Basic Approach & FY2010 Highlights

DOCOMO has recycled used mobile phones since 1998. In 2001, we joined forces with the Telecommunications Carriers Association to build the Mobile Recycle Network, which collects mobile phones regardless of the provider or manufacturer. In fiscal 2010 the network collected 4.09 million phones, bringing the cumulative total to 76.64 million. Resources recovered through the mobile phone recycling process (including gold, silver, copper, and palladium) are reused as industrial raw materials. In addition, scraps produced by the recycling process are effectively reused as cement materials, and plastic materials are effectively reused as auxiliary fuel and recycled plastic.
DOCOMO is also involved in developing products that take the environment into account. For example, the body of the phone TOUCH WOOD SH-08C, which was launched on the market in March 2011, is partially made from thinned hinoki cypress trees that were cut for forest maintenance purposes. Effective use of the thinned trees helps keep Japan's forests healthy, and this fact is communicated to customers as a new form of product value. Moreover, we have joined with Sharp and Olympus, our partners in developing the phone, to jointly donate 1,000 yen per phone sold to the organization "More Trees," which is engaged in forest maintenance projects, in order to support the organization's activities. In January 2011, DOCOMO formulated a new environmental vision, "SMART for GREEN 2020," in order to accelerate these kinds of initiatives. Going forward we plan to further contribute to people's lives and the sustainable development of society as a whole based on this vision.

We encourage customers to participate in our mobile phone recycling initiative with total peace of mind by providing information on the recycling process and measures taken to fully protect customer privacy. In fiscal 2010 we created a phone recycling sticker that straightforwardly explains that when a phone is recycled it is made inoperable right in front of the customer. The stickers were sent to docomo Shops around the country. Going forward, we intend to further promote effective use of resources by working to raise awareness of the recycling program through initiatives such as this.

The body of the TOUCH WOOD phone is partially made from wood that was cut to maintain forests. It features both functionality and a unique bean-shaped design and has the warm feel of wood when held. Forests need to be thinned on a regular basis to maintain them, and TOUCH WOOD represents a new attempt to effectively use forest products that result from thinning as an industrial product. Developing products that take the environment into account is one of the important missions of DOCOMO, and we intend to continue working to fulfill this mission into the future.