Summary

IGES serves as the secretariat of the Regional Zero Carbon Working Group (WG) of the University Coalition for Carbon Neutrality, which was established in July 2021. This session introduced the initiatives by Shinshu University and Hiroshima University, which are highly regarded as advanced cases through the activities of the WG, and then discussed how these advanced cases can be disseminated and deployed.

The first speaker introduced how Shinshu University has been working with various stakeholders within and outside the university for many years, taking advantage of the characteristics of its campuses dispersed throughout Nagano Prefecture, building relationships of trust and promoting cooperation with the local communities, and how graduates employed by local authorities and companies in the prefecture have become a driving force for transition in the region. The second speaker then presented how Hiroshima University, under the Town & Gown Concept, has been working to solve social challenges by applying university’s science, technology and innovation to society, in collaboration with local authorities and with the participation of businesses, with the aim of achieving a sustainable future.

In closing remarks, the speaker expressed the hope that the mutual learning of advanced practices towards carbon neutrality in Japan and abroad, including from Shinshu University and Hiroshima University, could contribute to local development and regional revitalisation.