Green Diamonds highlights the ongoing efforts of Mitsubishi companies to foster a greener, more sustainable planet and brighter, more vibrant communities through wide-ranging environmental and social initiatives.
 
Nikon has been co-sponsoring the International Children’s Painting Competition with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Japan-based Foundation for Global Peace and Environment (FGPE) and Bayer AG to foster environmental conservation awareness among children. In the painting children are called upon to send a message to urge conservation of the earth to people all over the world using the lingua franca of artwork which transcends the boundaries of race and language. To mark the

The award ceremony was held in Bandung, Indonesia on September 27, 2011
United Nations International Year of Forests in 2011, the competition’s theme was “Life in the Forests (Biodiversity).” This year was the 20th edition of the competition; 606,996 entries from 99 countries were submitted and 63 prize winners were chosen. The top seven winners were invited to the award ceremony. The theme of the 21st is “Green Communities.” Nikon will continue appealing the importance of conserving global environment with the messages from children’s paintings.
1st Global Prize Winner: Trisha Co Reyes, a 13-year-old from the Philippines
2nd Global Prize Winner, Asia and the Pacific Regional Winner: Erina Hashimoto, a 14-year-old from Japan
■http://www.nikon.com/about/csr/society/earth/icpc/ index.htm
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NYK, in cooperation with Plan Japan,¹ hosted a charity cruise on its luxury cruise ship AsukaⅡ, departing the port of Yokohama on October 5, making a call at the port of Shimizu, and then returning to Yokohama on October 7. Of the funds raised by the charity cruise, $100,000 was donated to Plan Japan and will be used to support the education

Panel displays on the cruise ship showing NYK social contribution activities
of Filipino children. One of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals is to “achieve universal primary education” and NYK and Plan Japan have been contributing toward this by building classrooms for primary and secondary schools and providing subsidies to cover school supplies, travel expenses, and dormitory fees for Filipino children.
At the display venue, passengers prepared message cards for children in the Philippines, and AsukaⅡ ’s crew members also wrote messages on the NYK house flag
■http://www.nyk.com/english/release/1414/NE_111012.html
■http://www.plan-japan.org/english/
Note 1: Plan Japan was established in 1983 and is a member of Plan, an international non-profit, non-governmental organization that promotes community development for children in developing countries. Sharing a common goal and mission with 21 donor countries, Plan Japan promotes community development in developing countries.
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Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has completed development of a design for a new type of bulk carrier which will enable a 25 percent reduction in CO2 emissions compared with conventional bulk carriers. MHI’s new design adopts the Mitsubishi Air Lubrication System (MALS) that pumps air along the bottom of the hull to produce air bubbles which reduce drag between the hull and seawater. MHI developed MALS as a key measure for reducing CO2 emissions from ships. The new design also uses a system which positions fins forward of the propellers and special grooves in the propeller boss cap to enhance the efficiency

of the conversion of main engine power into propulsion drive.
     The new design will make a significant contribution to efforts to alleviate global warming, a fight which the international maritime transportation industry is being strongly called on to join.
■http://www.mhi.co.jp/en/news/story/1110141456.html
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Award winners in the Mitsubishi Chemical Junior Designer Award 2011 (specially supported by Mitsubishi Chemical) were unveiled late in 2011. This competition honors outstanding graduation works from the year’s graduates in various fields of design. The 2011 competition attracted 296 ambitious entries from students who graduated in March 2011 from universities and art schools throughout Japan. After going through a stringent judging process, 14 entries which showed great originality and a richness in variety were chosen for awards by the judges. The overall level of the entries was very high in 2011 and for the first time in the history of the competition two entries shared the Grand Prize.

Grand Prize: “formless shape”
by Toshiro Mori,
BFA, Tama Art University
A first experience. The stool, stuffed animal, partition, etc. are all made of small pieces of the same shape. As snowflakes cling together to form clumps of snow, so these small pieces cling together to make interesting shapes. The power generated by the clinging forces is enough that other pieces can hang. By lifting the edge of a piece lying on the floor, other pieces cling to it as you lift, and you are able to pick up the entire membrane-like form.
Grand Prize: “Reproduction of city by dismantlement process” by Naoki Kato, BE, Kogakuin University
In the 70s, skyscrapers were the symbols of enlightened societies, and were used to create urbanscapes. Now, however, skyscrapers seem to be rationalized on the basis of economics alone. This construct can be slowly dismantled or added to as societal changes necessitate. Construction is always under way, and people live flexible lives that change along with how the construction itself changes. This is also a proposal on how to use the products of dismantling to rebuild urban areas.
■http://www.m-kagaku.co.jp/mcjda/index.html
(Available only in Japanese)
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