People who pioneer the future

On January 20, a reception for the award winners of “The 9th SDGs Student Essay Award by Sumitomo Riko” was held at the Global Headquarters (Nakamura-ku, Nagoya), attended by the 10 award winners, as well as Professor Yukari Takamura of Institute for Future Initiatives,The University of Tokyo, who chaired the judging committee, and Professor Tokutaro Hiramoto of the Kanazawa Institute of Technology, who served as a member of the judging committee.
Regarding the Noto Peninsula earthquake that occurred at the beginning of the year, Professor Hiramoto said, "I want people to visit Ishikawa Prefecture more often, so that the region can come back to life, which will lead to reconstruction.” I felt that spreading the word with the real voices of the people who live there had the power to persuade, unlike any other.

About the SDGs Student Essay Award

This award has been held every year since 2014, with the aim of utilizing the students' unique perspectives in our Group's business operations, aiming to create a sustainable society as the ideal vision of the "2029 Sumitomo Riko Group Vision" (2029V): "A leading solution provider taking on social challenges by collecting whole resources of Sumitomo Riko and its partners”, and as an activity to contribute to the development of young people who will be responsible for the future.
This year's theme was "Human Resource Strategies for Sustainable Corporate Growth in the SDG/ESG Era.
Although this is the ninth time we have held this event, each time I have felt that the level of exploration by the students is extremely high.
Needless to say, since the winners were chosen from among many applicants, they are actively participating in seminars and meetings of various activities to broaden their horizons.
What was particularly surprising was that one of this year's Grand Prize winners, Ms. Aoi Sato, was so eager to win the Grand Prize that she entered the competition again this year, after she received an Excellence Award the last year.
I am very impressed by the actions of all the participants, including her, in improving themselves as students.
When I look back on my student days, I remember drinking and traveling with my circle mates, but it was a blessing to meet irreplaceable people later in life.
I really hope that the participants will also gain a lot from this award, such as meeting irreplaceable friends and having new experiences.
Having been exposed to the ideas of the students through this award, I have renewed my determination to realize What We want to Be described in the 2029V.