Yamaha Motor Co has announced today that it has concluded a partnership agreement with the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, which is administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

This marks the first partnership in Japan between a private-sector company and the UNV. Based on this agreement and working through the UNV, one employee will be placed in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) India for a one-year period from August 2016 to July 2017 to support BoP improvement projects through the use of renewable energy.

The Yamaha staffer – Kenji Mori – who is engaged in R&D work at the company’s engine and drivetrain components programme, will be stationed at the UNDP India Office. His duties include conducting surveys on the state of and creation of methods to measure and validate renewable energy spread amongst BoP; conducting performance evaluation, collating implementation technology, and preparing diffusion roadmaps for equipment utilising solar heating; creation of reports to related agencies and publicity materials.

Yamaha Motor, which earns approximately 90% of its consolidated net sales overseas, considers the globalisation of human resources to be one of its highest management priorities. To this end, the company is taking initiatives such as hiring staff of overseas nationalities, bringing employees from overseas Group companies for training in Japan, implementing systems for Japanese staff to train and study overseas, and proactively appointing overseas executive staff.

The company is positioning this initiative to send an employee to the UNV as not only making a contribution to international society, but also creating a platform in which globally-performing human resources can challenge themselves, and therefore plans to continue with this partnership.

Since the 1960s, Yamaha Motor has been growing businesses in developing countries such as in Africa and Central and South America which have made a positive difference to people’s standards of living. The company says it recognises that cooperation with the United Nations will become increasingly important in order to continue business activities which work toward resolving issues in international society.