi.com.