Holding the 9th Co-Creation Business Contest 'Decabo Challenge 2026 Spring', Aiming for Serious Social Implementation with Decarbonization as the Theme!

Earth hacks Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President: Sumito Sekine), which operates a consumer co-creation platform aiming to develop decarbonization-related products, services, and businesses based on consumer voices, held the business contest 'Decabo Challenge 2026 Spring' where companies and students co-create towards the realization of a decarbonized society. The event was held at a venue in Tokyo over 5 days: March 6 (Fri), 7 (Sat), 13 (Fri), 14 (Sat), and 16 (Mon), 2026. This business contest is a social issue-solving contest where Japan's leading companies, government ministries, and local governments aim to create new businesses leading to the realization of a "Decarbonization (Decabo) Society" together with active university students from Generation Z. In this 9th edition, a total of 8 companies participated: Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd., TOKYO GX ACTION 2026 Executive Committee, Tokyo Tatemono Co., Ltd., Hakuhodo Inc. / Hakuhodo Gravity Inc., Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (SAF), Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Branding), UCC Ueshima Coffee Co., Ltd., and Ricoh x Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo. ■ About Earth hacks 'Decabo Challenge 2026 Spring' The uniqueness of this business contest lies in the fact that students do not merely propose ideas in response to tasks and themes given by each company. Over the course of 5 days, employees of companies, ministries, and local municipalities engage in continuous dialogue with students to co-create ideas with high feasibility. Originating from the unique ideas of the participating Gen Z students, the three parties—companies/ministries/municipalities, students, and Earth hacks—devise decarbonization actions and mechanisms that consumers can engage in positively and enjoyably, leading to real-world social implementation. Including events held with diverse themes and in collaboration with regions and cities, the Decabo Challenge has been held 16 times as of March 2026, with a total of over 120 companies and 1,400 individuals participating. Many diverse ideas with an eye toward social implementation have been born so far. Website: https://co.earth-hacks.jp/decachalle/ ■ Announcement of Award Results: 'Tokyo Tatemono Team' wins the Grand Jury Prize, 'TOKYO GX ACTION 2026 Executive Committee Team' wins the Student Grand Prize, and 'Ricoh x Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo' wins the Jury Encouragement Prize! On March 16 (Mon), the final day, 8 student teams that passed the preliminaries took the stage for the finals and gave presentations to the judges. As a result of strict judging, the 'Grand Jury Prize' was awarded to the Tokyo Tatemono Team! With the theme of creating new value in the Yaesu, Nihonbashi, and Kyobashi (YNK) area, they proposed 'YNK Candle Nights', a project focusing on the "in-between" time after leaving work. Their perspective of transforming the area from a "place to work" to a "place you want to spend time" by leveraging the YNK area's characteristics of diverse corporate concentration and open spaces was highly evaluated as a proposal that achieves both area value enhancement and innovation creation.