Honeybees and
Rooftop Gardens in Tokyo

Ginza, a district located in Tokyo’s central Chuo Ward, is renowned for its upscale shopping, fine dining, and high-end atmosphere. However, above the classy skyscrapers and bars, you may be surprised to find a thriving bee community. In 2006, about 10 volunteers collaborated to launch the Ginza Honey Bee Project and brought 30,000 bees to Ginza to establish a beekeeping operation on the rooftop of Pulp and Paper Hall. Now, the project has nearly 500 members and harvests about 2,000 kilograms of honey per year!

One of the main pillars of sustainability is the environment, with bees an integral part of a healthy ecosystem. These pollinators are catalysts for plant life as well as biodiversity. When we spoke with the project’s vice president, Atsuo Tanaka, he stressed the importance of bees. “Since starting the Ginza Honey Bee Project, I became more aware of how everything is connected in the ecosystem.” Bees pollinate flowers, which attract insects and wildlife, and act as a food source for birds.

Bees are pollinators of life, not only for plants, but also for people. They can connect us to one another, as well as nature, Tanaka shared. Ginza Honey Bee Project’s influence has touched numerous people, both in the local Tokyo community and those overseas. The initiative has also extended its outreach to young students. Through bees, the project teaches children to treasure nature by explaining the interconnectedness of everything. With education and raised awareness, Tanaka hopes Tokyo can bloom into a green city of the future, and in recent years he has seen more initiatives throughout Japan like the Ginza Honey Bee Project fulfilling this dream. In fact, the number of apiaries in Ginza have increased to three–illustrating Tokyo’s movement to this new chapter.

In addition to the environmental implications of the Ginza Honey Bee Project, it also supports a sustainable economy built on local production and consumption. The project works with a number of companies and individuals, including restaurants, bars, cafes, and even geisha, and distributes its honey to be further developed and sold by local businesses. For instance, the honey they sell is further processed into cosmetics, soap, and lip balm, and the wax is used to make school backpacks and candles. These local products not only support the community, but are also a great option for sustainable travel since tourists’ spending fuels the local economy.

In Tanaka’s words, “Bees can change the world.”

Lodge Sustainably
in Tokyo’s Hotels

Hotels are synonymous with travel. These “homes away from home” are staples in any travel itinerary. However, it’s no surprise that the hotel industry has long struggled with waste management, whether it be water, electricity, or food. Even so, efficient use of resources and responsible waste management, which includes collection, transportation, and disposal of waste in a manner that protects the environment and wellbeing of people, are key to a sustainable future. Despite the challenges, Tokyo’s hotels have started to reshape the hospitality industry by integrating sustainable practices into their everyday operations.

Imperial Hotel in Chiyoda City, which opened its doors in 1890 as Japan’s first Western-style luxury hotel, has consistently incorporated eco-friendly practices into its operations. Years before the advent of SDGs, the hotel created an Environmental Committee to oversee its sustainable initiatives, which they later replaced with the Sustainability Management Committee in 2020.

Talking to Rina Hiraishi, the Imperial Hotel’s Manager of the SDGs Promotion Section of the General Affairs Department, she described the importance of sustainability and the hotel’s role in promoting a progressive future. “In recent years, the Japanese hotel industry as a whole is actively working on the SDGs,” Hiraishi shared. With a focus on peace, hospitality, and the notion that “no one is left behind,” the Imperial Hotel has implemented numerous practices to strengthen its passion for sustainability and cater to the shifting mindsets of its customers. “Sustainability is one of the criteria that our customers consider when choosing a hotel,” Hiraishi noted, “Therefore, we strive to create an environment where customers can enjoy a luxurious stay without feeling guilty. In doing so, our employees can also find pride in working for a sustainably-focused hotel.”
By practicing sustainability, the hotel also attracts highly conscious and talented people who contribute to its ever-improving environment.

To combat food waste—a major challenge in the hotel industry—Imperial Hotel has revolutionized its buffet style with a made-to-order buffet where diners can order individually prepared meals via tablets placed at each table. Some of the hotel’s other food waste initiatives include returning unused food to be turned into compost and compiling statistical data about leftover food to better prepare for future events. One of the hotel’s most effective food loss prevention measures is in its self-supporting employee cafeterias, where it repurposes leftover food from restaurants and banquets. With this practice, the hotel not only reduced food waste by 4.5%, but also empowers its young chefs by giving them creative freedom to design their own cafeteria menus.

However, the Imperial Hotel doesn’t stop at food waste and practices sustainability in a variety of ways, such as replacing PET bottles with paper ones and offering biodegradable amenities. In accordance with Japan’s 2022 Plastic Resource Circulation Act, the hotel is replacing single-use plastic products with bamboo and wooden ones, thereby reducing its plastic usage by 92%. Although these new amenities have increased the hotel’s costs by 30%, the long-term implications of reusable products far outweigh the initial costs. In each room, the hotel places a card with the amenities and communicates its desire for customers to save the products for future use. The card also briefly describes the hotel’s sustainable initiatives and includes a QR code for those who wish to learn more. By reducing plastic use and encouraging customers to reuse the amenities, the hotel supports both environmental and economical sustainability.

