Orion Group’s Contributions to Society
More Okinawa, forever.

Although the fire in October 2019 destroyed part of Shurijo Castle, we have continued to carry out support activities to ensure that the light of Shurijo Castle’s reconstruction is not extinguished.

• In 2019, we released the first “Shurijo Castle Reconstruction Support Design Can.” We donated a portion of the proceeds from the sale of these cans toward support for the cultivation of the Buddhist pine (chargi) trees that are used as building materials at Shuri Castle.
• Participation in the “Umui no Akari” event.
• In 2021, we embarked on a new initiative to support the promotion of Shurijo Castle and the surrounding Shuri area and Ryukyu culture. In October 2021, we launched “41 Beer” and donated part of is sales proceeds to the Shuri Urban Development Fund, a fund established to solve issues in the Shuri area.

At the Orion Group, we undertake support activities to help children at every stage of their lives, from pre-elementary school to university graduation.

• In September 2021, we held the “Mobile Catch Your Dream” program (sponsored by Junior Achievement Japan, a public corporation) to help 3rd-year students at Nago City Agarie Junior High School create their “future vision (career plan).”
• In December 2021, in conjunction with our participation in “Out of KidZania in Okinawa,” we also provided work experience (hotel work at Orion Group hotels and public relations work for Orion Breweries) to 3rd-year students from Agarie Junior High School.
• In January 2022, we made our 38th annual “New Year’s Money Donation” to 405 facilities within the prefecture, including child welfare facilities.
• We established the Orionbeer Scholarship Foundation as part of the Orion Group’s 60th anniversary celebrations, and we continue to offer scholarships that do not require repayment.
• In 2022, we gave a lecture for 5th- and 6th-grade students at Zamami Village’s Geruma Elementary School about the Orion Group’s SDGs, circular industry initiatives, and social contribution activities.

We have engaged in a variety of social contribution activities through the effective use (composting and animal feed) of malt grains (beer lees), an industrial waste product generated during beer production, and the development and sale of products that utilize materials that do not make it onto the market to combat food waste.

• In June 2021, we launched “Orion The Draft First Batch,” which uses barley grown with Orion Breweries’ “brewer’s lees compost.” Not only did this help us to achieve a “completely circular industry,” but it also provided farmers in the prefecture with a new crop option by using “Okinawa-grown barley” as a secondary raw material.
• In the same month, we launched “WATTA Keitt Mango,” an alcoholic beverage made with Keitt mangoes that do not meet standards and thus cannot be shipped to market, and worked with Tomigusuku City and JA Okinawa to combat food waste in Okinawa Prefecture.
• In the “Ryudai miibai” land-based aquaculture project (Agriculture and Fisheries Integrated Sustainable Land-Based Aquaculture Project) led by the University of the Ryukyus, research is underway to use Orion Breweries’ beer lees as feed for Ryudai miibai fish. In February 2022, the JST (Japan Science and Technology Agency) selected the project for their support program, “Co-Creation Space Formation Support Program (COI-NEXT) Full-scale Type.” We decided that over the next ten years, through this industry-government-academia collaboration, we would put research and social implementation efforts into full-scale operation with the aim of eradicating poverty and hunger around the world.
• Orion Breweries representatives took to the podium at “Okinawa’s SDGs (Learning from the Cases and Initiatives of Local Companies),” an event held in October 2023 and sponsored by the Okinawa Branch of the Japan Sommelier Association, to introduce the efforts of the Orion Group is undertaking in collaboration with the University of the Ryukyus and Corporation Motobu Farm to realize a circular industry.
• We are committed to using ingredients produced in Okinawa. In October 2022, we launched “Orion The Premium,” which uses “Okinawa Yeast OB-001,” a yeast discovered in the natural environment of Okinawa.
• In August 2023, in collaboration with the University of the Ryukyus, we succeeded in the production of hops, the main ingredient in beer, in Okinawa Prefecture and launched “Orion The Craft,” which uses hops grown in Okinawa.
• In March 2024, Orion Breweries released its first fruit wine, “Southern Cross Winery Passionfruit,” using passionfruit grown in Itoman City, utilizing the brewing facilities at Itoman City Tourist Farm. We made the most of the brewing techniques we have accumulated since our inception and the knowledge we have gained about ingredients from Okinawa Prefecture during product development.

The Orion Group is working as one to tackle various activities to protect the beautiful ocean.

• TTogether with local government officials from Okinawa Prefecture, Itoman City, Onna Village, and Ishigaki City, as well as local children and agricultural coordinators, we sowed “green manure sunflowers”in three locations as part of measures to prevent red soil runoff.
• In May 2021, we launched the ”Orion Southern Star Super Refreshing BLUE (Red Soil Runoff Prevention Design Can)”. We used part of the proceeds from the sale of these cans to purchase and donate seeds for green manure sunflowers, which are used to halt red soil runoff.
• In November 2021, as part of the Okinawa SDGs Project (hosted by the Ryukyu Shimpo), we planted vetiver in Itoman City with various local companies, local children, and agricultural coordinators to prevent red soil runoff from farmland.
• In March 2024, we conducted a beach clean-up at Adan Beach in Kunigami Village as part of our CSR activities. In about 40 minutes of cleaning, we collected over 300 kg of garbage, including a “fish box” that had washed up from Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture, which was affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. It was a valuable experience for participants to learn about the horror of earthquakes while protecting the beautiful seas of Okinawa.