February 26, Fujisankei Communications Group announces Saraya will recieve the Fuji Sankei Business i. Prize.
The award ceremony will be held on April 8th, and will be honored by the presence of His Imperial Highness Prince Akishino and Her Majesty Princess Kiko. The Grand Prize for the Global Environment was created in 1992 by WWF Japan (Honorary President Prince Akishino) in cooperation with Fuji Sankei Communications Group with the goal of creating a symbiotic relationship between industrial development and the environment. It includes a number of awards, Saraya being the recipient of the Fuji Sankei Business i. Prize. Saraya Co., Ltd. is supporting wildlife preservation in Sabah, Malaysia, one of the places where Saraya acquires raw materials for its soaps and detergents.

The first "Biodiversity Japan Award" established by The Japan Ministry of the Environment and the Aeon Environmental Foundation in June, 2009 was awarded to Saraya Co., Ltd. for the efforts in communication with the "YOU CAN PROTECT BORNEO!" campaign. This campaign provides 1% of all Saraya's Yashinomi sales from homes and industrial users to protecting the rainforest along the Kinabatangan River in Sabah, Malaysia. Biodiversity including orangutans and elephants along the Kinabatangan River is being threatened by rapid expansion of palm plantations which are fracturing the natural migration routes of local wildlife.
Saraya's efforts with the "YOU CAN PROTECT BORNEO!" campaign is aimed at providing support to local government organizations and NGOs which have dedicated programs for protecting biodiversity in the Borneo rainforest. This area is regarded as especially important for the orangutan's survival. Almost all of the palm oil and palm kernel oil produced in this area is exported to Japan, and Saraya, a manufacturer of palm kernel oil based detergents and hand soap to prevent the spread of infection, is working hard to counter the problems posed by producing such an important resource for humans.

The award was presented to companies in 8 categories on October, 9th,and we would like to applaud the Kaijima Corporation and Sekisui House, Ltd., members of the B&B Initiative, for recieving "Biodiversity Japan Award" as well.

More Information:
http://www.env.go.jp/en/headline/headline.php?serial=1128
http://www.yashinomi.co.jp/

This year Saraya will be participating in Unicef Japan's Global Handwashing Day events on October 15th as a volunteer partner.
Saraya began in 1952 by pioneering the first medicated soaps, lovingly dubbed “the green liquid soap”, and push-type dispensers in the country, working to protect the health and hygiene of postwar Japan. Now, we are sharing our 50 years of experience and taking part in the planning of the Global Handwashing Day project organized by Unicef Japan.
Every year 8.8 million children around the world lose their lives due to preventable diseases. It is said that handwashing with soap can prevent many diseases such as diarrhea and pneumonia, saving a million children a year.
To raise awareness on correct handwashing, in 2008 Unicef Japan formed a partnership of universities, businesses, international organizations and other entities in the public and private sector to address the worldwide problem of poor water and sanitation. This partnership declared that October 15th would be Global Handwashing Day. On this day last year, over 1,200 million children in 73 countries worldwide learned the importance of handwashing and how to do it properly.
In 2009, Ms. Ryoko Akamatsu, chairwoman of Unicef Japan, announced that “Let’s wash our hands. Let’s hold hands.” would be the motto for Global Handwashing Day and began the project. This year’s events will last from September 16 to October 31, and children all over the country will be given the opportunity to learn about how we can improve sanitation and hygiene all over the world and at home.

Link
Global Handwashing Day
http://www.globalhandwashingday.org/

On June 11th, the WHO officially declared the first flu pandemic of the 21st century. Referring to the update on June 17th, there were 39,620 cases infected with swine flu, including 167 deaths confirmed in 76 countries. However, the WHO has stressed that the reason for raising the pandemic alert level to 6 is due to the global spread of the virus, not its severity.
No matter what the infection route (contact, droplet or airborne), the virus typically spreads from coughing, sneezing or being transferred from contaminated surfaces by the hands to the nose or mouth. Therefore, hand hygiene (see previous articles) and hygienic masks are fundamental to protecting yourself from the current flu pandemic.

