Kobe Institute
Masatoshi TAKEICHI, Director
Environmental policy of Kobe Institute
Kobe Institute campus
Kobe Institute was established in 2002, when the Center for Developmental Biology (CDB) building was completed. It is the central organization within the Kobe Medical Industry City Urban Scheme, promoted by the city of Kobe and we are cooperating with other clinical research and bio-business enterprises in the area. Regarding our environmental policy, it is therefore essential to collaborate with the local government and neighboring organizations. As the core institute of the scheme, we play a leadership role in creating a better environment.
The environmental improvements to our facility that we have made so far have been energy- and resource-saving measures. The wastewater, which used to be released into the pubic sewage system, is now collected in a tank following sterilization and active carbon filtration, and sprayed onto the roof of the laboratory building. This has reduced substantially the cost of air conditioning in summer and the water is also available to be used for amenity plants.
Kobe Institute is located on an artificial island and unfortunately we can hardly say that our environment is natural. Since the completion of the buildings, we have been trying to increase the amount of greenery around our premises, but have not yet succeeded in creating a lush, relaxing environment. This is an issue, not just on our premises, but covering the entire island, and we are continuing to work on that with Kobe city authorities. Generally speaking, administrative authorities in Japan have a rather poor level of awareness when it comes to investing in urban green amenity policies and they also lack budgets. I feel we need to do more to improve the natural surroundings of Kobe Institute.
In order to tackle the environmental issues, we need to acquire an awareness and consideration for the environment in every aspect of our daily lives and social activities, not just being satisfied with complying with the laws and regulations concerned. It is important to realize that the action of each individual matters, the environmental problems are not just for the governments and companies to deal with, and our society as a whole must share this awareness. To achieve this consensus, we must strengthen the environmental awareness campaign. The word ‘eco’ has entered our every day vocabulary, but the general public is still not exactly sure what it means. The governments at all levels also need some education to raise their awareness in order to limit unreasonable destruction of the natural environment and urgent action for legislative preparation is needed in this area. It is lamentable that even the Central Government has sometimes pushed on with environmental destruction on a scale beyond that of the international consensus, for dubious reasons, in ways that only seem to benefit certain organizations.
Research and contribution to the environment
Throughout human history, the development of science and technology has had a dark side: causing global environmental problems. To carve out a path for the 21 Century as the ‘Century of the Environment’, there is no other option than to rely on the power of science. As long as humans seek a comfortable and convenient lifestyle, any recovery of the natural environment on its own is very unlikely. How can we recover and maintain a healthy environment? I strongly feel that we have to approach the problem with a ‘scientific mind’ that surpasses any ideological or emotional thinking, or any traditional attitudes. It is important that scientists help to raise the quality of the environmental awareness among the general public by speaking out and making proposals in the area of their expertise, in an accountable and authoritative manner. And needless to say, promoting scientific and technological innovations with an environmental consciousness is vital to solving this global issue.
The Kobe Institute contains the Center for Developmental Biology (CDB) and the Center for Molecule Imaging Science (CMIS). The scope of their research is not directly aimed at solving environmental issues. However, the biological processes we study is the ultimate example of an energy conservation factory that produces a large variety of activity while using very little energy. I strongly believe that we will contribute to solving the environmental problems through further revelations concerning the phenomenon of life, such as providing the knowledge on how to live with minimum use of energy. The animal embryos we use at CDB are highly sensitive to the environment and I hope that the scientists who observe them learn about the importance of environmental issues in their research.
In conducting our research, we will make sure that we take the environment into consideration as well as complying with the relevant regulations and guidelines. We will strive to reduce our environmental impact by voluntarily reducing the amount of energy and resources we use for research and ensuring its proper management. And I would like to put my energy into educating the younger generation so that they will take environmental problems into consideration in their actions.