The Japan Research Institute, Limited

The Japan Research Institute, Limited (JRI) is inviting food product businesses to enter an "Agri-Food Industry CO2 Emissions Reduction Contest", which it is organizing as a project sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF). Food product businesses will be invited to submit entries based on initiatives for the reduction of CO2 emissions. Prizes will be awarded for innovative and effective initiatives.

1. Background

With global warming now an issue of worldwide concern, Japan, too, is under pressure to come up with measures for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions that will have a visible impact. Against this backdrop, the agri-food industry also needs to introduce effective measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The contest seeks to encourage the agri-food industry to implement such measures by acknowledging the efforts of companies that are striving to reduce their emissions, to foster the will to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the agri-food industry and promote awareness of initiatives with outstanding merit.

2. Outline of contest

An outline of the contest is given at the end of this press release. For details of entry rules, please go to the JRI website at the address given below.

"Agri-Food Industry CO2 Emissions Reduction Contest" URL:
http://www.jri.co.jp/thinktank/sohatsu/agri-food/award/index.html

Organizers	The Japan Research Institute, Limited (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries-subsidized Project)
Scope	Outstanding initiatives aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions implemented by food product manufacturers, food product distributors, and restaurant operators. Entries may be submitted by enterprises or individual places of business. Multiple entries are permitted.
Award categories	1)Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' Prize (up to 2 entries) Awarded to the best initiatives selected from among all entries submitted. 2)MAFF General Food Policy Bureau Director-General's Prize (up to 6 entries) Awarded to the next most deserving initiatives after the recipients of the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' Prize. 3)Outstanding merit prize (Energy Savings category; New Energy category) Awarded to initiatives of outstanding merit. The prize will be awarded to one entry in the Energy Savings category and one in the New Energy category of the contest.
Entry fee	No entry fee
Schedule	February 2, 2009: Deadline for submission of documents for 1st round selection purposes Early February 2009: 1st round selection; notification of results February 20, 2009: Deadline for submission of documents for 2nd round selection purposes Late February 2009: 2nd round selection Early March 2009: Notification of results of 2nd round selection March 19, 2009: Awards ceremony (venue: Keidanren Kaikan)

For more information on the content of this report, please contact Yasufumi Miwa. , the Japan Research Institute, Limited.

Tel: 03-3288-4985

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