We aim to create new businesses, while analyzing the risks and opportunities associated with the transition to a circular economy in each segment.

The Sustainability Committee works under the Executive Committee to plan, formulate and provide recommendations on basic management policies, business activities, and corporate policies and strategies related to the circular economy.
The Sustainability Committee is structured so that its activities are appropriately supervised by the Board of Directors, and matters discussed by the Sustainability Committee are regularly discussed and reported to the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors.

Please refer to the links below for more information on Mitsui's Sustainability Management Framework and the activities of the Sustainability Committee.

• Our Approach to Sustainability: Sustainability Governance and Oversight
• Our Approach to Sustainability: Sustainability Committee

Organizations and task forces related to the circular economy have been set up in several Business Units. The organizations, task forces, etc., analyze the external environment and examine business opportunities at each Business Unit and report the results of their analyses and the details of their considerations to the head of each Business Unit and the management members.

We are promoting and expanding our efforts for the circular economy through participation in initiatives. Our participation in each initiative is decided after confirming that it is consistent with our basic policy on the circular economy.

CLOMA was established in January 2019 to find solutions to the global challenge of marine plastic debris through the sustainable use of plastic products, the development and introduction of alternative materials, and the acceleration of innovation. Mitsui is one of the 31 secretary companies. As of July 2023, 498 companies and organizations have joined CLOMA, including a few of Mitsui's subsidiaries namely, Mitsui & Co. Plastics Ltd., Mitsui Bussan Packaging Co., Ltd., and Vendor Service Co., Ltd.
Mitsui participates in the Dissemination & Promotion Working Group, which shares technological information to make it easier to select the best alternative materials for each application, the Technology Working Group, which holds technological exchanges and technological seminars on the latest development results, and the International Working Group, which collects information through collaboration with international organizations and research institutions and provides information and technological consulting services in developing countries. Mitsui will continue to take the actions needed to help resolve the problem of marine plastic waste, including working as chair of the Indonesia Cooperation Working Group, which was formed under the supervision of the International Working Group, towards the realization of a sustainable solution model. We are also participating as a member of the Future Design Task Force Team established in 2022 to formulate CLOMA's ideal vision for the future of Japan.

CEFLEX is a European collaborative consortium of companies and associations representing the entire value chain of flexible packaging. CEFLEX is exploring the development of infrastructure systems to collect, sort, and recycle plastic flexible packaging. Mitsui has participated in the consortium since 2018 as one of more than 200 companies that are involved in the plastic packaging materials value chain. Mitsui has been playing active roles in various work groups and will continue to contribute to the realization of a circular economy through its participation in CEFLEX.

As the trends towards a circular economy are accelerating globally, the Japan Partnership for Circular Economy has been established by the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Nippon Keidanren Federation, to enhance public-private collaboration and further foster the understanding and support of a wide range of stakeholders, including companies in Japan, for the circular economy. Through this partnership, we will help improve the competitiveness of Japanese companies in the field of the circular economy.

We are actively promoting recycling to meet the needs of a recycling-oriented society. Our subsidiary Mitsui Bussan Metals Co. will expand its recycling business by promoting the recycling of various non-ferrous scrap such as aluminum, copper, titanium, and waste printed circuit boards contained in electrical appliances, as well as enhancing its secondary aluminum alloy business.
Sims Limited, our investee and a recycler, recycles metals and processes municipal waste from New York City. Sims is working on a power generation business utilizing methane gas generated from landfills.

As in developed countries, we expect the transition from "ownership" to "use" will accelerate in Central and South America. We are an investor in Inversiones Mitta SpA, which owns Autorentas del Pacifico SpA, Chile's largest fleet management operating and car rental company. Leveraging Mitta's vehicle operating lease (BtoB), which has a large market share in the Chilean mining and energy industries, and its long-running local car rental business (BtoC), we are striving to promote the leasing, rental, and sharing service businesses and are working to expand the value chain on the consumer side.

