Circular Economy Action policies⑤
Plastics Smart initiative

We are pleased to have achieved zero emissions in our business processes, and in fiscal 2019 we recovered 100% of the plastics used at construction sites, with 18,974 tonnes recycled annually.

At the same time, in order to raise awareness of the need to reduce single-use plastics from day-to-day use among employees, we have been participating in the Plastics Smart for Sustainable Oceans Campaign promoted by Japan's Ministry of the Environment, which calls for the following:

1. No distribution or use of plastic bottles at internal meetings; replace with personal-use bottles or eco-friendly paper cups.
2. Elimination of beverages packaged in PET bottles from vending machines installed in-house.
   
   

After one year of implementation, the verified results reveal that the number of beverages packaged in PET bottles purchased through in-house vending machines (countable amount) was 526,485 in 2018, but only 154,212 in 2019. We have thus achieved a reduction of more than 370,000 bottles, which represents a reduction of about 70%. (In some cases, beverages packaged in PET bottles are required to combat the risk of heat stroke and other such conditions, so a 100% reduction is not achievable.)

Employees have expressed their opinions regarding this campaign, such as the following: “The number of people who bring their own bottles and cups has increased, as have conversations regarding the problem of plastic waste, which has led to greater environmental awareness among employees.”

According to the PET Bottle Recycling Promotion Council, a total of 22.7 billion beverages packaged in PET bottles were consumed in Japan in FY2016. Although the reduction achieved by our efforts is small, we will continue to support the implementation of the Plastics Smart Campaign with other companies and stakeholders.