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Preserving Ecosystems
Our Policy and Approach
The NTT Group's businesses have an impact on ecosystems. For example, the telecommunication equipment essential to our business operations, particularly telephone poles and communications cables, is installed in the natural environment. At the same time, we are sometimes affected by the ecosystem, for example cables are bit and damaged by squirrels or crows. Ecosystems full of biodiversity provide the bounty, such as water and food, which is critical to supporting all forms of life on earth, and thus require a proper approach for conservation.
Through our business and employee activities, we will promote initiatives related to conserving ecosystems within nature, in order to ensure that nature is left untouched for future generations.
Organization for Implementation
Please see the following page:
Targets and Performance
The NTT Group is working on activities that contribute to preservation of the ecosystem by harnessing our information dissemination capabilities.
Major Efforts
Study of the Dependence and Impact On Nature in the NTT Group
Study of potential dependencies and impact
At the NTT Group, we have many business facilities throughout the world, and while these facilities have a dependence on nature, they also have impacts on it.In order to further our efforts to coexist with nature and create the sustainable society NTT seeks, we have identified and assessed nature-related impacts, dependencies, risks, opportunities, and more in accordance with the TNFD.
The status and analysis of our efforts are categorized into four pillars: Governance, Strategy, Risk and Impact Management, and Indicators and Targets.
Governance
The NTT Group regards the promotion of sustainability as an important management issue, and items of particular importance, such as creating environmental targets for the entire Group, are decided based on discussions held with directors.
Under the governance structure overseen by the Directors, we have established a Sustainability Committee (chaired by the President) directly reporting to the Board who manages the activities policies throughout the Group as well as their progress. Sustainability-related policies are determined by the Board of Directors after going through the Sustainability Committee.
Strategy
First, an investigation using the requests and more from ENCORE1 and external stakeholders was held regarding latent dependencies and impacts on nature that targeted the mobile communications business, the regional communications business, the ICT business, and the renewable energy business for each of the major types of business facilities used by the NTT Group.
As a result, in the raw material procurement stage, the impact of raw material procurement (metal mining) on the surrounding ecosystem, the impact of water withdrawal, and the impact of pollution on the surrounding environment were cited as impacts common to the businesses.
In the installation and operation stages, the main impacts for each major type of equipment included the impact of water withdrawal at data centers and the impact on the surrounding ecosystem at other telecommunication facilities and renewable energy generation facilities.
Furthermore, in the disposal stage, the impact of pollution to the surrounding environment was cited.
Based on these results, we conducted a regional assessment of NTT Group's directly operated facilities at the installation and operation stages to study the actual impact on nature, as well as an overview of nature-related risks at the metal mining stage. In the disposal stage, the NTT Group is already making efforts to recycle waste, and over 99% of dismantled telecommunications equipment is recycled; therefore, the impact is considered minor and was not included in the scope of this survey.
1ENCORE (Exploring Natural Capital Opportunities, Risk and Exposure)
Items with an asterisk indicate a dependency on nature; items without an asterisk indicate an impact on nature.
Risk Management and Assessment
Installation and operation
Regional assessment of directly operated facilities
For the regional assessment of directly operated facilities at the installation and operation stages, we conducted a sampling survey by facility type of all NTT Group power generation facilities (solar and wind power) and telecommunications facilities (data centers and other telecommunications facilities) (tot. approx. 100,000 facilities).
As a result of this study, it was found that a few percent of the samples of power generation facilities, data centers, and other telecommunications facilities were located in areas with a high degree of importance to biodiversity. Also, regarding water, certain data centers located outside Japan were found to be located in areas with high water stress. For power generation facilities (solar and wind power), taking into account the significant assumed dependencies and impact on nature as well as the diverse nature of trends in these areas, going forward we will consider whether there are any risks that may arise for facilities located in areas of high importance and what additional measures can be taken. For data centers, since the impact on nature is thought to be mainly due to water withdrawal, each operating company collects data on water intake and the surrounding water environment, and individually confirms that risks arising from these factors are minor. Due to the nature of the business, telecommunications equipment are distributed throughout Japan, including minor equipment such as utility poles and remote terminal boxes. For telecommunications equipment located in areas of high importance, in order to ascertain whether incidents of concern have occurred in the surrounding environment due to impacts of the facilities, we exchanged opinions with stakeholders such as park administrators and facility administrators of certain protected regions in order to ascertain the current situation. As a result, it was found that no incidents of concern had occurred for the equipment regarding which interviews were held, and it was determined that potential business risks are low. Going forward, in addition to scrutinizing the degree of impact on other regions, we will consider all possible countermeasures including voluntary rulemaking in the event of new installations and alleviating environmental impact.
