CEO Aono will be speaking at the "crQlr Summit 2023 JAPAN - Learning with the five senses, a bottom-up circular economy rooted in the community"!

crQlr Summit 2023 JAPAN - A special tour event to learn through the five senses about a locally rooted, bottom-up circular economy

At Ishizaka Sangyo's sustainable field, Mitomi Konjaku Mura, we will hold a resource recycling factory and satoyama tour, as well as food, music, and talk events. Through these exchanges, we will explore bottom-up solutions for designing a circular economy.

Loftwork Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Mitsuhiro Suwa) and FabCafe Global, a creative community with bases around the world, will hold the "crQlr Summit 2023 JAPAN" event, which will include the "crQlr Awards 2022" award ceremony and a talk session with winners, judges, and experts, on Wednesday, February 22, 2023, at Mitomi Konjaku Mura, a sustainable field operated by Ishizaka Sangyo Co., Ltd. in Miyoshi Town, Iruma District, Saitama Prefecture.

The crQlr Awards 2022, a global award for designing a circular economy, was held in 2022 and received 131 projects from companies, organizations, startups, designers, and other organizations from 30 countries around the world during the approximately two-and-a-half month application period.

The judging panel consisted of five judges, including Ishizaka Sangyo Co., Ltd. CEO Noriko Ishizaka, Mitchell van Dooijeweerd, and Amorpol Huvanandana, along with five members of FabCafe Global, which has bases around the world, to select circular ideas and projects that contribute to daily life, the environment, and the economy. In addition, this year a special award, the FabCafe Global Prize, was established to honor "bottom-up activities" for the community, and four winners were selected.

At the "crQlr Summit 2023 JAPAN," we will hold a talk session with judges, award winners, and experts, as well as a networking forum as a participatory event. This event will provide an opportunity for participants to exchange opinions and consider steps for the future.

The venue, Mitomi Past and Present Village, is located on the grounds of Ishizaka Sangyo Co., Ltd., which recycles construction-related industrial waste, preserves vast satoyama forests, and engages in environmental education activities. Noriko Ishizaka, one of the judges for the crQlr Awards 2022, has set a vision for zero-waste design at Ishizaka Sangyo, and has achieved a reduction and recycling rate of 98% of the industrial waste brought in.

During the talk session, we will look at trends and challenges for realizing a circular economy in the future together with this year's winning projects, judges, and experts.
Additionally, we will share the challenges and lessons learned from the winning projects, which are bottom-up activities rooted in the local community, and hold a discussion on how to utilize these in other regions.

In addition to learning from the talk session, you can also experience crQlr (Circular) with all your senses by touring Ishizaka Sangyo's resource recycling factory, enjoying lunch and snacks at Ishizaka Organic Farm, and listening to music in a place that creates circularity.

In addition to holding the "crQlr Summit 2023 JAPAN," we also plan to hold an online "crQlr Summit" connecting FabCafe Mexico City (Mexico) and FabCafe Toulouse (France).

Please join us as this is an opportunity for mutual learning among those striving to realize a circular economy, and an opportunity to connect with those working on the front lines.