The Kao Corporation has announced the building of an Eco-Technology Research Center (ETRC), near Osaka, to gather all its environmental research.

The ETRC will be comprised of three research facilities with an approximate aggregate floor area of 23,000 square meters. Construction will start in January 2010 and completion is scheduled for February 2011. Infrastructure investment is estimated to be approximately 16 billion yen.

The building will also house Kao Eco-Lab Museum, located on the ground floor. Exhibition space in the museum will be used to demonstrate Kao’s updated ecological research, and to strengthen the company’s communication function with society.

Kao is also changing its corporate identity with a new logo and a new corporate message ("Enriching lives, in harmony with nature") aiming at steering toward ecology-sensitive management.