Response to Natural Disaster
Iwatani has established various measures to assure preparedness for disasters and other emergencies and to ensure employee safety and the continuity of business activities at such times.
To verify employee safety in the event of a disaster, we have adopted a safety confirmation system, which enable us to rapidly confirm the situation. In the area of business continuity, we have established Sustainability Promotion Committee to prepare disaster response. In addition, as necessary in response to a disaster, a headquarters for disaster control may be established to implement swift and appropriate responses based on circumstances. We have prepared and distributed a disaster response manual and distributed satellite telephones and emergency generators to domestic business sites, core LPG centers, and core filling facilities.
Also, each business site in Japan is equipped with emergency food and drinking water and implements periodic evacuation drills. These measures ensure that employees can respond swiftly and calmly to emergencies.
LPG Supports Everyday Life and Business Continuity in the Event of Emergencies
A large-scale disaster can interrupt the supply of electricity, gas, and other lifeline services. To strengthen preparedness for such risks, Iwatani proposes energy systems and equipment using LPG, which does not require supply pipes, to diverse users across Japan, including local governments, hospitals, long-term care facilities, schools, and businesses.
LPG-powered emergency generators provide a stable supply of power to avert power failures and voltage drops. Gas heat pumps (GHPs), LPG-powered air conditioning systems, can be used even during power failures. Iwatani Emergency Energy System, which bundles a disaster-ready LPG bulk storage tank, LPG-powered emergency generator, delivery station (a portable large-scale meal preparation system developed jointly with Rinnai Corporation), and a GHP air conditioning system, makes it possible to provide hot meals, generate supply hot water, and provide heating, air conditioning, and other essential services even if grid-based electricity and city gas are unavailable.
Natural disasters such as typhoons and torrential downpours have grown more frequent in recent years. Equipment and systems that run on disaster-resistant LPG can help people rebuild their lives and communities for rapid recovery following a disaster. They also have key roles to play in business continuity planning (BCP).
MaruiGas Disaster Relief Corps
Established jointly with some 1,400 MaruiGas distributors to ensure rapid LPG recovery in response to disasters, the MaruiGas Disaster Relief Corps is Japan’s largest and most unique nationwide private sector disaster prevention organization. Since its establishment in response to the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, the MaruiGas Disaster Relief Corps has been mobilized more than 32 times.
Deployments have included urgent LPG inspections and recovery work in areas affected by the Fukushima earthquake in March 2022 and the Noto Peninsula earthquake in January 2024. Currently, some 3,600 qualified gas technicians from various companies are members of the MaruiGas Disaster Relief Corps. The organization strives to maintain and strengthen its capacity to respond to disasters through annual concurrent nationwide drills.
Deployment examples
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Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 -
Kumamoto Earthquake in April 2016 -
Torrential downpours in western Japan in July 2018 -
Typhoon Hagibis in October 2019
Saudi Aramco-Iwatani Relief Fund Aids Disaster-Affected Areas
In 2009, Iwatani and Saudi Arabia’s state-run oil company Saudi Aramco established the Saudi Aramco-Iwatani Emergency LPG Relief Program, which provides free portable gas stoves and cassette gas canisters to locations affected by major natural disasters as emergency relief supplies. This fund provided relief in response to the Noto Peninsula earthquake in January 2024. when Iwatani delivered portable gas stoves, cassette gas canisters, and Natural Mineral Water from Mt. Fuji in response to requests from local governments in the disaster areas.
Use of Iwatani’s portable gas stoves, cassette gas canisters, and Natural Mineral Water from Mt. Fuji in Stockpiling for Disasters
It is recommended that households have on hand at least three days’ worth of food, drinking water, supplies for everyday living, portable gas stoves, and cassette gas canisters as emergency supplies in the event of a disaster. As Japan’s leading manufacturer of portable gas stoves and cassette gas canisters and as the supplier of Natural Mineral Water from Mt. Fuji, Iwatani strives to encourage more widespread stockpiling of emergency supplies for disasters. To encourage forming adequate stockpiles of cassette gas canisters and drinking water, we recommend to customers a rolling stock method based on replenishing and regularly using stocks of these items. We also offer Natural Mineral Water from Mt. Fuji J Packs. Ideal for emergency stockpiling, they can be stacked vertically and served even without water-serving equipment.
