Social Contributions

In July 2023, two students of Omori Dairoku Junior High School (Ota-ku, Tokyo) tried out jobs at Alps Alpine Headquarters as part of a workplace experience. Taking part in a variety of programs over three days, in multiple departments, they gained a deeper understanding of work life. The students later wrote a letter of thanks, saying they had learned so much in such a short time and found it a productive three days, appreciating the kindness of the employees

In November 2023, 29 employees of Iwaki R&D Center (Fukushima Prefecture) had a go at harvesting locally grown organic cotton.
The amount of idle farmland and abandoned fields continues to rise because of the effects of harmful rumor following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, as well as a shortage of successors. The Organic Cotton Project aims to generate vitality and jobs in the region by utilizing that land to grow cotton organically and then commercializing and selling the harvested cotton. The cause resonated with Alps Alpine.

Hanamaru, a product collaboration between Alps Alpine and Nagaoka Institute of Design, was put on display at Miraie Nagaoka in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, in July 2023. Hanamaru is an imitation pot plant with a face on a flower that smiles when the carbon dioxide concentration of a space is high as it indicates there is lively conversation. It is exhibited as an example of efforts to develop industry, which is one of the concepts of Miraie.

Alps Alpine opened a booth at Matching HUB Nagaoka 2023, held in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, in September 2023. The aim of the exhibit is to introduce the seeds of innovative technologies developed by corporations and universities as a way of connecting parties with an interest in similar fields. A total 126 organizations from industry, academia, government, and finance took part. Technologies introduced by Alps Alpine on the day included environmental sensors and TACT Switch™ products. There was lively interaction among the exhibitors and Alps Alpine was able to convey its appeal to university students and others in attendance.

In November 2023, Alps Alpine Asia Co., Ltd. (Thailand) carried out activities in support of the Baan Tawan Mai child welfare facility in the province of Samut Prakan. Some 47 employees and seven family members took part, playing games with children from the facility and donating food and supplies.

Alps Alpine held community cleanup events at Tokyo Headquarters, Kakuda Plant (Miyagi Prefecture) and Sendai R&D Center (Miyagi Prefecture). Embracing the idea of expressing appreciation to the community, employees focused on cleaning up areas around roads, stations and other facilities they routinely used in the vicinity of their workplaces. Employees said they were pleased to be able to contribute to society and help the company fulfill its social responsibility. Cleanup efforts are ongoing, with activities undertaken at other facilities, too, including overseas.

Alps Alpine Headquarters in Tokyo regularly hosts Ota Monozukuri Science School workshops with employees as instructors. The program supports the aims of Ota-ku, an area of Tokyo with an established manufacturing industry, to develop young talent and has been run on a regular basis with Headquarters employees as instructors since November 2003. So far 3,005 people have participated in a total of 194 workshops.

In February 2024, Iwaki R&D Center (Fukushima Prefecture) held a parent-and-child monozukuri workshop at which participants had a go making an amphibious vehicle. The 54 people taking part enjoyed creating their own original amphibious vehicles before racing them on a specially built course. Events such as this one help to enhance children’s ability to think for themselves while teaching them the joys of making things.

Plogging is an activity that entails picking up trash while out jogging. In April 2023, Iwaki R&D Center ran a plogging event as a way for employees to make up for a general lack of exercise while caring about the community. Around 50 people took part, cleaning up an area stretching approximately five kilometers. They collected 16 bags of burnable trash and five bags of non-burnable trash. The volume of trash surprised participants, who said they were glad so many people could finally come together again now that the COVID-19 pandemic was over to get some exercise and do good.

In January 2024, Furukawa Plant 2 (Miyagi Prefecture) received a Director-General’s Award for energy management excellence during 2023 from the Tohoku Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry, a regional branch of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The award recognized the major improvements achieved through measures such as switching to LED lighting in production areas to reduce electricity consumption, as well as integrating air supply lines as a way of reducing the amount of no-load operating time, thereby conserving energy, while keeping down investment.

Iwaki R&D Center (Fukushima Prefecture) received an excellence award for its efforts in 2022 relating to the prefecture’s Fukushima Zero Carbon Declaration project. The award was presented by the governor of Fukushima Prefecture at a ceremony on December 5, 2023. The project calls for businesses in the prefecture to take action against global warming in line with a declaration to work toward “zero carbon” as part of decarbonization efforts leading up to 2050. Iwaki R&D Center received high praise for successfully reducing CO2 emissions by 2.5% from 2021 levels, and for the innovativeness and diversity of its efforts.

The Consortium for Advanced Assistive Mobility Platform (CAAMP), of which Alps Alpine, Omron Corporation, Shimizu Corporation and IBM Japan are the four primary members, is developing an AI Suitcase, a navigation robot for the visually impaired. The AI Suitcase is a robot in the form of a suitcase developed for the purpose of autonomously directing people with visual impairments to their destination. Alps Alpine is responsible for developing interface functions required to convey information to people using the tactile sense. Since April 2024, the AI Suitcase has been trialed on an everyday basis at the Miraikan – The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. Through the accumulation of extensive empirical data, we are working to further enhance navigation technology, such as for providing guidance through crowds and avoiding objects.