SHAPING A BETTER FUTURE FOR
FUTURE GENERATIONSDIALOGUE 02

SAORI IWANOPETER DAVID PEDERSEN

Escaping a Restrictive Future by Imagining the Future as a Blank Slate
Saori Iwano is a high school student who shaved her head, parting ways with hair grown down past her shoulders, and wrote an essay on the potential of shaving one’s head to help fight climate change. People havediverse ideals. There is no need to limit the ideal of feminine appeal to having long hair. Peter David Pedersen,
external director at MARUI GROUP and guide in its quest for true sustainability, spoke with Iwano about theideals she espouses.

Saori Iwano
A third-year high school student born in Tokyo in 2003, Saori Iwano is a central
member of the student environmental activist organization Fridays For Future
Japan. This unique Generation Z environmental activist has gained attention for
her research on decentralized energy and her essay on the potential of shaving
one’s head to help fight climate change, which reflected her own experience ofshaving her hair, which had been grown down past her shoulders.
Peter David PedersenPeter David Pedersen was born in Denmark in 1967. He has been involved in theformulation of business, environment, and CSR strategies for major Japanesecompanies, and it was Pedersen who introduced Japan to the concept of Lifestyles
of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS). Today, he is devoting his efforts to fostering
future leaders as the representative director of Next Leaders’ Initiative for
Sustainability while also acting as a professor at Shizenkan University. Pedersen
assumed the position of external director at MARUI GROUP in June 2021.

Start of Environmental Activism Inspired byInconsistency of Adults
Pedersen: I have been working with major Japanesecompanies over the past 25 years. I refer to innovation that is not mindful of sustainability as “trashinnovation.” Innovation can create new value, butinnovation that only seeks economic value at thecost of the environment has no place in society.
How do you, Ms. Iwano, view Japanese companies
from your perspective?
Iwano: It depends on the company, but there are a
lot of companies that only think about doing business through existing frameworks, and these companies formulate visions of their future based on
their current state. Japanese companies love theword “innovation.” However, it is also common forthese companies to primarily pursue innovation

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aimed at sustaining their current systems andbusinesses.
Pedersen: I completely agree. Those working inexisting systems tend to become prisoners of thesesystems, and therefore have their actions limited by
the systems. Based on this perspective, I would liketo talk about your activities. Exactly what type ofactivities have you been engaged in?
Iwano: I have been involved in the activities of thestudent environmental activist organization Fridays
For Future Japan since 2019. These activities arepart of a movement calling for action to combat
climate change. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, weare currently focusing on efforts online and throughother venues that do not involve close contact withothers. One example of these efforts is a call foraction on climate change via social media. We arealso working together with the government and the29SHAPING A BETTER
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corporate sector, sometimes offering advice on
government policies and coordinating with companies at the forefront of climate action. In addition,
we form connections with Asian environmentalactivists, contribute to the efforts of the United
Nations Climate Change Conference, and take otherflexible actions related to these efforts.
Pedersen: I was born in Denmark. When I was 10, I
remember taking part in a demonstration protesting
the construction of a nuclear power plant. This
demonstration resulted in Denmark making theswitch to wind power. This experience opened myeyes to the importance of action. What was yourcall to action?
Iwano: When I was in my third year of junior highschool, I listened to Severn Cullis-Suzuki’s legendary
speech at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro about
the day our world will change, which she delivered
when she was only 12. In this memorable speech,
Suzuki illustrates the inconsistency between therighteous action adults expect of us and their own
actions. When I was still chewing on this idea, I
learned that Greta Thunberg had begun her climatechange activism in Sweden. Thunberg had put fortha message casting light on the same issue byquestioning why adults think they can tell us what
not to do while they violate their own creeds andpresent an inconsistent stance through the ParisAgreement. Her message matched the one ofSuzuki. When I learned of Thunberg’s activities, I
was around the same age as her, 15. This experience, and the recognition of the inconsistency ofadults, was my call to action.

