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Company profile

Sustainability Strategy

Resource Circulation Business

Used-cars-related Business

Other Businesses

Environment

SocietyBusiness foundation / Growth foundation

Resource Circulation Business

Global Resource Circulation BusinessResource Circulation Business that enhances the sustainability of a society
Ordinary profit (100 million yen)

Sales (100 million yen)
140

128

12.0

127

120

107

99

100

8.3

8.0
6.0

5.5

4.2

4.0

80
0

9.9

10.0

2.0
2017/62018/6

2019/62020/60.0

2017/62018/6

2019/62020/6

Handling volume (1,000 tons)
300
250

262

262

249

229

200
150
0

The ENVIPRO Group promotes the resource circulation business as
our key business to achieve ourmission statement that is to“contribute to create a sustainable society.” We offer new value tosociety,engaging in the effective utilization of limited resources,
waste reduction, and the production of recycled raw materials fromwaste, by promoting the reuse, recycling, and remanufacturing ofmaterials that were disposed of as waste.

■ Three key businesses

based on differences in their properties. With the use of advanced sorting
technologies based on the above-mentioned technologies aswell as ouraccumulated know-how, it is possible to condense and collect ultrafine
precious metal particles from both waste incineration ash and ASR* thatseemingly contain no precious metals.
Furthermore, with regard to waste plastics, we have achieved arecycling rate of approximately 94.6%, minimizing simple
incineration and landfilling by producing RPF for thermal recycling.
*ASR: Abbreviation of Automobile Shredder Residue. The residue which remains after end-of-use vehicles

Our group operates the resource circulation business, focusing on
the following three businesses as its key components.

are dismantled and shredded to remove chlorofluorocarbons and their parts, such as air bags, doors, and

1. Recycling Business (resource recovery)

2. Remanufacturing Business (re-production)

Our group has been engaged for more than half a century in a
recycling business in which metal scrap, waste and others arecrushed, and physically sorted into ferrous and nonferrous metals,
gold, silver, and copper sediment sludge(mixed metals), plastics, etc.

Our group promotes and actively invests in the “Remanufacturing
Business” which aims to manufacture recycled raw materials outof waste and scrap by taking recycling technologies to the next level.
We are engaged in manufacturing recycled resin pellets from waste

engines, and to collect useful metals.

2017/62018/6

2019/62020/6plastics, rubber chips from waste tire rubber, and recycled cobalt andnickel materials from lithium-ion batteries. To become a manufacturer ofrecycled raw materials for products, we must maintain product quality,
fabricate prototypes, ensure a stable product supply, guarantee delivery
schedules, and others. We need to have totally different viewpoints inorder to develop technologies and business know-how from the recycling
businesses. We are now taking up these new challenges.

3. Reuse Business (reuse)
We are engaged in a reuse business that distributes used products
and maintenance parts without modifying their functionality or
value. The volume of metal scrap and waste will inevitably decreasein Japan where more people share goods and products, and where thepopulation is declining. Therefore, for our group which is engaged in
the resource circulation business based on these materials, ourinvolvement in the reuse business is important from the viewpoint of
securing materials for our key businesses.
Sustainability Report 202015

Contents / Editorial policy

Top Message

Company profile

Sustainability Strategy

Resource Circulation Business

Used-cars-related Business

Other Businesses

Environment

SocietyBusiness foundation / Growth foundation

Resource Circulation Business

Global Resource Circulation Business

Flow diagram of treatment/processing in resource circulation businessIn the resource circulation business, we promote resource recovery and recycle a large variety of used equipment and machinery, ranging from PCs, mobile phones, home appliances, small appliances, industrial equipment, andother electric and electronic waste, to used mechanical equipment, automobiles, and aircraft. To convert these kinds of waste that are composites of metals and plastics back to useful resources, the Envipro Group has developed asophisticated physical separation process that starts with advanced shredding. The sophisticated separation technology enables us to not only separate plastics from metals, but also separate the metals into iron, copper, aluminum,
stainless steel, and gold and silver sediment sludge. In this way, a very high level of recycling of individual resource materials is realized.
Recycling
Materials for
cement production

Composite materials of metals, plastics, and glass are shredded, and separated by magnetic/air separators before undergoing the next separating stage.
Refuse papers, sponges and light dust

Shredding
Shredding materials into
small pieces with a
Magnetic separation
shredder for recycling.
Removing ferrous scrap from theshredded mixture, using separatorswith a powerful magnetic force.

