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Toray Group conducts educational support activities to guide those who will become the leaders of a sustainable world. These activities include science and environmental programs to spark more interest in science among elementary and junior high school students, as well as career education and Toray plant tours.

Supporting Science Education in Schools (Sending Employees to Teach Classes, Providing Educational Materials)

In order to raise awareness of the environment and interest in the sciences, Toray Group has developed environmental education and science experiment programs that employ some of its products. Delivering these programs, Toray Group employees teach classes at local elementary, junior and senior high schools. In fiscal 2024, Toray instructors conducted in-person classes at 20 schools.
The teachers who hosted school visits by Toray instructors completed a survey, which revealed an extremely high level of satisfaction with the program. One elementary school teacher noted that the students gained a clear picture of how the science they learned in class is utilized in the real world, while having a good opportunity to think about environmental issues. Another elementary school teacher indicated that by learning about the initiatives of a local company, the students gained a greater sense of belonging and community pride. A junior high school teacher said that while boosting their interest and curiosity, the lesson deepened students’ understanding of what they have been learning in class. The teacher also noted that the guest instructor helped students visualize the size of particles that are otherwise invisible. Finally, a high school teacher reported that by learning how Toray’s materials are used in everyday life, the students came to understand science and technology as something familiar and relevant. A similar survey of the Toray employees who taught classes at the schools revealed that it provided a good opportunity to renew their appreciation of Toray Group initiatives, and it was good practice for communicating ideas clearly to others. The feedback confirmed that the program is having a positive impact.
In fiscal 2024, the Group also provided teaching materials and lent laboratory equipment to 53 elementary, junior high, and senior high schools across Japan. The materials are not only used in science classes but, thanks to the creativity of teachers, they have also been used in other classes such as integrated studies, social studies, SDG education, and environmental studies. The materials were described as “a good opportunity for students to discover that science class is relevant to their own lives and the technologies they see around them,” and some schools have repeatedly applied for the program year after year.

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Toray employees delivering science lessons

■ Results of Questionnaire on Science Classes and Teaching Materials Provided by Toray Group

Education Support Activities for Career Education, Company Tours, and Other Programs

In addition to science experiment lessons and environmental education programs, Toray Group continuously conducts educational support activities in response to requests from schools, boards of education, and non-profit organizations. Through initiatives such as career education and SDGs-related classes taught by employees, as well as hosting company visits and plant tours, the Group aims to support children’s learning and assist them in making choices about their future paths. These activities are often carried out in connection with local communities, providing opportunities to expand engagement with society. At Toray Industries, career awareness classes in which employees share their work experiences and student days, SDGs-related classes, and hosting of corporate visits and factory tours are offered to junior high and high school students. Meanwhile, group companies in Japan provide diverse educational support, including tailored in-school classes and hosting of company visits for elementary, junior high, and high school students, leveraging each company’s business and unique characteristics.
Group companies outside Japan also conduct activities for local students to deepen their understanding of Toray’s business and environmental initiatives through classes and factory visits. In fiscal 2024, Toray Composite Materials America, Inc. conducted classes at local schools, while Toray Group in Malaysia, Toray Industries (H.K.) Ltd. (East Asia), and Zoltek Corporation (USA) held science, environmental education, and career awareness classes at Japanese schools in their respective regions.
In recent years, Japanese junior high and high school students have visited overseas group companies, and overseas high school and university students have toured group factories in Japan, contributing to international exchange.

• Chairman Akihiro Nikkaku gave a talk to enhance career awareness at his alma mater's 100th anniversary ceremony (Toray Industries, Inc.)
• Toray Industries hosted visits from junior and senior high school students across Japan and enhanced their awareness of career possibilities and the Group's SDGs initiatives (Toray Industries, Inc. Tokyo Head Office)

• Work experience program for junior high school students (Toray Industries, Inc. Seta Plant)
• Factory tour for high school students (Toray Monofilament Co., Ltd.)

