Inazawa Building Systems Works

Promoting Harmonious Coexisting in Nature at Our
Business Sites by Initiating Studies on Living Creatures

Managing Rooftop Green Space That Serves as a Habitat for Living Creatures

Inazawa Building Systems Works is located in a wide flat area of Aichi Prefecture that is surrounded by rice fields and residential neighborhoods. In 2007, as an environmental initiative, we developed approximately 5,500 square meters of rooftop green space on the factory roof. Most of the rooftop green space consists of grassland, which places less stress on the building. We initially introduced a wide variety of plant species, but we are now focusing on allowing these species to be naturally replaced by native species from the surrounding area. That is why we are managing the green space without artificial replanting.

Tall grasses such as Japanese silver grass now grow thickly in the rooftop green space. This environment provides an ideal hiding place for living creatures, and wild birds such as eastern spot-billed ducks and gray-headed lapwings fly in from the surrounding rice fields every year. We have observed these wild birds nesting and foraging in the rooftop green space.

We have been working to ensure that these animals can continue to use the grassland. For example, we divide the rooftop green space into several areas and mow them in rotation so that there is always some tall grass. We have been contributing to the conservation of local biodiversity by maintaining and managing the rooftop green space.

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  The rooftop green space is the size of a soccer field. It is designed to evoke the image of three rivers flowing through the region.

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  Every year, several pairs of eastern spot-billed ducks nest and lay eggs in the rooftop green space, and after the chicks grow, they are believed to move to the surrounding rice fields.