AGC Glass Europe (AGEU), which manufactures and sells raw and processed glass for the construction, automotive and solar industries, communicated its environmental message at the Brussels Half Marathon, “20 km through Brussels,” in spring 2009. Twenty athletes from all sites in Belgium wore the green T-shirt of the campaign “Going Green” which is aimed at creating a climate conducive to tackling environmental problems by all employees. They appealed the importance of being conscious of preserving our planet and launching to market products that respect the environment. No less than 27,000 participants (individuals or companies) joined this marathon and it was covered by a large number of media organizations. Therefore AGEU could communicate its environmental message to a lot of people.

AGEU members who joined the Brussels Half Marathon

AGC Flat Glass North America sponsored a country music concert at “Fun Fest,” an event held every July in Kingsport, Tennessee. The company has been supporting Fun Fest for 27 years as a means of returning its profits to local communities. This event has developed into one of the largest in the United States, receiving as many as 180,000 visitors a year.

Stage of the concert

As part of CCI,* AGC Chemicals Europe welcomed pupils from a local primary school to its site. They enjoyed a tour of the production areas and the laboratories, where they tried out some laboratory techniques such as filtration. The pupils were especially thrilled when an engineer of the company appeared dressed as Father Christmas! The head teacher of the school commented, “The project has far exceeded my expectations.”

* CCI stands for Children Challenging Industry, a joint programme implemented by the Chemical Industries Association and the University of York to promote science education and deepen mutual understanding between the chemical industry and schools.

Employee appearing in a Father Christmas costume

Endowed Chair Established at University of Oklahoma (United States)

In the fall of 1989, Asahi Glass and the Asahi Glass Foundation jointly donated 500,000 dollars to the University of Oklahoma in support of the University's celebrations of its 100th anniversary in 1990. Combining our donation with another donation of 500,000 dollars from an educational fund managed by the Oklahoma state government, the University set up the Asahi Glass Chair in Chemical Engineering. Asahi Glass has been participating in exchanges with the State of Oklahoma and the University of Oklahoma since it acquired shares and joint management rights in Woodward Iodine Corporation, an Oklahoma-based company producing iodine, in 1984. (Asahi Glass has since been participating in the management of the company in cooperation with Ise Chemicals Corporation, another AGC Group company.) The Chair was established as a result of these long-term exchanges. The University's School of Chemical Engineering is engaged in basic and application research into surface active agents and the development of technologies using ion exchange membranes, both of which are closely related to Asahi Glass's chemicals business.