A crucial part of the hotel’s sustainability strategy is education. “Communication between guests and the hotel is very important,” Hiraishi shared. The hotel constantly looks for ways to effectively communicate with its guests and ask for their understanding. Guests’ reactions to the hotel’s sustainable changes have been overwhelmingly positive. Aside from sharing its initiatives with visitors through the aforementioned room cards, the hotel also integrates sustainability into its guests’ experiences and hosts educational events. Numerous times the hotel has sold accommodation plans for children to learn about SDGs. Children were given a quiz, and in order to solve it, they had to explore the hotel and ask employees about SDGs. In fact, the hotel is offering this plan again in August 2022! Twice a year, the hotel also hosts events where the head chef teaches participants about a variety of sustainable topics. It even offers a sustainable wedding plan! Through these events and programs the hotel can effectively promote sustainability in an engaging way, while also extending its outreach to guests and the local community.

Imperial Hotel prides itself on implementing sustainable practices to combat social and environmental issues and, together with other hotels, hopes to reshape the industry through increased awareness and education. By incorporating sustainability into its everyday practices, the hotel brings employees and guests closer to this intangible philosophy. This impact, no matter how small, can pass from one individual to another, and is key in shaping a new future.

Gender Equality and
Diversity at Tokyo Skytree

In 2021, Sumida City was selected as a “SDGs Future City” and “Local Government SDGs Model Project” thanks to its dedication to SDGs. Among its progressive skyline stands Tokyo Skytree, one of the city’s most recognizable structures. Since its inception, the broadcasting tower has stood as a beacon of sustainability with LED lighting, rainwater collection tanks, solar panels, and an energy efficient district heating and cooling (DHC) system. However, sustainability encompasses more than just environmental goals. SDGs 5 and 10, are “Gender equality” and “Reduced inequalities” respectively. Equality, diversity, and inclusion are crucial for a future where everyone has the same opportunities and rights to a healthy and happy life.
Thanks to a number of practices and initiatives, Tokyo Skytree has fostered an environment that encompasses these future ideals.

In 2020, Tokyo Skytree introduced inclusive uniforms for women that include pants options, as well as non-heeled shoes. Previously, female employees were required to wear skirts and at least three centimeter heels. While reviewing the uniform guidelines, Ayumi Niwa, the Chief Secretariat of Public Relation at Tokyo Skytree, said she was reminded of the number of rules for female employees. “Even though you know what sexism and discrimination are, you always have to be aware of the inequalities because they are so ingrained in society,” Niwa shared.
Though she was never explicitly told that women and men should act a certain way, she unconsciously followed these gender roles since they were synonymous with societal values. However today, thanks to raised awareness and media coverage of gender inequalities, she has become more conscious of the disparities.

Given that Skytree’s workforce is predominantly female, the new uniforms support a positive work environment where employees can work more comfortably. During the week, the observation floors are often flooded with excited schoolchildren. Skytree’s new uniforms act not only as a visual example of gender equality for young girls, but also as a representation of Tokyo’s future goals.

Recently in 2021, Tokyo Skytree launched the W1SH RIBBON DISCOVER & CONNECT THE WORLD campaign to promote unity, diversity, and inclusion. Skytree is a popular tourist attraction and is filled with visitors of all races, genders, and ages. The W1SH RIBBON campaign started as a simple project where visitors could write wishes and tie them to the Tree of Hope located on the first observation floor. However, artist Leslie Kee came across the project and felt that it should be shared with the world. He directed a music video filled with people of different backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, and ages to convey a message of diversity and inclusion, which is displayed alongside the tree. “At Tokyo Skytree, it doesn’t matter what your nationality is,” Niwa shared, “All people have wishes, and here, everyone can express those wishes.”

To further incorporate inclusion into its facilities, Tokyo Skytree also added a space of worship for muslims, food options for ethnic restrictions, and made its Tokyo Skytree Town barrier free.

Tokyo: A Sustainable City
for the Future

Tokyo is the largest and one of the most recognizable cities globally, making it a perfect place to promote sustainable prosperity not only for Japan, but also the world. Influential places like the aforementioned Tokyo Skytree, an icon in an iconic city, have the power to spread awareness about sustainability to Tokyoites and foreign visitors. No Plastic Japan, SUSPRO, mymizu, and many other sustainable-forward companies are facilitating positive changes throughout the country and reflect the changing mindsets of people in Japan. As more businesses, large and small, incorporate sustainable practices into their everyday operations, these practices become the norm rather than a specialty and further promote a more balanced future for living and travel. In Tokyo, you can witness this sustainable tide transforming the city into a vibrant, environmentally-balanced, and inclusive community.