Biodiversity Conservation and Restoration Initiatives in the U.S.A.

In 1999, Kao U.S.A. built the Bioré Park on its site. The park features woodlands and a pond, providing a habitat for a diverse range of wild birds. It also includes several benches for employees to rest and occasionally hosts in-house events. Additionally, various partner companies are responsible for maintaining and managing the green spaces and the pond within the park.

The park also features a Bucket Garden, which is a rainwater harvesting initiative. This irrigation system utilizes rainwater from the site to automatically water the plants grown in planters in the park.

The Kao Collins Inc. building has a gravel roof, which is a common method of roof protection in the U.S.
Canada geese build nests on this rooftop every April, creating a springtime attraction.

Employees monitor the hatching and growth of the chicks each year. The Canada geese have likely chosen the rooftop as a nesting site for several reasons. First, the rooftop environment resembles a riverbed. Second, the rooftop is located on corporate property, making it easier to protect the eggs and chicks from external threats. Additionally, the rooftop is essentially off-limits to employees.
Kao Collins is discreetly monitoring the ecology of the Canada geese on the rooftop.

In 2019, an employee at Kao Collins proposed the Butterfly Garden Project, with the aim of creating a garden that would serve as a habitat for the threatened monarch butterflies. The project was intended as an Earth Day initiative in collaboration with a local primary school. Popular in North America, monarch butterflies are well-known for traveling like migratory birds between Mexico and North America.

Milkweed is the only plant on which adult monarch butterflies lay their eggs. However, due to its classification as a weed, it is frequently removed from gardens. This removal is believed to significantly contribute to the decline of areas suitable for monarch butterfly larvae. To resolve this, native plant species that are preferred by native butterflies and bees (such as swamp milkweed that serves as a food source for monarch butterfly larvae and grows from seed) are being planted and carefully tended to in a garden located in a corner of a nearby school.

The employees also cultivate milkweed in their gardens, which has earned recognition from the U.S. Monarch Butterfly Conservation. In 2019, they collected seeds, grew them at home, and then transplanted the seedlings into Kao Collins’ flowerbeds. Since then, they have been transplanting milkweed every year. Milkweed takes several years to mature. As a result, they have not yet seen any monarch butterfly larvae or adults. However, they are hopeful that they will see them in the near future. All employees are working hard to create an environment where they can thrive.

Kao Specialties Americas (KSA) in High Point, North Carolina, located in the southeast, has the largest woodlands of all Kao companies. The site is a mixed forest consisting of a variety of coniferous and hardwood trees and is home to various species, including rare wild birds such as the wood thrush, which the state of North Carolina has declared as an endangered species.

A non-paved nature trail has been built around a reservoir located in the mixed forest, where visitors can see a family of geese inhabiting the water’s edge.

In 2021, KSA set a goal to plant 1,000 m² (10,764 square feet) of native wild plants on KSA property by 2025, in addition to its existing biodiversity conservation activities. The primary objectives of this activity are to:

Every November, employees plant wildflowers native to the southeastern U.S. region, which are sourced from local seed farms. In the past, they also planted wildflower seeds in April. However, since most of the mature seedlings were eaten by migratory geese, they decided to only plant in the fall. They have also tried to reduce the problem by mixing cover crops.
During August and September, the vibrant flowers of these plants attract various insects, providing enjoyment for employees and delivery drivers.

To enhance the appearance of key areas on the site and support maintenance goals by providing a food source for pollinators, the employees actively engaged in an annual program of planting personally purchased North Carolina plants.

In June 2023, three raised flowerbeds were built on the property as part of a gazebo project. The aim was to create a peaceful space in nature for employees to have lunch and rest. These flowerbeds were planted with native plants purchased from a local landscaping company. Raised beds are a ground planting technique in which the soil is raised and bulked up. This is done to retain soil moisture and control weeds. The method was introduced to prevent accidental mowing of plants by cultivating the clay soil at KSA from scratch so that it could be raised.