To the press

Environmental education program incollaboration with international NPOs
LIXIL helps children, who are responsible for thefuture of Vietnam, learn about the importance of water.

March 27, 2014

Environmental Awareness
Programin Vietnam 2014

LIXIL Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: YoshiakiFujimori), a global leader in the housing products and building materials industry, and its
subsidiaries, LIXIL INAX VIETNAM Corporation (“LIXIL VIETNAM”) and LIXIL INAXDANANG Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (“Danang INAX”) provide environmental education tochildren in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (“Vietnam”) in collaboration with the following
two international NPOs: Bridge Asia Japan (“BAJ”) and Seed to Table (“STT").
LIXIL has five plants in Vietnam and has developed alongside the expansion of theVietnamese economy. LIXIL now holds the largest share of the sanitary ware market inVietnam. Hoping to be of some help to people in Vietnam, LIXIL, as a local community
oriented company, started its involvement with environmental education activities in 2007.
BAJ and STT help local people to learn and think about their own life and environment, andtake action accordingly. LIXIL not only supports their activities financially but also preparesoriginal textbooks and provides classes to local communities.
This was the 14th environmental education program in Vietnam and staff from BAJ and STT
as well as five local and 2 Japanese staff entered classes of about 220 children and interactedwith them in Thua Thien Hue Province in the middle region and Hoa Binh Province in thenorthern region.
Table of ContentsFebruary 20: Environmental class at Thuy XuanPrimary School

February 21: Environmental class at Lam MongQuang Junior High School

February 23: Environmental class at Dich Giao Village

Business in Vietnam

Outline of activities

■February 20: Environmental class at Thuy Xuan Primary School—in cooperation with BAJ
Thuy Xuan Primary School is located in theoutskirts of Hue City in Thua Thien Hue Province.
BAJ, to which LIXIL provides support, has been
providing environmental education at thisprimary school since November 2013. Children
learn about the scarcity of water on Earth,circulation of water, the impact of watercontamination on health, and other water-related
Chau introduces his job

issues, using LIXIL’s original textbook Let us

Think about and study Water. On February 20, a
total of 105 students from three classes in thethird grade participated in the environmentalclass.
At first, the LIXIL staff members introduced
themselves to students. Since it was the first time
for them to meet them, the self-introduction about
their name, family members, hobby, job and theChildren making filters

area where they live helped make the students feelcloser to them.
During the class, students made filterｓ using aplastic bottle, which is designed to show, in a
simplified way, the mechanism of filtration ofrainwater or other liquids through soil in theprocess of permeation. Son from LIXIL VIETNAM,
who has participated in this educational programfrom the beginning, explained the experiment.

Interaction through group work

Dung and Chau from Danag INAX, for whom this was their first experience, assisted thechildren with their experiment. They filtered domestic wastewater with which children arefamiliar, such as rice water, ash-mixed water and broth from boiled food, and compared colors
and smells. They also measured the level of pollution using “Pack Test kits” Because
experiments are seldom conducted in general classes at their school, students showed greatinterest and carefully observed how polluted water is purified through a filter device todeepen their understanding.
Students who participated in the class made positive comments, including “Let’s do thisexperiment again,” and asked the staff “When will you come again?” This indicates that ourefforts have helped pique their interest in the environment.

2■February 21: Environmental class at Lam Mong Quang Junior High School—in cooperation
with BAJ
Vinh My village in Phu Loc District is located in
the white sand area and people in the commune
use low quality water from wells for domestic
purposes. There is an environmental club at Lam
Mong Quang Junior High School. Principal Nhon
encourages students to think on their own andlearn with their own hands. He agreed with BAJ
on its environmental activities and theIntroduction of daily environmental

environmental club and BAJ have been
cooperatively engaged in environmental activities.
The club addresses issues related to water fordomestic use through fieldwork for about twohours, once every fortnight. On February 21, BAJ
staff members and students of the first year of thejunior high school (corresponding to sixth gradersof an elementary school in Japan) who belong to
the environmental club participated in club

The children showed great interest in water

activities together.
On this day, a presentation on environmental
activities implemented by LIXIL was also made.
The topic of greenery curtains received a good
response and the school is considering adopting
the idea. Following LIXIL’s presentation, students
reported results from a water quality survey inVinh My and another on reuse of housing

