Biodiversity Conservation
Basic policy
Corporate activities receive the benefits of ecosystem services provided from natural assets, so preserving biodiversity is essential from the viewpoint of sustainable corporate management.
In our business activities and supply chain, including telecommunication services in areas containing important biodiversity, such as nature reserves designated by international treaties and national laws and regulations, we give sufficient consideration to the impact on ecosystems. When significant impacts on important ecosystems are anticipated, we apply the mitigation hierarchy (avoid, minimize, restore & offset) will be applied.
In order to ensure a sustainable planet with functioning ecosystems for future generations, we ask our business operations, as well as all of our tier-1 and non tier-1 suppliers, to cooperate with our biodiversity initiatives. We will also collaborate with external partners to promote biodiversity conservation initiatives through our business activities and social contribution activities.
Major initiatives
Protecting the marine
environment
through activities
to conserve coral
As part of our environmental conservation efforts which include measures to combat global warming and ecosystem maintenance, we launched the “Future and Coral Project” in July 2019 together with Onna Village in Okinawa Prefecture and many companies and organizations to plant coral and actively conserve the environment.
In order to protect the corals and maintain the future ecosystem of the planet, this project collects donations and purchases coral seedlings with such funds, arranges volunteer tours to plant those seedlings and activities to clean up nearby beaches, and disseminates information about coral growth, cooperating companies, and the activities of the organization.
The Sunshine Aquarium, which has been involved in coral conservation and research, has provided academic support since the project's inception, and we will continue to deepen our relationship.
Promotion of cell phone recycling
The mainstay of our business, cell phone bodies, batteries, and chargers, contain many valuable resources such as rare metals (palladium, cobalt, etc.), gold, silver, and copper, which are rarely produced in large quantities.
Rare metals are not only important raw materials, but are also difficult to substitute for, and new mining will affect biodiversity in the areas where they are produced due to mine development and other factors.
Rare metals can be collected more efficiently by recycling than by mining, which is why we promote the collection and recycling of used cell phones. By promoting recycling, we contribute to the prevention of environmental destruction such as deforestation caused by new mining.
Initiatives to prevent
the deforestation
In addition to complying with applicable laws and regulations regarding the prevention of deforestation, we support global efforts to minimize the impact of our business activities on forest resources by participating in initiatives, promoting paperless operations, and actively using certified paper. We also conduct an annual sustainability procurement survey of our suppliers to continuously monitor the direct and indirect impacts of our business activities on the ecosystem, including the impact on forests.
Declaration of Zero Paper for Internal Operations
As part of our efforts to promote paperless operations, we have been actively working to reduce the amount of paper used for internal and external procedures, reports, meetings, etc., and have succeeded in significantly reducing printing by 90% compared to fiscal 2011, under our “Declaration of Zero Paper for Internal Operations,” which was launched in April 2012. In April 2021, we will further promote paperless operations and reduce our impact on deforestation through a project to computerize stamping for the purpose of improving operational efficiency.
Afforestation activities by employees
With the cooperation of the NPO CCC Furano Nature School led by Satoshi Kuramoto, we have been holding an original program called “Summer Holiday Nature School for Parents and Children” for our employees under the themes of “building a healthy relationship between parents and children” and “thinking about the environment and nature.
Since its start in 2007, a total of more than 250 parents and children have participated in the program, which includes planting trees on a former golf course site and returning the forest to its original state for the future.
Use of certified paper
All of the paper bags with our logo that our employees use for sales and other activities are made of recyclable materials. In addition to the elimination of plastic on the surface of the bags, plastic is also not used for the handles. The joints between the bags are also tied together without using any adhesives or fasteners. The paper is recyclable and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®), an international non-profit organization established to promote responsible forest management worldwide. For logo printing, we now use vegetable ink, which is biodegradable compared to petroleum-based solvents and contributes to a reduction in environmental impact with almost no emissions of volatile organic compounds.
Participation in initiatives
Participated in the Ministry of
the Environment's
30by30 Alliance for Biodiversity
Participated in the 30by30 Alliance for Biodiversity, a group of companies, local governments, NPOs, and others working to achieve the 30by30 goal of conserving 30% of land and sea by 2030.
Join the Japan Business Initiative
for Biodiversity (JBIB)
We are a network member of the Japan Business Initiative for Biodiversity (JBIB), a group of companies that are actively working to conserve biodiversity.
We will continue to engage in biodiversity conservation activities and promote activities that are consistent with global trends.