ー Meichari Project – Nagoya Bike Sharing Scheme ー・In recognizing the impact that our modern lives and activities have on the environment and future generations to come,Nagoya University intends to actively work towards and protect a sustainable environment.
・As the university continues to acknowledge the intellectual accomplishments of humankind, it also intends to reconsider
academic priorities, as it broadens its perspective on the relationship between humans and the earth to adequately consider ourlong-term future together.
・Nagoya University fully commits itself, including the areas of education, research, university management, and socialcontribution, to realizing a better earth environment

Students of the Graduate School of Environmental Studies took theinitiative in recycling abandoned bicycles found in Nagoya city center andusing them in the community cycle system, in which people borrow andreturn bicycles at specially designated cycle parking facilities. This is anattempt to rethink the current car-oriented society and students are now
working on field experiments and questionnaires to users regarding thepermanent implementation of this system.

Renting a bicycle in the field experimentー Children's Workshop – Sen no Tane Akashitai ーPart of the secret den madeby children and parents

Sen no Tane Akashitai (Seeking 1000-Seeds Works) is a workshop forchildren coordinated by the Architecture Study Group for Children,organized by students in the laboratories of Associate Professors Kenichi
Suzuki and Hisashi Komatsu, and the Chikusa-ku local authority in Nagoya
city.
On November 10, 2007, the 11th workshop, called “Let’s Build a SecretDen,” was held in woods within Nagoya University’s grounds. Children andtheir parents who participated in the project built a “secret den,” which
included a bamboo-thatched hut, a three-story watch tower, play equipment,
and a bridge. Using only natural materials, such as hemp ropes, broken woodbranches, and the bamboo growing naturally in the university premises, theden took about five hours to construct.

(1) In order to respond to environmental problems in the most appropriate manner, Nagoya University dedicates itself to theconsideration of environmental problems from a comprehensive and systematic perspective, encompassing, human and naturalsciences, and all other relevant fields.
(2) Students will be encouraged to develop the ability to understand and analyze environmental problems as Nagoya University
nurtures future pioneers in the field.
(3) Through the cooperation of both students and staffs, Nagoya University will continue to create university policies that are
best suited to addressing environmental issues.
(4) Nagoya University will pursue a comprehensive and systematic policy set in order to reduce the university’s negative impact
on the environment and to realize objectively its proper role and influence regarding the environment.
(5) Nagoya University is dedicated to addressing both regional and worldwide environmental issues in a proactive manner. Asthese policies take root from a local level, it is intended that they will also connect to larger international-level responses toenvironmental problems.

ー Establishing a Practical Low Carbon Policy ー
After graduating from the School of Economics at Nagoya University, I joined the former
Environment Agency in 1974 with the intention of helping to change Japan from the environmental
viewpoint. Undergoing a variety of experiences, such as the institutionalization of Environmental
Assessments, and the Agency’s expansion into the Ministry of the Environment, I graduallydeveloped a determination to raise Japan’s environmental administration to a world-leading level.
As Director General of the Global Environment Bureau, my work in negotiating with different
countries and industries to find ways of tackling climate change and global warming is endless.
Now, I am hoping to establish a practical “Low-Carbon Policy” through collaboration withresearchers at my old university.
(Hideki Minamikawa, Director General of the Global Environment Bureau, Ministry of the Environment)

ー Searching for Clues to Help Solve Environmental Problems ーI graduated from the School of Agricultural Sciences and joined the Environmental Policy Department at the Environmental
Division of Toyota city. Although some of my work is aligned with my major at university, real-life environmental tasks aremuch more diverse than my former studies. I still ask my former tutors for advice about my work, and the exploratory attitude,
personal networks, and multifaceted viewpoints I acquired in my university days are most important assets for me.
As there is such a variety of factors involved in the environmental field, cooperation with a range of people is indispensable toaddressing such issues. I like to take the initiative in my work, utilizing the assets I have developed to establish a systematic
approach that encourages people to take an interest in finding environmental solutions together.
(Michiko Gotoh, Environmental Policy Department, Toyota City Environmental Division)

