Effective use of resources

Policy

The Toyota Tsusho Group contributes to resource saving by effectively using waste materials and actively promoting resource preservation related business in accordance with its environment policies.

To effectively use these limited resources, we will develop recycling businesses including recoveryand processing of reusable resources from scrap generated from end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) and atplants, secure resources through urban mining, and turn waste into resources such as by reusing usedvehicles and parts, thereby contributing to a recycling society that promotes a circular economy byrecycling waste.

Measures for the Development of a Recycling-based Society

Since fiscal 1998, the Japan Foreign Trade Council, Inc. (JFTC) has participated in the Voluntary Action Plan for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society, of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), in support of the initiatives of the federation for building a recycling-based society. The JFTC has set a target of achieving a recycling rate of at least 83% for general office waste produced at its main office buildings in fiscal 2025. In line with this target, Toyota Tsusho is working to raise the recycling rate and achieved a 90.24% rate in 2022.

In addition to addressing general office waste, the Toyota Tsusho Group (Japan) is also working towards its own additional target of achieving zero emissions with a target of less than 0.5% landfill waste. In 2022, the Group achieved a rate of 0.28%.

Toyato Tsusho is working to reduce the volume of general business waste generated at the Tokyo Head Office and Nagoya Head Office. We are working to reduce the volume of paper discarded at offices, to compost kitchen waste from employee cafeterias, and to recycle plastic bottles. In 2022, there was a 9% increase (8.8 tons) from 2021 compared to the target of a 1% reduction (0.9 tons). This is thought to be due to a recovery in attendance rates, which led to a corresponding increase in the amount of general office waste generated.

We have positioned paper as a key managerial resource and are working to reduce the paper use by promoting paperless meetings through use of large monitors, personal computers, and tablet PCs, and recommending the introduction of an electronic sealing system, digital faxing, and other measures. We reduced paper use by 38% in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2019 (starting year).

At our two commercial biomass power generating plants in Japan, we are analyzing the composition of the soot and cinder released from the combusted woodchips and collaborated with an intermediate processor in an effort to recycle this waste, to use in roadbed, for example.

Case

TB Unifashion Corporation, a consolidated subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho, conducts a recycling business that collects used corporate uniforms, recycles them back to raw materials, and reuses them to make automobile interior materials. The company contributes to the improvement of corporate CSR (proper disposal of industrial waste), preventing the misuse of uniforms with company names on them, reducing CO2 emissions, and saving resources as a response to a recycling-based society.In addition, we have obtained the Wide Area Certification *No. 188 by the Ministry of the Environment as of July 23, 2010.

*Wide Area Certification system of the Ministry of the Environment: Advanced recycling can be expected through wide-area waste treatment by manufacturers who are familiar with the properties and structure of the products, leading to waste reduction and proper disposal with the aim of realizing a lifecycle approach.

In Toyota Tsusho's textile business, we are promoting concrete actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the value chain, in cooperation with our suppliers and customers.We are implementing our own sales of recycled raw materials in the supply chain from the procurement of raw materials for garments to their commercialization, and we are using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to quantitatively evaluate the effects of reducing CO2 emissions.In addition to uniforms, we have also developed a recycling business for general clothing, and are conducting an environmental impact study program using the LCA method at all stages of the lifecycle of clothing, from raw materials to manufacturing, transportation, use, disposal or reuse, to reduce resources and CO2 emissions.

Clothing uses a lot of energy, water, and pesticides in the processes from raw material procurement to manufacturing, use, and disposal. Production processes that take resource and energy conservation and effective use of resources into consideration are very important factors, which is why this assessment is crucial. By utilizing LCA from the product planning and development stages, we will promote the development of multifaceted solutions to reduce environmental impact, such as the development of optimal materials, processing methods, and the collection and recycling of used clothing.