• Employee delivers an elementary school special social studies class on factory work to third grade students (Toray Industries, Inc. Aichi Plant)
• Employee gives a class at a local junior high school (Toray Composite Materials America, Inc)

Toray Program for the Summer Riko Challenge 2024

Toray Industries supports the Riko Challenge initiative led by the Gender Equality Bureau of Japan’s Cabinet Office. In fiscal 2024, at the R&D Innovation Center for the Future located in Toray’s Shiga Plant, the Company once again hosted an event for junior and senior high school students called, "Summer Riko Challenge 2024: Creating a Prosperous Future Society through the Power of Science—Toray's Research Experience Program." The event provided students with the opportunity to learn about Toray research and the science and engineering work that the Company does. Along with a tour of the R&D Innovation Center, the participants made their own rubber stamps using Toray materials, and had roundtable discussions with researchers. The students were able to enjoy meaningful interactions with employees working at various research facilities. The junior and senior high school students who participated in the event completed a survey afterwards, and all responded "satisfied" or "very satisfied." One said it was fun to see equipment they had never seen before and to hear about study fields and other topics in the discussion session. Another student expressed satisfaction in being able to learn a lot about research occupations and universities, and actually became interested in pursuing a science-related career.

• Discussions with researchers
• Group photo

Promoting Communication Between Education and Business Worlds

Workshops at the Science Museum

Since 2012, Toray Industries has been conducting a workshop which uses filtration experiments to examine the importance of the Earth's water at the Science Museum located in Kitanomaru Park in Tokyo, every day that the museum is open. In fiscal 2024, approximately 8,300 people, from young children to adults, attended the workshop.

Supporting the Biology Olympiad

Aozora Science School

Since 2015, Toray Industries has organized the Aozora Science School¹, a hands-on learning program to foster children’s interest in and an affinity for science by offering fun activities to learn about science in the natural environment. In fiscal 2024, 199 elementary school students participated in the program online and in-person. The outdoor activities took place near Lake Kawaguchi, close to Mt. Fuji, and in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture, as part of Toray's 100th anniversary celebrations.
The outdoor program featured unique activities designed to make science fun through play. These included a water purification experiment using Toray's hollow fiber membranes to purify lake and river water, as well as a rocket-building activity.
In the online classroom, students learned using experiment kits sent to them in advance. The activities included one that involved dripping water on a Toray water-repellent textile and observing how water drops roll around on the fabric surface, as well as one using Toray’s nano-layered polyester film PICASUS^™ to create colors.
In both the outdoor and online classrooms, the children were full of lively opinions and questions. They demonstrated a high level of awareness, a natural sense of wonder, and were amazed by their learning discoveries.

1. 1 Aozora Science School: A hands-on educational camp designed by Toray Industries, supervised by Leave a Nest Co., Ltd. and provided by JTB Corporation.

• Students exploring the forest
• Group photo of participants

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Individual Toray Group sites continue to carry out clean-up activities and nature conservation efforts in partnership with their local communities. While helping to raise group-wide environmental awareness, the sites are engaged in practical, community-rooted initiatives such as biodiversity conservation, cleaning of local areas, tree planting, and environmental education. These activities are conducted in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, including employees and their families, local residents, schools, government agencies, and NPOs. Going beyond simply cleaning up the environment, the activities also help instill environmental awareness in younger generations while building trust with local communities.

• Employees once again carried out clean-up activities along Hirokoji Street, near the Nagoya Branch office. In fiscal 2024, Toray Industries had the highest number of participants among the companies taking part in the activity (Toray Industries, Inc. Nagoya Branch)
• Employees participating in the Chirihama Nagisa Clean Campaign, a litter-collection activity at Chirihama Beach in Hakui City—the only place in Japan where vehicles can drive along a sandy shoreline (Sowa Textile Co., Ltd.)

• Participants in a "plogging" event—a litter-picking fitness activity—where a total of 1,600 employees took part (Toray Advanced Materials Korea Inc.)
• Toray participants in the Penang State Government’s plan for "Planting One Million Trees in a Single Day" on Earth Day (April 22). The Group donated 2,000 saplings and assisted with planting (Toray Group Companies in Malaysia)

