Basic Policy

The Sumitomo Forestry Group makes efforts in attaining zero emissions and reducing the generation of industrial waste, while promoting reuse and recycling in each operational process in accordance with the Sumitomo Forestry Group Environmental Policy and the internal Industrial Waste Management Regulations in order to build a sustainable circular society. One of our material issues is to realize a circular bioeconomy by leveraging forests and wood resources, and we are promoting initiatives to reduce our environmental impact, such as protecting resources by promoting recycling and zero emissions. The Sumitomo Forestry Group has also established measures in each of its divisions to achieve the material issue. We check the progress of the plan each fiscal year. In fiscal 2025, the final year of the medium-term management plan, we reduced the Group’s total final waste disposal amount to 17,344 tons, achieving the target of reducing the amount by 7.0% relative to the fiscal 2023 level to 21,213 tons.

Management System

The Sumitomo Forestry Group, based on its Industrial Waste Management Regulations, complies with the Waste Management and Public Cleaning Act and related laws, and is committed to reducing the generation of industrial waste, ensuring proper disposal, and promoting recycling and reuse.
In addition, we have established basic policies on industrial waste management and have taken necessary measures, such as developing regulations and building management systems.
As a management organization, we clarify the management system and management responsibilities, and we require all our waste-generating sites to comply with the company policies and regulations regardless of their size. To ensure proper management of industrial waste, we appoint industrial waste managers (including management supervisors, management officers, and, when necessary, special industrial waste control manager).
Furthermore, based on the regulations, we implement measures against abnormal situations and provide employees and contractors with education and guidance on industrial waste management.

Initiatives to Achieve Zero Emissions

The Sumitomo Forestry Group defines the achievement of zero emissions as achieving the recycling rate of 98% or more for all industrial waste generated at each of its business sites without simply incinerating or landfilling the waste. Based on this definition, we achieved zero emissions at our domestic manufacturing facilities in fiscal 2009 and at our new housing construction sites in the Tokyo metropolitan area in fiscal 2012. We also achieved zero emissions at our overseas manufacturing plants in fiscal 2020.

In addition, we aim to achieve zero emissions through more detailed management by dividing our sites into seven categories: new housing construction sites, domestic manufacturing plants, power generation business, remodeling and renovation business, overseas manufacturing plants, demolition work sites, and other business, in consideration of the status of business activities and waste generated. In fiscal 2025, we achieved zero emissions at our domestic manufacturing plants, power generation business, and overseas manufacturing plants.

Generation of Waste and Waste Recycling Rates*

*The results for fiscal 2022 and onwards were calculated for Group companies including Cohnan Kensetsu Inc.

Regular Purchase and Use of Recycled Products

Sumitomo Forestry Home Tech outsources the material recycling of the wood waste generated at its renovation sites into particle boards to a waste treatment contractor and regularly purchases the boards to use them as protective materials for floors at other renovation sites of the company.

Education on Waste Management

The Sumitomo Forestry Group is implementing educational measures to help each employee in charge to properly deal with industrial waste generated at its construction sites as well as at its offices.

For example, training is provided to employees who are engaged in the treatment of industrial waste. In fiscal 2025, a total of 127 employees participated in online training at Group companies in Japan, including newly appointed personnel in charge of industrial waste treatment operations and those responsible for industrial waste management. In addition, new technical employees and newly appointed production managers of the Housing Division receive the Group’s own developed training on industrial waste management.

Furthermore, we provide employees with online education on industrial waste. In April 2020, the Sumitomo Forestry Group created an e-learning program on basic waste management to teach employees the fundamentals of managing waste from offices, including industrial waste, and built a system for employees to undergo this curriculum via the intranet. Additionally, starting in January 2025, an introductory e-learning course titled "Introduction to Waste Management" was launched to enable employees to acquire general knowledge about waste management.

In addition, production managers in the Housing Division are required to complete the e-learning course "Key Points of Construction Waste Management" and pass the associated test to acquire necessary knowledge for their duties. Furthermore, in response to strengthened regulations on asbestos, the e-learning course “Preliminary Survey on Asbestos” has been established to help employees acquire more knowledge about asbestos.

Furthermore, we provide education on waste management to external parties. The Housing Division distributes safety and environment information monthly to its branches to keep them up-to-date, and offers relevant guidance and education to construction subcontractors and demolition companies according to their waste reduction and recycling status.

Promotion of Green Purchasing

The Sumitomo Forestry Group promotes activities that contribute to the realization of a sustainable society across all business processes—including product and service development, design and production, material procurement and logistics, and waste management—in accordance with the Sumitomo Forestry Group Environmental Policy. As part of these efforts, in 2006 we established the Green Procurement Guidelines with the aim of prioritizing the purchase of environmentally friendly products and services in our business activities, and engaging all Group employees in environmental conservation efforts. For office supplies, Sumitomo Forestry's green purchasing rate was 64.6% in fiscal 2025, up 0.7 percentage points from 63.9% in fiscal 2024.

Initiatives on Plastics

Formulating Standards to Handle Plastics

Plastics spread throughout our society quickly and brought convenience and other benefits to our lives. However, the reuse and material recycling rate of plastics is still low in the world, compared to other materials. Pollution caused by plastic waste flowing into oceans have become a global issue.

The Sumitomo Forestry Group set measures to respond to the issue of plastics in August 2019, and it has been raising awareness in all relevant departments. We are looking into any and all alternatives to plastic materials for novelty items, stationery supplies and even packaging. We have implemented various initiatives, including selling canned drinks instead of drinks in PET bottles through our internal vending machines and storing canned drinks, not drinks in PET bottles, internally unless otherwise required for a special reason, such as for disaster control, and not distributing drinks in PET bottles at meetings. We have also reflected and revised measures for handling plastics in the Sumitomo Forestry Group Green Purchasing Guidelines.

Compliance with the Plastic Resource Circulation Act

On April 1, 2022, the Plastic Resource Circulation Act came into effect.

This act is designed to promote plastic resource recycling efforts (3R+Renewable) by all entities involved in the design, manufacturing, sale, and supply of plastic products, as well as the discharge, collection, and recycling of waste.

According to the law, "high-volume waste generators" that generated 250 tons or more of specified plastic waste in the previous fiscal year must disclose relevant information, including the target achievement level, on the Internet or via other media. (This provision is applied to Sumitomo Forestry, Sumitomo Forestry Home Tech, and Sumitomo Forestry Crest.)

We also started to conduct examinations for the material recycling of plastic waste generated at our construction sites.