Importance of Younger Generations
Commenting on Company Impact
Pedersen: I understand that you wrote a very
intriguing essay.
Iwano: You’re talking about my paper on how cutting one’s hair can help combat climate change,
right? I shaved my head for that paper. My hair used
to be down past my shoulders.
Pedersen: That is a really clever idea. What were theresults of this experiment?
Iwano: My thesis was that shaving my head would
affect how much water I used to bathe and theamount of gas consumed to heat the water as well as
my usage of a hair dryer. I measured these metrics
using myself as the sample to determine the impactof shaving my head, and compared the results to30

other options. I found that shaving one’s head has
mid-range benefits for fighting climate change.
Pedersen: It is generally accepted that girls of yourage tend to be interested in things like makeup andfashion. What type of response did you get from thepeople around you when you shaved your head?
Iwano: I get asked that a lot. On the flip side, aspeople often come up and ask me about my hairstyle because it is so unusual, this gives me plentyof opportunities to talk to people about our climate
crisis. Also, I don’t think that we need to limit theideal of feminine appeal to having long hair. This issupposed to be an era in which people can havediverse ideals after all.
Pedersen: That is true. The idea that having long
hair is feminine is an outdated preconception that isincompatible with the values of diversity. Changing
gears, it is said that there is a need to enlist the aidof companies to realize positive social impacts.
What are your thoughts on this topic?
Iwano: Companies have a very large impact onsociety. It is therefore crucial that we let companies
know what the younger generations are thinking.
Companies tend to formulate visions of how togenerate profits, while younger generations put
forth visions of how to address issues facing society. We should thus combine the visions from thesetwo perspectives to create one overarching vision
for all of society and work together as partners inaccomplishing this vision. There is a book by theJapanese scholar of the history of economic
thought Kohei Saito on the subject of capital theory
for a new era. This book is full of insightful critiquesof contemporary capitalism as well as proposals ofalternative approaches based on the visions ofyounger generations. I have had several opportunities to speak with Mr. Saito, but in his book he does
not explain a clear process toward reaching thestated ideals. I think the nitty-gritty about making
and transitioning to the new systems that will be
required to realize these ideals will need to be handled by companies and others in positions of power.
The role of us younger generations will thus be toshare our visions and to engage with this process.
Pedersen: U.K.-born, U.S.-based futurist Hazel
Henderson speaks of building a love economy incontrast to the existing money economy. In the past,earning money was seen as a pursuit completely
separate from exercising compassion or contributing to society. In recent years, however, we haveseen a rise in companies guided by a social purpose.

We should direct society in what that provides the children of the future, in 2050,
with a blank slate to imagine any future they want. It will be the responsibilityof my generation to pave the road to such a future and to provide the alternatives
to existing options necessary for this future.

Saori Iwano31

SHAPING A BETTER
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Iwano: I think that the idea of intersectionality*
will become increasingly prominent in the future.
MARUI GROUP values its stakeholders, and I think
the idea of intersectionality aligns well with stakeholder value.
Pedersen: From one perspective, the ideas of amoney economy and love economy overlap in a way
similar to the categories of intersectionality. I think it
would be great if companies were to team up withNPOs, with each party leveraging their respective
strengths to create a more open environment, andthen eventually if companies were to become more
like NPOs.
Iwano: A successful business is dependent on thepeople involved in the business as well as on consumers and community members. An emphasis on
the interests of these various stakeholders is also
important to decarbonization efforts. I think there isa strong need for MARUI GROUP to exercise

leadership in guiding community decarbonization
efforts together with stakeholders by connecting
various styles of consumption and returning thebenefits of these activities to communities.
* An analytical framework that looks at how attributes of a person’s identity,including race and gender, contribute to discrimination and privilege

Need for New Values Surpassing the Scope ofBusinesses Focused Purely on Resolving Issues
Pedersen: In terms of consumption, I think a change
in perspective, from the prior focus on trade-offs toan emphasis on raising value, will help to realize
sustainability in its truest form. Rather than relying
on trade-offs, by prioritizing the economy to thedetriment of the environment and supply, we should
transform our lifestyles to provide options that
position inclusivity and circularity as the norm. With
this perspective, I look to propose alternative consumption methods and new lifestyles for Japan.

