“NIKKO Circular Lab“, a project promoted by Nikko Corporation, which operates this web media, received an award from two judges at the “crQlr Awards (Circular Awards)” in November 2021.

The crQlr Awards is a global award organized by FabCafe Global and Loftwork Inc. The awards were held under the three slogans of “an award for action, not fame,” “a circular rather than linear evaluation,” and “an opportunity to gain a global perspective,” and projects and ideas for designing a circular economy were invited from around the world. A total of 204 applications were received from 24 countries, and 19 creators and professionals from Japan and abroad served as judges.

Nikko company has been manufacturing ceramics for over 100 years since its establishment in 1908. On the other hand, in recent years, natural resources essential for the production of ceramics have been depleted due to excessive mining, and the procurement prices of some raw materials have already begun to soar. In addition, the Japanese ceramics business as a whole is in a declining trend, and the traditional linear economy model of mass production, mass consumption, and mass disposal has its limits. To address these issues, the company launched the “NIKKO Circular Lab” in April 2021 with the aim of realizing a more sustainable and recycling-oriented business throughout the entire value chain, from raw material procurement to product design, distribution, product use, and collection.

｜Reasons for the awards by the jury (cited from crQlr Awards )

• CIRamics Prize/ Mohamed Muse Hassan

Involving giant corporations in efforts to raise awareness of circulars is one of the best ways to make the circular economy more widespread. That is why I chose this project as one of my favorite options. Everyone at Nikko Corporation did a great job. The adoption within Nikko of a cross-organizational R&D project that promotes the idea of circular ceramics is an excellent initiative that deserves praise. However, I also wanted to know the results to date and the reactions of employees and other stakeholders, as well as cost and revenue figures. This is very important to verify the long-term sustainability of this initiative.

• Prize for cultivating the mind to treat things with care /Tatsuya Takeda

“Clash!”” Don’t touch it, it’s dangerous!” The tableware that had previously graced the dining table is now transformed into dangerous fragments, “troublesome incombustibles”. Glass and ceramics lose their value the moment they break. This is the fate of these delicate materials. However, the creator does not want his work to end up like this. The effort is not to produce “troublesome incombustibles”. This project was evaluated as a project that should be widely known to the world because it promotes recycling-oriented manufacturing of ceramics and porcelain, which have not been in the spotlight so far, reminds us of the importance of taking good care of things, and reminds us of the creator’s passion for manufacturing.

Credits for crQlr Awards Jury Comments
Ⓒ 2021 Loftwork Inc.
Creative Commons License

The theme of the NIKKO Circular Lab is “Designing a Circular Future 100 Years from Now”. The NIKKO Circular Lab is currently working on projects such as a dish-subscription service and the reuse and upcycling of damaged dishes to other fields. table source will continue to feature the activities of the NIKKO Circular Lab in the future.

[Reference site] crQlr Awards 63 award-winning projects are announced!
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