In addition to the equipment subject to the sampling survey, a research institute conducting research using chemical substances has individually installed wastewater treatment facilities and implemented measures to prevent leakage of chemical substances, and regularly monitors water quality to confirm that the quality of wastewater treated by these facilities is within legal limits. Furthermore, there have been no major leaks by the NTT Group, and we have determined that the risk of environmental pollution from these facilities is low.
Results of regional assessment of directly operated facilities
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| Locations in regions with high biodiversity risk | Locations in regions with high water stress | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Power generation equipment(solar and wind power) | A few percent of each facility type are applicable | None | |
| Telecommunications equipment | Data Centers | 1 applicable data center outside Japan | |
| Other telecommunications equipment (base stations, relay stations, telecommunications buildinas, etc.) |
None | ||
Note: Facilities owned by NTT Ltd. outside Japan are not included in the regional assessment.
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Image of the biodiversity assessment tool (IBAT)
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Image of Aqueduct
Remarks
Biodiversity risk: Using the biodiversity risk assessment tool (IBAT), it was assessed whether the location was in a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA).
Water Risk: Using the WRI Aqueduct 2019, it was assessed whether the location was in an area that has High or Very High Baseline Water Stress.
Raw materials procurement
Overview of nature-related risks at the mining stage of metal raw materials
For the mining stage of metal raw materials, we focused on copper, iron, aluminum, and rare metals as four major types of metals, and conducted an assessment of the primary mines in the major producing countries with large exports to Japan in terms of biodiversity and water risk. As a result of this assessment, we found that biodiversity risk is high at a very large number of mines, and water risk is also high in about half of the mines, which could have significant impacts on nature.
In order to promote efforts in the supply chain for the realization of a sustainable society, the NTT Group requests that suppliers comply with the NTT Group Supply Chain Sustainability Promotion Guidelines and NTT Group Green Procurement Standards, and conducts company and product evaluations as well as periodic surveys and studies of the status of environmental conservation efforts. Within these frameworks, we will strengthen our dialogue with suppliers regarding the conservation of nature and biodiversity, and discuss strengthening our efforts to conserve biodiversity and regional water resources in upstream processes, including the mining of metal resources.
Status of biodiversity risk and water risk associated with primary mining areas for metal resources
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| Metal type | Primary equipment used for | Ratio of locations in regions with high biodiversity risk | Ratio of locations in regions with high water stress |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper | Power lines, Telecommunications equipment |
91.7% | 41.7% |
| Iron | Steel towers, antennas, building materials |
93.8% | 12.5% |
| Aluminum | Steel towers, antennas | 84.6% | 69.2% |
| Rare metals(tantalum) | Electronic parts | 85.7% | 57.1% |
| Total | 89.6% | 41.7% | |
Remarks
Biodiversity risk: Using the biodiversity risk assessment tool (IBAT), locations were judged as high risk if they were within 70 km of a KBA or conservation area.
Water risk: Using WRI Aqueduct 2019, production bases were judged as high risk if there was "High" or "Very High" Baseline Water Stress.
Also, ratios are based on the number of survey sites per metal type (major mines in primary producing countries) as the denominator. For rare metals, tantalum was selected in light of the availability of location data in primary statistics, keeping in mind the raw materials of electronic parts in the telecommunications business.
Regarding risks and opportunities for major sustainability-related items, matters are brought to the Sustainability Committee, then reported to the Board of Directors. Additionally, as part of the NTT Group's risk management process, the Business Risk Management Promotion Committee--headed by the senior executive vice president-- along with the Group Business Risk Management Promotion Committee are central to establishing and operating a PDCA cycle for risk management, with the aim of anticipating and preventing the occurrence of the potential risks close at hand and minimizing losses in the event that risks do materialize. The processes concerning the identification, evaluation, and management of sustainability-related risks are integrated into the NTT Group's overall risk management framework.
Indicators and Targets
This fiscal year, an overview of a business facilities screening is being published, while for risks, disclosures are being expanded by adding TCFD. Opportunities are being investigated by disclosing examples of solutions and more using ICT.
For indicators and targets that have not been disclosed, core metrics indicated in the TNFD Recommendations, European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), and more will be taken into consideration as future investigations are carried out.
Environment
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