Sorting・ Automobiles

・Microwave oven
・ Photocopiers ・Vacuum cleaners
・Smartphones, etc
・ Monitors

Powerful magnetic force

FerrousmetalsIncineration

Agitation propellers

Air

Air separation
Removing refuse paper,
sponges, and light dust fromthe shredded mixture, using
air separators.

RPF(Refuse Paper and
Plastic Fuel) plant

Separating, using vibrations andupward-moving air currents withthe application of frictional forces.

Producing solid fuels including
RPF (refuse paper and plastic fuel)from waste.

Light particles

RPF
Air

LiquidPlastics (lightweight)

Heavy particles

Nonferrous metals

Wet gravity separation
Depending on the objects to be removed
from the mixture, adjusting the specificgravity of a liquid that is mixed withwater and a specific metal powder, inorder to separate combinations of items
that float and those that settle.

S N S

NS N

Eddy current separation

Global Resource
Circulation Business

S N S

S

N

N SN

Reuse

Remanufacturing

Plastics（heavyweight)

Aircraft

Used-cars-related
BusinessDry gravity separation

ExtruderSeparating non-magnetic metals that are falling due to gravity, using magnetic repulsion.
Plastic pelllets
GoldenandSilver Copper
SedimentSludge

Used car

Aluminum

Plastic for fuelExtruded materials

Manufacturers of raw/basic materials

Shredded steel scrap

CopperAluminum

Plastic for fuel

RPF

Sustainability Report 202016

Contents / Editorial policy

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Company profile

Sustainability Strategy

Resource Circulation Business

Used-cars-related Business

Other Businesses

Environment

SocietyBusiness foundation / Growth foundation

Resource Circulation Business

Promoting resource recovery of waste

Since its inauguration some 70 years ago, ECONECOL Inc. has
accumulated abundant expertise in the treatment and recycling ofvarious metal resources and has come to possess proprietary
recycling technologies. Through the pursuit of these technologies, it
has established an integrated system to collect metals, plastics, minor
metals, and precious metals from a variety of scrap and wastematerials, and recycle them to resource materials.

■Resource recovery from urban mines
The metals including precious metals contained in waste materials
such as used cars and household appliances are often referred to as“urban mines,” a reserve of many useful resources. However,advanced technologies are required to convert such composite wastematerials into materials ready for use. We shred the “urban mine”
waste materials and apply optimum combinations of magnetic force,wind power, wet specific gravity,
dry specific gravity, color, andother separation technologies toseparate and concentrateindividual materials to achieve ahigh level of resource recovery.
Gold, silver, and copper sediment sludge (mixed metal)■Collection of precious metals from waste incineration ash
Through further advancement of the separation technologies, we havedeveloped a technology to collect precious metals from waste
incineration ash discharged from general waste incineration facilities.
A patent on the technology was issued in May 2019. Waste
incineration ash is normally disposed of in landfills. Our collection
technology contributes to the improvement of the resource recovery
rate and the reduction of the amount of waste incineration ash put tolandfill.
Amount of waste
incineration ash
collected

Quantity of
precious metals
collected fromwaste incinerationash

2,298 tAu (gold)

Global Resource Circulation Business■ RPF production
RPF (Refuse Paper and Plastic Fuel) is a solid fuel that is made bycompressing such waste plastics and paper waste that are difficult to
put to material recycling. It is characterized by stable quality andbeing more environment-friendly than coal or other fuels. We
produce approximately 25,000 tons of RPF per year, and arecontinuously supplying it to paper
mills and other manufacturingindustries for use as boiler fuel.
It is expected to become more
widely used as an alternative fuelto promote recycling.
RPF■Reuse and recycling of aircrafts
In May 2019, we won the tender for two retired dedicated aircrafts of
the Japanese government invited by the Air Self-Defense Force. They
were sold to a US buyer as a reuse and recycling resource to collectaircraft maintenance parts. Unlike selling them just as used aircrafts,
correct valuation of the aircrafts and their parts and components wasnecessary. The know-how we had accumulated over the years on theevaluation and conversion to cash of metals and other composite
materials was key to the success of the transaction. In the UnitedStates and Europe, the current major market for reuse and recyclingof aircrafts, companies who trade used aircrafts are usually different
from those who deal with the recycling of frames and other nonusable resources. We will continue
to contribute to the reuse andrecycling of aircrafts as a pioneer
in providing a one-stop,
comprehensive service ofevaluating and recycling,
capitalizing on its rich know-how
Aircrafton recycling.

