Environmental Management

Internal Environmental Audits

We at KDDI Group conduct internal environmental audits as required by ISO 14001. Auditors are selected by the Sustainability Planning Department.
In fiscal 2021, 22 divisions and 22 offices in KDDI and group companies were audited. Referring to the internal environmental audit results of fiscal 2020, emphasis was placed on (1) reflecting each corporate issue to its environmental targets, (2) compliance with environmental laws and regulations, and (3) EMS operation. Self-checks using a check sheet were conducted along with audit interviews by auditors. There were no non-conformances, and eight items requiring improvement or receiving proposals.

KDDI Group ISO 14001 Certification Acquisition(certified by Japan Quality Assurance Organization, JQA) (As of the end of March 2023)

KDDI Corporation, OKINAWA CELLULAR TELEPHONE COMPANY, KDDI Research, Inc., KDDI Technology Corporation, KDDI Engineering Corporation, Japan Telecommunication Engineering Service Co., Ltd., KDDI Foundation, Chubu Telecommunications Co., Inc.,KDDI MATOMETE OFFICE CORPORATION, KDDI MATOMETE OFFICE HIGASHINIHON CORPORATION, KDDI MATOMETE OFFICE CHUBU CORPORATION, KDDI MATOMETE OFFICE KANSAI CORPORATION, KDDI MATOMETE OFFICE NISHINIHON CORPORATION
13 companies/organizations in total are certified

Compliance with Environmental Laws and Regulations

Compliance with Various Environmental Management Laws and Regulations

In order to prevent or reduce environmental impacts by our business activities, we strictly comply with national environmental laws and regulations, as well as with local ordinances and agreements. In KDDI, there were no violations of environmental laws and regulations in fiscal 2021.
There were no environmental contaminations, such as leakage or outflow of hazardous substances either.

Related Laws and Regulations

  • Act on the Rational Use of Energy
  • Act on the Promotion of Sorted Collection and Recycling of Containers and Packaging
  • Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act
  • Act on Rational Use and Proper Management of Fluorocarbons
  • Law Concerning Special Measures for Promotion of Proper Treatment of PCB Wastes
  • Tokyo Metropolitan Environmental Security Ordinance

Appropriate Processing of PCB-Containing Equipment

In accordance with the PCB Management Rules set out for the purpose of proper management of PCBs and prevention of accidents, KDDI is promoting the disposal of retired equipment that contains PCBs. We are continuing to dispose of remaining equipment containing high-concentration PCBs and low-concentration PCBs.

Status and Future Plans for Disposal of Equipment Containing PCBs (As of July 2022)

Disposal amount in FY2021 Remaining amount yet to be disposed Planned disposal time
Equipment containing high-concentration PCBs 0.607t 0.076t Disposed by the end of March 2023
Equipment containing low-concentration PCBs 0t 9.849t Disposed by the end of March 2023
(8.55 tons of the amount yet to be disposed of have been processed)

Cooperation with Business Partners

We continuously make our base stations lighter in weight and more energy efficient. As 5G networks process larger volume of data (traffic) than 4G networks, electricity consumption would significantly increase with the existing system. Therefore, we work with the suppliers of equipment for base stations to develop equipment lighter in weight and more energy efficient.
We are introducing the most advanced 4G and 5G base stations, reducing weight by approximately 40% and electricity consumption by approximately 19%, compared to conventional 3G and 4G base stations. We will continue to work with business partners to reduce our environmental impacts.

Education and Awareness Raising for Employees

We believe that enhancing the environmental awareness of all employees and encouraging them to better understand environmental issues are essential to promote our environmental activities.

Initiatives Target Details/Results (FY2021)
Briefing session at the beginning of the term Persons responsible for environmental
ISO of KDDI Group		 Themes: KDDI's environmental management system (EMS), environmental laws and regulations, details of new regulation revisions
Participants: Attended by 18 representatives from 9 out of 10 departments (90% of target departments) and 17 representatives from 12 out of 10 group companies (83% of target companies)
Training of internal Environmental auditors Held seminars and study sessions to train 2 auditors
e-learning All employees of KDDI Group Theme 1: "KDDI Sustainable Action ―SDGs and fiscal 2021 company-wide key KPIs―"
Trainees: 10,465 (89.9% of the targets)
Theme 2: "KDDI Sustainable Action ―KDDI's Carbon Neutral Initiatives―"
Trainees: 9,650 (84.2% of the targets)

Acquiring the Eco ICT Mark

KDDI has acquired the Eco ICT Mark established by the ICT Ecology Guideline Council [1] to work toward improving environmental consciousness and reducing environmental impacts.

