Establishment of New Company 'NTT Circurust' to Promote Recycled Material Use and Resource Circulation

NTT Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: Akira Shimada; hereinafter 'NTT') and Mitsubishi Materials Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Tetsuya Tanaka; hereinafter 'Mitsubishi Materials') will establish a new company, 'NTT Circurust, Inc.' (hereinafter 'the New Company'), aiming to expand the use of recycled materials and promote resource circulation. The New Company will integrate the supply of recycled materials with the transmission of information regarding their origin, allocation, environmental impact, etc. (hereinafter 'characteristic information').

The New Company will manage the physical flow of used IT equipment and telecommunications infrastructure—from collection and recycling to the manufacturing and sale of recycled materials—while also building a system to appropriately transmit the characteristic information of recycled materials within the supply chain.

This will promote the expanded use of recycled materials by product manufacturers and other entities, and also create an environment where waste-generating companies can easily understand and communicate how their waste contributes to resource circulation and environmental benefits, thereby contributing to the social implementation of sustainable resource circulation.

1. Background and Purpose

Used IT equipment and telecommunications infrastructure contain valuable metal resources, including copper, and collection and recycling have been promoted to date. However, the organization and sharing of characteristic information about recycled materials across the various stages of collection, recycling, manufacturing, and sales have not always been sufficient. This has made it difficult for product manufacturers to adequately explain the usage status and sustainability aspects of recycled materials.

Additionally, waste-generating companies have faced challenges in understanding how their used equipment is recycled and what environmental contributions result from that process.

In recent years, interest in resource circulation and environmental impact reduction has grown, and the importance of using recycled materials has increased, particularly in the manufacturing industry. Furthermore, as environmental responses across the entire supply chain are demanded, the need for mechanisms to appropriately share and transmit characteristic information about recycled materials between companies has become more critical.

These trends are also accelerating at the policy level. The government's 'Circular Economy Action Plan,' published in April 2026, identifies strengthening the recycled resource supply chain as a key issue and sets a target that by 2030, approximately 30% of domestically produced copper will come from recycled resources such as E-Scrap*1 and copper scrap. The plan also highlights the importance of forming demand and markets for recycled materials, as well as information collaboration between the manufacturing and resource recycling industries, calling for the development of systems to ensure both the quality and quantity of recycled materials and to promote their use.

Against this backdrop, to link the utilization of recycled materials to sustainable market formation, it is important not only to ensure a stable supply of recycled materials but also to appropriately transmit their characteristic information within the supply chain, enabling product manufacturers to explain their usage status. Furthermore, it is necessary to enable waste-generating companies to understand how collected resources are being used, thereby visualizing the significance of their participation in resource circulation.

Based on these shared challenges, NTT and Mitsubishi Materials will establish the New Company to jointly promote the supply of recycled materials and the transmission of their characteristic information. Through the construction of a circular model that connects waste generation, recycling, and the use of recycled materials, the New Company will contribute to the advancement and social implementation of resource circulation.

2. Initiatives

The New Company will primarily promote the following two initiatives:

(1) Provision of a System for Transmitting Characteristic Information of Recycled Materials

The New Company will provide a system to appropriately transmit the characteristic information of recycled materials throughout the supply chain, all the way to final product manufacturers. This system will be developed in the future into a common platform that can be used across industries, including recycled materials from other companies, creating an environment where product manufacturers can easily explain their use of recycled materials.

Furthermore, this system will enable feedback to waste-generating companies regarding environmental contributions, such as how their used equipment has been recycled and utilized as recycled materials. This will help visualize the significance of participating in resource circulation and encourage further engagement in circular practices.

(2) Manufacturing and Sales of Recycled Materials

The New Company will collect used IT equipment and telecommunications infrastructure, recycle them as raw materials, and manufacture and sell recycled materials. It will initially launch its business targeting metal resources derived from IT equipment and telecommunications infrastructure.

Through these initiatives, the New Company will serve as a hub connecting various stakeholders involved in resource circulation, including waste-generating companies, recyclers, and product manufacturers.

3. Roles of Each Company

- NTT Corporation

Leveraging its expertise as a generator of used IT equipment and telecommunications infrastructure, as well as the NTT Group's data distribution and traceability technologies and its track record in building and operating cross-industry platforms, NTT will contribute to the business design of the New Company and the development of systems for organizing and transmitting characteristic information of recycled materials.

- Mitsubishi Materials Corporation

As a non-ferrous metal manufacturer with one of the world's largest E-Scrap processing capacities, handling everything from collection to smelting and product manufacturing, Mitsubishi Materials brings strengths in technology and processing capacity cultivated in its urban mining-based resource recycling business. In the New Company, it will be responsible for recycling and the manufacturing and supply of recycled materials, and will contribute to ensuring information reliability and strengthening the business by utilizing data and knowledge about recycled materials in the recycling process.

4. Company Profile

Company Name: NTT Circurust, Inc.

Representative: President and Representative Director Keiki Miyazaki

Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo

Capital: 1.5 billion yen (Capital: 750 million yen, Capital Reserve: 750 million yen)

Shareholders: NTT Corporation (66.6%), Mitsubishi Materials Corporation (33.4%)

Planned Establishment Date: July 1, 2026

Main Business: 'Business related to the transmission of characteristic information of recycled materials' and 'Manufacturing and sales of recycled materials'

Website: https://www.ntt-circurust.co.jp (Scheduled to go live on July 1, 2026 at 10:00 AM)

5. Future Development

Initially, the New Company will focus on building a circular model that integrates collection, recycling, supply of recycled materials, and transmission of characteristic information, targeting metal resources derived from used IT equipment and telecommunications infrastructure.

Going forward, it will expand collaboration with waste-generating companies, recyclers, and product manufacturers, and promote the creation of specific initiatives and use cases for recycled material utilization.

Regarding the information transmission platform, the company will consider expanding to other materials in the future, developing it into a foundation that supports resource circulation across a broader range of manufacturing industries.

By combining the flow of goods and the flow of information, the New Company aims to visualize resource circulation and realize a market where recycled materials are chosen.

6. Endorsement

Mr. Shigeru Tokuda, Executive Officer, Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.

'Our group, in its 'Environmental Basic Policy' and 'Environmental Vision 2050,' aims to contribute to the realization of a sustainable society throughout the value chain through the provision of environmentally conscious products and services and circular production activities, and is promoting the use of recycled materials, including metals.

We view the establishment of this new company as a step that will promote information sharing among stakeholders through the transmission of characteristic information of recycled materials and further clarify the significance of using recycled materials.'