■Wide-ranging one-stop services
We offer one-stop services that range from collection, transportation,and disposal of waste to building demolition. Usually, removal ofmachinery and equipment from factories and offices prior todemolition requires separate contracts with multiple companies, eachhaving specific licenses for collection, transportation, or disposal of
discarded articles (including those containing low-concentration
PCB or asbestos), or remediation of contaminated soil after
demolition. We can offer one-stop services encompassing waste
removal and disposal, demolition of structures, and remediation ofcontaminated soil after demolition, thus helping to increase therecycling rate and at the same time reducing the burden and costs on
the part of the customer.

■Promoting responsible recycling
Marking one of the cornerstones evidencing the technologies andtrack record behind its diverse business, we became certified for theR2 Standard in August 2019. The R2 Standard refers to a certification
program managed under the guidance of the U. S. Environmental
Protection Agency to encourage and evaluate
responsible actions for electrical andelectronic equipment recyclers. The R2Standard covers recycling of used electricaland electronic equipment such as mobile
phones, TV sets, and computers. Becauseof the reliability of this certification, R2
certified recyclers are increasingly preferredin the market. We will continue to strive
to promote responsible recycling of electric/
electronic equipment, ITC equipment andR2 certificate
secondary batteries.

Ag (silver)

43.4 kg 361.0 kg
Sustainability Report 202017

Contents / Editorial policy

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Resource Circulation Business

Used-cars-related Business

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Resource Circulation Business

Global Resource Circulation Business

Recycling of lithium-ion batteries

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), which contain cobalt and nickel known
as minor metals, are widely used in mobile devices such as smart
phones and laptops, as well as home appliances. In addition, theglobal decarbonization trend has led to an increase in the amount of
LIB used in electric vehicles. There is a risk that the growing demandfor LIB could raise pressure on the supply and demand balance of
cobalt and nickel in the near future, which has been a cause forconcern.
VOLTA Inc. is engaged in the recycling of rechargeable batteries
such as LIB and Nickel Hydrogen batteries, which have traditionallybeen simply incinerated. By having established a resource circulation
business of minor metals, we contribute to the effective use of limited
resources.

■Establish a safe and rapid recycling process
We are capable of recycling various types of spent LIB that are
generated in town. The physical sorting technologies of the Envipro
Group are fully applied for the dismantling and sorting of the batteries
and the casings. In order to ensure the safety of the neighboring andsurrounding environment, we employ a heat-drying method and no
incineration in the treatment process so as to minimize toxic gas
generation. In addition, we have introduced a unique exhaust gas
treatment system. In November 2020, we successfully received R2
certification with a view to establishing its position as a responsible
recycler.
The currently-operated recycling process can produce concentrated
cobalt and nickel sludge called black mass. We are consideringrefining the black mass in-house in the future for sale of thematerials to customers in the battery-related industry.

■Obtaining a license to treat/dispose of industrial waste
In July 2020, we obtained a license to treat/dispose of industrial
waste. This enables us to handle waste batteries with a low content
of minor metals, thereby expanding our business scope.

Lithium-ion battery treatment flow diagram
Process flow at the plant

Spent lithium-ion batteries

MetalsSquare and laminate type(mobile phones, etc.)

Shredding and separation
Cylinder type(PC, tool, electric bicycle, etc.)

Sorting anddismantling
For vehicle use(EV, HEV, PHV, etc.)

Heating treatment

Shredding and classifying

Aluminum, copper and other metals

Black mass

For ESS(household and industrial
storage batteries, etc.)

Sustainability Report 202018

Contents / Editorial policy

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Resource Circulation Business

Used-cars-related Business

Other Businesses

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Resource Circulation Business

Global Resource Circulation BusinessOne-stop services from removal through disposal of unneeded goods■ Overview of “Comfortable Life Support”
Kuroda Recycle Co., Ltd. launched its "Comfortable Life Support"
business in 2017, serving the area of Hakodate City and its environs
in southern Hokkaido, to make a contribution to the community.
Initially, the business was limited to tidying up of individual homes.
As the birthrate declined and aging of the population progressed,
the business scope expanded to include offices, tenants, and largecommercial facilities. The integrated service by the recycling
company covering removal, transportation, and disposal of
unneeded goods helps achieve a high recycling rate of the treatedmaterials, while reducing the client’s labor and cost. Although thecontact point is just one, the network cultivated within theEnvipro Group is mobilized to offer constructive proposals tosolve problems of all kinds.
(i) Tidying up of individual homes
We provide comprehensive service of removing, transporting,treating, and disposing of unneeded goods out of individual homes.
(ii) Removal of unneeded goods out of offices and tenants
We provide one-stop services of removing, transporting, and treating
in-house unneeded goods out of offices, tenants, and largecommercial facilities.
(iii) Demolition of buildings
We are engaged in demolition of houses and stores, as well as thecollection of chlorofluorocarbon gas from air-conditioning
equipment etc.

