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"Sustainability is important to address environmental issues while maintaining the company's profits."

Kyoko Ozawa, School of Social Sciences, Graduated March 2025

Kyoko Ozawa was appointed as the first CFO (Chief Future Officer) (※) of Euglena Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Euglena) when she was a second-year high school student, and has since been advocating environmentally conscious management policies to companies. Since her first year of university, she has served as an advisor to the Marui Group and has appeared on numerous media outlets. In 2021, she was selected as one of Forbes JAPAN 30 Under 30 (30 people under the age of 30 who are changing the world), expanding her field of activity. We asked Ozawa about what first made her interested in environmental issues, her activities to date, and her future goals.

*This is a position at Euglena Co., Ltd. that has been open to applicants from 18 years old or younger since 2019.

When did you start to become interested in environmental issues?

I learned about the SDGs when I was in the second year of junior high school, and I wondered, "Can we really achieve so many goals?", so I started studying on my own. At first, I didn't know which field I should get involved in, but by reading the newspaper, which I had become accustomed to since I was in the first year of junior high school, I absorbed a lot of knowledge in various fields. As I continued to study, I thought that energy and environmental issues would be something I could continue to be interested in and be involved in in the future.

--Please tell us how you were appointed as Euglena's first CFO from among over 500 applicants and what your activities are.

When I was in my second year of high school, I found a full-page color ad in the newspaper looking for a CFO for Euglena. In this age of the internet, the fact that they were spending money to place ads aimed at young people in the newspaper made me think, "This company must be serious," and I applied.

There were two activities: the first was to propose a management policy to Euglena over the course of a year with a team of eight or nine people under the age of 18, of which I was the team leader. The proposal that the team came up with, to use a popular product, PET bottles, made from sustainable materials, was quickly realized through a resolution by the board of directors.

The second was to be interviewed by the media as Euglena's CFO. When I asked them later why I was selected as CFO, they said they appreciated my personality, ability to respond, and flexibility, even when asked questions by many adults. I think that my experience living abroad as an elementary school student and my tough sports club activities gave me the ability to respond to any situation.

Left: At a board meeting I attended as a second-year high school student, proposing management reforms to the management team as Euglena's CFO.
Photo on the right: In 2021, when she was a freshman in college, she was selected as one of Forbes JAPAN's 30 Under 30.

--Why did you choose Waseda University and what did you learn during your four years here?

I wanted to broaden my horizons by interacting with a variety of people with different backgrounds than myself, and I was also attracted to Waseda University because it offers many classes related to the environment. The classes I actually took were "Considering Resources, Energy, and Global Environmental Issues" (GEC course), "Global Trends and Japan's Outlook" (School of Political Science and Economics course), and "Global Business Theory" (School of Social Sciences course) (courses available in Japanese only), and, and they were all very interesting. I was able to convert what I have done up until now into technical terms, which was a great learning experience.

My seminar was not on the topic of the environment.  I joined Professor Shinji Hasegawa's (Professor Faculty of Social Sciences) seminar on the theme of "multinational corporation research." Since I was in high school, I have been proposing environmentally friendly management policies to companies, and in the process, I realized that "sustainability is important." In order to tackle environmental issues while maintaining the company's profits, you need to know the company well, so the in-depth learning about the structure and existence of companies that I did in the seminar is useful in my everyday activities.

At University, she enjoyed watching the Waseda Keio basketball games  with her friends (Ozawa is on the left)

--After entering university, you worked as an advisor for the Marui Group. Could you tell us how you became an advisor and what your responsibilities are?

Hiroshi Aoi, president of Marui Group, who had been following the activities of Euglena CFO, chose me to interview him when he published a book. After the interview, Aoi asked me if I would like to be an advisor for his company. Since I had been proposing sustainable management policies for corporate management up until that point, he appreciated my ability to apply my skills to practical matters and my perspective on future generations, and before I knew it, I had been working as an advisor for four years.

Working as an advisor for the Marui Group

My main activities include participating in decision-making meetings of the advisory committee as a member of the sustainability committee and creating the "IMPACT BOOK", which summarizes Marui Group's social initiatives and achievements for investors.

I also proposed projects that I had thought up to President Aoi once every two months. Projects that have been realized under my supervision so far include holding an SDGs workshop for junior high school students, and proposing a long-term internship at Marui Group, as there are few major companies that hire long-term interns in a world where people are starting their job hunting activities earlier.

--Please tell us your future goals and  give us a message for Waseda students.

I want to understand where to start in solving Japan's fundamental problems. It's easy to express opinions about various social issues, but I think it's very difficult to actually make them a reality, so I want to value seeing the world with my own eyes, going to the locations where these problems are prevalent,, and taking action with my own hands.

Also, it is very important to know the trends of the world, so if you continue to pursue the areas that interest you, I think it will lead to a broadening of your horizons. Also, I highly recommend reading the newspaper, as it gives you a comprehensive source of information!

Ozawa being interviewed

No.893

Interview, text and photography: Waseda Weekly Reporter (SJC student staff)
Shino Watanabe 4th year student School of Education

【Profile】

Traveling in Italy

Born in Tokyo. Graduated from Tokyo Gakugei University Senior High School. In high school, she was a member of the basketball club. Her hobby is traveling, and she makes an effort to learn about the region, culture, and history of the place she visits. She has visited the United States (Hawaii, New York), Canada, South Korea, Austria, Italy, Singapore, Thailand, Spain, and France.

Ozawa's X: @kyokozwa