Special Feature: Activities to Reduce Environmental

NTT Group’s Activities to Reduce
Environmental Loads
Yuichiro Ninomiya† and Tadahito Aoki
Abstract
The NTT Group is pursuing its environmental protection activities based on the NTT Group Global
Environmental Charter, which prescribes the basic principles and policies for environmental protection
activities. This article focuses on one of the Charter’s principles: the reduction of environmental loads.
It presents up-to-date data concerning NTT Group’s activities and introduces some new activities toreduce both the environmental loads generated by its business activities and by society as a whole.

1. Introduction
The NTT Group is striving to achieve a sustainable
society while seeking compatibility between environmental protection and business activities based on its
1999 plan “NTT Group Ecology Program 21” [1].
Based on the plan’s concepts, the NTT Group has
established the NTT Group Global Environmental
Charter, which prescribes the basic principles andpolicies for global environmental protection (Fig. 1).
The Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty on preventing global warming, came into effect in February2005 and global awareness of the need for environmental protection is rising. This article provides upto-date data about some activities introduced in lastApril’s Special Feature and introduces some recent
initiatives taken by the Group to reduce environmental loads generated by its business activities and bysociety as a whole.
2. Update on activities to reduce environmentalloads
2.1 Prevention of global warming
The number of clean energy facilities constructedby the Group is increasing as shown in Fig. 2. Fiscalyear 2003 saw 106 photovoltaic generation systems
installed, up by 11 systems from fiscal 2002. Howev† NTT Environmental Protection Office
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8116 Japan
E-mail: kankyo@ml.hco.ntt.co.jp

28er, in spite of efforts to reduce power consumption, anincrease in the number of IT (information technology) and telecommunication facilities brought about
by the expansion of broadband services and theincrease in the number of access points for the 3G
mobile telephone service resulted in increased carbon
dioxide emissions by the NTT Group. The emissions
in fiscal 2003 amounted to 2,920,000 tons against theGroup’s target of 1,690,000 tons for fiscal 2010.
Although the rate of increase is gradually leveling off,the increasing trend is expected to continue, necessi-

Basic policies
1) Comply with laws and regulations and fulfill social
responsibilities
Observe all laws and regulations regarding environmental
protection issues and carry out our responsibilities as global
corporate citizens.
2) Reduce environmental loads
Establish action plans for energy conservation (reduction ofgreenhouse gas emissions), resource conservation(conservation of materials such as paper) and waste
reduction and strive to make continuous improvements.
3) Establish and maintain environmental management systems
Establish an environmental management system enablingeach business unit to pursue voluntary environmental
protection activities.
4) Develop environmental technologies
Contribute to the reduction of environmental loads throughvarious areas of R&D including multimedia services.
5) Make social contribution efforts
Promote daily environmental protection efforts incoordination with citizens and government agencies.
6) Disclose environmental information
Enhance both internal and external communications throughthe disclosure of environmental information.

Fig. 1. NTT Group Global Environmental Charter.

NTT Technical Review

LoadsHybridFuel cell(units)120

Wind-generated power
Solar-generated power

1008060
402001999

2000

2001

2002

2003

(fiscal year)

Fig. 2. Number of clean energy power generators installed in NTT Group.

Recycled amount
Recycling rate

(%)
10080

1 500

60
1 000
40500

Recycling rate

Recycled amount(tons)
2 000

20020012002

02003 (fiscal year)

Fig. 3. Recycled amount and recycling rate for dismantled optical fiber cables.

tating renewed determination by the NTT Group toreduce power consumption. To promote the use ofclean energy, the NTT Group will aim to increase thecapacity of solar cell generation systems so that they
can also be applied to outdoor equipment, such as
remote monitoring systems. And to extend clean
energy to society as a whole, NTT released a commercial version of its Solar Card Power [2],[3], acompact and high-power mobile power supply unit,
which went on sale in July 2004.
2.2 Handling of waste
The target set by the group is to reduce, by 2010,
the amount of waste for final disposal to 72,000 tons,
which is 15% less than the 1990 level. When decommissioned telecommunication facilities, such asVol. 3 No. 3 Mar. 2005

switching systems and telecommunication cables, arefound to be still usable, they are reused at other sites
in the same company or other companies within theNTT Group. Those that cannot be reused are segregated according to materials and components andrecycled. The recycling rate for the waste cable recycling system developed in 2001 [1] has reached92.5% (Fig. 3).
NTT Facilities, NTT-ME, and NTT Neomeit,
which are all engaged in business associated withbuildings and telecommunication cables, have beenincreasing the recycling of construction and civilengineering waste generated when buildings are constructed or demolished or when cables are installedby managing the recycling rate using manifest slips
and by choosing waste processing companies that29

Special Feature

have demonstrated a high recycling rate.
Many NTT Group companies have obtained
ISO14001 certification, which requires segregating
and increasing the recycling of waste from ordinary
office buildings. Thanks to these efforts, the amountof waste for final disposal in fiscal 2003 was reduced
to 77,000 tons, so it is steadily approaching the fiscal
2010 target of 72,000 tons. The NTT Group will continue to promote reuse and recycling to achieve its
targets.
2.3 Reduction of use in paper resources
The collection rate for old telephone directories
reached 65.2% in fiscal 2003 (Fig. 4). Recent new
efforts include reevaluating how Hello Pages directories*1 are published and confirming whether a new or
relocated customer actually needs a new telephone
directory. Other measures taken by the NTT Group
include reducing the amount of paper used in offices
and introducing electronic systems for paperless
reporting of internal transactions, such as salarydetails, to individual employees. As a result of thesemeasures, the amount of virgin pulp used by the NTT
Group in fiscal 2003 was reduced to 37,000 tons compared with 40,000 tons for fiscal 2002 [1], which iswell below the fiscal 2010 target of 84,000 tons. Thefiscal 2010 target will be lowered to encourage fur-Collected amount

770

660

550

440

330

220

1

10

Collected amount(%)

0

Collection rate

Collection rate
(10,000 tons)

01999 2000 2001 2002 2003
(fiscal year)

Fig. 4. Weight of old telephone directories collected andcollection rate.
*1 Hello Page is a directory of business and residential listings (inJapanese only).

