As a chemical company, we wish to convey the joys and wonders of chemistry to our youth, who are our future, in the hopes that some will take a special interest and go on to develop our sustainable society. To do this, we are actively working to educate the next generation.

In response to the problem of a decreased interest in science among children, we started an education campaign to support the next generation with the hope of conveying the joy of chemistry and its future possibilities. This activity, which started at the Iwaki Factory, has now spread to our other business sites. We provide support activities in various forms, such as science classes and work experience, for youth of all ages, from elementary school students to high school and technical college students.

Since fiscal 1999, the Iwaki Factory has held science classes for elementary schoolers to show them that science can be fun. We have had a cumulative total of 2,847 students over 23 years. Currently, we have our younger tech employees make the lesson plans, giving factory tours to fifth graders and real science labs to sixth graders.

Since fiscal 2017, Kureha has been supporting science experiment classes by Dr. Hideki Shirakawa (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2000) for elementary, middle, and high school students all over the country to convey the wonders and fun of chemistry. After learning the mechanism of electrically conductive plastic, each participant makes a transparent speaker using a membrane made by applying a conductive plastic layer to Kureha's KF Piezo film. The event was postponed in fiscal 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, and resumed in fiscal 2022, hosted by the Children's Experiential Science Museum O-Labo (Oita University, Oita City).

The Iwaki Factory conducts tours for nearby middle and high school students and technical college students to learn about the facilities and work in the chemical plant. Lectures include an introduction to three-shift work schedules at production sites and how production equipment works, as well as advice on career choices from graduates of the same school who are working at Kureha. In fiscal 2021 and 2022, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we held summarized presentations, online sessions, and visits to schools to explain our Company. In addition, the Hyogo site of the Plastics Processing Factory provides opportunities for nearby nursing students to learn about employee work styles and examples of how to create an environment that promotes health as part of their Public Health Activities for Workers class.

The Iwaki Factory accepts local middle school students, high school students, and technical college students for work experience and career education opportunities.

We also accept local high school students for internships at our Plastics Processing Factory.

In January 2017, the Iwaki Factory was registered as an Organization Supporting Environmental Education (a system for registering private organizations and businesses that conduct lectures and hands-on nature activities related to environmental preservation and restoration) by Fukushima Prefecture. In fiscal 2019, we were also certified as a Company Supporting Family Education (a program to certify companies that work to create an environment to promote family education) sponsored by the Fukushima Prefectural Board of Education. We will continue to enhance our support of local communities by utilizing our facilities and human resources, such as company tours, work experience programs, and rental company facilities such as Kureha's sports grounds.

Kureha engages in various culture and sports exchanges so that local communities, group companies, and employees can contribute to the development of the region while sharing positive communication.

Kureha is committed to contribute socially to the local communities where we base our operations, through various support activities.

Since 1996, Kureha has cooperated with the Bellmark campaign* through NEW Krewrap, supporting educational institutions and welfare organizations. Kureha has also participated in the Bellmark Campaign Seminar, an event organized by the Bellmark Foundation, since 2014. At the events, Kureha talks about its activities and interacts with other participants.

Since fiscal 2008, the Iwaki Factory has been participating in a campaign to collect plastic bottle caps to support vaccinations for children around the world. Although the program was temporarily suspended due to the absence of a collection agency, it was resumed in fiscal 2022, and a total of approximately 170 kg of plastic bottle caps was collected in a single year and donated to the Interact Club of Iwaki Agricultural High School. The Hyogo site of the Plastics Processing Factory has also been participating in the cap collection campaign of the Tamba City International Association since fiscal 2015 by donating their collected caps to the association.