Link
The 2009 revision of the phase descriptions by WHO
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/phase/en/

With the situation escalating in at least 9 countries around the world, this morning the WHO has raised the pandemic alert to Level 5.
We remind everybody to protect themselves with regular hand washing, hand disinfectant and wearing hygienic masks. See the post from April 28th for more information on how to protect yourself.

Link
-WHO Swine Influenza Update 5
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_04_29/en/

April 28, 2009
Swine Flu Outbreak Alert

With confirmed reports of human infection of Swine Flu in Mexico and the United States, we strongly urge the active prevention of further transmissions. Regular hand washing, disinfection, gargling in addition to wearing a mask is proven to greatly reduce the spread of both seasonal and pandemic influenza outbreaks. Please see the information attached below (PDF) for more on how you can protect yourself.
Facts on the pandemic swine flu (pandemic flu- facts.pdf)
How to prevent yourself from infection (pandemic flu- prevention.pdf)
Manners to prevent the spread of infection (pandemic flu- manner.pdf)

Stay updated with the WHO and CDC
Links:
The World Health Organization
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/
Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/

April 4, 2009
Saraya Group is Awarded Toyo Keizai Inc.’s Green Reporting Award

On April 4th the Saraya Group was honored at the 12th annual Toyo Keizai Inc. Green Reporting Award Ceremony. The Saraya Group, including Saraya Co., Ltd., Tokyo Saraya Co., Ltd. and Saraya Sangyo Co., Ltd., received the Silver Award for Saraya`s 2008 Sustainability Report, an award shared with one other outstanding company. This is the second year in a row the Saraya Group has received the honor.
The Toyo Keizai Inc. Green Reporting Award is one of the most widely recognized environmental honors a company can receive in Japan. Follow the link to learn more.
http://www.toyokeizai.net/corp/info_e.php

President Yusuke Saraya will be representing our company at the Business and Biodiversity Initiative in Bonn, Germany. Acting as an ambassador for the BCT and ZERI Japan, we hope to garner support for efforts to realize sustainable palm oil production and environmental protection in Borneo. Learn more on our BCT page and at the German Ministry's　website.

SARAYA was founded in 1952 as a hand soap and dispenser company in Osaka, Japan. Over the last decade, our dedicated and talented staff has helped us grow into a global competitor in the health and sanitation industry. As we have done every year since our founding, we continue to dedicate our work to reducing emissions and protecting the environment while promoting new and effective infection prevention methods.

Lakanto is on its way to its North American release. Having been approved GRAS, we will soon be releasing the highly anticipated sugar substitue, Lakanto.

SARAYA will be participating in EPIF 2008 in Hanoi, Vietnam, showcasing our environmentally friendly products including soaps and detergents from our Yashinomi and Arau product lines. Over 300 booths from over 60 organizations worldwide are expected to be on display. Stop by the SARAYA booth, one of the only booths dedicated to hygiene, to see our line of environmentally safe products.

Announcing a new breakthrough in hand hygiene—the Hand Care Program. Healthcare professionals wash and disinfect their hands multiple times a day, we developed Prime Lotion and Barrier Lotion to moisturize and protect your hands from becoming irritated. Find out more on our products page.

Lakanto, our all-natural, zero calorie sweetener, is now available in North America through SARAYA Canada. Dieters and diabetics alike can replace sugar in cooking, drinks, and desserts with no calories and no effect on blood sugar.

After months of planning and design, we bring you our newly updated hompage. Welcome!

We are excited to announce that Acecide, high power disinfectant and medical device reprocessing solution is approved for sale in the Russian Federation.

Lakanto is on its way to its North American release. Having been approved GRAS, we will soon be releasing the highly anticipated sugar substitue, Lakanto.