The principal (center) watches on as thechildren undertake an experimentconstruction materials. In response to the reporton the water quality survey, LIXIL staff proposed

to discuss the results and survey how water is used in neighboring areas. Students will
present results from water quality surveys in neighboring areas the next time LIXIL staff
visit the school.
In the afternoon, LIXIL staff gave a lecture using LIXIL’s original textbook Let us Think

about and study Water. Students learned about water pollution and the impact of polluted
water on people’s health, and how to keep the water clean. The staff member also talked
about environmental pollution in Japan. Following her lecture, students filtered discharged
water that students had brought to the class and the remaining broth of bún bò Huế. In thisexperiment, students learned that, after being filtered through soil, the transparency of thedischarged water increased. They also measured the level of pollution using “Pack Test” and3

found that filtration alone does not remove all contaminants in water. Through thisexperiment, they understood that measures to reduce the discharge of domestic water ineveryday life are necessary.
■February 23: Environmental class at Dich Giao Village—in cooperation with STT
Dich Giao Village is located in the mountainous
area of northern Vietnam. The class on February
23 was the fourth held at Dich Giao Village,
inviting 90 children and Youth Union members
who had not been able to participate in theprevious classes. In addition to Son, Huong andHanh from LIXIL VIETNAM also helped with theclass.
STT, with which LIXIL collaborates, construct

Children learn about how to use a toilet andother basics

toilets in response to requests from residents. STT
covers half of the construction costs and theremaining half is shared among households.
Construction of toilets is carried out by local
residents. Having them share some responsibility
helps spread knowledge on correct use of toilets
among residents.
In the morning, a class was given using LIXIL’s

At the workshop

original textbook Let us Think about Toilets withthe aim of providing information necessary tomaintain the constructed toilet appropriately.
Children learned about the historical backgroundof toilets, the types of toilets available, and thecorrect way to use and clean toilets.
In the afternoon, a workshop was held wherechildren were divided into groups and conducteda survey on the state of toilets in different

A toilet constructed by villagers. On the plate
are the year of construction and LIXIL’s
financial contribution to the construction costs.

hamlets. They later compiled and presented theirsurvey results using photographs. They shared their survey results on the presence orabsence of toilets and the numbers and types of toilets. They also presented other findings,including “Flush toilets are sanitary but their construction costs are high” and “Dry-type
toilets can be installed at low costs and we can make fertilizer with them, but one concern isthe odor.”4

In this activity, the participation by local staff members in the group work facilitatedcommunication with children, and also made it easier for children to ask questions. Children’s
understanding of these classes is gradually being deepened and LIXIL staff members haverecognized the significance of these educational activities and the importance of continuingefforts. LIXIL will, in cooperation with NPOs, continue to provide environmental education tothe children of Vietnam—the generation responsible for the future of their country.

■LIXIL Business in Vietnam
In the LIXIL Group, American Standard is the first sanitary ware brand which entered theVietnamese market. American Standard started its production and sales activities in Ho Chi
Minh in 1996, followed by INAX in Hanoi in 1997. With these two brands, LIXIL currently
has the No.1 market share in the Vietnamese sanitary ware market. In 2010, we began to sellfittings, as we started operation of a new factory. Then, in June 2012, we also entered into theelectric water heater market which seems to be promising. Moreover, in the area of building
materials, LIXIL has been engaged in manufacturing and sales of dry exterior tiles, mainly
mosaic tiles, since 2008. On January 8, 2014, the construction of a manufacturing plant forresidential sashes was completed in line with business expansion of this product in Vietnam.

■Outline of environmental education activities
The 14th environmental education program in VietnamDates
February 19-24, 2014
PlacesHue City, Vinh My village in Phu Loc District, in Thua
Thien Hue Province
Dich Giao Village in Hoa Binh Province

Details

water resource awareness initiative, class about toilets, water
filtration experiment, water quality experiment, etc.

Seven lecturers

LIXIL Corporation
LIXIL INAX VIETNAM Corporation
LIXIL INAX DANANG Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

216
students/children

Third graders of Thuy Xuan Primary School, students of the firstyear of Lam Mong Quang Junior High School who belong to theenvironmental club, Children in Dich Giao Commune

Five staff
members fromcooperating

Incorporated NPO “ Bridge Asia Japan”
Incorporated NPO “ Seed to Table”

organizations

5