Microsoft ends support for Internet Explorer on June 16, 2022.
We recommend using one of the browsers listed below.
- Microsoft Edge（Latest version）
- Mozilla Firefox（Latest version）
- Google Chrome（Latest version）
- Apple Safari（Latest version）
Please contact your browser provider for download and installation instructions.
Social Challenge ２
Implementing closed loop recycling
Why it matters
Although our one-way society of mass production, mass consumption, and mass disposal has brought affluence and convenience to our lives, it has brought about various problems such as the creation of massive amounts of refuse, illegal dumping and concern about the depletion of natural resources. To resolve these issues we must first review how companies manage their businesses as well as our social and economic systems, and shift to a closed loop society.
What can be accomplished
In an effort to realize a future with closed loop recycling, the NTT Group promotes the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle), working to reduce the amount of materials consumed by our business activities and reuse or recycle the resources that are consumed.
Future vision
We will shift from a one-time use consumption-oriented company to a recycling-oriented one. We will promote the effective use of resources throughout the entire life cycle of products and systems, from procurement to use and disposal.
Business Activity ６
Increasing the reuse and recycling of communications equipment, mobile devices, and other technologies
Our commitment
Promoting the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle), working to reduce the amount of materials consumed by our business activities and reuse or recycle the resources that are consumed
Our objective
99% or higher
FY2030: Recycling ratio of disposed waste generated by the NTT Group
Background and Concepts
The NTT Group has established a target for achieving a 99% or higher recycling ratio of disposed waste generated by the NTT Group by fiscal 2030. We require a large amount of resources in order to sustain our business operations and provide various services including information communication. This is why we have set a target to contribute to both the avoidance of business continuity risks and achievement of closed loop recycling. In fiscal 2021, the recycling ratio of disposed waste was 97.8%. We will continue to work hard to promote the 3Rs toward our goal of 99% or higher. Regarding decommissioned telecommunications equipment, we have achieved zero emissions (1% or lower final disposal ratio of waste) for 18 consecutive years since fiscal 2004.
Business Activity
NTT DOCOMO
Recycling Process for Mobile Phones
Since 1998, NTT DOCOMO has collected used mobile phones from customers at its approximately 2,300 docomo shops throughout Japan, and through various events. Containing gold, silver, copper, palladium, and other metals, mobile phones could be regarded as a valuable recycling resource in Japan with its paucity of mineral resources.
1. In fiscal 2021, we collected about 3.23 million*1 mobile phones, bringing our cumulative total to 121.55 million units collected.
2. In fiscal 2011, the company introduced a new recycling process for pyrolyzing any plastic used in mobile phones to turn it into oil for use as a fuel, after which gold, silver, and other metals are recovered from the residues of this process.
※1 The number of units collected for reuse is included in the figure after fiscal 2015.
Business Activity
NTT Communications
Sustainable Systems Produced by Subsea Cable Recycling
The normal length of subsea cables installed in Japan's territorial waters is 20 to 30 km per cable run, but the cable managed by NTT Communications connecting Kagoshima Prefecture with Okinawa Prefecture is 250 km in length as it passes through various islands en route. The cable went out of service in 2018 and was expected to result in about 850 tons of waste, presenting a significant challenge in terms of environmental impact and disposal costs. Therefore, NTT Communications concluded an agreement with South Africa's Mertech Marine, the only operator in the world capable of completely disassembling subsea cables to the level of raw materials, to develop a new scheme for controlling both environmental impact and disposal costs by recycling 99% of the cable that requires disposal. It is also contributing to creating regional safety nets through Marine Mertech with the employment of unskilled workers and donations to non-profit organizations engaged in initiatives such as supporting impoverished families.
Business Activity ７・８
Reduction in plastics use and promotion of recycling Proper treatment, storage, and management of hazardous waste
Our commitment
Reduction in plastics use and promotion of recycling Proper treatment, storage, and management of hazardous waste
Our objective
Reduction in plastics use and promotion of recycling of plastics including telecommunications equipment, hazardous waste disposed of in compliance with laws and regulations, and ensure proper storage, management, and disposal.