As a trading company involved in manufacturing, the Toyota Tsusho Group believes that giving due consideration to the environment while supporting the acquisition and stable supply of resources is one of our key missions. Accordingly, we support manufacturing and contribute to the development of a recycling-based society by transforming waste into resources as a business.

Measures for Pollution and Waste Reduction(External Collaboration)

Toyota Tsusho is taking action with reducing industrial waste generated by the motorized society as a priority issue. We collaborate with other companies and are conducting research and development.

Case Study 1

In the past, when a vehicle was discarded, the airbags, refrigerant, doors, engine, and other parts were removed and shredded, and after the valuable metals were recovered, the remaining automobile shredder residue (ASR*) was disposed of in a land fill. Toyota Metal Corporation, a Toyota Tsusho Group company that performs processing from end-of-life vehicles to resource recycling, further sorts ASR into melted and solidified material, plastics, metals, and glass. Previously, it was not possible to sell melted and solidified material and plastics for value, but by collaborating with a steel maker, Toyota Metal has achieved 99% recycling of these materials as electric furnace fuel.

  • *"Automobile Shredder Residue"

Case Study 2

Toyota Tsusho, in collaboration with Yano Research Institute Ltd. and Isono Co., Ltd., has been contracted by the Japan Foundation for Advanced Auto Recycling to conduct demonstration trials investigating the possibility of car-to-car recycling* of plastic material used in automobiles and has commenced trials. Toyota Tsusho has also been official contracted by NEDO to build an efficient and suitable end-of-life vehicle resource recycling system in Thailand, one of the topics of the Demonstration Project for Introducing an Energy-Efficient Recycling System in Asia for which it sought proposals.

  • *Recycling that reuses resourced collected from end-of-life vehicles as materials for the manufacture of new vehicles.

Performance Data

General Waste Emissions
(Unit:ton)
2020 2021 2022 2023
General Waste
(Includes specially controlled industrial waste)
43,036 38,970 42,430 49,525
Specially controlled industrial waste
(Includes specified hazardous industrial waste)
91 160 130 112
Specified hazardous industrial waste 46 65 58 98
Scope of Aggregation: Toyota Tsusho Corporation (head office, branches, sales offices, and sub-branches) and domestic consolidated subsidiaries
*Excluding waste sold for value
Landfill Rate (Target and Performance)
Landfill Rate (Target and Performance)
Tabulation scope: Toyota Tsusho Corporation (head offices, branches, sales offices, field offices) and domestic consolidated subsidiaries(excludes construction waste in cases where the waste is generated in intermediate waste treatment sites of Toyota Tsusho Group and the Group is the contractor)
Recycling Rate (Target and Performance)
Recycling Rate (Target and Performance)
Tabulation scope: Toyota Tsusho Corporation (general office waste (Tokyo Head Office and Nagoya Head Office (Century Toyota Building))
Industrial waste emissions (goals/results)
FY2022 Results FY2023 Goals for FY2024
Goals Results
Industrial waste emissions (tons) 103 102
(▲1.0% compared to FY2022)
88
(▲14% compared to FY2022)
87
(▲1.0% compared to FY2023)
* Industrial waste emissions: General waste from business activities of Nagoya Head Office/Tokyo Head Office
Raw materials (paper) usage (goals/results)
FY2022 Results FY2023 Goals for FY2024
Goals Results
Raw materials usage (10,000 Sheets) 1,336 1,336(▲38% compared to FY2019) 1,273(▲59.2% compared to FY2019) 1,273(▲59.2% compared to FY2019)
Scope of Aggregation: Toyota Tsusho Corporation (head offices, branches, sales offices, field offices)
Waste volume (Recycling, non-recycling)
(unit: ton)
2020 2021 2022 2023
Recycling volume 182 173 116 539
Non-recycling volume 34 22 132 590
Total 216 195 248 1,129
Scope of Aggregation: Toyota Tsusho,(excluding construction waste as contractors)

Third Party Certification

Third-party certification has been obtained from LRQA Group Limited for a portion of the performance data above.