November 28, 2024

Sekisui House Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kita-ku, Osaka, Representative Director, President, and CEO: Yoshitaka Nakai) and Bridgestone Corporation (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Global CEO: Shuichi Ishibashi) have started a collaborative initiative to horizontally recycle (closed-loop recycling) *1 the residue generated during the construction of Sekisui House's residences for the resin piping used in water supply and hot water systems.
Both companies are progressing with discussions on recycling the resin piping for water supply and hot water systems to achieve a sustainable society that aligns with their respective visions.

Sekisui House recycles all waste generated during new construction, maintenance, and renovation, including the residues of water supply and hot water system resin piping, at its 21 resource recycling centers nationwide through its unique resource circulation system, the "Sekisui House Zero Emission System*2. Some of the resource recycling centers also conduct partial material recycling*3 on the dismantled water supply and hot water system resin piping. However, the inner pipe materials are often challenging for material recycling, and mainly recycled as thermal energy.
On the other hand, Bridgestone uses polybutene pipes, a thermoplastic resin that is recyclable, for the inner pipes of the water supply and hot water system resin piping. Although efforts had been made to return production residues to raw materials, recycling during construction had not fully leveraged these benefits.

In this collaboration, leveraging the strengths of both companies, Sekisui House recycles Bridgestone-manufactured polybutene pipes collected, turning them into recycled pellets at a reprocessed material manufacturer to be returned to Bridgestone for use in the production of water supply and water heating resin pipes. As a result, over 70%*5 of the Bridgestone-manufactured water supply and water heating resin pipe end materials discharged during Sekisui House's new construction projects are now closed-loop recycled. Additionally, when including end materials recycled for other purposes, almost 100%*5 of the total will be material recycled.

Both companies will continue to advance their material recycling initiatives and accelerate collaboration towards effective resource utilization and transition to a circular economy.

Flow of horizontal recycling

Structure of Bridgestone-manufactured water supply and water heating resin pipes

Resource Circulation Center and Flow of Waste

Resource Recycling Center Work Scene

Under the global vision of "making "my home" the happiest place in the world," Sekisui House aims to be a leading company in ESG management.
The construction of residences requires a large amount of resources, but Sekisui House achieved zero emissions in four sectors (material production, new construction sites, after maintenance, in-house property renovation sites) in the lifecycle of residences from material production in factories to demolition work from 2002 to 2007, becoming the first in the industry to do so.
Through ongoing efforts in achieving zero emissions, Sekisui House will contribute to the transition of the housing industry towards a circular economy.

Bridgestone aims to achieve its vision of becoming a sustainable solution company by 2050 that continuously provides social and customer value. Through its entire value chain of "create and sell" products, "use" them, and "return" raw materials, the company strengthens its initiatives towards carbon neutrality, circular economy realization, and nature positive by linking them with business, challenging the establishment of a sustainable value creation foundation.
In the future, as a core principle to advance management while gaining trust from the future, Bridgestone will commit to generating value together with many stakeholders such as employees, society, partners, and customers through the corporate commitment "Bridgestone E8 Commitment," fulfilling responsibilities for the future and supporting a sustainable society.

1. ※1 The process of making the same product anew using used products as materials. Producers recycling their own products.
2. At the construction site of Sumitomo House, waste is collected and sorted at the company's own facility, the Resource Circulation Center, based on the wide-area certification system, and then recycled 100%. "Zero Emission" refers to zero simple incineration and landfill disposal of industrial waste.
3. Recovering used products, production waste such as scraps, and using them as raw materials for new products without chemical treatment.
4. Synthetic resin that softens when heated, can be processed into various shapes, and hardens when cooled. Generally, it is an easy material for molding and recycling due to the ability to undergo changes through heating and cooling repeatedly.
5. The ratio is based on the weight of the materials.
6. *6 Bridgestone E8 Commitment
   Bridgestone has established the corporate commitment "Bridgestone E8 Commitment" to realize its vision of becoming a sustainable solution company that provides social value and customer value in 2050. We will proceed with management while earning trust from the future, and commit to creating the eight values (Energy, Ecology, Efficiency, Extension, Economy, Emotion, Ease, Empowerment) that begin with "E" in a Bridgestone-like manner, and support a sustainable society together with employees, society, partners, and customers.

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