Creating new social contribution activities
Sustainability Promotion Project – Project Colors

Project Colors is a project within our company that was created to think about how we can contribute to the 17 SDGs. HORIBARIANs from various departments started gathering in 2020 to communicate beyond their scope of work and together, put into action things that they had been wanting to do.

Giving shape to a conceptual model of the future water quality meter

Wanting more people to become interested in environmental issues on a daily basis, regardless of age or knowledge, members came up with the idea of a water quality meter of the future that would allow anyone, from children to adults, to easily measure water quality, a task that had previously been left to experts.
For example, when holding the water quality meter over the target being measured, the image of a character showing the results would be projected onto it, or maybe the meter could be the size of a keychain that is easy to carry or attach to a schoolbag or backpack. Ideas were gathered to make measurement more accessible, and these were shaped into a conceptual design.

Regardless of feasibility, the purpose of this activity was to think about what kind of water quality meter would make measurement more accessible. Our ability to create new value without being bound by existing frameworks is reflected in our product development today.

Teaching children how to measure, using morning glories

Project Colors' educational activities began with hopes to get children, leaders of the future generation, to know about the importance of measuring. As a trial, we first offered a class for the families of HORIBARIANs, using the morning glory, a plant that everyone knows. The color of the morning glory flower tends to turn red when the pH of the petal cells (vacuoles) is acidic, and blue when alkaline. We came up with a plan to use this phenomenon to have children learn about the effects of differences in pH in a fun way.
 
The project started with sowing morning glory seeds. The children were asked to grow morning glories at home. On the day of the class, they watched the color change when they added citric acid powder and baking soda to the juice of the morning glory flowers they had grown, and actually measured the pH of the juice using a HORIBA pH meter. Then, presenting them with the question, "Why does the flower change color?", we helped them become familiar with the concept measuring water quality.

Currently, HORIBA Advanced Techno is engaged in a wide range of educational activities. Members, who want to convey to children the importance of water and the fascination of science, head out to various educational institutions and local communities enthusiastically offering outreach seminars.

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