Eriocaulon nudicuspe
in Yanami Shicchi Wetland,Toyota city

Our Environmental Report has previously focused on raising awareness about environmental protection among university
members. For this year’s edition, we have aimed at informing members of the local community, including corporations, local
governments, and residents, about the ways in which Nagoya University is contributing to realizing a sustainable society
through our research and education in the fields of “environment, safety, health, and hygiene.” In its complete edition, the reportcovers in greater detail: achievements in our environmentally-aware activities; achievements in environment-conscious R&D
and in environmental education; and environment-related social contributions.
This digest edition provides limited extracts from the complete edition. If you are interested in obtaining further information
about our environmental efforts, please refer to the compete edition, available from the Nagoya University Web site. We havealso tried to emphasize Nagoya University’s special features and we hope you can gain a sense of its unique character. We lookforward to receiving your comments on the report, as we are always seeking to make improvements.
Takashi Yamane, Chair, Environmental Report Review Working GroupFor the complete edition of the Nagoya University Environmental Report 2008, please visit:
URL: http://web-honbu.jimu.nagoya-u.ac.jp/fmd/rpt.html

Author installing a signboard for a protected tree

「View of the Toyoda Auditorium and Lawns」

Message from the President – Publishing Our Environmental Report 2008 –Nagoya University exercises its responsibility as an educational and research institutenot only by protecting the environment, but also—through our faculties and graduate
schools—by producing researchers, students, and business leaders who can tackle
environmental problems, under our educational policy of cultivating “CourageousIntellectuals.”
The year 2008 produced some environmentally-important notes: the Hokkaido Toyako
Summit held in July confirmed that countries with significant CO 2 emissions must makeefforts in emission reduction. A long-term target agreement to halve the world’semissions by 2050 was also agreed upon. Nagoya University recognizes the significanceand urgency of global warming issues and is contributing to resolving such problems
through education and research.
As a National University Corporation business site, we are seeking measures to reduce
environmental impacts: lowering energy consumption in electricity, gas, and water; andretaining and increasing greenery. We have also engaged in a number of collaboration
projects with local communities. Our Environmental Report 2008 presents Nagoya
Shinichi Hirano
President of Nagoya University University’s practical environmental efforts as a National University Corporation,
including up-to-date details of our environmental research and educational activities,
human resource development, and other social contributions conducted throughout
FY2007. Nagoya University acknowledges continuing improvements in environmental
management technologies to realize harmonious living with nature, and has commenced
its own environmental accounting activities. We hope that this report will demonstrate ourkeen interest in environmental issues.

ー Curriculum Utilizing the University’s Environmental Report ーー International Collaboration – the Co-existence of Nature and Human Beings ーThe Graduate School of Environmental Studies assigned students to improve Nagoya University’s Environmental Report
2007 in its Environmental Ethics class. The topics raised by the students will be utilized to improve future issues of theEnvironmental Report.
This was a good opportunity for students to review environmental measures from the viewpoint of the Report writers,
thereby deepening their understanding of environmental issues. This project also functioned as an implementation of theNagoya University Environmental Policy, which states: Through the cooperation of both students and staff, Nagoya University

It is important that we share an understanding and approaches on issues
concerning nature, economics, and society in order to realize a sustainablesociety. This is why Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is being
promoted in different countries, including at Nagoya University. As a part ofthese activities, Nagoya University and other universities in Thailand andGermany are jointly creating an ESD curriculum for postgraduate students.
We hope that this curriculum will be authorized by UNESCO in the future,
and we plan to further develop it as an international initiative, making thecurriculum available to other graduate schools in Nagoya Prefecture.

