Continuing from the previous issue, we will cover the initiatives taken by the three companies that won the Grand Prize at the 10th NTT Group Sustainability Conference.

In this issue, we will focus on Digital Transformation (DX) in fisheries, the optimization of pharmaceutical procurement using inventory prediction, and the carbon neutrality of BOP centers. All the initiatives are innovative and groundbreaking and strike a balance between business and sustainability.

This section provides an overview of each initiative, the points on which they were evaluated, and future prospects.

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1) Realizing Sustainable Fisheries Support through Fisheries DX and Freshness Visualization - Development of the ISUMI Model through Community-based Fisheries DX

NTT East-South Kanto implemented the "ISUMI" model in Isumi City, Chiba Prefecture. It contains:

1) Collaboration between public, academic, private, and financial sectors
2) Highlighting local and societal challenges
3) Personnel development scheme for "local trading companies" that utilize ICT to solve problems.

One of the issues raised during on-site interviews to find solutions to community-based problems was improving fish prices and fishermen's incomes. To address these issues, the company introduced a number of initiatives, including the use of containers with standardized water temperature and water volume to reduce ice consumption, water temperature and salinity sensors to improve freshness and advance bidding times, forklift weighing to reduce lightweight work, and a sales management system to reduce aggregation work, thereby helping to improve fish value and DX fishery operations.

Furthermore, by utilizing "MIRASAL," a device developed by Hokkaido University to visualize the freshness and eating quality of food animals, along with NTT's proprietary freshness visualization technology, visualization of freshness was made possible. This has created a system that enables reduced waste and highly profitable processing and sales. It is estimated that a gross profit margin of approximately 10% can be realized by utilizing the MIRASAL system.

The first point in which this measure was highly evaluated was that the company established the ISUMI Model, identified issues through a market-in and site-based approach, and then worked to DX analog operations that are expected to increase the value of fish and fishery revenues. Secondly, by visualizing freshness using MIRASAL and NTT's proprietary technology, we have created a system that enables reduction of waste and highly profitable processing and sales.

Going forward, NTT aims to implement the ISUMI Model in society and expand it nationwide, so that it can further contribute to solving regional and social issues throughout Japan.

2) Realization of a Pharmaceutical Procurement System without Excess or Shortage through Optimal Inventory Prediction

The initiatives were carried out by NTT Nihilent, which provides consulting and IT services in India, and NTT Innovation Laboratory Israel (NTT Lab Israel), NTT's strategic base for the Israeli ecosystem.

Properly managing and using medicines is an important issue, as the disposal of expired medicines not only wastes the medicines themselves but also risks causing serious environmental problems. Therefore, NTT Nihilent and NTT Lab Israel collaborated with Schneider Children's Hospital and pharmacy services in Israel to provide an algorithm developed by NTT to derive the "use of medicines over a certain period of time" from the "quantity purchased" and "quantity disposed". This made it possible to predict the optimal inventory of pharmaceuticals, and made possible a system that can reduce environmental pollution caused by the disposal of expired pharmaceuticals and the loss of up to US$38,354 worth of old inventory per year.

The key to the success of the project was the application of NTT's proprietary algorithm for predicting the use of pharmaceuticals over a certain period of time, which made it possible to forecast the optimal inventory of pharmaceuticals, thereby contributing to a significant reduction in environmental pollution caused by the disposal of pharmaceuticals and the loss of old inventory.

In the future, NTT will aim for full-scale operation of the service, and expects to expand the scope of utilization to include not only Schneider Children's Hospital, but also neighboring hospitals and the entire healthcare system, both in Israel and abroad.

3) A new form of self-sustaining energy: A Green BPO center that utilizes on-site PPA to enable public-private collaboration for local production and consumption

The initiative was implemented by NTT Data Corporation. Through this initiative, NTT DATA has achieved carbon neutrality for the electricity used in two buildings where NTT DATA Group operates its BPO business in Okinawa IT Shinryo Park (Uruma City, Okinawa Prefecture), the largest concentration area of IT companies in Okinawa Prefecture.

The specific method of going carbon neutral includes the installation of solar power generation equipment based on the on-site PPA model provided by the Okiden Group and the "Uchina~CO2 Free Menu," an electricity rate menu that effectively reduces CO2 emissions from electricity to zero by using non-fossil certificates derived from resources in Okinawa Prefecture. This is a carbon-neutral way to achieve local production for local consumption. The providers of the Uchina~CO2 Free Menu are power generation companies that utilize the power of nature in Okinawa, such as solar and wind power, and biomass power generation companies that burn wood pellets mixed with construction waste generated in the prefecture.

The first point in which this policy was highly evaluated was that, as the only island prefecture in Japan, it overcame geographical conditions that make it difficult to supply electricity from other sources, and through public-private partnership it established a carbon-neutral BPO center that produces locally for local consumption and realized a form of island-style energy. The second is that it demonstrates the strength of NTT Data's Facility Management Division as a group of facility specialists.

To achieve data center carbon neutrality by 2030, the NTT DATA Group will make full use of its unique team of more than 160 facility specialists who hold national certifications in architecture, electricity, and the environment, and will promote bold energy procurement that involves the entire process of building planning, design, construction, and operation with the aim of reducing environmental impact.

^*A system in which the power producer installs solar power generation equipment on the site at the cost of the power producer, and the electricity generated from the equipment, maintained and managed by the power producer, is owned and maintained by the consumer.

4) Creation of new value and realization of a sustainable society

The basic concept of the medium-term management strategy "New value creation & Sustainability 2027 powered by IOWN" announced in May this year is that NTT will continue to take on challenges for the creation of new value and the sustainability of the Earth. Based on this idea, NTT Group is promoting various initiatives to contribute to local communities, society, and the Earth, as shown in the six initiatives introduced in the previous and current articles.

Which company's initiatives will win the top prize at next year's NTT Group Sustainability Conference Awards Ceremony? Please stay tuned!

Announcing the Best Policy! The 10th NTT Group Sustainability Conference
https://group.ntt/en/magazine/blog/conferences_10th/

10th Sustainability Conference
Introducing the 3 Initiatives that Won the Grand Prize (Part 1)
https://group.ntt/en/magazine/blog/conferences_10th_report01/

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NTT
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ntt-pr@ntt.com