Updated by "Forest Circular Economy" Editorial Board on September 13, 2025, 4:24 PM JST
Editorial Board, Forest Circular Economy
Forestcircularity-editor
We aim to realize "Vision 2050: Japan Shines, Forest Circular Economy" promoted by the Platinum Forest Industry Initiative. We will disseminate ideas and initiatives to promote biomass chemistry, realize woody and lumbery communities, and encourage innovation in the forestry industry in order to fully utilize forest resources to decarbonize the economy, strengthen economic security, and create local communities.
Keio Corporation received the Grand Prix (Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award) in the forest development category of the Forest x ACT Challenge 2025 organized by the Forestry Agency. The award was given in recognition of a series of activities contributing to the recycling of forest resources and raising environmental awareness, ranging from the maintenance of company-owned forests to the use of local timber along the railway line and environmental education. This is the first time in Japan that a railroad operator has won the Grand Prix.
The Forest x ACT Challenge recognizes outstanding efforts by companies and other organizations that contribute to the appropriate maintenance and preservation of forests, with the aim of further expanding such efforts. Keio Corporation has been promoting a wide range of environmentally friendly initiatives based on the Keio Group's corporate philosophy of "being kind to the environment.
The company also participates in forest conservation work in the Keio Suigen no Mori forest, supports the reforestation activities of the citizens' group "Takao no Mori Zukuri no Kai," and offers the "Takao no Mori: Forest Experience School for Parents and Children," an environmental education program for children who will be responsible for the next generation. The company's efforts are diverse. These steady activities led to the award this time.
The judges particularly appreciated the company's wide-ranging efforts to contribute to the revitalization of the Tama region along its rail line, as well as to the recycling of forest resources by "cutting, using, planting, and nurturing".
The company's activities, based on its railroad business but utilizing the natural capital of its business area, not only contribute to the prevention of global warming through CO2 absorption by forests, but also create sustainable value for the local community in terms of economy, environment, and society.
Reference Links
interpoint (interword separation)First in the industry! Grand Prix (Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award) in "Forest x ACT Challenge 2025" sponsored by Forestry Agency (Keio Corporation)
interpoint (interword separation)Forest x A C T (ACT) Challenge 2025 winners selected! (Forestry Agency)
