| Company Name | EcoNetworks Co. |
|---|---|
| Head Office | 4610 Magino, Midori-ku Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Pref. 252-0186 |
| Founded | July, 2002 |
| Capital | 3,000,000 yen |
| CEO | Takeshi Nozawa |
| Director | Kazuko Futakuchi |
History
In 2002, the year of the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development, EcoNetworks was founded as a partner organization of the NGO Japan for Sustainability, which aspires to create a sustainable society.
EcoNetworks started its business on the two pillars of translations about the environment and consultancy on environmental and CSR reports.
In 2005, Kazunori Kobayashi succeeded Junko Edahiro, the founder of EcoNetworks, as president.
Kobayashi, building on his own freelance experience, decided to aspire to create a network-type organization based on individuals which optimizes the value of working together as a team through maximizing the strengths of individuals.
During 2008 to 2009, on the occasion of Takeshi Nozawa and Kazuko Futakuchi (who lives in Kanazawa) coming on board as directors, our organizational operation transformed into a fully remote type in which individuals work in their own area. With the concept of team sustainability, we build a team in which individuals can engage with their expertise in multiple ways ― regardless of their location.
With the expansion of our network, our areas of expertise have increased from the environment to the wider area of social responsibility and sustainability. Through our worldwide network, our work now encompasses research and analysis, content creation in multiple languages and engagement with stakeholders.
In 2016, Kobayashi left his post, and Nozawa succeeded him as managing director to lead our organization: now, almost 70 partners every year are engaged in a variety of projects.
Profile
Takeshi Nozawa
Managing Director
Takeshi Nozawa is mainly in charge of research and analysis, as well as engagement projects with stakeholders. He helps organizations understand their issues, and how they can tackle on them. As a managing director, he tries to maximize the potential of individual and network-based teams working remotely.
While receiving his bachelor's degree in Chinese, Nozawa took several International Environmental Law courses at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, and participated in civil organizations in the field of education, the environment, international aid, media, and institutional development. He is interested in integrating his experiences of living in France in his childhood and travelling around the world, with engaging in the broad scope of sustainability initiatives and collaborating with diverse groups of people with different specialties.
Kazuko Futakuchi
Director, Language Service Officer
Kazuko Futakuchi is engaged in sustainability-related translation projects, and is responsible for the management and quality control of EcoNetworks’ language service. She is based in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan.
Since 2006, Kazuko has accued more than 10 years of experience in translation project management in the fields of the environment and corporate social responsibility. Prior to joining EcoNetworks, Kazuko was an independent translator for seven years. She was also the External Relations Manager and an English Editor for Japan for Sustainability, an environmental and social portal site from 2005 to 2012, where she developed an interest in inspiring initiatives to find better solutions to environmental and social issues.
Kazuko received her bachelor’s degree from Kanazawa University, where she studied English and American literature. She is interested in further exploring better ways to communicate initiatives on sustainability in Japan and the world to a diverse audience.