Providing Learning Opportunities
School-visit program for environmental education: Nissan Waku-Waku Eco School (Japan)
The Nissan Waku-Waku Eco School was launched in Japan in 2008 as an easy-to-understand and fun way to learn about the environment, which has evolved in many countries and taken off around the world.
In Japan, the program promotes understanding of global warming issues, introduces Nissan's environmental initiatives, and provides children with experiences of the latest environmental technologies through test rides in the Nissan LEAF and other activities. The programs are designed for mainly 11-12 year-old school children to be conducted by Nissan employees. We also prepared materials with instructional DVDs for teachers and online classes via a web conferencing system. The cumulative number of participants in the program in Japan has exceeded 138,000 (as of March 31, 2024). In U.K. and China, Nissan also provide environmental education tailored to each situation.
To Nissan Waku-Waku Eco School (JAPANESE ONLY)
Conveying the Magic of Monozukuri: Nissan Monozukuri Caravan and Nissan Design Waku-Waku Studio (Japan)
Nissan is undertaking various initiatives to pass on the appeal of monozukuri, Japan’s tradition of craftsmanship and manufacturing to future generations. In Japan, the magic of monozukuri is shared by Nissan employees through elementary school-visit programs: the Nissan Monozukuri Caravan and the Nissan Design Waku-Waku Studio. Some 10,000 children participate in the programs every year.
To Nissan Monozukuri Caravan (JAPANESE ONLY)
To Nissan Design Waku-Waku Studio (JAPANESE ONLY)
日産はこれまで従業員ボランティアの提供や資金面にて支援しており、2021年度には＄25,000を「テネシー森林保全プログラム」に寄付しました。日産からの支援は、都市の環境変化への解決策を見出し、健全で持続可能な社会に不可欠な自然や生物多様性を守るというTNCの目標達成に役立てられています。
Plant Tours (Japan)
Our plants strive to become a place that are loved and trusted by the local community, and value engagement with people in the community. Nissan welcome visitors to join factory tours throughout the year. In July 2020, we started an online plant tour using a video conferencing system in order to somehow convey monozukuri experience to children. Online plant tour enables us to show the areas through cameras, which were not open to the public during regular plant tours, and invite elementary school children living in distant areas.
To Nissan Monozukuri (JAPANESE ONLY)
Traffic Safety Awareness Campaign: Hello Safety Campaign (Japan)
Since 1987, we have collected donations from employees for the Hello Safety Campaign, which we launched in Japan in 1972 to contribute to the promotion of traffic safety awareness campaigns near our business sites. In addition, donations to help prevent traffic accidents were sent to children in the neighborhoods of Nissan business sites through local traffic safety associations, municipalities, and other organizations. In fiscal 2019, we created the “Wheel Spinning (Guru-Guru) Exercise” with Niigata University to promote and encourage awareness of safe driving among elderly drivers. This exercise is designed to support mainly elderly drivers in raising their muscle strength and cognitive abilities by making daily exercise a part of their lifestyles so they can continue to drive safely. Not only elderly drivers but also anyone who tends to be inactive and lack of exercise can expect improved physical functions with this exercise.
In March 2024, we announced the opening of the Nissan Heritage Cars & Safe Drive Studio, an innovative metaverse platform designed to educate visitors on traffic safety while offering a unique opportunity to interact with iconic heritage vehicles. This initiative — developed in collaboration with leading universities and the Traffic Safety Future Creation Lab — underscores Nissan's commitment to enhancing traffic safety education through cutting-edge technology.
* VR (Virtual Reality) communication technology that uses a three-dimensional virtual space.
In the metaverse, at the virtual "Nissan Heritage Cars & Safe Drive Studio" functional field of view experience in VR world
To Hello Safety Campaign (JAPANESE ONLY)
Support for the Next Generation: Nissan Children's Storybook and Picture Book Grand Prix (Japan)
Nissan Children's Storybook and Picture Book Grand Prix is a creative children's storybook and picture book contest for amateur authors. The Grand Prix has produced a large number of outstanding works for 40 years since its foundation in 1984. The contest is organized by the International Institute for Children's Literature, Osaka, and Nissan is a co-sponsor as part of its social contribution activities.
Each year, out of nearly 2,000 entries, 38 Grand Prix winners are selected, including one grand prize winner each in the children's storybook and picture book categories. Nissan also publishes the grand prize-winning entries in each category with the cooperation of publisher BL Publishing Co., Ltd. and donates them to the libraries and child care facilities around Nissan offices across Japan. We also donate books to Japanese schools and Japanese language schools near our overseas business sites and have donated a total of more than 280,000 books in Japan and abroad. Supporting the children who will lead the next generation is a theme that Nissan has consistently addressed through its social contribution activities.