Disposition of tenant’s unneeded goods

Demolition of a residential house■Community-based recycling businessIn the southern Hokkaido area, demolition and disposition of wooden
houses are increasing. Accordingly, we receive an increasing numberof inquiries for the disposal of wood waste and other waste
construction materials generated from the demolition of buildings.
Also, the need is rising for the management of waste generated by thefisheries industry, one of the core industries in the region. However,there are neither recycling plants nor land-fill disposal sites for such
waste in the nearby area, and appropriate and prompt waste
management is getting more and more difficult.
To respond to these issues, we have added a new shredding line totreat wood chips and waste plastics and to start accepting fishingtools and other hard-to-treat waste.
Operating the existing shredding and separation facilities and the newline together, we improve the capability of treatment in order torecycle those waste into raw materials for wooden products, woodchips as fuel, or cement raw fuel. In this way, we contribute topromoting community-based resource recycling and stimulating the
local economy by enabling comprehensive waste management andrecycling which reduces the amount of waste that needs to betransported to distant sites for disposal.
■ASR Recycling BusinessWe are also engaged in the recycling business of Automobile
Shredder Residue (ASR), which remains after end-of-use vehicles are
dismantled to remove chlorofluorocarbons and their parts, such as
air bags, doors and engines, and shredded to collect useful metals.
ASR contains metal particles that were not collected during theshredding process. By further separating/pulverizing and kneading
ASR, we successfully collect the metal particles and recycle
them as materials for cement production, thereby
contributing to to improving therecycling rates of scrap cars.
There are only a small number of
ASR recycling facilities nationwide.
Hence, our facility in HakodateCity, Hokkaido, accepts ASR fromoutside of Hokkaido.
ASR Recycling Facility

Sustainability Report 202019

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Resource Circulation Business

Used-cars-related Business

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Resource Circulation Business

Global Resource Circulation Business

Regional circular and ecological economy through recycling
circulation of resources.
The plant collects reusable resources from local municipalities in
Nagano. In parallel, we collaborate with PTAs of local elementary andjunior high schools, welfare providers, and local J-League footballteam Matsumoto Yamaga FC in the collection of reusable resources so
as to develop community-based recycling activities.

Syn Eco Plaza Azumino■ A recycling facility for regional circular and ecologicaleconomy through recycling“Syn Eco Plaza Azumino,” a recycling facility SYN ECO Inc. opened
in April 2019, collects, recycles, and disposes of bulky waste, specified
home appliances, and resource materials generated in Azumino City asa general waste disposal facility. The facility can accept and treat large
used furniture such as items that the city residents find hard to bring in
directly to the Clean Center, the inter-municipal public treatment
facility. It is appreciated by many residents of Azumino City,
particularly as a rare facility that can recycle the legally specified home
appliances (TV sets, air conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators).

