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.
In addition, for waste generated by our company, we encourage the selection of waste disposal contractors that recycle waste rather than send it to landfill, and ensure that such waste is handled with due consideration for resource recovery and recycling.
Since 1998, We have been working to promote recycling and reduce waste generation in support of the Japan Foreign Trade Council’s FY2025 target of achieving a recycling rate of 83% or higher.
Our FY2025 recycling rate reached 81.48%, slightly below the target. This was primarily due to a significant reduction in total waste generation through waste minimization efforts, while a fixed volume of non-recyclable waste remained because of current technological limitations.
Despite not meeting the recycling-rate target, we achieved a substantial reduction in overall waste generation. Going forward, we will continue to improve waste segregation, expand recycling opportunities, and promote the use of alternative materials to help build a more circular society.
Toyota Tsusho is working to reduce business-related general waste generated at its Tokyo and Nagoya headquarters. We are working to reduce the volume of paper discarded at offices, to compost kitchen waste from employee cafeterias, and to recycle plastic bottles. As a result, in 2025 the company reduced waste generation by 2.1% (1.3 tons) year on year, substantially surpassing its target of a 1% reduction (0.6 ton).
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 71.4% in fiscal 2025 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.
As part of our initiatives to build a recycling-based society, we monitor resource efficiency and manage progress on improvements within the framework of ISO 14001. Specifically, we monitor and measure waste, identify the volume, types, and sources of waste generated at each site, and implement measures to reduce waste.
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.
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.
Toyotsu PET Recycling Systems Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of recycled PET for beverage bottles, has shifted from exporting used PET bottles overseas to conducting horizontal recycling domestically. This has reduced waste across the supply chain and contributed to the circular economy. The plant has an annual production capacity of approximately 40,000 tons of recycled PET resin for beverage bottles.
Toyotsu PET Recycling Systems and Toyota Tsusho are working to promote horizontal recycling of PET bottles in order to pass down a better global environment to the children of the future. In doing so, we not only contribute to consumer convenience but also aim to realize a circular economy.
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.
End-of-life vehicles (ELVs) are dismantled to remove components such as airbags, fluorocarbons, doors, and engines before being shredded. Valuable metals are then recovered and recycled as raw materials. However, ASR* generated during the shredding process is typically treated through thermal recovery, in which it is used as a fuel source.
Toyota Metal Co., Ltd., an automotive recycling company jointly invested in by the Toyota Group, including Toyota Tsusho, pursues material recycling by thoroughly sorting ASR through its proprietary separation process and recovering metals and plastics for reuse as raw materials. Furthermore, through collaboration with steel manufacturers, the company has developed technologies and schemes to recycle materials that are difficult to process through conventional material recycling, such as plastics, urethane foam, rubber, and fibers, by converting them into raw materials and fuel for electric arc furnaces (EAFs).
As a result, Toyota Metal has succeeded in achieving a recycling rate of nearly 100% for end-of-life vehicles.
Toyota Metal Co., Ltd. is primarily engaged in the shredding and recycling of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs). In addition to these operations, the company collaborates with automobile manufacturers to conduct research and development on vehicle dismantling and recycling technologies.
Leveraging the knowledge and expertise gained through these activities, Toyota Metal also provides recommendations to automobile manufacturers aimed at enhancing vehicle recyclability, including the promotion of Design for Disassembly (DfD) and other recycling-friendly vehicle design practices.
K.K. Planic ("Planic") is one of Japan’s largest recycled plastic manufacturers(*1), jointly invested in by Toyota Tsusho Corporation and Kojima Industries Corporation, a group company of Kojima Press Industry Co., Ltd.
Recycled plastics recovered from end-of-life vehicles, including those derived from ASR, are difficult to sort by resin type. As a result, producing the high-quality materials required for Car-to-Car recycling(*2) has traditionally been challenging, and most of these plastics have been disposed of through thermal recovery. To address this challenge, Planic became the first company in Japan to introduce advanced density separation technology and equipment that had already been commercialized in Europe. This technology enables the production of high-quality recycled plastics and supports Car-to-Car recycling, which has become one of the company’s key strengths.
Planic’s “Large-Scale Car-to-Car Horizontal Recycling through High-Purity Plastic Sorting” was recognized for its outstanding contribution to climate change mitigation in the Advanced Introduction and Proactive Implementation Category and received the FY2025 Minister of the Environment’s Climate Change Action Award.
The Climate Change Action Award, presented by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment, recognizes individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to climate change mitigation, including measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as climate change adaptation through efforts to prevent or minimize climate-related impacts.
