REPORT: Turning all of Marunouchi into a MICE venue“Sustainable Brands 2023 TOKYO-Marunouchi”

Turn the entire Marunouchi area in Tokyo into an event venue--. With this concept, DMO TOKYO
Marunouchi succeeded in bringing the “Sustainable Brands 2023 TOKYO-Marunouchi (SB’23)”
conference to the area on February 14 and 15, 2023. Up until the 6th time the conference was held lastyear, the event had been carried out in Roppongi, Odaiba, and Yokohama. This marked the first time
held in Marunouchi. There was a record-breaking 5,212 attendees who brought a lively energy to thewhole Marunouchi area.

● The area comes together for SB’23
The major feature of the SB’23 was the utilization of an area-wide MICE with venues spreadthroughout the neighborhood, rather than using a single facility. The main session program took placeat three venues, (1) the Tokyo International Forum, (2) JP Tower Hall & Conference, and (3)Marunouchi Hall & Conference. Plus, the Sustainable Brands Open Seminar & Exhibition, which wasopen to everyone in addition to SB’23 attendees, was held at six venues along Marunouchi-Nakadori
Street and Daimyokoji Street, while SB Birds Of A Feather (BoF), social gatherings for participants
held on the evening of the 15th, was held at five locations centering on Marunouchi area restaurants.
It truly was a MICE event distinctive to Marunouchi that made use of the entire area.

The SB’23 map.
Blue letters: Venues for the Open Seminar & Exhibition
Green numbers: BoF venues

The main sessions were held at Tokyo International Forum (left) and JP Tower Hall & Conference (right).

A kick-off party, SB Tokyo Pre Night was held at Palace Hotel Tokyo on the night of February 13. A
total of 204 people participated, including SB’23 speakers, sponsors, and media partners. It was a funand valuable invitation-only networking function that heralded the excitement of the conference.
Hiroaki Fujii, Executive Officer at DMO TOKYO Marunouchi, gave the following remarks on stage
as a representative of the area that served as the event venue.
“DMO TOKYO Marunouchi is helping to carry out business conferences that go beyond the confinesof facilities to encompass an entire area. There are venues spread throughout the neighborhood, andfor the next two days the area will come together for SB’23. We make our best efforts to meet yoursatisfaction as the encounters, excitement, and experiences achieved at face-to-face conferences arethe driving force behind resolving regional and societal issues and generating new business. We hope

you enjoy our extensive program, and the ever-evolving area of Marunouchi when you have free time.”

Top photos: The Pre Night kick-off party.
Bottom photos: During the Pre Night party at Palace Hotel Tokyo and other gatherings throughout the event period, sustainabledishes were provided based on the global campaign for sustainable food, One Planet Plate through collaboration among several
restaurants in the area and Imperial Hotel Tokyo

In addition to the venues, creative efforts were made throughout the area to boost the energy of SB’23.
One such effort put up event banners in 55 locations, centering on Marunouchi-Nakadori Street. The
colorful banners printed with “SB 2023 TOKYO MARUNOUCHI” and an eye-catching design
fluttered in the wind, announcing the SB’23 event to passersby. Furthermore, the banners will be usedas materials for the upcycle brand, Ligaretta that was established by the OMY(Otemachi,Marunouchi and Yurakucho) Area Management Association (Ligare). Not only will this reduce
waste, but it will also recycle materials steeped with stories of the SB’23 into items that give rise tonew stories. Moreover, horizontal monitors advertising SB’23 were set up in 80 places, and verticalmonitor signage in 28 places in Marunouchi area. Ties to SB’23 could be seen everywhere in the area,including four types of outdoor tables placed in ten locations on Marunouchi-Nakadori Street thatwere wrapped with SB’23 information, and collaboration with sustainable food trucks to coincide withthe event period.

Left: A sustainable food truck. Right: An outdoor table wrapped with SB’23 information

Left: An information counter established at Happ. along Marunouchi-Nakadori Street
Right: Large signage in the entrance to Marunouchi Hall & ConferenceLeft: Event banners flown on Marunouchi-Nakadori Street. Right: Vertical monitor signage advertising SB’23●Open Seminar: A catalyst for changing behavior“We must also contribute to the region and leave a legacy by hosting SB’23. Therefore, when it comesto sustainability, we must also create catalysts that encourage people working in Marunouchi to change
their behavior and bring a new demographic to the SB’23 community. I believe Marunouchi canachieve this.” Shinsuke Suzuki, Chief Sustainability Officer (CSuO) of Hakuten Corporation, theorganizer, looks back on SB’23.
The Sustainable Brands Open Seminar & Exhibition was incorporated into the SB’23 for the first timeto create those catalysts. The Open Seminar was free and open to anyone, and invited guests working
at the frontlines of sustainability. There were eight sessions based on themes such as “Energy andSustainability,” “Art and Business,” “Food and Sustainability,” and “The Metaverse and Regional
Revitalization.” The sessions were held at lunchtime and in the evening so that office workers inMarunouchi could easily join. In addition, attendees were offered free entry on the afternoon of the
15th to the networking space called the Activation Hub where booths were set up by SB’23 sponsorsand others. Of the 209 attendees in the Open Seminar, approximately 25% also subsequently went toSB’23, so the sessions actually served as catalysts to encourage behavioral change and bring in a newdemographic.

Left: The Open Seminar. Right: Shelves of books related to the SDGs were specially established in collaboration with the Maruzen
Marunouchi Main Store in Marunouchi OAZO.

Furthermore, the exhibition called Circular Recipes—Circular Product Design Today was also
enthusiastically received. It was held February 3–15 at GOOD DESIGN Marunouchi located along
Marunouchi-Nakadori Street and was free to enter. A total of 1,379 people visited displays that
introduced endeavors such as furniture created with a 3D printer using biomass polyethylene and aneffort to turn unneeded cashmere into new cashmere products. A questionnaire given to participants
indicated many visitors found the exhibition fulfilling, with 58% saying they were “satisfied” and40.2% “extremely satisfied.”

Circular Recipes—Circular Product Design Today was the well-received exhibition held at GOOD DESIGN Marunouchi.

●The wrap party for the participants was the “perfect setting”
Another first for this SB’23 was BoF, which also boosted participant satisfaction. BoF was held on theevening of the 15th at five venues including restaurants in the Marunouchi area under six themes, suchas “The Environment & Biodiversity,” “Next-generation Co-creation,” and “Regional Revitalization.”
The participants expanded their networks while eating and drinking with one another. It became a newevent that further increased the value of SB’23, a community event. Mr. Suzuki says, “There were alsoelements implemented at conferences in the West that we were able to solidify. I think the settingwhere participants wrapped up the conference was the perfect way to bring the community event toan end.”

BoF was held at venues such as restaurants. It became an opportunity for participants to expand their networks with one another,which was befitting for a community event.

The major event of SB’23 will spread throughout the Marunouchi neighborhood, bringing
sustainability to Marunouchi, and by extension, to Tokyo and the world. SB’23 succeeded in being an
event that inspired us to hold on to that hope. Going forward, we will continue endeavoring to fully
leverage the attractions of the Marunouchi area.