Sustainable Use of Resources
and Raw Materials

Under the Gunpla Recycling Project, which started in April 2021, we collect runners (part of the model kits framework) from model kits in the Gundam series and reuse them in new model kits through the use of a cutting-edge chemical recycling process. By doing so, we aim to create a recycling-oriented society together with Gundam fans. The runners collected through the project are transported to the Bandai Hobby Center, a model kits manufacturing plant of Bandai Spirits.

A portion of these runners is used as a material for verification testing targeting the realization of chemical recycling, and the rest is reused through material recycling or thermal recycling, together with plastics created through the manufacturing process at the Bandai Hobby Center. In fiscal 2023, we collected approximately 40 tons of runners.

The Bandai Namco Group has collected and recycled Gashapon capsules since 2006. In 2021, Bandai, Bandai Namco Amusement, and Bandai Logipal jointly started Gashapon Capsule Recycling, an initiative to further expand these recycling efforts. (Amount collected in fiscal 2023: approximately 42 tons)

The collected empty capsules are turned into pellets (recycled pellets), which are the raw materials for capsules, and then they are mixed with ordinary pellets (virgin pellets) to form the capsules. At present, recycled pellets account for about 20% of new capsules.

In addition, we have set up Gasha Point Stations, empty capsule collection boxes, at Gashapon Department Stores and Gashapon Bandai Official Shops. This makes empty capsule collection an enjoyable experience for customers.

All Bandai Namco Group companies are making efforts to address the social issues of leftover food and food loss.

As part of these efforts, Bandai has conducted repeated verification testing on its mainstay confectionery products—Tsuri Gummies series, Charapaki series, ramune, and desserts. Five years of this research has helped extend the best-before dates of these products. In addition, we are working in such areas as reducing product and raw material loss in the production process and extending sales periods. As a result, we reduced food loss by 10.5 tons. Moreover, Heart, which handles confectionery products, and Artpresto, have begun using discarded products in animal feed. In these ways, we are working on a Groupwide basis to reduce waste.

© BANDAI

At the venue for THE IDOLM@STER SHINY COLORS 5thLIVE If I wings., which was held in March 2023, we implemented an initiative to collect used clothing from attendees. We called on fans to deposit used clothes into boxes that were set up at the venue to collect such clothing.

Used clothes that were collected at the event were recycled into new reusable materials. We reused these materials in panels at THE IDOLM@STER SHINY COLORS 5.5th Anniversary LIVE event.

At Bandai Namco Music Live, LEDs are used in many places to illuminate the event to save energy. We make an effort to sell reusable goods at live events. In addition to selling original eco bags at the event site, we have switched to battery-powered pen lights that can be used repeatedly instead of disposable ones, which are used during live events. In addition, used chemical lights are collected by dedicated collection boxes at the venue.

Bandai Namco Technica, a supplier of arcade games, has been promoting recycling initiatives since 2010 to ensure that limited resources are still available in the future. We carefully separate metals, printed circuit boards (PCB), wiring, and HDDs that are replaced during the course of maintenance and other work. In fiscal 2023, we recycled approximately 6.2 tons of materials and components.

Artpresto has been working to recycle waste plastics from its plants since 2017. The company outsources the recycling of packaging material waste from its production lines to its partner RPF^* production plants.

RPF is a high-calorie solid fuel made primarily from recovered paper and waste plastics that are difficult to conduct material recycling. It effectively reduces greenhouse gas (CO₂) emissions by one-third compared to the same amount of heat obtained when burning coal. RPF conversion of waste plastics is stipulated in Japan’s new plastics law as an energy recovery method. In fiscal 2023, Artpresto recycled approximately 103 tons of waste plastics as RPF.

*Refuse derived paper and plastics densified fuel. RPF is an alternative to fossil fuels such as coal, coke, and heavy oil, used for high-efficiency heating by major paper manufacturers (power generation and manufacturing processes), limestone companies, and biomass power plants (assisted combustion).

Bandai Namco Technica has been using environmentally friendly materials for more than 10 years. These materials are used to make packaging materials (more than 8 cubic meters per year) for shipping amusement machines. Specifically, the use of buffer materials made primarily from processed rice has resulted in zero emissions of toxic gases during incineration. This buffer material is also characterized by its low combustion calorie content and low burden on incinerators. In addition, P-Life^* is added to prevent the polypropylene (PP) contained in the product from being released as microplastics.

*An additive that transforms non-degradable plastics such as PE and PP into oxidized biodegradable plastics.

Artpresto uses leftover confectionery products^*1 that it sells, while Heart uses confectionery products^*2 that have been discarded due to expiration dates as animal feed to reduce waste.

*1Artpresto: Approximately 7 tons per year

*2Heart: 260 kg of butter cookies per year, 165 kg of cocoa cookies per year