SGH

Circulation of Resources

Policy

The Group believes that it is its responsibility as a company to reduce the use of various resources in business activities and cyclically use limited resources by recycling the resources used as much as possible. In accordance with the Environmental Policy mentioned earlier, we will promote the 3Rs of reusing, reducing, and recycling resources used in the Group, in addition to handling part of reverse logistics related to recycling through business in order to contribute to a sound material-cycle society.

Initiatives

Reduction of Waste through Recycling

Adoption of Eco-friendly Uniforms

The Group is promoting green purchasing in which products with a low environmental impact are chosen, and as part of this, the uniforms of Sagawa Express use EcoMark-certified products made by recycling plastic bottles.
Between fiscal 2002 and fiscal 2022, approximately 17.4 million 500 ml PET bottles were recycled to create approximately 3.52 million eco-friendly uniforms in the Group. Used uniforms are reused as much as possible and those that cannot be easily reused are collected and recycled as fuel for ironworks. We also use EcoMark-certified gloves for Sales Drivers.

Number of uniforms Equivalent number of 500ml PET bottles
Eco-friendly uniforms
(Cumulative total until fiscal 2022)
3.52 million 17.4 million

Process of Making Uniforms

  • The labels and caps of PET bottles are removed, and the bottles are washed
  • The bottles are crushed to produce PET flakes
  • PET flakes are melted to produce fibers
  • Sewn uniforms are completed
Process of Making Uniforms

Eco-friendly Facility Repairs

When undertaking paving work or improvements and repairs on its owned properties, SG Realty makes use of the Super PET AsCon construction method, which uses waste PET bottles.

In this method developed by The Nippon Road Co., Ltd. (Minato-ku, Tokyo), a modifier produced from waste plastic bottles is added to asphalt. The high durability and water resistance of the asphalt reduces the frequency of renovation and repair work, and the use of waste PET bottles reduces the environmental impact. In 2022, 4,019 m2 of asphalt pavement was constructed at the Ota, Kiryu, Haneda, Narita, and Hakodate sales offices of Sagawa Express, recycling the equivalent of a total of about 63,000 waste PET bottles (500 ml PET bottles).

Recycling When Replacing Vehicles

Vehicles used by Sagawa Express and other Group companies are purchased by SG Motors and either resold or properly disposed of by specialized companies in accordance with the recycling law.

Some sites also store waste oil, such as engine oil from vehicle maintenance, in underground tanks and reuse it to fuel boilers in the winter, thereby recycling resources.

The heat (hot water and steam) produced by the boilers is used for floor heating in the plant, road heating on the premises, and other measures to prevent snow accumulation. Using the hot water for car washing throughout the year reduces the amount of water and detergent used and the labor required to wash cars in the winter.

Main Recycling Items

  • Recovery and recycling of vehicle oil
  • Recycling of waste related to vehicle maintenance and body manufacturing
  • Recovery, replacement, and recycling of waste batteries

Reverse Solutions

The Group is contributing to the promotion of a recycling-oriented society by providing a variety of "reverse solutions" that utilize expertise in reverse logistics related to the processing and recycling of waste.

Pick-up and Repair of Home Appliances (Sagawa Express)

The Home Appliance Repair Service provides a one-stop solution from the pick-up to the actual repair and return of devices in the Home Appliance Repair Center at the Sagawa Tokyo Logistics Center.
In addition, the company has been providing nationwide Home Pick-up Services for Used Small Home Appliances based on the Home Appliance Recycling Act since 2015 as an outsourcing business from ReNet Japan Group Inc.

Pick-up and Repair of Home Appliances

Household Appliance Collection Matching System SG-ARK (SG Moving)

In recent years, retailers have seen an increase in e-commerce sales, and so the area to be covered for deliveries and collections has extended nationwide. However, despite this expansive sales area, with collection contractors requiring permission for four specific types of home appliances, and restrictions on recommissioning, there were issues with arranging collection and transportation operators to collect old home appliances at the same time as delivery.

With the SG-ARK system, SG Moving matches licensed collection and transportation operators with retailers, reducing the operational burden on retailers by covering everything from the selection of operators to delivery. Further, SG-ARK eliminates the need for time-consuming home appliance recycling ticket(green ticket) purchasing and management. SG Moving functions as the fee management company, with customers enable to commission SG Moving to undertake everything from purchase to management. During transportation, a dedicated system enables customers to trace the status of collection and delivery in real time. The system can also store data on home appliance recycling tickets, and customers can commission SG-ARK to pay recycling fees and undertake administrative work.

Household Appliance Collection Matching System SG-ARK (SG Moving)

Reducing Food Loss

Donations of Emergency Food Stockpiles (SGH Global Japan)

To reduce food waste and support those struggling to get by, SGH Global Japan donated the emergency food stockpiles held for its employees to Second Harvest Japan (Taito-ku, Tokyo), an NPO engaged in food bank activities.

Through NPOs and other organizations, food banks collect food and drink products that are perfectly safe to consume and would otherwise be disposed of. These food banks then provide these products, free of charge, to homeless people and welfare facilities.

As the food stockpiles it kept for natural disasters and other emergencies were approaching their expiry date, in 2021 SGH Global Japan donated 115 cans of bread and 264 liters of mineral water to Second Harvest Japan.


Promoting Environmentally Friendly Business Activities