will continue to create university policies best suited to addressing environmental issues.
ー Environmental Management Systems in the Home ー
One of our classes, Laboratory in Environmental Studies of Materials 1 in
the School of Informatics and Sciences, teaches about environmental
systems in society and ways of improving such systems. As a part of thesestudies, an assignment is given to students in which they develop anEnvironmental Management System applicable to their home or work
environment, and later report on the system implementation results. One
example was as follows. Environmental mission: Reduction in water, gas,and electricity costs at home; Scope of management: Four family members
and a dog; Legal and other requirements: Compliance with the local
authority’s garbage collection rules; Improvement example topic: Reducing
shampoo quantity for morning showers... This hands-on project provided
students with a good understanding of such management systems and how toconstruct one.

Discussions at an ESD Workshop

ー As a Center of Local Climate Policy and an Anti-Warming City ーStudents building an Environmental
Management Systemー Total Energy Consumption ー
The energy consumption rate (oil conversion) in FY2007 increased by 1.8% in Higashiyama Campus, 12.1% in TsurumaiCampus, and decreased by 3.0% in Daiko Campus, compared with the previous year.

ー Nagoya University’s Energy Saving and Anti-Global Warming Measures ーー Soil and Water Purification Utilizing Anaerobic Microorganisms ーSoil is difficult to purify and could be a source of secondary
long-term contamination of underground water. This isparticularly serious issue in areas where people use undergroundwater as their drinking water. Recently, the technology to utilize
anaerobic microorganisms to decompose and purify pollutants inthe airless underground environment has come to attention.
Utilizing this technology will reduce excavation costs and energy,
as well as the chance of pollutants being dispersed duringexcavation. Prof. Arata Katayama’s Laboratory in the EcoTopia
Science Institute has successfully developed a technique to enabledifferent anaerobic microorganisms to cohabit in porous materials
so that decomposition, which requires multiple microorganisms, isperformed more effectively. This is still at the initial stage but ourresearch will continue to support the further development ofenvironmental purification technologies.

ー Special Assistance Project for Regional Contributions – Suburban Agricultural Education Park ーSoil and Water Contamination
Pollution Source

Contamination
Status

Heavy
Metal

Unsaturated Soil
PollutiveGas

The University Farm of the Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences offers a variety of opportunities to the local
community to encourage them to familiarize themselves with nature, agriculture, and food production through hands-onexperience. The farm is also designed to be explored through paths and signboards. Events held at the Farm in 2007
include: Agricultural Experience for the Family, in which people can enjoy making butter, digging sweet potatoes,
tomato cultivation observation and tasting, and the animal farm; lectures on “Learning about animal resources andconsidering their lives and our eating habits” ; and a nature study session working with local naturalist organizations.

LNAPL
Undiluted Fluid

Dissolved State

Saturated Underground
Water System

DNAPL
Impermeable Strata

Children studying how sweet potatoes grow(Hands-on Agricultural Lesson)

Searching for grasshoppers(Grasshopper's Sports Day)ー Releasing Underground Water to Yamazaki River ー

Roof greening on Medical Science Research
Building 2Yamazaki River is known as one of the finest cherry blossom viewing
areas in Nagoya city. However, the river has been suffering from water
exhaustion as the area along it became more developed, and it often dries out
on sunny days. Kagamigaike pond, located on the Nagoya University site, isone of the water sources for this river. In response to Nagoya city’s request,
since February 2006 the University has started releasing water pumped out
from deep underground into the pond (up to 1,000 tons per day). We hopethat this water release will help to improve Yamazaki River’s waterconditions.

Green parking in Tsurumai Campusー Awards ーNagoya University received the following awards for its energy saving and environmental efforts◆FY2007 National Conference on Successful Cases of Energy Conservation: Ministerof Economy Trade and Industry Prize◆ Aichi Environmental Award 2008: Excellence Prize

Cherry trees along Yamazaki River – a popular spring picnic spot
(Courtesy of Nagoya City Greenification and Public Works Bureau)ーー