Toray Group Arakawa Clean Aid

Since 2014, the Toray Industries Tokyo Head Office has partnered with the non-profit Arakawa Clean Aid Forum to hold the Toray Group Arakawa Clean Aid event. This activity involves cleaning up litter along the banks of the Arakawa River, while learning about the impact of rubbish in rivers on the global environment and local ecosystems. However, this activity is not just about picking up trash, but rather gathering and identifying each piece of litter by type on a River Rubbish Survey Card, and then sorting it accordingly. Before the day of the clean-up, participants attended an environmental lecture by the Arakawa Clean Aid Forum. By learning about the current situation for river and marine debris, the impact of garbage on living things, and how living things are connected to our lives, the participants realized the significance of clean-up activities and became more interested in the nature and biodiversity around them. This event is a meaningful way to learn how the problem of plastic waste is connected to our daily lives. In fiscal 2024, the event was held twice, in spring (April) and autumn (October), with a total of 80 employees and family members participating. Both times, participants expressed surprise at the large amounts of litter collected.
A nature observation activity entitled, “Experience the Biodiversity of the Arakawa River” was also held during the two events. Participants observed creatures such as red flower crabs, gobies, and East Asian river prawns, as well as non-native plants. This provided both children and adults an enjoyable opportunity to learn more about the environment. Comments received from the post-activity questionnaire included: "It wasn’t just picking up litter; the information shared at the event deepened my understanding of environmental issues," and "I appreciated being able to learn about the importance of the clean-up at the lecture held beforehand, and I also enjoyed experiencing the local animals and plants through the nature observation.
Going forward, these activities will continue to be carried out as opportunities to further raise awareness and understanding of the environment.

• The nature observation activity enabled participants to observe the various types of wildlife that live in the Arakawa River and to think about the importance of preserving biodiversity.
• Group photo of the clean-up participants

Biodiversity Conservation and Community Contribution Activities at Toray Industries’ Tokai Plant

The Tokai Plant of Toray Industries is promoting activities based on the Toray Group Greening Guidelines in order to maintain and nurture the green space that it has preserved since it began operating in 1971. Based on a deep awareness of the importance of social contribution, the Tokai Plant is expanding its initiatives for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem preservation. As part of these efforts, the plant joined Project Linking Life with One Another², which aims to form an ecological network of corporate greenbelts along the coast of the Chita Peninsula and foster the next generation of leadership. The project works with students, companies, government agencies, and experts from the local community to engage in activities that promote the coexistence of people and nature and the preservation of biodiversity. The plant is working to foster future talent using its green space, such as giving students access to these spaces for environmental research fieldwork. This also plays an important role as a tool for communicating with the local community. In September 2024, the plant participated in an event called LOVE! GREEN DAY 2024, sponsored by the Project Linking Life with One Another, which allows the public to experience the green spaces of participating companies. The facility welcomed 30 participants, including local children and their parents, experts, and the university student members of the project executive committee. Participants were able to interact through factory tours, observing the living creatures in the biotope, and crafting creatures using natural materials such as leaves, branches, and nuts gathered in the green space.

• Exploring aquatic life in the biotope
• LOVE! GREEN DAY 2024 participants

1. 2 Project Linking Life with One Another: A project based primarily in the corporate greenbelt along the coast of the Chita Peninsula that aims to form a network of ecosystems and nurture the next generation of leadership. Led by the student members of the Project Linking Life with One Another student executive committee, the project involves the collaboration of 12 companies, local government agencies, non-profit organizations, and experts who work together on a variety of activities to boost biodiversity in corporate green spaces and raise environmental awareness among local residents. The Project Linking Life with One Another student executive committee received the Prime Minister's Award for the 2020 Greening Promotion Movement, which is awarded to individuals and groups that have made outstanding contributions to the greening promotion movement.

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Toray Group places importance on contributing to the development of a healthy society through sports and has been engaged in sports promotion activities for many years. In addition to supporting corporate sports, initiatives include providing instruction to local children and young people, hosting training camps, and conducting activities to further popularize sports. The focus is on fostering healthy development of mind and body and strengthening ties with local communities.
As part of these wide-ranging initiatives, the Group’s professional teams and employee-based company teams—including volleyball, judo, kendo, and rowing—actively share the appeal of sports across Japan while also contributing to the promotion of community-based sports culture.
The Group’s volleyball team is particularly active in sports promotion efforts, by holding youth volleyball clinics and visiting schools. In fiscal 2024, events were held at 76 locations, with participation by more than 7,000 members of local communities.
In addition to their daily training and competitive activities, the Group’s judo, kendo, and rowing teams also provide instruction and opportunities to interact with local children, maintaining efforts to impart the importance of courtesy and striving to take on challenges. Toray Group’s initiatives outside Japan include sponsorship of events such as the Shanghai International Marathon, supporting local sports activities and expanding the Group’s engagement worldwide.

