In order to not only recycle construction materials but also reuse interior materials and equipment, we have introduced myUpcyclea, a resource recycling data platform operated by Upcyclea. This platform visualizes the environmental performance of construction materials and reusability of materials arising from construction demolition, helping us facilitate recycling of construction materials.

• Obayashi Launches Initiative to Promote Circular Use of Construction Materials by Employing myUpcyclea, a Data Platform for Circular Resource Management Developed in France（October 23, 2024）

Obayashi is also working to reduce the ratio of final disposal and to promote horizontal recycling. The Group has introduced electronic manifest at all offices since 2006 to strengthen waste management.

In construction of a new laboratory building of the Obayashi Corporation Technology Research Institute, we reused steel-frame and concrete structural materials from the demolished building. This was Japan's first initiative of its kind (*3) and received the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's Prize at the FY2025 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) Promotion Awards.

• *3　Based on our research (June 2024)
  Post-Demolition Steel-Frame and Concrete Structural Components Reused in a New Building for the First Time in Japan

• Open Lab 3, a Multipurpose Laboratory Construction Project Phase I, Has Been Completed, Reusing used Structural Components from a Demolished Building(July 28, 2025)

We are reusing approximately 180 items across 30 categories of building equipment and construction materials, originally used in the Panasonic Group Pavilion, "The Land of NOMO," at the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, for the construction of a new laboratory building at the Obayashi Corporation Technology Research Institute.

In collaboration with product manufacturers, intermediate processors, and leasing companies, we recycle plastic corrugated boards discarded at Obayashi Corporation construction sites into construction fences, which are then used as temporary enclosure at the construction site of a new laboratory building for our Technology Research Institute.

We launched a large-scale initiative to collect used pieces of workwear from Obayashi Corporation's construction site offices and business locations across Japan, and to recycle them in collaboration with a chemical recycling company and a product manufacturer.

Going beyond the promotion of wooden structures and interiors, the Obayashi Group draws on its past experience, expertise, and knowledge in forestry to promote a complete and sustainable cycle for domestic timber. This cycle encompasses operations upstream (tree planting and cultivation), midstream (processing and procurement), downstream (construction), and beyond (power generation and supply). Through this initiative, we aim to use sustainable forest resources and to realize a society that respects the natural world.

In response to growing public concern about violations of human rights and environmental destruction in supply chains, we have been conducting traceability surveys since 2021 on imported timber materials and solar panel materials, which are considered to be at high risk of human rights violations.

Water resources and forest resources are highlighted as challenges in resource recycling facing the construction industry. Our business activities utilize timber and water, and water and forests are closely related to the construction industry. Although the consumption is smaller than that of other materials such as steel and cement, we position timber as one of important materials from viewpoints of conserving biodiversity and respecting human rights, as well as its potential as a renewable material. In Japan, water is abundant in quantity (*4) and therefore we focus on risks in quality (*5), while there are water resource risks in quality and/or quantity inherent in other parts of the world. Based on the understanding of these aspects, we will make efforts to minimize the risks in accordance with laws and regulations and according to needs in local communities. In addition, since timber, supplied from forests, and water, supplied from rivers and groundwater, are connected with the realization of not only a recycling-oriented society but also a decarbonized society and a society that respects the natural world, we are conducting business by developing consumption plans suited for each community taking into account the risks.

• *4　Risks in quantity
  Meaning the amount of available water resources (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism(Available only in Japanese)）
• *5　Risks in quality
  Meaning water pollution, contamination, etc.

• *6　Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas
  Tool to evaluate and visualize water risk in the world
• *7　Global Forest Watch
  Provides information on forest cover, land use, and biodiversity sites to identify risks of deforestation and land conversion

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