Saving and reusing resources in products and circular economy initiatives

Saving resources in products and circular economy initiatives

Our approach

As risks that threaten the sustainability of society and companies continue to rise, such as environmental destruction due to resource depletion and excessive mining, major fluctuations in resource costs around the world, and concerns about the supply of rare metals, the European Commission (EC) has established A new Circular Economy Action Plan as a growth strategic pillar of the European Green Deal and is moving forward with measures to accelerate further implementation of resource efficiency into society. This is a growing trend all over the world. We believe that from the perspective of recycling resources, it is important for us to make efficient use of the resources in the ICT products that we provide to customers. We have engaged in design that draws on the principles of reduce, reuse, and recycle, and have developed our products with technology that is effective in reducing the amount of resources we use. Given the growing importance of the circular economy worldwide in recent years, we continue to promote the reduction of environmental impact through resource saving while shifting our focus to the realization of the circular economy.

Furthermore, in October 2023, Fujitsu joined the Circular Partners (CPs), a partnership established by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to foster collaboration among industry, government, and academia aimed at realizing a circular economy. We submitted our target to reduce our resource intensity—a proprietary term that indicates the volume of virgin resources used per revenue across the Fujitsu Group—by 30% or more compared to FY2023 levels to CPs, and are advancing activities toward this end. In FY2025, the reduction was 25.6% compared with FY2023 levels because of the impact from a decrease in sales, despite carrying out resource-saving initiatives. This target is also covered in the Fujitsu Group Environmental Action Plan (Stage XII). To meet our target, we will continue to drive efforts such as increasing the use of recycled materials to reduce our reliance on virgin resources.

Reduction in resource intensity

FY2025 performance

Targets under the Fujitsu Group Environmental Action Plan (Stage Ⅺ)	FY2025 result
Development of products and services that contribute to a circular economy business model	By promoting a transformation to a circular economy business model, the circular economy has become a common development theme across all Product Business Divisions

By promoting a transformation to a circular economy business model, the circular economy has become a common development theme across all Product Business Divisions

Following a shift in mindset driven by cross-functional initiatives, each Product Business Division is now transitioning from viewing the circular economy merely as an environmental measure to a core theme for business model transformation, and is proactively addressing it. First, we promoted a shift in mindset among product development teams through cross-functional initiatives such as holding workshops, setting and promoting targets for each division, deploying e-learning, and disseminating information through the internal website. As a result, the circular economy is now recognized not merely as an environmental initiative, but as a company-wide business transformation theme, penetrating the entire organization. Also, we have established a system in which all business divisions involved in product development formulate and promote targets that incorporate the perspective of the circular economy. This has transformed the system into an autonomous promotion system in which each division proactively takes action. As a result, 8 development targets related to the circular economy were set and promoted across all 6 business divisions in FY2025.

Looking ahead

Going forward, we will work to make the Fujitsu Group’s initiatives more visible by using concrete indicators, while also setting more ambitious targets and driving efforts to achieve them.

Examples of initiatives

uSCALE subscription model (Fsas Technologies Inc.)

How uSCALE works

This is a new IT infrastructure delivery model that allows the customer to use hardware equipment such as servers and storage, as well as software, on-premises, on a monthly subscription basis.
At the end of the subscription period, the product is returned, refurbished, and then redistributed to other customers. This process reduces the use of virgin resources and contributes to the realization of a circular economy.
Furthermore, customers also benefit from reduced initial costs, pay-as-you-go billing, and the elimination of the need to own assets.

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Development of a reuse program for ATM maintenance parts (Fujitsu Frontech)

ATM remanufactured maintenance parts (units)

When we replace our customers' ATMs, we take back old ATMs that would normally be scrapped and refurbish some of the parts to be used as maintenance parts. This reduces the number of newly manufactured maintenance parts, thereby limiting the use of new resources and helping to reduce waste.

Introduction of other initiatives (case studies)

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Product recycling

Our approach

The Fujitsu Group's recycling activities are based on the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which holds producers responsible for product design and manufacturing as well as disposal and recycling, and the concept of Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR), which holds a company responsible for its own products. Fujitsu is certified for area-wide disposal of industrial waste based on the Act to Promote Effective Utilization of Resources in Japan. In accordance with these concepts, Fujitsu Recycling Centers around Japan are entrusted to properly dispose of industrial waste, and one of Fujitsu’s voluntary management indicators is "to reuse at least 90% of the resources in its ICT products for businesses."