Opening the Door to a Sustainable Era Through Dialogue with Generation Z: "Hara-Watte Hara-Ochi SDGs"

Many companies are undertaking various initiatives to achieve the SDGs. How much of this content is actually reaching consumers?

Dentsu Inc. and The Asahi Shimbun jointly launched "Harawatte Haraochi SDGs" in 2021. This initiative brings together students seriously considering the future society and adults earnestly working toward a sustainable society for dialogue centered on the SDGs. Companies aim to deepen mutual understanding and achieve a shared sense of "Haraochi" (a feeling of mutual understanding and agreement) by "opening their hearts" to answer students' questions and discuss their own challenges and approaches to solving them.

This article features a roundtable discussion with participants: Asahi Shimbun's Naonori Imamura, Dentsu Inc.'s Kazuyo Nio, and SEE THE SUN President Miki Kanemaru. They discussed the background behind launching this initiative, challenges in corporate SDGs activities and communication, and insights gained after implementation.

Corporate sustainable activities that cannot be conveyed through traditional one-way communication

──First, please tell us about your work and the roles you played in this project.

Nio: My usual work involves collaborating with various SDGs stakeholders to develop and disseminate information and solutions related to the SDGs. I was involved with "Hara-Watte Hara-Ochi SDGs" from its inception.

Imamura: I serve as Editor-in-Chief of "Asahi Shimbun DIALOG" (hereafter DIALOG). DIALOG is a community blending real and digital spaces where we envision the future alongside younger generations (website here ). For this project, I handled assigning students interested in the food industry and supervised the post-event report articles.

Kanemaru: I serve as President and CEO of SEE THE SUN, founded in 2017 as a corporate venture of Morinaga & Co. We operate a community connecting food producers and create spaces where producers and consumers can meet, tackling social issues within the food sector. This time, through a fortunate connection, I participated in "Hara-watte Hara-ochi SDGs" and engaged in dialogue with the students.

──Could you tell us about the background behind planning "Hara-watte Hara-ochi SDGs"?

Nio: Many companies are working towards achieving the SDGs and realizing a sustainable society. However, I believe the reality is that while it seems like this message is reaching consumers, it actually rarely does. The challenge is that one-way communication, like advertising branding or PR through press releases, struggles to effectively convey the message and gain empathy.

In reality, companies issue numerous press releases, but very few become news articles. Many corporate PR officers struggle with the "problem of releases that don't get through."

Imamura: From the perspective of information recipients, I feel the younger generation today has very high awareness of the SDGs. I believe this stems from a sense of stagnation, crisis, and anxiety about the future. Among them, the young people who gather at DIALOG have particularly high awareness of social issues. Observing them, it seems that the "surface-level" aspects of corporate SDG initiatives do reach them. You're right; companies are putting effort into PR and thinking about how to communicate their initiatives. However, among the younger generation, there's a sense that they see through this a bit – they seem to feel, "It's written in nice words, but what's the real story?"

Kanemaru: At our company, we believe that when advancing future-oriented initiatives in the food sector, we can't just think from the producer's perspective. There are problems in the food field that won't be solved unless consumers change. So, we want to build relationships where we can have enjoyable discussions about future challenges with all consumers, not just young people. To do that, we also wanted them to know we're working diligently. Rather than worrying about not getting our message across, we feel a stronger desire to have more exchanges and build trust.

The SEE THE SUN office, a renovated traditional house in Hayama. Here, we run various projects, including the co-creation community "OUR TeRaSu" connecting producers and consumers, and "Food Up Island," a co-creation community for food manufacturers.

Nio: As Mr. Kanemaru mentioned, we also wanted companies and consumers to truly "meet" each other. In this context, "meeting" means both sides can speak openly and honestly, allowing consumers to genuinely understand the company's vision. Creating such a space for communication is the origin of this project.

Kanemaru: Personally, I believe that honestly saying, "We've succeeded in this area, but we're struggling here," actually builds trust. So, through this project, I hoped that deliberately sharing our company's challenges and realities would foster that trust.

By letting consumers enjoy "seeing behind the scenes," new perspectives and opinions emerge

──How exactly did the project proceed?

Nio: The basic flow was this: first, the company provided us with a lot of information about their sustainable initiatives, including examples of failures. We gave this information to the students as background material beforehand, and then we held the dialogue. The inclusion of failure examples was a key point; the aim was to show these to draw out honest opinions from both sides.

When we spoke with Mr. Kanemaru, we visited the Hayama satellite studio with students who had already reviewed the corporate information, allowing us to delve into deeper topics. Ultimately, based on the pre-shared information and the day's discussions, we formed teams combining employees and students to discuss how the company could improve.

Kanemaru: On the day, I started by sharing my own sense of the challenges facing society. Food-related challenges exist throughout the entire supply chain, from upstream to downstream. They cannot be solved by isolated approaches, or by a single company or individual alone. Furthermore, simply making and selling good products won't change the situation. Japan has many excellent producers, yet they all seem exhausted. It's a shame that while companies compete for customers in a shrinking market, Japan as a whole is also shrinking. That's why initiatives fostering horizontal connections across Japan are crucial, and I conveyed that we want to think about this together.

President Miki Kanemaru explaining SEE THE SUN's initiatives to students.

