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We have set a goal to reach net zero – and be carbon-neutral – by 2040. We have committed to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2030 from where they were in 2013.
 
We are innovating and investing to reach our own goals, and helping the world solve the net zero challenge of fully eliminating greenhouse gas emissions.

A better environment for all

As an ethical technology company, NTT strives to develop innovations that put people and the planet first.
 
Enabling a circular economy is a way to minimize waste and pollution through reuse, repair and recycling of products and materials. For example, we have developed innovative technology that turns food waste into fertilizer. The technology is installed on site at the back docks of supermarkets, where vegetable scraps and other food waste are fermented and broken down as part of an efficient raw waste processing system. The resulting compost is supplied to farms to help grow vegetables.
 
As Japan’s largest cellular mobile company with 90 million customers, we invest in the proper recycling of mobile devices as another example of our commitment to a circular economy.
 
We promote ethical agriculture and have developed a system for sustainable land-based aquaculture farms. These farms allow for the ethical production and sale of microalgae and seafood, even in land-locked areas, and provide an ongoing food source produced in an environmentally sustainable manner.

As Japan’s largest communications and IT infrastructure company, NTT consumes one percent of all power generated in Japan, so we understand the importance of achieving our net zero goals. As part of our strategy, we created a company to develop and manage the renewable energy grids for our own energy usage. We also acquired the country’s second-largest wind generating company. These investments will contribute 45 percent towards our goal of achieving net zero.

Working in harmony toward net zero

Long-term sustainability comes from deep connections among people, prosperity and nature, working together in harmony. Respect for the environment and the world around us is important to NTT as a global connector, collaborating with trusted partners and customers on their journey to net zero. No one can do this alone.

Australia’s Daintree Rainforest, near the Great Barrier Reef, is under threat due to years of farming and logging. NTT is supporting ClimateForce, a charity focused on countering effects of climate change, in regenerating this land and bringing back its original biodiversity through the use of our technology – creating the world’s first Smart Rainforest. We will use AI, data gathering and analysis, and predictive analytics to support this work. NTT is also helping ClimateForce develop exportable models for regenerating ecosystems and protecting biodiversity while building resilient local economies.

Long-term innovation for a sustainable future

Recognizing that it will take technological innovation and new ways of thinking to achieve net zero, NTT has been investing significantly in IOWN (Innovative Optical and Wireless Network). IOWN uses optical technology and photonics to allow for increased computing capacity to meet future societal needs and reduces power consumption significantly.

We are also looking beyond the boundaries of Earth for sustainable solutions. Data centers in space use less power and are more efficient, and solar energy harnessed from space provides alternative energy, which in turn means fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

NTT is finding creative ways to generate and save energy in our data centers here on Earth, too. In Japan, we designed the structure of our Mitaka data center to curve outward so hot air can escape more easily while cold air enters from below the building. In Santa Clara, California, we have developed an efficient cooling system that reuses water, cooled by outside air, running in a continuous cycle. In Germany, we capture heat created in our data centers and reuse it to heat adjacent offices.

Meeting the net zero challenge

Sustainability is part of our DNA at NTT. For more than 150 years we have operated under the principle of doing the right thing for the good of the planet, prosperity and people. Innovating to protect the environment is an important part of that principle.
 
Collaborating as a trusted partner, we connect people and ideas around the globe to collectively close the net zero gap.