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Providing volleyball clinics and school visits for elementary and junior high school students near group plants (Toray Arrows, Inc.)

• Instruction for local elementary and junior high school students conducted by the Toray kendo club (Toray Industries, Inc. Okazaki Plant)

Promoting Sports Participation by Sponsoring the Shanghai Marathon

Toray Industries and Toray Industries (China) Co., Ltd. are helping to promote sports in China by sponsoring the Shanghai Marathon. The event is designated as a Platinum Label Road Race by World Athletics, a classification reserved for the leading road races around the world. Toray Group has sponsored the event since its second year and currently provides support as a Founding Sponsor, the highest level of sponsorship.
The 2024 Shanghai International Marathon, the 28th such event, included a wheelchair category for the first time, providing participation opportunities to a wider range of people. On the day of the marathon, approximately 38,000 participants ran through the streets of Shanghai, generating great excitement in the city.
To help make the marathon more sustainable, Toray Group launched a new initiative in collaboration with the Shanghai Marathon Organizing Committee to collect used plastic bottles and recycle them into fiber made under the Group’s sustainable &+^™ (And plus) brand. The plan is to take the recycled &+^™ fiber produced from the bottles collected during the 2024 event and turn them into new items to be used for upcoming Shanghai Marathons.
Through these initiatives, the Group places importance on building relationships with local communities, and has maintained sponsorship activities over many years as part of its contributions rooted in the community.

• Marathon starting line
• Participants racing down a Shanghai street

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Supporting Fureai Concerts

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Based on the corporate philosophy of “contributing to society through the creation of new value with innovative ideas, technologies and products,” Toray Group contributes to society through its business activities, and in other ways as well.
In the area of natural disaster relief, the Group recognizes the importance of providing continuous assistance rather than one-time responses, as recovery in affected areas often takes a long time. Based on this approach, as part of support for those affected by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake that struck in January 2024, the Group continued its assistance activities during fiscal 2024, including financial donations. Group company Suido Kiko Kaisha, Ltd. also provided Makusesu Safety water purifiers for use in emergency and disaster situations free of charge to affected communities. These purifiers are designed to rapidly ensure an emergency supply of drinking water.

As a good corporate citizen, the Group supports local Volleyball Clinic to Support Great East Japan Earthquake Recovery

Since 2013, the Tohoku Branch of Toray Industries has used volleyball as a means of providing support for local reconstruction efforts. In June 2024, a volleyball clinic was held at Tomiya Daini Junior High School in Tomiya City and at Akai Elementary School in Higashi Matsushima City, Miyagi Prefecture. A former member of the Japanese national volleyball team and the Toray Arrows team, Kana Oyama, gave a talk to the sixth graders, and a practical training was provided by fellow former Arrows Mari Horikawa, who now works at Toray Engineering Co., Ltd.
During the training, the students enjoyed creative games and practiced tosses and serves using soft volleyballs. The venue was filled with smiles and excited voices. During her talk, Kana Oyama focused on the theme of “connecting with others” illustrated by passing and receiving a volleyball. She emphasized the importance of being considerate and mindful of others and then using these feelings to connect with them. She was able to convey her message very effectively to the students.

• Kana Oyama (right) and Mari Horikawa (left), receiving a message of thanks from a student representative
• Students listening attentively to Kana Oyama’s talk

Support for Flood Victims

Support for Local Community Development

• In fiscal 2024, five Toray Group companies in Nantong, located near Shanghai, donated a total of 100,000 yuan to a local charity association, an initiative that began in 2012. This marked the 13th year the Group has been supporting this initiative for local development (Five Toray Group companies in the Nantong area)
• Employees participating in the annual Day of Caring community service activity to support local social welfare organizations (Toray Composite Materials America, Inc.)

• Game cards jointly created by visually impaired children and company employees were donated to a social welfare organization in Seoul (Toray Advanced Materials Korea Inc.)
• Unused office furniture, including desks, chairs, and lockers, was donated to a local junior high school [Carbon Magic (Thailand) Co., Ltd.]