Our Goal

Aiming for a CFC-free society

The Network engages in various activities aimed at creating a society free of dependence on CFCs.

To achieve that, the Network engages in various activities. We are serious about our mission. At the same time, we strive to make the activities of the Network interesting and enjoyable for all our members.

Below is our NPO Corporation Memorandum of Intent.

NPO Corporation Memorandum of Intent

Once seen as a miracle substance, CFCs we now know have a damaging effect on the protective ozone layer of the stratosphere and, as a result of CFCs, harmful UV rays are raining down on the earth’s surface. In 1985 this phenomenon became internationally recognized when the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer was established.

Following on from this international convention, the Montreal Protocol was subsequently signed as an agreement by countries in the national community on regulations concerning the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances. To ratify this protocol, Japan established the Law Concerning the Protection of the Ozone Layer and established regulations for the production and consumption of specified CFCs. Unfortunately, however, there are no laws to date prohibiting the release into the atmosphere of various CFC emissions produced prior to enactment of this law and consequently CFCs used in air conditioners and other devices are released into the atmosphere at the time of their repair or disposal.

To put an end to CFCs and other harmful emissions in the environment, the Japan’s Save the Ozone Network came into being when Takasaki City University of Economics Professor Fumi Ishii enlisted supporters and held a symposium to promote CFC recovery at Takasaki in Gunma Prefecture. Since then, the Network has been involved in various projects to promote CFC recovery and disposal nationwide. As a result, we have expanded into a network consisting of about 50 local bodies nationwide engaged in activities to protect the ozone layer.

However, because efforts to establish a system for recovery at sites handling air conditioning equipment have not resulted in specific measures, there is an attitude in government that in such cases the release of CFCs into the atmosphere is permissible. Since its inception, the Japan’s Save the Ozone Network has been appealing to government authorities and Diet members to establish legislation to make such emissions illegal (1994). With the support of Diet members, we are stepping up our activities which include the holding of a study group within the Diet.

Furthermore, because of concern that there may be an increase in harmful UV rays due to depletion of the ozone layer, we have since the establishment of the Network informed the general public of the effects of UV rays and measures concerning UV rays. We have also promoted projects in various areas of Japan particularly for persons involved in the upbringing of children. These activities include the holding symposiums and publishing picture books.

At the end of 1995, the production of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) was completely phased out in developed countries as the Montreal Protocol came into force. However, the conviction of the Japan’s Save the Ozone Network regarding the importance of the recovery and disposal of CFCs contained in existing devices has not in any way diminished and we are continuing our activities. Furthermore, HCFCs (hydrofluorocarbons), HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons), and PFCs (perfluorocarbons), which were developed as substitute gases for CFCs, do not have chemical structures that originally existed on earth. As substances that do not easily decompose or circulate in the ecological systems of the earth’s environment in a natural way, it has become clear that these gases cause global warming and contribute to the pollution of earth’s environment. As an organization involved in CFC issues, Japan’s Save the Ozone Network holds the belief that it is our duty as an environmental protection organization to raise the awareness of the general public and persons involved in government about these gases which were developed as substitutes. Therefore, as of the Third Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Kyoto in 1997, the Network has been committed to promoting activities including international conferences in cooperation with related organizations both in Japan and overseas.

Through our activities, surveys and research to date, the Japan’s Save the Ozone Network recognizes that our way of living and our industrial methods which depend on artificially-generated chemical materials such as CFCs are a fundamental problem. It is our ultimate mission to work toward a CFC-free society which no longer utilizes CFCs. To achieve this, the Japan’s Save the Ozone Network has determined that the three following tasks will be its main duties in society: (1) to promote the recovery and disposal of CFCs that are produced and used, (2) to demand that laws be established to support such efforts, and (3) to make widely known to the general public the harmful effects of CFCs and measures for dealing with them.

As a result of continuing these activities for over seven years, the Japan’s Save the Ozone Network has had the opportunity to establish organizations to promote activities to protect the ozone layer in regions throughout Japan. During this time, our Network has come to be known as an influential organization for environmental protection where a large number of people interact in meaningful exchanges and achieve “at a local level activities that take into consideration the entire earth”. With a desire to promote these activities as a responsible organization, we hereby establish Japan’s Save the Ozone Network as an NPO corporation.

Hiromi Nishizono
Founding Representative
Specified Nonprofit Organization Japan’s Save the Ozone Network

August 19, 2000