"Friendly Menu" Initiative Rolled Out Across 71 Company Cafeterias Nationwide -- Promoting Health and Reducing Environmental Impact
Cafeteria menu display at PHD headquarters
The Panasonic Health Insurance Organization's Health Management Center, in collaboration with general affairs representatives at each site, catering providers, and the Corporate Citizenship Division, implemented an initiative to provide "Friendly Menus" that promote health and reduce environmental impact across 71 company cafeterias nationwide from October 1 to October 31.
Alongside this effort, "small contributions" that encourage employees to consider the global environment in their daily lives were promoted across cafeterias nationwide, fostering greater environmental awareness among employees.
What is a Friendly Menu?
A "Friendly Menu" goes beyond health-conscious choices such as reducing sodium and increasing vegetable content. It incorporates ingredients that help reduce environmental impact, efforts to minimize food waste, and energy-saving cooking methods.
Each cafeteria served not only original menus developed by its catering provider but also common Friendly Menus featuring ingredients and recipes recommended by the Health Management Center.
Common friendly menu using cultivated seaweed from Sea Vegetable: Fried white fish with aonori (green laver) tartar sauce
Example of a common friendly menu using soy meat: Sweet and sour pork-style dish with plenty of vegetables and soy meat
Promoting Nature-Positive Practices with Cultivated Seaweed
The common Friendly Menu featured dishes using cultivated seaweed, based on a joint demonstration agreement signed in November 2024 between Panasonic Holdings and Sea Vegetable Company.
Through close collaboration, Sea Vegetable Company and the Health Management Center made it easier to prepare and serve seaweed-based dishes, increasing participating locations from 2 to 31. In addition, posters and other communications were used to raise employee awareness about the role of seaweed in protecting marine ecosystems and advancing decarbonization, further promoting nature-positive initiatives.
Poster about cultivated seaweed (Sea Vegetable)
Visualizing Greenhouse Gas Reductions with Soy Meat Menus
This initiative also introduced a new effort to quantify and communicate the greenhouse gas reduction benefits of switching from animal-based meats to soy meat.
Since the production of beef and other meats has been closely associated with deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions, there is growing interest in plant-based foods made from ingredients such as soy meat.
During the initiative, the common menu featuring soy meat was served at a total of 31 locations, with 3,183 meals provided, resulting in a reduction of 2 tons of CO₂e.
*CO₂e is a unit that expresses the impact of various greenhouse gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide, on global warming in terms of the equivalent amount of CO₂.
Continuing to Address Social Issues Through "Food"
The foods we eat every day are closely connected to social issues such as climate change, resource recycling, regional revitalization, and human rights. As employees use the company cafeteria, our ongoing goal is to help them not only manage their health but also become aware of these broader social challenges. We will continue to develop and offer a variety of menu options to support this vision.
<Related Link> Environmental Activities
