Toward the Realization of a Society Free from Inequality (From CSR Report 2009)
Marubeni's Worldwide Scholarship Funds
To support children's education and upbringing in emerging nations, Marubeni has set up scholarship
funds, mainly in the ASEAN region. In Fiscal 2007, as part of the program to commemorate Marubeni's 150th
anniversary, we established two new scholarship funds in Cambodia and Laos, donating $200,000 to each. We also made additional contributions to the three alreadyestablished funds in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia. The history of Marubeni's scholarship funds dates back to 1989 in the Philippines, following which other funds were also established in Vietnam in 1994 and in Indonesia in 1999. These funds promote operations that are in accordance with the child education environment of each country. Marubeni, together with Cia. Iguaçu de Café Solúvel, a Marubeni Group company, set up a scholarship fund in Brazil in 2006. The total contributions to overseas scholarship funds, with new ones established as part of the projects for the 150th anniversary and the expansion of the existing ones combined, amounted to US$3 million in 6 countries. The total number of people Marubeni supports so far has reached 4,000. We will continue to take responsibility as a member of the international community by providing financial assistance for educational purposes.
List of financial contributions
|
Cumulative total of past contributions to existing funds |
New establishments |
Additional contributions to existing projects |
Contributions to new projects |
Total contributions for 150th anniversary projects |
Total |
|
| Philippines | 350,000 | 500,000 | 200,000 | 700,000 | 1,050,000 | |
| Vietnam | 130,000 | 170,000 |
200,000* |
370,000 | 500,000 | |
| Indonesia | 350,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | 550,000 | ||
| Cambodia | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | |||
| Laos | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | |||
| Brazil | 500,000 | 500,000 | ||||
| Total | 1,330,000 | 400,000 | 670,000 | 600,000 | 1,670,000 | 3,000,000 |
| Units: US$ *All capital allocated is spent on the projects without setting aside any amount for fund management. | ||||||
Marubeni-Cambodia Educational Foundation
Phnom Penh University scholarship students at the awards ceremony
In the rapidly-growing ASEAN countries, there are many children and students who have excellent academic performances but cannot receive higher education due to poor family circumstances, as the educational costs in these countries are relatively high. The Marubeni-Cambodia scholarship fund (Marubeni-Cambodia Educational Foundation) was established for economically disadvantaged students who have performed excellently at the academic level at The Royal University of Phnom Penh. In October 2008, the first scholarship awards ceremony was held at the National Phnom Penh University, in which Marubeni Phnom Penh Liaison Office Manager, Hirata, awarded scholarships to 12 students who became the fund’s first scholarship students.
Marubeni-Educational Foundation in Laos P.D.R.
Laotian government, school, and Marubeni officers at the ceremony
The first awards ceremony for the Marubeni-Laos scholarship fund (Marubeni Educational Foundation in Lao P.D.R.) was held in the Laotian capital of Vientiane in October 2008. The fund manages capital of US$200,000 and spends the gains from the capital management on the purchase of textbooks, school uniforms, stationery, and school dormitory equipment, etc. for 355 middle and high school students in Savannakhet and 200 elementary school students in Sepon. The first ceremony held in Fiscal 2008 was attended by Laotian government officials; school masters, teachers, and students of relevant schools; President Jitsukata of Marubeni Thailand Co., Ltd., and other Marubeni officers. (Then) Marubeni Vientiane Liaison Office Manager, Yunoki, handed over school uniforms, stationery, and bedding, including mosquito nets to protect children from malaria and dengue fever.
IPP business and CSR activities in the Philippines
The Marubeni Group has a business history of over 100 years in the Philippines, building deep and diverse relationships in the country. Especially in the IPP (independent power producer) business, Marubeni has been operating several power plants starting with a geothermal power plant (100 MW) in Mindanao in 1997, followed by a San Roque hydropower power plant (345 MW) in 2003 and 3 thermal power plants, which Marubeni acquired in 2006 from Mirant: Sual (1,218 MW), Pagbilao (735 MW), and Ilijan (1,251MW). The total installed generating capacity of Marubeni in the Philippines accounts for 23% of the entire country. Project BEACON is a national project to provide electricity to 100% of homes in the Philippines, (80% in 1999 at the start of the project). The Team Energy Foundation, established in 2001, engages mainly in power-generation-related infrastructure development and CSR activities. It is far from easy to supply power to the remaining 20% of the population in the Philippines, a country that consists of over 7,000 islands. As people in some areas cannot afford to pay for electricity, the Foundation has collected subsidies from the government and NGOs to provide electricity to local communities in a self-reliant and sustainable manner using renewable energy sources such as wind and small-scale hydro and solar power. Moreover, the Foundation has also been engaged in various CSR activities including support for local communities to improve their lives, health and education, and projects to develop professional skills and prevent malaria.
Project BEACON has finished the installation of electric power systems in the last remaining city, Baranguay, in December 2007. The project, as a whole, installed 18,000 km of power cables, 60,000 electric poles, and homebased solar power generation systems for 10,000 households, successfully supplying power to over 1 million people in the Philippines, and thus improving their quality of life.
Marubeni Scholarship Foundation Inc.
The first scholarship fund by Marubeni started in the Philippines. Marubeni currently operates scholarship funds in 6 countries. In 1989, marking the 80th anniversary of Marubeni’s business in the Philippines, (then) Marubeni President Tatsuno announced, as a token of gratitude to President Aquino, the establishment of the “Marubeni Scholarship Foundation Inc. (MSFI).” We established MSFI in the hope of contributing to the industrial and national development of the Philippines through assistance to students. MSFI, among many scholarships run by Japanese companies, is targeted specifically at vocational school students, gaining a reputation for helping them to achieve stable lives by learning professional skills. In Fiscal 2008, MSFI selected 14 schools and awarded scholarships to 91 students, increasing the accumulated number of scholarship students since its founding to 1,879.
