Various environmental challenges, including weather disasters such as torrential rain; the negative effects of global warming on agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; environmental pollution including microplastics; and the critical importance of resource recycling and natural resource conservation for economic security, are increasingly impacting our lives and businesses. ICT and DX solutions are increasingly expected to play a role in addressing these challenges. In this special issue, we will introduce the NEC Group's initiatives for green transformation (GX), including measures to resolve climate change and promote resource recycling as well as examples of in-house implementation and co-creation.

ISHII Kenichi
Director
Carbon Neutral Business PMO Group
Corporate Business Development Division

1. Introduction

Efforts to address climate change and promote a circular economy have traditionally relied on more analog approaches, such as transitioning to renewable energy, strengthening infrastructure, and promoting resource recovery. However, there has been a shift toward integrating ICT and DX solutions to achieve greater efficiency and impact across environmental sectors. This special issue discusses the NEC Group's approach to environmental management and our initiatives in various environmental areas.

2. Accelerating Climate Change Adaptation

Efforts to reach international consensus continue in agreements, such as the Kyoto Protocol adopted in 1997 and the Paris Agreement adopted in 2015, to reduce the greenhouse gases (GHG) that cause global warming, but these have not yet succeeded in halting the progression of global warming itself. The damage caused by climate change continues to increase with examples including storm surges due to rising sea levels, river flooding due to heavy rainfall, rising average temperatures, droughts, and forest fires. For this reason, in addition to continuing efforts to mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, there is an urgent need to take measures to deal with the damage caused by disasters resulting from climate change and also to adapt to climate change. However, despite the urgent need for adaptation measures to prepare for the impacts of climate change, the lack of sufficient funding is a problem. This is due to the difficulty of measuring the value and return on investment of adaptation measures as well as the difficulty of making long-term, accurate risk assessments; this hinders the private sector’s ability to make informed investment decisions. As one solution to these challenges, the NEC Group has begun work on NEC Digital Adaptation Finance, which utilizes digital technologies such as remote sensing, AI, and digital twins to quickly, appropriately, and continuously collect and analyze the information necessary for risk assessment and to visualize the effects of adaptation measures. By quantitatively visualizing the effects of adaptation, we can clarify the cost-effectiveness of adaptation measures and channel funds into adaptation.

In 2023, we proposed the concept of NEC Digital Adaptation Finance at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP) and followed up in 2024 with a progress report on specific initiatives. This special issue also covers these NEC Group's initiatives aimed at accelerating climate change adaptation measures.

3. Contribution to Climate Change Mitigation

In recent years, initiatives to reduce GHG emissions and promote the circular economy have begun to be closely linked to economic policies at the local and national levels rather than being limited to environmental measures taken by individuals and companies. As a leader in environmental regulations, Europe requires the disclosure of the amount of CO₂ emitted in the production of batteries for electric vehicles, and this is expected to be extended to other products. European lawmakers are also moving to impose a carbon tax on steel products and other materials based on the amount of CO₂ emitted during production. These regulations and tariffs not only promote environmental measures in Europe but also protect the market by creating barriers to entry, ensure the competitiveness of companies within the region, and have other economic aspects.

The NEC Group has been working to comply with chemical substance regulations and conserve energy as a manufacturer, and going forward, we are further contributing to the reduction of CO₂ emissions for our customers and society by providing consulting services and ICT-based solution services that make use of our knowledge and experience. Also, designing and manufacturing products that consider environmental impacts such as CO₂ emissions, as well as improving logistics efficiency to reduce CO₂ emissions will be important. Work also needs to be done to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture, the source of food and raw materials. In this special issue, we will introduce the NEC Group's advanced initiatives in these areas.

In addition, the increase in energy consumption of data centers is becoming widely recognized as a major problem due to rapid growth in the use of generative AI and other technologies, and we will also discuss the NEC Group's efforts to improve the energy efficiency of its data centers.

4. Accelerating the Realization of the Circular Economy with ICT

Until recently, economic activity has been based on a linear economy characterized by mass production, mass consumption, and mass disposal. Recently, however, this approach has been re-evaluated, and initiatives to achieve a circular economy for sustainable, cyclical economic activity have increased. To achieve a circular economy, behavioral change among businesses and consumers must be encouraged, and a system that allows society as a whole to share information about resource recycling is required. This requires accurately and appropriately tracing the flow of goods and products across organizational and corporate boundaries within the value chain and maintaining information management throughout the entire lifecycle. As goods and products move between manufacturers, distributors, consumers, collection agents, and recyclers, detailed material composition and recycling information must be correctly passed along in addition to conventional product information. In Europe, the implementation of information linkage platforms, such as the digital product passport (DPP) and the GAIA-X information distribution platform, has begun to achieve this linking of traceability information. In Japan, the development of the Ouranos Ecosystem by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Circular Economy System (SIP-CE) by the Strategic Innovation Creation Program (SIP) of the Cabinet Office is also progressing. The NEC Group is working on the development of a plastic information distribution platform (PLA-NETJ) for the exchange of plastic-related environmental information between companies in the SIP-CE. When exchanging information between companies, ensured reliability and controlled disclosure are extremely important. The NEC Group aims to achieve a system that allows companies to exchange environmental information safely and securely by utilizing trust technology and other methods.

Furthermore, the efficiency of resource recycling is also important. The NEC Group is working with partners in the recycling processes for plastics and aluminum to leverage AI for achieving more efficient resource recycling, and we will also explain the details.

5. ICT Supporting GX

In promoting GX, NEC Group’s ICT and ICT infrastructure construction and operation technologies, cultivated over the years, can contribute to many areas, such as the visualization (digitization) of the natural environment, multi-company data collaboration and optimization, and the stable operation of renewable energy infrastructure. In this issue, we will introduce examples of how satellite image analysis, multi-company optimization simulation technology, and optical communication infrastructure construction and operation technology are applied to offshore wind power infrastructure.

6. Conclusion

As the importance of tackling climate change and optimizing resource use continues to rise, companies, governments at both the local and national levels, and other organizations can no longer view these challenges as vague narratives about corporate social responsibility (CSR) centered on preserving the global environment but instead recognize them as concreate financial challenges, such as energy management, food security, and business continuity planning. To address these challenges, we must first accurately visualize what is happening in the real world and then use this visualized data as the basis for making various predictions and optimizations. The NEC Group will continue to contribute to the conservation and restoration of the global environment and the realization of a sustainable society through the development and provision of various ICTs and related services and solutions.

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