Synecoculture featured in Sony’s sustainability report

The Synecoculture project at Sony CSL was featured in the Environment section of Sony’s sustainability report 2020.

Synecoculture™ 
Conventional agriculture largely focuses on increasing
productivity from a single crop, by plowing top soil, spreading
fertilizer, and applying pesticides based on the characteristics
of the crop. These practices damage ecosystems and
cause environmental problems. Sony Computer Science
Laboratories, Inc. (Sony CSL) is testing applications for
Synecoculture, a sustainable agricultural practice that
highly balances productivity and biodiversity. Synecoculture
eliminates the need for plowing, fertilizing, and pesticide use
that impact the environment, by taking maximum advantage
of the material cycling that occurs naturally in ecosystems,
aiming to create rich ecosystems with a diverse mix of plants
that coexist together and grow lushly. Synecoculture requires
vast knowledge of plant ecology, and for several years
Sony CSL has been conducting tests at a number of farms,
cultivating a blend of plants in order to collect data on plant
compatibility and soil conditions. Sony CSL is also using IT to
develop systems to support greater social ecological diversity
including Synecoculture. The Synecoculture project is directly
related to 11 out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) and is registered as a good corporate practice with
the Japan SDGs Action Platform promoted by the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of Japan.