Iwano: Concepts such as sustainability and ethics
have become a normal part of education in Japan,
leading to a rise in awareness on these subjects
among high school students. However, this education is still limited to the idea of resolving social
issues. The option of fair trade only exists due tothe presence of issues of poverty and exploitation.
Similarly, the climate crisis has given rise to theoption of decarbonization. In the future, I think it willbe important for businesses and products to propose new values and offer a path toward embracingthese values, as opposed to simply resolving thecurrent issues we face. By proposing new and better
options, people can make new discoveries and havenew encounters. These possibilities are something
not present in prior issue resolution-oriented
businesses.
Pedersen: MARUI GROUP is a company whosebusiness is founded on stimulating consumption.
For this reason, it will need to change the products
it offers. The question then becomes, how should it
undertake such a change? Ms. Iwano, what are yourthoughts regarding the future of consumption?
Iwano: I don’t shop at stores a lot. Even the clothes
I am wearing today were hand-me-downs from mycousin. The approach of stimulating a desire for
consumption does not seem suited to the comingera. I think there is more potential in promoting
consumption by proposing better options. It
would be great if consumers were able to purchaseitems based on the understanding of what went into
their making, the story of each item, so to say.
Understanding the feelings of the producer createsa kind of synergistic effect for the user that makes
them feel more satisfied with their purchase of theitem in question when they use it.

Diversity in Decision-Making Required for
Inclusive Thinking

I refer to innovation that is not mindful of sustainability as “trash innovation.”
Innovation can create new value, but innovation that only seeks economic value
at the cost of the environment has no place in society.

Peter David Pedersen

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Pedersen: MARUI GROUP has defined impact
targets in its new medium-term management plan.
What do you think of this undertaking?
Iwano: I think the involvement of people like you,
Mr. Pedersen, and representatives of various othersectors in decision-making is necessary for inclusive thinking. This is also important for promoting
decarbonization while preventing the emergence of
new social issues as a result of these efforts. For
example, if we were only to focus on a single aspectof the United Nations Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs), we might be able to effectively

resolve the targeted issues, but it is also highly likelythat we would cause a new issue in the process.
This lack of inclusive thinking is a common trait of
the shallow and performative approach toward theSDGs that many companies are adopting. As thestandards of society change, the definition ofimpact will also change. It is easy to put forth thegoal of decarbonization, but it is important not torigidly define this goal as an unmoving impact
target. Such rigidity will likely kill the potential of acompany. A more ideal approach would be to incorporate people from diverse backgrounds into theprocess of developing action plans in order to makethese plans more impartial.

Creation of a Blank Slate Society That
Lets Children Imagine Their Own Future
Pedersen: What is your goal for the future,
Ms. Iwano?
Iwano: I want to be involved in the decentralizedenergy cycle. I see potential for the application ofdecentralized blockchain technologies to decisionmaking processes. Blockchain is a promising toolfor realizing transparent and impartial decisionmaking. As far as the future I hope to create, I think
it is important for the future to be like a blank slate.
The future we are able to imagine for ourselves inthe current society is restrictive. What I mean to say
is that we should direct society in what that provides the children of the future, in 2050, with a blankslate to imagine any future they want. Moreover, I
hope that society will be such that the future generation of 2050 will be inspired to create a better
future for the generation that follows them, and that
this generation will do the same, giving birth to aconsistent and virtuous cycle. It will be the responsibility of my generation to pave the road to such afuture and to provide the alternatives to existing
options necessary for this future. For this reason, I
want to work toward this vision in various fields
together with individuals from an array of sectors.
Pedersen: Collaboration with companies shouldbe framed in terms of “with,” as opposed to “for.” I
have been working together with major Japanesecompanies for 25 years. I try to deny the obvious
standing of these companies as I work with them.
This is because I think that creative self-denial isvital to companies. Rather than working “for” thecompanies, I want to work “with” them to build abetter world.

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