  1. [1]A council aiming for establishing energy conservation indices and other standards to be referenced when procuring ICT devices and data centers

Promoting Green Procurement

We formulated the KDDI Green Procurement Guidelines to promote purchasing of more environmentally conscious products and business equipment (communication devices, air conditioning systems and power supply facilities) with high energy-saving performance. The Guidelines target the devices defined in the latest Ecology Guideline for the ICT Industry specified by the ICT Ecology Guideline Council.
We also apply the KDDI Group Sustainable and Responsible Procurement Guidelines to our business partners and follow up on their response toward environmental management, using the Responsible Procurement Surveys.

Response to Act on Promoting Green Procurement

KDDI has a lineup of products that meet the requirements of the Japanese government's Law on Promoting Green Purchasing.

Implementation of Life Cycle Assessments (LCA)

We are working on LCAs that assess environmental impact by calculating CO2 emitted through all processes related to products and services, including manufacture, use, disposal and recycling.[2] Since fiscal 2008, we have regularly conducted LCAs for the "au" and "au Hikari" brands every three years. We conducted LCAs in fiscal 2021.

  1. [2]The environmental impact from disposal and recycling are included in environmental impact from manufacture.

Environmental Impact of "au"

Environmental Impact of "au"

CO2 emissions per "au" user decreased 10.8% from the previous assessment. Despite an increase in smartphone battery capacity, overall CO2 emissions from cell phones have decreased as a result of lower smartphone manufacturing costs and increased purchasing demand for lower-cost products.

Environmental Impact of "au Hikari"

Environmental Impact of "au Hikari"

CO2 emissions per "au Hikari" user increased 20.8% from the previous assessment. On-premises equipment and network-side equipment were replaced with high-performance 10 Gigabit service-compatible equipment, and overall CO2 emissions increased in line with the increase in power consumption.

Self-Assessment Checklist for CO2 Emission Reduction from Energy Conservation Efforts by Telecommunications Services Provider

Assessment items Implementation, measures taken
Preparation of a voluntary ecological action plan 1 Has a voluntary ecological action plan stipulating various efforts directed at reducing CO2 emissions through energy conservation been created and is it being executed? We have formulated and are implementing medium-term environmental conservation plans based on the KDDI Environmental Charter.
2 Does the ecological policy include specific efforts stipulating numerical targets for the reduction of CO2 emissions through energy conservation? The fourth environmental conservation plan (KDDI GREEN PLAN 2030) included the following targets.
3 Is the ecological policy documented and disseminated inside and out-side of the company? Does the company carry out activities to inform and enlighten its employees? Is the company working to raise ecological awareness?
  • The environmental conservation plan is disclosed within and outside the company in the Sustainability Report and on the corporate website.
  • We also provide e-learning program and internal seminars for employees as needed.

Education and Awareness Raising for Employees (on this page)
4 Does the company disclose to the general public its activities and data such as CO2 emission reduction? The progress toward the achievement of the trend targets for the medium-term environmental conservation plan is disclosed in the Sustainability Report and on the corporate website.
Efforts relating to procurement 5 In regard to ICT equipment and data center services, has the company prepared a procurement standard based on assessment standards specified in this Guideline? Is procurement carried out in accordance with the standard? We conduct procurement activities in accordance with the KDDI Green Procurement Guidelines.
Promoting Green Procurement (on this page)
6 Is the company cognizant of energy conservation in procuring office equipment, supplies and logistics (e.g., green purchasing)? KDDI promotes green purchasing under the KDDI Group Sustainable and Responsible Procurement Guidelines.
Promotion regime 7 In relation to efforts to reduce CO2 emissions through energy conservation, has the company assigned a person or department to be responsible for such matters? The Sustainability Management Division was established.
8 Is there a regime in place using internal audits or other means to keep appropriate track of the implementation of measures and achievement of targets set forth in the voluntary ecological action plan? We monitor the implementation and the achievement level, conduct inspections and improve through internal audits under the Environmental ISO Management System.
Other ecological activities 9 Are ecologically friendly efforts being made other than activities to save energy? We consider the promotion of 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) to also be a significant issue and are committed to the following initiatives:
  • Promotion of recycling communication facilities and achieving higher recycling rate.
  • Promotion of recycling post-consumer mobile phones and achieving higher recycling rate.
  • Reduction in paper resource use via Green by ICTs (Bill on Web, KDDI paperless fax service, slimmed down au mobile phone manual, compact individual packaging, etc.).
  • Reduction in office waste and achieving higher recycling rate.
    We are also engaged in improving the supply chain by dealing with Scope 3 and promoting LCA and in conserving biodiversity.
10 Is the company involved in ecological preservation activities in collaboration with local communities? We implement environmental conservation activities across Japan, together with our employees and local stakeholders such as local authorities and NPOs.
Environment