Moving forward together with Sri Lanka's Farms, Gogo-no-Kocha for the Future
Kirin Gogo-no-Kocha is supported by black tea leaves produced in Sri Lanka. Since its launch in 1986 as the first authentic black tea in PET bottles (*1) in Japan, it has been using black tea leaves produced in Sri Lanka.
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*1Surveyed by Food Marketing Institute, Inc.
Approximately 40% (*2) of the black tea leaves (*3) imported into Japan are from Sri Lanka, and 20% (*4) of these are used in Kirin Gogo-no-Kocha.
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*2-4According to Kirin Beverage research in 2024
Enjoying tea leads to a sustainable future. Kirin aims to realize a sustainable society through support for tea plantations and education. Supported by the nature of Sri Lanka and the efforts of its people, Gogo-no-Kocha will continue to promote a step toward the future.
Toward sustainable agriculture. Support for obtaining Rainforest Alliance Certification
Kirin has been supporting tea plantations in Sri Lanka since 2007. We have focused most of our efforts on helping the farms produce tea in a sustainable manner. One of the ways we are doing this is by assisting the acquisition of Rainforest Alliance Certification* since 2013.
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*This certification is given to farms that are recognized for their commitment to sustainable farming methods while protecting nature and their creators.
Rainforest Alliance Certification is an international farm certification system that strictly evaluates farms for sustainability in terms of social, economic, and environmental aspects. Recognition of social and environmental friendliness increases added value of agricultural products. Farms that achieve the certification are able to increase their revenues, increase the wages of their employees, and improve their educational and health care facilities.
The sustainability of Sri Lankan tea plantations creates a good cycle of continuous production of high-quality tea leaves and delivery of delicious Kirin Gogo-no-Kocha to our customers.
Support for children on farms. Kirin Library to deliver books and expand the learning environment
There is another initiative that Kirin is undertaking for the benefit of children in Sri Lanka. It is the Kirin Library, which started in 2007.
Sri Lanka is a country about 0.8 times the size of Hokkaido with a population of about 22.16 million. The famous tea leaf production areas are located in mountainous and highland areas far from urban areas, and these areas do not have well-developed classroom book collections and libraries. The idea was to donate about 100 books (per school) to elementary schools attended by children of farm workers.
We expanded our support to 12 schools in the first phase (2007-2011), 109 schools in the second phase (2012-2016), and 121 schools in the third phase (2017-2022), delivering books to a total of 242 schools. Through books, we are expanding opportunities for children to learn.
Thinking about the future with children. SDGs Education at Kirin School Challenge
These efforts in Sri Lanka are also being applied to initiatives for children in Japan.
The Kirin School Challenge is a program to think about environmental issues and the SDGs together with junior and senior high school students with the aim of realizing a sustainable society. This initiative, which Kirin has been implementing since 2014, uses a workshop format to convey the importance of nurturing the ability of participating students to identify issues themselves, come up with solutions, and communicate these solutions to society.
The themes discussed are FSC® and Rainforest Alliance Certification for Gogo-no-Kocha. The objective is to develop the ability to organize one's own thoughts and communicate them to one's peers through group discussions and presentations.
As a company, we are continuing this initiative as an educational program to nurture the next generation of leaders, as well as an important activity to contribute to the realization of a sustainable society.
