Sustainability Vision

Cultivating the joy of expressing oneself with various people, Pentel is advancing various activities with stakeholders with a view to becoming a company that has true value.

Based on our philosophy of “cultivating the joy of expressing oneself,” we have developed writing instruments and drawing and painting materials and supplied them to people all over the world.
If the pace of digitalization accelerates even more from now on, people will come to find more creative ways to live.
Rather than simply enabling work to be conducted more efficiently, it is anticipated that writing instruments and drawing and painting materials will fulfill the role of allowing people to express their sensitivities and support their creativity through writing, drawing and painting.
Moreover, the world today is confronted with numerous challenges, such as competition for resources accentuated by climate change, destruction of biodiversity, environmental pollution arising from wastes, poverty, human rights violations and so on.
Through revitalizing intelligence by means of writing instruments and drawing and painting materials, we aim to cultivate the joy of expressing oneself among people around the world, while at the same time proactively addressing environmental and social issues. In doing so, we aim to help build a sustainable society.

We support the viewpoint that people should move from the linear economy, which has continued to linearly consume resources on the premise of mass production and mass disposal, to the circular economy, which aims for zero waste.
From now on, we will reform our products, services and corporate activities in accordance with the order of priority of the circular economy.

Pentel has been a sponsor of the International Children’s Art Exhibition (ICAE) organized by the Biiku Bunka Kyokai (The Foundation of Art Education in Japan) annually since 1970.
The exhibition, the first of which was held on the site of the Japan World Exposition in 1970, celebrated its 52nd anniversary in 2021.
It is one of the world’s largest children’s art exhibitions, attracting more than about 80,000 entries (approximately 40,000 from Japan and 40,000 from abroad) from 40 countries and regions each year.
Through the children’s pictures that are gathered, we contribute to the growth of sensibility-rich children and building of an affluent society that harmonizes with art.

Since 2014, Pentel has worked on a project in partnership with Canon Marketing Japan Inc. to create opportunities for elementary schoolchildren to make memories of their school buildings slated to be demolished for rebuilding or due to school closure and integration.
In this project, children draw pictures and add colors using their school buildings as a giant “canvass.” 
The project also invites local residents, past graduates, and guardians to participate and experience the fun of “drawing, painting and writing” and “taking photographs,” and it provides opportunities for children to exhibit their latent creativity.
As of March 2022, this project had been conducted at 39 elementary schools around the country, with participation by more than 10,000 children.

Working through NPOs, private groups and so on, we cooperate in sending drawing and painting materials and writing instruments for education purposes to children in developing countries.
Having been founded based on the philosophy that “the children of Japan need education in drawing and painting after the war,” we are proud to have been involved in spreading art and design education in Japan for a long time. 
Children in developing countries will also cultivate the joy of expressing themselves through the provision of drawing and painting materials.

Unlike universal design, which aims to make mass-produced products “accessible” to many people, inclusive design is a design approach that seeks functionality in making products “accessible” to disabled persons too. Moreover,  inclusive design uncovers deeper needs and values and proposes solutions based on the common perspective of “what is truly desired?”
Since 2021, with the objective of embodying Our Vision of “cultivating the joy of expressing oneself,” we have worked on the Inclusive Design Project targeting a diverse range of people “leaving no one behind.”