Regarding sustainability, I conveyed that while "good products at low prices" are often seen as wonderful, behind the "bargain" lies a case where the burden falls on the makers or someone involved. Taking a moment to pause and consider this could change the world. I shared that if students and consumers could find enjoyment in "learning about the backstory," they could think about the makers and researchers, and it would become enjoyable for them too.

Nio: While Hayama's open atmosphere certainly helped, I think it was largely because Mr. Kanemaru truly opened up and had deep conversations with each student individually. After his talk, everyone seemed to have a sudden epiphany. Many students were particularly interested in the idea of competing producers collaborating.

There was also a moment when a student mentioned, "Local specialty products are too expensive to buy," and Mr. Kanamaru responded, "Actually, major brands are too cheap. Why? Because they're making corporate efforts." This connects to the earlier discussion about "good products at low prices." Major companies offering low prices rarely communicate the behind-the-scenes efforts, so consumers and students often miss this perspective. Hearing about it in such a setting helped us understand the system and made for a real discovery.

Kanemaru: Manufacturers and developers aren't solely focused on profit when creating products. While large corporations might seem that way, they invest in factory improvements, packaging development, and technological innovations for long-term preservation to prevent food loss—all to deliver deliciousness to everyone.

Imamura: My impression from observing the students was how many questions they genuinely wanted to ask. Since we shared challenges surrounding Japanese food as background input beforehand, I think they could imagine that solving social issues isn't straightforward. Young people often wonder, "Why don't companies do this?" But seeing the bigger picture, they realized "it's not that simple to solve." That's probably why so many questions came up after hearing Mr. Kanemaru's talk.

Kanemaru: They were definitely very interested in social issues and came up with lots of ideas. Personally, I gained perspectives different from my usual ones. What pleased me most was that when I carefully explained the situation in response to questions like "Why don't companies do this?", they accepted it with a sense of camaraderie. It moved beyond a simple binary opposition, and different viewpoints emerged with "Well then..." Through conversation, I felt they saw us as members working together toward a solution.

In an era where the definition of a "good company" is changing, being open and honest is crucial for communicating a company's vision and initiatives.

──Looking back, what student reactions stood out to you? Also, please share any insights or discoveries you gained from your respective positions.

Nio: I was really happy when one student shared this feedback: "Including this experience, I've come to recognize once again the importance of taking action. I want to live by taking action."

Imamura: While the students are consumers buying products, many mentioned they now want to think about the makers and everyone involved in the process before making a purchase.

Nio: Regarding insights related to SDGs activities, I feel the perception of what makes a "good company" is rapidly changing right now. It's no longer just about whether a company can make tastier products than competitors. There's a growing trend where companies that consider sustainability and the SDGs are seen as good companies. People are increasingly inclined to support companies whose vision they resonate with when it comes to buying and valuing things. Considering this trend, I was reminded how crucial it is to be open and honest, to truly listen, and to learn.

Kanemaru: High-level themes like SDGs, which require collective solutions, are something we can explore together with students. And I believe such initiatives, not limited to SDGs, can be driven based on a company's vision. If the focus is on creating something enjoyable for everyone, rather than just wanting ideas to benefit one's own company, then the same kind of dialogue can happen.

Imamura: Companies typically pursue specific goals in their daily operations, so they naturally possess extensive experience, knowledge, and information in their specialized fields, often placing students in a position where they seek guidance. However, with SDGs, many companies are unsure what to do, and students might actually hold valuable insights. On such themes, I felt companies and students could engage in more level-headed discussions.

That said, even in areas where companies hold more information—like our newspaper company—rejecting students' questions or opinions outright from the start prevents progress. We live in an era of high uncertainty. I increasingly feel that what's demanded of companies now is how flexibly and earnestly they listen to and incorporate the voices of the next generation, transforming themselves without being bound by existing values.

We want to continue creating "spaces for dialogue" to foster corporate engagement and gain core fans.

──Based on this project, could you share any future outlooks or initiatives you're considering?

Nio: I strongly feel that dialogue between companies and consumers is crucial. For companies seeking engagement and core fans, I believe this is a fundamental, vital action. Furthermore, creating such opportunities for dialogue can also help companies discover new ways to contribute to society that might not have been apparent internally. For these multiple reasons, I hope to continue collaborating with various companies through this initiative.

Kanemaru: At our company, we continue working with 6-7 university students who previously collaborated with us on research for the UN Food Systems Summit. We held an output event for that research at the end of June, and the turnout exceeded expectations, allowing attendees to feel the students' passion. We successfully communicated "doing good for society" in a "fun and exciting" way, and it felt like taking the first step toward building the future together with these students.

During job hunting or internships, we tend to view students from the perspective of potential employers. But events like this foster mutual learning and create a flat, equal relationship. No corporate activity operates in isolation; it only comes to life when connected to real people. It would be great if everyone could keep this in mind when planning communications and activities.

Imamura: I always tell the student members participating in DIALOG to be "positive," "flat," and "borderless." A major factor in the success of this project was likely the ability to create a lively, engaging space, aided by the power of the Hayama location. First, we want to spread the basic principles of communication within DIALOG. Then, by effectively using them in collaborative spaces like this project, and continuing to create such spaces, we aim to produce great content going forward.