As part of efforts to revitalize the community, Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Inc. held the workshop "Mie Mirai, connecting us with society through【happiness】" (hereinafter referred to as "Mie Mirai") at Mie Civic Center (Mie Prefecture).

Mie Mirai is a workshop where people come together to think of problem-solving ideas for the happy future of Mie Prefecture. Sponsored by Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Inc. and NPO M Bridge and receiving planning cooperation from Dr. Aoki's Research Lab (Faculty of Humanities, Law and Economics, Mie University) and Mie Prefecture, the event has been in operation since 2017 as a collaborative effort between industry, government and academia.

"U-29 Brainstorming Conference" (attended by 129 people) was held in 2017, and "Ideathon Mie Mirai" (265 participants) in 2018. This time, participants discussed the future of Mie Prefecture focusing on three SDGs topics: society, environment, and economy.

Men & women, young and old, thinking together about the Mirai (future) of Mie Prefecture!

During the "SDGs Game" (opening workshop) participants acted as government officials, citizens, tourists and NPO organizations, and collected asset cards like people and money, to build a town through role-playing. Things like population, economy, environment and quality of life were all quantified, and the participants had fun learning and thinking about initiatives to improve the town based on the positions they held in the game.

Aside from the SDGs Game, participants from ages 15 to 72 grouped in different workshops, actively exchanged ideas for a happier Mie. Discussion topics were; Why are some people not interested in community building? (social), How can we improve the way we deal with plastic? (environmental), The kind of company I want to work in! The kind of manager I want to work with! (economic).

<Some ideas suggested in the environment workshop>

As part of the environment topic, participants learned about actual initiatives in Mie Prefecture, and about World Without Waste (WWW) from our CSV Department.

World without Waste (WWW) is a global vision which aims to collect and recycle all can and PET packages equivalent to the volume of products sold around the world by 2030.

Participants came up with a variety of ideas, including 'recycling mileage' which allows people to accumulate mileage the more we recycle, and the 'recycling collection box' which responds when someone puts an item in the box by giving a compliment (different versions offered). All ideas will be shared with Mie Prefecture and will be referenced for future endeavors.

We will continue in our efforts to become a company engaged in revitalizing communities beyond the boundaries of industry, government, and academia.