January. 12, 2023
Sojitz Pla-Net Corporation
Asahi Group Japan, Ltd.
Nippon Closures Co., Ltd.

Consortium Formed to Realize Horizontal Recycling for
Plastic Bottle Caps through “Cap to Cap” Initiative
Providing Solutions to Social Issues through Plastic Resource Recyclingthat Leverage the Strengths of Participating Consortium Partners

On January 12, 2023, Sojitz Pla-Net Corporation (Head Office:Tokyo; President: Kenichi Ariga), Asahi Group Japan, Ltd. (HeadOffice: Tokyo; President: Kenji Hamada), and Nippon Closures Co., Ltd.
(Head Office: Tokyo; President: Motoaki Kiri) will begin joint proof ofconcept verification for a Cap to Cap*1 initiative which aims to realize
horizontal recycling of PET bottle caps. Leveraging the strengths ofeach participating partner, the consortium will work towards
providing solutions to address social issues such as plastic resource
recycling.
Asahi Group companies will participate including Asahi Soft Drinks
Co., Ltd. and Asahi You.Us, Ltd.
Horizontal recycling is being promoted in the beverage industry, andJapan’s current collection rate for plastic PET bottles has reached94%.*² However, less information is available regarding the current
state of plastic cap recycling. Gaining a clear picture of plastic cap
collection and recycling practices and establishing new methods areimportant tasks for the industry moving forward.
This new consortium will build a scheme for cap collection, conduct
proof of concept verification, and establish quality standards in orderto evaluate business feasibility. If horizontal recycling for plastic
bottle caps can be successfully commercialized, “Cap to cap” will
mark the first initiative*3 of its kind to be achieved by the beverageindustry in Japan. Asahi Soft Drinks is looking into using the newplastic bottle caps produced for its beverages.

[Role of Each Consortium Company]■Sojitz Pla-Net Corporation
A specialized trading company for plastics, Sojitz Pla-Net
Corporation gathers information on the latest global recycling
technology to then establish optimal recycling technology andequipment in Japan.

■Asahi Group Japan, Ltd.
Asahi Group Japan will leverage the strengths of group companies
in the beverage industry specializing in sustainability that operate
under the Asahi Group umbrella. Asahi Soft Drinks will establish thequality standards for the bottle caps to be used in its products. AsahiYou.Us will primarily work on building the cap collection scheme.

■Nippon Closures Co., Ltd.
As a bottle cap manufacturer, Nippon Closures will evaluate the cap
moldings that utilize recycled plastics.

Sojitz Group will leverage its established global customer networks,
sales and procurement networks, and the strengths of its existing
business to create new environmental businesses for realizing adecarbonized and recycling-based society that will contribute to therealization of a sustainable world.
Asahi Group aims to integrate sustainability into its management
policies by establishing a global framework for advancing its
sustainability initiatives and establishing sustainability goals in orderto promote sustainability throughout the entire group. Asahi Grouphas established “Cheer the Future” as a promise to bring energy tobuilding a valuable future through sustainability.
Nippon Closures aims to realize a world in which all people acrossgenerations can live authentically. Nippon Closures strives to help
people lead better lives physically, mentally, and socially byproactively working to provide solutions for society’s challenges.

*1: Used plastic bottle caps are recycled to produce similar plastic cap products*2: Source: The Council for PET Bottle Recycling
https://www.petbottle-rec.gr.jp/data/transition.html*3: Sojitz Pla-Net Corporation study[For questions, contact:]
Sojitz Pla-Net Corporation

Environment Sustainable Business Office+81－3－6871－5901