Background and Concepts
The NTT Group is seeking to reduce the use of plastics and promoting recycling. For example, plastic parts of telecommunications equipment such as coverings for branch lines and ready access terminal boxes are used in a closed recycling system in which similar types of disposed covers are recycled into plastics to manufacture new products. We are also seeking to abolish the use of plastic packaging materials for devices used at customers' homes when connecting optical lines such as optical network units (ONU) and home gateway (HGW) units.
Hazardous Waste
For NTT Group operations, hazardous waste as defined by law applies to asbestos contained in waste generated from construction work on relay stations, waste such as transformers and condensers containing PCBs, and lead batteries. These are disposed of appropriately and in compliance with the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law (Waste Disposal Law) as well as other laws and regulations, and the NTT Group does not have a record of disposing of such waste in foreign countries. We also pay meticulous attention to the proper storage and management of equipment containing PCBs and PCB contaminated wastes, and dispose of them with safe and appropriate methods in conformity with the Law Concerning Special Measures Against PCB Waste.
Business Activity ９
Appropriate and efficient management of water resources
Our commitment
Managing water usage and protecting valuable water resources
Our objective
The NTT Group is Reducing its Consumption of Tap Water, and Implementing Thorough Measures Against Leakages of Chemical Substances into Wastewater.
Background and Concepts
Due to the nature of the NTT Group's business, little water is consumed in our operations. In Japan, oneyear domestic and industrial water consumption totaled 25.5 billion m3*1, while the NTT Group's water consumption totaled 4.751 million m3, only about 0.02% of the total for all of Japan. Moreover, our water use is spread out across the country and so we believe our water intake does not have any significant impact on water sources. The NTT Group reduces its consumption of tap water by using recycled wastewater and rainwater. Research centers where we use chemical substances in our research activities implement individual measures against leakages of chemical substances into wastewater. For example, at the Atsugi R&D Center, which carries out research on the physical properties of materials, we have installed equipment to treat chemical-infused waste liquid discharged by the laboratories. Furthermore, we regularly monitor the quality of this wastewater to confirm that it is within legal regulation values. The NTT Group has not been involved in any significant spills.
※1 From the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism website. Actual water use in 2018 (water intake basis) was approximately 79.1 billion m3 per year (domestic and commercial use of water: approximately 15.0 billion m3; water for industrial use: approximately 10.6 billion m3; water for agricultural use: approximately 53.5 billion m3).
Business Activity
Providing People All Over the World with Clean, Safe Drinking Water
NTT DATA Italia has been researching smart water management systems that incorporate IoT since 2016. Through processes such as hackathons, in which various engineers from throughout the company meet to share opinions and ideas, it has developed origAMI (original Advanced Metering Infrastructure). In addition to enabling appropriate monitoring, such as reducing leakage rates by monitoring pipe networks in real time, this infrastructure also functions as a tool for the prevention of accidents by running simulations and accumulating measurement data for each region. Currently it is being used in public works in Italy and we plan to expand its use to other parts of Europe and then Asia.
Business Activity
NTT DATA Services
Water restoration project in Chennai
Waste and other forms of pollution have significantly affected the biodiversity of Lake Ka Nagar Nagar in Perambur, Chennai of Tamil Nadu, India. In light of these conditions, NTT DATA Services worked with the Environmentalist Foundation of India (E.F.I.) constructing recharge wells and removing waste and foreign plants, which helped to improve the environmental conditions of the lake.
Other initiatives
Business Activity
NTT BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
Providing resource recycling solutions for regional foods
Reducing food waste and developing food recycling programs are drawing increased attention around the world these days. One way to address these recycling problems like these is the resource recycling solution for regional foods provided by NTT Business Solutions. Compost created from leftover food is supplied to farms to help grow vegetables and achieve a recycling-oriented community.
Summit, Inc., which operates food supermarkets in the Tokyo area, implemented this scheme at its Setagaya- Funabashi store that it opened in April 2022. Vegetables scraps and other waste are processed at the back dock of the store, where the "Four Stars" is installed to ferment and break down the scraps as part of an efficient raw waste processing system. Building on the positive results achieved at the Setagaya-Funabashi store, Summit is planning to install the system at 20 other stores during fiscal 2022 (expanding to more stores the following years). Recycling scheme processes can remain obscure after the sorting and collection stage. Developing a system that processes waste at stores helps to increase awareness amongst workers, and this scheme is anticipated to help resolve problems related to food recycling.
Ensuring the coexistence of nature and humanity
