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ESPEC Foundation for Global Environment Research and Technology

Contributing to Technological Development and Overcoming Global Environmental Problems

Conserving the global environment requires investigating and researching various environmental issues, including climate change, depletion of the ozone layer, acid rain, biodiversity loss, deforestation, desertification, and pollution in the oceans.
The ESPEC Foundation for Global Environment Research and Technology (Public Trust) was established in 1998 for providing partial or full funding for research and technological development toward the conservation of the global environment. Through the actions of the Foundation, ESPEC hopes to help overcome the many issues threatening the global environment.
This page outlines the Foundation’s open call for grant applications. We look forward to choosing from a wide range of applications.

Application Requirements

　

1. Objective

This public trust was established to help overcome various global environmental issues by granting partial or full funding for a wide range of activities geared toward furthering scientific and technological knowledge on the conservation of the global environment.

What is a public trust?

A public trust is an organization that uses property placed in trust banks or other institutions by a person or company with the intent that the property be managed or operated for the benefit of the public according to defined public interest purposes. Unlike private interest trusts, public trusts require licensing from relevant government authorities. The ESPEC Foundation for Global Environment Research and Technology is licensed by the Ministry of the Environment.

[Consignor]
ESPEC CORP.
[Consignee]
Mizuho Trust & Banking Co., Ltd.
Resona Bank, Limited.

2. Application eligibility

All of the requirements must be met for each of the following fields.

Requirements
Applicants must be members of or groups of universities, graduate schools, technical colleges, and their affiliated research institutes.
Research topics must be related to research and technological development toward solving global environmental issues.
Research must be on a single topic and neither previously funded by nor scheduled to be funded by other funds or organizations.

3. Funding amount and duration

  • (1) The total available funding for 2025 is up to 9 million yen to be granted to between 10 and 20 different applications.

    * In 2024, the Foundation approved 17 applications in total (with a funding total of 9 million yen), with each approved application receiving between 400,000 to 600,000 yen.

  • (2) The grant period is generally one year from the grant payment date.

4. Use of grant funds

Grant funds can be used to cover equipment, consumables, travel expenses, and rewards considered expenses related to research and technological development toward solving global environmental issues.

5. Reporting obligations

Grant recipients are required to submit a Grant Research Report (Form 2) and a Grant Fund Usage Report (Form 3) within two months of the end of the grant period based on the application.

6. Selection process

Applications will be carefully reviewed and approved by a steering committee of experts in academia.

7. Steering committee members

Tadayuki Imanaka
Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University; Senior Researcher, Research Organization of Science and Technology, Ritsumeikan University
Junichi Iｍanishi
Professor at Kyoto University, Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies / Graduate School of Agriculture
Kenji Omasa
Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo; Dean/Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Takasaki University of Health and Welfare
Hiroshi Sayama
Professor, School of Policy Studies, Kwansei Gakuin University
Kazuo Matsushita
Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University; Senior Fellow, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)

8. Application method

Download the designated application form (Form 1) for the applicable field by clicking an icon below. Complete the form by entering the required information, and submit the form to Mizuho Trust & Banking Co., Ltd. (see Section 12 below).

9. Application period

April 1, 2025, to May 30 2025 (date by which applications must be received)

10. Grant reception date

August 2025 (expected)

11. Award ceremony

An award ceremony for grant recipients is scheduled for 28 August 2025. Please adjust the schedule.(Location: Kobe R & D Center, Espec Corporation)More details will be provided by Espec Corporation after the grant decision is made.

12. Where to obtain/submit application forms, and contact information

4-1-1 Koraibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0043 Japan
Sales Team 1, Osaka Trust General Sales Dept., Mizuho Trust & Banking Co., Ltd.
Attn: Daichi Kubo, Representative for ESPEC Foundation for Global Environment Research and Technology (Public Trust)
Tel.: +81-6-6201-3145 (Ask for Mr.Kubo), Fax: +81-6-6201-3040

13. Other information

  • (1) Submitted application forms will not be returned.
  • (2) All applicants will be notified in writing of their application results.
  • (3) Results of research funded by the Foundation may be published if deemed necessary by the steering committee and with the approval of the grant recipient. For research published by grant recipients at a conference, in an academic journal, book, or in any other way, the grant recipient should include the following acknowledgment to indicate the research was supported by this grant.
    Field of study
    Acknowledgment in Japanese: “公益信託エスペック地球環境研究・技術基金（エスペック環境研究奨励賞）”
    Acknowledgment in English: “ESPEC Foundation for Global Environment Research and Technology (Public Trust) (ESPEC Prize for the Encouragement of Environmental Studies)”
  • (4) Grant recipients who wish to discontinue their research should contact Mizuho Trust & Banking Co., Ltd. as soon as possible and provide documentation explaining the reason for their desire to discontinue their research. In such cases, funds already granted to the recipient will generally be returned to the Foundation.
  • (5) For information on the handling of personal information, refer to Mizuho Trust & Banking’s Privacy Policy Regarding Customer Information.