Environmental Measures at BLUE FRONT SHIBAURA: Initiatives to Reduce Waste During Demolition of Existing Buildings for a Resource-Recycling Society

Nomura Real Estate (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo / President and Representative Director: Daisaku Matsuo, hereinafter "the Company") is implementing initiatives to accelerate resource circulation throughout the entire building lifecycle in the BLUE FRONT SHIBAURA project (hereinafter "this project"), a specific project under the National Strategic Special Zone Plan, against the backdrop of increasing social demands and strengthened ESG management and information disclosure.

This time, viewing materials generated during building demolition as "valuable resources," the Company will implement new resource circulation initiatives aimed at achieving decarbonization and a circular economy. This will be done with the cooperation of Shimizu Corporation, the original design-builder and demolition contractor, for the existing buildings on the development site, Hamamatsucho Building and Toshiba Hamamatsucho Building.

Hamamatsucho Building (front left)・Toshiba Hamamatsucho Building (front center)・BLUE FRONT SHIBAURA TOWER S (back)

1. Background and Purpose of This Initiative

Recently, responding to decarbonization and transitioning to a circular society have become important management challenges for companies. Building demolition work is positioned under Scope 3 (Category 2: Capital Goods) *1 in the greenhouse gas emission calculation methodology based on the "Green Value Chain Platform" developed by relevant ministries, primarily the Ministry of the Environment. Realizing appropriate resource circulation is extremely important for demonstrating corporate responsibility and transparency in CO₂ emission reduction. In domestic construction work, including demolition, the recycling rate for specified construction materials is high at approximately 97% *2. However, for mixed construction waste other than specified construction materials, the recycling rate remains at approximately 60% *3, leaving room for improvement across society. Furthermore, there is also the challenge that the implementation status of resource recycling, including specified construction materials, is not sufficiently visualized. Amidst these challenges, the demolition of Hamamatsucho Building (1-1-1 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo) and Toshiba Hamamatsucho Building (1-1-1 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo) will implement advanced initiatives as described below, aiming to reduce carbon dioxide by approximately 600 tons in total by visualizing the implementation status of resource recycling. This project aims to thoroughly visualize each initiative and establish a next-generation resource circulation model that achieves both decarbonization and a circular economy.

*1 Green Value Chain Platform HP: https://www.env.go.jp/earth/ondanka/supply_chain/gvc/estimate_03.html *2 Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism HP: https://www.mlit.go.jp/policy/shingikai/content/001329441.pdf *3 Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism HP: https://www.mlit.go.jp/policy/shingikai/content/001361657.pdf

2. Specific Initiatives at Hamamatsucho Building and Toshiba Hamamatsucho Building

(1) Reuse of Seismic Dampers

We are considering reusing the seismic dampers installed in Hamamatsucho Building during seismic reinforcement work in 2014 for BLUE FRONT SHIBAURA TOWER N. This will be the first attempt in Japan to reuse seismic dampers in a new super high-rise building of this scale. This reuse aims to reduce CO₂ emissions by approximately 150 tons.

(2) "Closed-Loop" Initiative Ensuring Traceability of Steel Scrap *4

Generally, the recycling of steel scrap does not visualize where and for what purpose it is reborn into products. In this initiative, steel scrap generated from the demolition of Hamamatsucho Building will be processed into steel at a designated electric arc furnace, and a portion of it will be used for structural members of BLUE FRONT SHIBAURA TOWER N. This "closed-loop" initiative, ensuring traceability, will contribute to the circular economy.

*4 Closed-loop: A system for managing horizontal recycling. It contributes to highly traceable resource circulation by linking the origin, processing steps, and destination.

(3) Recycling of Air Conditioning Machinery

The Company and Daikin Industries, Ltd. have started initiatives to collect used air conditioners generated from building demolitions and air conditioning renovation work in multiple properties, including Hamamatsucho Building, and connect them to appropriate dismantling and resource recycling.

In the initiative at Hamamatsucho Building, used air conditioners are directly transported to Daikin Sunrise Settsu Co., Ltd., a group company of Daikin Industries, Ltd., where they are manually dismantled and sorted. By handing over each component to an appropriate processing company, it becomes easier to separate materials such as iron and copper than with conventional processing, achieving a 100% recycling rate for resource recovery.