Special Feature 1: Efforts to Reduce CO₂ Emission

At Yamaguchi Branch of NTT West, bitter gourds were planted at the south area of the two blocks of Yamaguchi Building to create green curtains so as to reduce CO₂ emission by the air-conditioning system. Efforts to maximize the energy conservation effect include positioning of the meshes while taking into consideration the layout of the desks in the office. Challenges were encountered at the initial phase of growing the plants, but with the installation of a new water supply for watering the plants, together with nurturance such as consistent watering every morning and evening on both weekdays and weekends, the plants grew considerably in two months' time with the leaves of the bitter gourd plants covering the four glass surfaces (25m in width and 4m in height). Meanwhile, in Yamaguchi City, there have been ongoing efforts to promote the installation of green curtains, which are effective for reducing CO₂ emission. A Green Curtain Contest has been held yearly since 2010. We came in top in the office category at the 6th Green Curtain Contest in 2015, and were awarded a certificate of merit during the Yamaguchi Eco Park Festival, which was held at the Yamaguchi City Recycle Plaza on October 11, 2015. Also, photos of the beautiful green curtains covering the walls of the Yamaguchi Building were displayed at the Green Curtain Contest Photo Exhibition at the Civic Hall of the Yamaguchi City Office from October 19 to October 30, 2015.

NTT West Group plans to achieve further reduction of CO₂ emission through various endeavors to protect the environment, including the installation of green curtains.

Voices of the Staff-in-charge

Colleagues at the workplace came together to install the green curtains
Chugoku Branch, NTT Business Associe West
Osamu Matsuyama, Administration Officer, Yamaguchi Office

At NTT Yamaguchi Branch, we have been installing green curtains since 2009 as part of the Midori Ippai Project.
While there were some years when the installation was not successful, the experience that we accumulated over the years led to the excellent results in 2015, which won the top award at the Green Curtain Contest held by Yamaguchi City. I would hereby like to thank all my colleagues for their support in installing the meshes, planting the seedlings as well as watering the plants under the hot weather.