■ Permanent placement of resource materials collection box
We operate 17 collection stations of "Mottainai BOX", a container forthe collection of resource materials, in the Chushin region, the central
part of Nagano. Each of the stations is managed with utmost care to the
local environment to receive used paper, metals, and other resource
materials.
In fiscal 2019, we collected
approximately 6,000 tons of such
resources through this program forour intermediate treatment and thus
contributed to the resource recovery.
A number of companies have agreed
to set up the "Mottainai BOX" intheir premises, contributing to the
local resource circulation.
Mottainai BOX■ Supporting the comfortable life of
local residents
We extend a "Comfortable Life Support", a home pick-up service forpeople who cannot transport bulky waste by themselves. In order to
respond to various requests, we have established a service platform tohelp solve the problems of the local residents, such as discharge,
disposal, or transfer of large furniture and the like and pruning ofgarden trees. Recently we receive more inquiries about estate saleservices. Staff members officially registered as liquidation professionals
provide the services (including in-life clearance), listening attentively to
the wishes of the family members. We also provide one-stop services
from disposal of unneeded goods and building demolition to thenecessary legal paperwork of abandoned houses, being one of thenationwide social problems■ Large shredder for high quality intermediate treatment
Our head office plant has the largest shredder in Nagano used for theintermediate treatment of metals, waste plastics, waste paper, etc . By
taking advantage of the features that shredding gives to the intermediate
treatment, we treat ferrous metals, nonferrous metals, and composite
waste and send each of the recycled materials to manufacturers, whomake them into new products. The treated mixed metals andnonferrous metals are re-sorted and re-made by other groupcompanies, taking advantage of economies of scale as a Group. In
addition, our big used paper packing machine is used to pack different
types of used papers and ship to paper-manufacturing companies tomake recycled paper. In this way, we play an important role in the■ Establishment of an IT-based sophisticated recycling system
In December 2019, we introduced to the shop floor a novel systemusing wearable devices. This enables novice operators to work withmore confidence, as they are navigated by the image and voice
instructions prepared from the expert’s perspective. As a result, work
standardization has become possible, and less skilled workers performthe same work procedures as skilled workers to increase overall
productivity. The system has not only freed skilled workers andsupervisors of the burden of coaching, but also visualized their knowhow and expertise, which helps prevent work errors. In the resource
recovery process of specified home appliances, the recycling rate isdisplayed in a timely manner, and the intake of waste appliances andthe shipping out of collected resources are controlled integrally, so thesystem captures the entire recycling process.

Wearable device

Recycling rate visualized

Sustainability Report 202020

Contents / Editorial policy

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Company profile

Sustainability Strategy

Resource Circulation Business

Used-cars-related Business

Other Businesses

Environment

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Resource Circulation Business

Manufacturing high-quality recycled materials from waste■Safety technology and universal design
Toyo Rubber Chip Co., Ltd. procures waste tires and offcuts ofindustrial rubber products to make black rubber mulch for recycling.
We also produce color rubber chips out of synthetic rubber.
● Black rubber mulch
Most of the synthetic rubber products found in the market are madefrom petroleum and other virgin natural resources. In contrast, wehave a nearly 80-year long history since 1942 of using waste tires andoffcuts of industrial rubber products as precious starting materials forrecycling. Currently, we procure 5,700 tons of waste rubber materials
annually, and manufacture rubber chips, rubber powders, and otherrecycled raw materials , as well as final products such as rubber
panels for pedestrians. Rubber chips are mainly used for elastic
pavement and cushioning of artificial turf, contributing to the "safety"of people. Rubber powders, which are finer than rubber chips, areused as the raw material for automobile brake linings and as a filler

Black rubber mulch

Rubber panels for pedestrians

Global Resource Circulation Businessfor tires. Rubber panels for pedestrians help reduce accidents atrailroad crossings.
While other companies mostly manufacture standardized products,
we use its unique processing technology to tailor its rubber panel
products to the configuration of the railroad crossing, including any
track intersection and diversion. Our products fill the front-line
needs that cannot be met by off-the-shelf products. They areleveraged by the technical staff’s years of experience and expertise.
● Color rubber chips
We also manufacture color rubber chips using synthetic rubber,
EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer). It is used inplayground facilities, nursery school and kindergarten gardens, andnursing homes, public facilities, hospitals, and other safety-criticalsituations, because it is rich in color that can be freely designed tomeet the needs, and reduces the risk of fatal injury in the event offall or stumbling. In addition, we have a drop test machine and haveestablished an in-house system for quality assurance, including
conformity with the HIC1000 safety standard for head injuries.
Furthermore, the color rubber chips suppress temperature rise more
effectively than do black rubber mulch. For this reason, they are usedin artificial turf cushioning and poolside flooring for heat prevention
purpose, thus providing not only safety but also comfort features.

■ Sustainable products made at the RE100 plant
In May 2019, we became an RE100 plant, with 100% of the electricity
used in its plant sourced from renewable energy. Literally, we now
produce sustainable products in a sustainable plant. The electric power
we use at the plant is supplied from the RE100 menu of retail power
operators. In addition, power generated at the Komiya Solar Power
Plant of SYN ECO in Matsumoto City, Nagano, one of our groupcompanies, is used preferably through non-fossil fuel energy
certificate with tracking information.

Color rubber chips

Dekoboko Square in Hibikinada Green Park

Maebashi Children Park

Sustainability Report 202021