To Nissan Children’s Storybook and Picture Book Grand Prix(JAPANESE ONLY)
Sponsorship for an Environmental Awareness Campaign of World Wide Fund for Nature Japan (WWF Japan) and Activities around the World (Japan, China, South America and Canada)
Nissan supported the environmental awareness campaign Earth Hour 2024 organized by WWF Japan by sponsoring the event and calling for employees worldwide to take action to turn off lights, while Nissan’s operating companies in Japan and overseas participated in the lights-off movement.
Employees photo contests and events for employees were hosted in China, Canada, Brazil, and Argentina. Also we engaged in communication through social media by sharing videos, messages and environmental topics globally.
Since fiscal 2019, Nissan Canada (NCI) is an official partner of WWF Canada and participates in environmental fundraising events like the CN Tower Climb (2023). The event supports WWF’s 10-year plan to Regenerate Canada and build a future with abundant wildlife, where nature and people thrive.
* Regenerate Canada: https://wwf.ca/regeneratecanada/
Support for environmental sustainability education and natural habitat revival (U.S.)
Nissan North America (NNA) supports a range of environmental nonprofits through both employee volunteerism and financial contributions. In fiscal year 2023, Nissan donated over $350,000 in support of environmental initiatives. Eighteen volunteer events took place in Nissan operational communities in Middle Tennessee, Dallas, Texas and Farmington Hills, Michigan where hundreds of Nissan employees volunteered time to plant trees, clean rivers, and restore habitats. In addition, over 30,000 students in Middle Tennessee received environmental sustainability education through Nissan Neighbors grantee partner, Urban Green Lab.
Driving safety program support for teenagers (U.S.)
Nissan North America (NNA) provided financial support to ThinkFast ®* programming in 50 high schools in Middle Tennessee, Central Mississippi, and Southeast Michigan in fiscal year 2023. Approximately 10,000 took part in the 2023 ThinkFast experience funded by Nissan. In addition, NNA collaborated with Safe Kids Worldwide®, a nonprofit organization working to reduce unintentional injuries to children ages 0-14, to sponsor Child Passenger Safety Technician certification classes in Central Mississippi. Through donations, employee volunteerism, and safety events, an estimated 5,000 families benefitted from Nissan’s child passenger safety initiatives in FY23.
* ThinkFast®: An interactive awareness game show that educates students about the importance of driving safety.
Developing the Next Generation of Scientists and Engineers (U.S.)
In the United States, Nissan North America (NNA) is investing in the workforce of tomorrow through support of STEM initiatives and technical education training programs. We provide financial support to develop STEM programs for students in elementary, middle and high schools and to support university STEM programs.
In FY23, NNA launched support to Be Pro Be Proud, a mobile career simulator that travels the state of Tennessee to visit high schools with a highly interactive educational experience. In its inaugural year, Be Pro Be Proud visited 70 schools and served nearly 10,000 students.
Also NNA provided financial support to 31 robotics programs for students through partnerships with schools and youth-serving nonprofits in Nissan operational communities in Arizona, Michigan, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. Additionally, employees provide mentorship and volunteer support to many of these programs.
Safe Traffic Circuit (Brazil)
Nissan do Brazil carried out the Safe Traffic Circuit, an educational activity in schools in four municipalities in the South Region of Rio de Janeiro in order to reinforce the theme of safe traffic and sustainable urban mobility. A total of 32 employees volunteered and 405 children participated in this activity.
Open innovation program: Inova-san (Brazil)
In 2019, Nissan do Brasil Automóveis (NBA) launched the program Inova-san aimed at university students in the southern region of Rio de Janeiro. The Inova-san is an entrepreneurial education and open innovation program to solve real problems and to promote social impact on the local community. In 2023, more than 450 students from 16 universities and technical schools participated in projects under three themes: Urban Mobility and Smart Cities, Industry 4.0, and Circular Economy and Sustainable Future.
Providing Educational Opportunities to Children: Nissan Skills Foundation (U.K.)
The Nissan Skills Foundation was established in 2014 in the United Kingdom. As of March 2024, it has provided about 90,000 students with programs on various themes such as environment and manufacturing to inspire the engineers and manufacturers of the future. The Skills Foundation now also supports three International STEM challenges for school children, VEX IQ Robotics, VEX GO, FIRST LEGO League. For all of these activities Nissan supports local teams with equipment, resources and knowledge whilst hosting the regional finals onsite.
In 2022 the Nissan Skills Foundation introduced “Lesson In a Box.” aiming at younger primary school children. In 2023, 43 schools and 74 events took part and 1,694 children receive a box full of STEM related activities related to Nissan and Japanese culture.
