Feature: Working on Groundwater Recharge Projects

Kumamoto TEC Continues Groundwater Recharging Initiatives

At Sony Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation's Kumamoto Technology Center (Kumamoto TEC), a large volume of water (groundwater) is used in semiconductor production. Kumamoto area, home to Kumamoto TEC, has always been blessed with abundant groundwater resources. However, the decline in groundwater has been a deep concern in recent years, and has been attributed to a decrease in the area of land used for rice paddy cultivation and an increase in the land used for residential purposes. Kumamoto TEC recognizes the importance of groundwater as natural capital, and is involved in continuous efforts to recharge*1 groundwater using neighboring paddies in cooperation with local environmental NPOs as part of its responsibility as a local business. From May through October, Kumamoto TEC uses its water facilities to help fill unused rice paddies with river water, thus allowing the extra water to penetrate into the soil and ultimately replenish the aquifer.

• *1Groundwater recharge refers to the process of water on the surface of the ground (rainwater, river water, etc.) permeating the soil and replenishing the groundwater in the aquifer.

Recharged Groundwater Lauded as an Advanced Example of Biodiversity Conservation

Groundwater recharge efforts at Kumamoto TEC began in fiscal 2003, and in fiscal 2017, 2.31 million m³ more water than Kumamoto TEC's yearly water usage (including tap water and groundwater) was recharged. Activities such as these are called payment for ecosystem services (PES)*1, and they are an important part of protecting natural capital and biodiversity. These efforts have also been noted as an advanced example in the Annual Report on the Environment, the Sound Material-Cycle Society and the Biodiversity in Japan 2014 published by the Ministry of the Environment in Japan. In 2018, these efforts were also recognized as a Japan Committee for United Nations Decade on Biodiversity (UNDB-J) Cooperation Project for its collaboration with the local community to protect biodiversity. Kumamoto TEC is also involved in initiatives to encourage employees to purchase the agricultural crops produced in the groundwater recharge farming areas, thus helping to support local farmers and conserve groundwater resources.

• *1PES stands for "payment for ecosystem services." It means compensating the ecosystem with something equivalent in value or working to conserve the ecosystem in a way that compensates for the services received.