2nd International Symposium for the Establishment of Sustainable Campuses held (16 February 2015)

The second International Symposium for the Establishment of Sustainable Campuses, focused on the topic of "participatory approaches to establish sustainable environmentally-conscious campuses", was held on 16 February in the Inamori Hall of Shiran Kaikan, Kyoto University.

The Symposium was comprised of presentations by experts from China, Korea, and Japan, as well as a panel discussion. Around 120 people, including students, researchers, and staff from Kyoto University and other academic institutions, as well as members of the general public, were in attendance.

Following an opening address by President Juichi Yamagiwa, Executive Vice-President Naoki Sato outlined the aims of the Symposium, before a speech on national policies to promote environmentally friendly campuses was delivered by Mr Masayuki Mori, Director of the Office for Facilities Planning, National Facilities Division, Department of Facilities Planning and Administration, Minister's Secretariat, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT).

These were followed by three expert presentations: "Green Campus Promotion in China", by Professor Hongwei Tan from the Research Center of Green Building & New Energy, Tongji University, China, "Green Campus Movement in KOREA and Green Leaders Club at KMOU", by Professor Yun Hae Kim, Vice-President of Korea Maritime and Ocean University, South Korea, and "Aiming to be the World's Greenest University: the Environmental Strategy and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Programs at Mie University", by Professor Hye-Sook Park, an Executive Vice-President at Mie University, Japan.

The three researchers were then joined by two other experts -- Ms Mai Kotake, head of the Campus Climate Challenge project at Japan Youth Ecology League, and Assistant Professor Misuzu Asari of Kyoto University's Environment Preservation Research Center at the Agency for Health, Safety, and Environment -- in a panel discussion facilitated by Professor Shinichi Sakai, Director of the Environment Preservation Research Center. The five panelists -- and some members of the audience -- actively exchanged opinions on the "participatory approaches" to building sustainable campuses, a process consisting of steps such as encouraging students to become involved, enlisting the expertise of faculty and staff, and coordinating with local partners.

In conclusion, the participants agreed that, in addition to working to achieve numerical energy-saving and emission-reduction targets, universities could contribute to sustainability by striving to fulfill their educational mission of sending out graduates with advanced knowledge of environmental issues, as well as by continuing their efforts to increase community involvement, including sharing their accumulated knowledge with society at large.

The highly productive event came to a close with remarks by Professor Koichiro Oshima, a Vice-President of Kyoto University and the Director-General of the Agency for Health, Safety, and Environment.