NMUK also launched new academy programme in collaboration with a local school and college to raise learners’ aspiration to work in advanced manufacturing and engineering careers by providing opportunity to study high quality curriculum integrated with industry experience and skills. In 2023, 1st cohort of 13 students launched on the 2 years programme.
Education Support for Children and Youth: Nissan Dream Classroom (China)
Since 2013, Nissan (China) Investment (NCIC) has operated the Nissan Dream Classroom educational program, which helps elementary pupils. The program has gradually expanded its area of operation and the scope of its classes to include such topics as the environment, monozukuri, design, painting, intelligent driving and coding, the basics of automotive culture.
NCIC and its joint venture companies in China began holding these classes in 2015, expanding in scale each year and actively engaging in quality educational programs. Meanwhile, NCIC has expanded Nissan Dream Classroom activities toward society to better contribute local communities. Through cooperation with Nissan dealerships, Beijing Auto Museum and local auto shows, the program was offered in various platforms and benefited over 2,230,000 students by the end of 2023.
Meanwhile, since 2020, along with its regular courses, the Nissan Dream Classroom has been offering campaigns such as "Nissan #DrawDrawDraw", which build up a larger platform for children to showcase their learning achievements and unleash their potential. Over 25,500 users participated in the event and experienced up close the innovation and excitement brought by Nissan brand.
The Nissan Dream Classroom program was highly recognized by many parties and won many awards. In 2023, Nissan Dream Classroom won 2 special awards from “CSR China Education Award” which is one of the most influential CSR award in China jointly presented by government, think-tanks, NGOs and media. Also the Nissan Dream Classroom won 2 special awards from “China Sustainability Tribune” and “China Association of Automobile Manufactures”.
The Organizational Measures for Road Safety in Bang Sao Thong District, Samut Prakan Province (Thailand)
The project aims to unite industrial organizations and employees to enhance road safety in the Nissan Motor Thailand (NMT) area and prevent accidents. NMT has been a key partner since 2018 and actively engages in this initiative. The primary goal is to prevent and reduce accidents by gathering and analyzing accident data involving employees. Our observations have highlighted a need for enhanced education on driving laws and regulations, particularly for motorcycle commuters. As a result, we prioritize comprehensive educational efforts in this area. NMT was recognized as one of the top 25 organizations in Thailand and received the 2023 Road Safety Model Organization Award from the Thai government.
Nissan Motor Thailand’s Continued Commitment to Youth Empowerment (Thailand)
In fiscal 2023, Nissan Motor Thailand (NMT), in collaboration with the Embassy of Japan in Thailand, has donated a 2.3-litre diesel engine to the Sirindhorn Children and Youth Training Center. This engine will serve as a valuable teaching tool for vocational training in automotive mechanics, incorporating modern automotive technology for youth currently in the juvenile justice system. This initiative enables them to pursue careers in the automotive industry and make a positive impact in their communities. NMT has been continuously supporting the Sirindhorn Children and Youth Training Center since 2014.
Educational Support from the Nissan Global Foundation (Japan)
The Nissan Global Foundation pursues the vision of realizing a prosperous future society through human resource development by conducting various training programs. The foundation supports science education of the elementary and middle schools and science research meetings which seek to foster logical and scientific thinking skills among schoolchildren and to enhance teachers' teaching skills.
Additionally, aiming to nurture girls who will lead the field of science and technology, the foundation established the “Nissan Global Foundation Rikajo Prize” for elementary and middle schools in Japan.
Furthermore, from fiscal 2019, it started a program to develop the talent of the future and launched a project to create a class designed for future leaders based on joint research with Waseda University. In "Future Leaders Classroom advanced course" for the first time, which evolved from the introduction one held in August 2023, 16 junior high school and high school students participated. They had direct conversations with instructors and engaged in workshops on four themes: "Leadership", "Technology & Innovation", "Artistic Thinking", and "Science Fiction Thinking". They reflected on themselves as future leaders.
To Nissan Global Foundation official website (JAPANESE ONLY)
Yokohama F. Marinos Hometown activity (Japan)
The Yokohama F. Marinos is aiming to make its hometown more vibrant through the power of sports, providing opportunities for all people in local communities to enjoy sports from the bottom of their hearts.
In its hometown (Yokohama City, Yokosuka City, and Yamato City in Kanagawa Prefecture), the team carries out activities such as the “Soccer & Dietary Education Caravan” that convey the joy of physical activity and food education, and classes on traffic safety. In addition, the team established “Yokohama F. Marinos Futuro”, a soccer team for a disabled people and have engaged in activities supporting the affected area of natural disasters.
Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies, Oxford (U.K.)
Founded at the University of Oxford in 1981, the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies is a well-known European center for research on modern Japan that contributes to the promotion of mutual understanding between Japan and Europe.