30

ther reductions in the use of virgin pulp.
3. New activities
3.1 Water purification using microporous
material (MPM)
When waste paper from telephone directories andother documents is processed for recycling at a papermill, paper sludge is discharged and usually ends up
at a landfill. To prevent this organic sludge fromdecomposing and to reduce its volume, it must beincinerated, which raises the problem of securing
landfill sites to bury the resulting ash. The main components of the ash from incinerated sludge are clay
and calcium carbonate, which are added to the paper
fibers to create a smooth surface finish and prevent
ink from running. NTT Access Network Service Systems Laboratories has been successful in developing
a process for converting this ash into a new microporous material (MPM) [4], which can be used toimprove water quality and absorb harmful gases. Dueto the numerous micropores, MPM has a large surface area, which gives it high cation exchange andabsorption properties.
In a water purification experiment conducted in theYoda River in Kakogawa (Hyogo prefecture) lastyear, it was found that effective placement of MPM
formed into spheres (called eco-balls) or plates
reduced the biochemical oxygen demand (an indicator of water contamination) and the concentration ofdissolved chemicals (such as nitrogen and phosphorus) and also removed small floating debris. The
components of MPM absorb only nitrogen and phosphorus. After it has been used to purify water, theMPM can then be used as a nutrient soil dressing.
This innovation thus closes the loop in the flow ofpaper resources (Fig. 5).
We are also researching other applications ofMPM, such as its use as an additive to strengthen concrete against acid rain, an absorbent for harmful gases(such as carbon dioxide), and a material for improving polluted soil around factories.
3.2 Visual Showcase
As electronic commerce, such as online shoppingon the Internet and online ordering, becomes widelyaccepted, the physical distribution of goods will
become more efficient, and overproduction will
become better controlled, resulting in an overall
reduction in the amount of energy consumed by society as a whole. The NTT Group is undertaking R&D
on “optical commerce services” that can be provided
NTT Technical Review

Special Feature

Trees
Recycling ofused MPM

Fields Private land
for greenery

Clay

Paper mill
Product

MPM eco-balls
Purification of waste waterfrom communities
Total recycling of paper using MPM

MarketResearchlaboratory
Effective useof materials
Incineration
Incineration
ashplant
At present: landfill

Recycled
paper

Usedpaper

Recovery
Papermaking
sludgeRecycled
paper millFig. 5. Total paper recycling system using MPM.

over a high-speed, large-capacity optical network andare superior to the current form of web-based electronic commerce. One of these optical commerce services, Visual Showcase, allows products selected by
the user to be displayed in a three-dimensional space,thus letting the user compare different products. The
system allows the consumer to shop and search for or
select products, which in turn will encourage the useof online commerce.
If a travel agent uses Visual Showcase to replace
200,000 prints for each of 20 different travel
brochures distributed over a period of three months,
carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by 267 tons
[5].
Progress in information communication technologies (ICT) services, such as online commerce promoted by Visual Showcase and teleworking, isexpected to reduce total energy consumption in Japanby 3.9% [3]. The NTT Group is striving to promote
ICT services that will effectively reduce energy consumption.

Yuichiro Ninomiya
NTT Environmental Protection Office.
He received the B.E. degree in precision engineering and the M.E. degree in biotechnology
from Osaka University, Suita, Osaka in 1998 and2000, respectively. He joined NTT West in 2000
and worked in the Kyoto Branch from 2000 to2003. Since 2004, he has been with the NTT
Environmental Protection Office.

Tadahito Aoki
Senior Manager, NTT Environmental Protection Office.
He received the B.E. and M.E. degrees in electrical engineering from Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Nagano in 1983 and 1985, respectively
and the D.E. degree in electrical and electronics
engineering from Kyushu University, Fukuoka
in 2000. He joined NTT Electrical Communications Laboratories in 1985. His research interests
are in environmental protection and power electronics technologies. In 2003, he moved to NTT
Environmental Protection Office. He is a member of IEEE, the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers of Japan,and IEE of Japan.

References
[1]
[2]

[3]

[4]
[5]

Y. Ibata and T. Aoki, “NTT Group Environmental Protection Activities,” NTT Technical Review, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 26-31, 2004.
T. Shodai, K. Saito, H. Wakaki, M. Mino, J. Ohwaki, and Y. Kanai,“Clean Energy Technology,” NTT Technical Review, Vol. 2, No. 4,
pp. 46-50, 2004.
Y. Inoue, “An R&D Revolution—Creating New Business Worth 500
Billion Yen per Year,” NTT Technical Review, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 1421, 2004.
NTT Environmental Protection Office, “NTT Group Environmental
Protection Activity Report 2004,” 2004.
NTT Environmental Protection Office, “NTT Group Environmental
Protection Activity Report 2003,” 2003.

Vol. 3 No. 3 Mar. 2005

31