Circular Pet, Co. Ltd. ("CPET"), a joint venture established by our Basic Materials Business Unit, together with Veolia Japan K.K. and Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd., is building a new PET bottle recycling plant (recycled PET pellets production capacity: approx. 25,000 tons per year) in Tsuyama City, Okayama Prefecture, which has been in commercial operation since June 2024. CPET produces and sells 100% recycled PET pellets from used PET bottles in Japan. Thanks to Veolia's technology and operational know-how, even relatively low-grade used PET bottles with caps and labels can be processed 100% without mixing with clean used PET bottles without caps and labels, making CPET the only company capable of producing recycled PET pellets that can be used for beverage applications, which is a key feature of CPET. Starting with this project and initiative, we will contribute to the establishment of a circular economy by investigating and promoting similar projects to help solve waste plastic problems in Japan and overseas.

Furthermore, the Performance Materials Business Unit has established a recycling value chain at its subsidiary Mitsui Bussan Packaging Co., Ltd., from the collection of wastepaper to the sale of recycled paper and the sale of packaging materials made from recycled fiber, such as corrugated cardboard. The continuous use of wastepaper reduces the consumption of virgin wood resources. Wastepaper has been recycled, but as the volume of wastepaper is decreasing, we are paying attention to the recycling of difficult-to-process recycled fiber, such as waterproof paper and thermal paper, which is currently disposed of by incineration. Due to the high demand of collecting difficult-to-process recycled fiber, Mitsui Bussan Packaging is verifying the recycling of such paper as raw materials. In October 2023, we established Mitsui Bussan First One Mile Co., Ltd. as a joint venture of Mitsui Bussan Packaging Co., Ltd. and Miyazaki Co., Ltd., providing integrated management services for waste-resources including wastepaper.

We are working with U.S. company PureCycle Technologies, Inc. ("PCT") on the joint development of a recycled polypropylene resin production project in Japan.
Further recycling and utilization of plastics are required in Japan to deal with ocean plastic pollution and climate change. Polypropylene ("PP") resin is widely used to produce packaging materials and automobile parts, but the recycled PP has limited application due to the residue of additives, such as colorants which is difficult to remove from the resin.
PCT holds IPs to produce a recycled PP resin called Ultra-Pure Recycled Polypropylene (UPRP) from waste plastic, which has similar qualities to virgin resin. In April 2023, PCT completed the construction of its first plant in Ohio, in the U.S., with an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons UPRP. PCT has already sold more than 20 years' worth of recycled PP resin output from its upcoming plant, and is also planning to build large-scale recycling plants in Augusta, Georgia, in the U.S. and in Antwerp, Belgium.
By promoting this joint project, we aim to expand the use of UPRP for consumer goods, food containers, automobile interiors, and other applications. By establishing a supply chain that spans from the securing of supplies of waste plastic, to the manufacture of UPRP, and supply to customers, we will help to reduce waste plastic and establish a circular economy.

Recycled polypropylene resin Existing technology (The past), PureCycle technology (The future)

As aging infrastructure is becoming an issue for societies around the world and interest in circularity is increasing, we are strengthening our maintenance business to contribute to the extension of the lifespan of structures and facilities. We established SHO-BOND & MIT Infrastructure Maintenance Corporation in 2019, and Horizon Ocean Management, Ltd. in 2021, which provides inspection and maintenance services for offshore wind power generation facilities. In 2023 we acquired all shares of STATS (UK) Ltd., which manufactures pipeline repair equipment and provides engineering services, and invested in Structural Technologies, LLC, an infrastructure repair company.

Our Food Business Unit is setting up a circulating system through the establishment of an agricultural product value chain and animal protein value chain that effectively use by-products generated during the production of agricultural and livestock products. To give some specific examples, the circulating system use by-products from soybeans, rapeseed, wheat, sesame, and corn, along with livestock by-products and fisheries residue, as livestock and fisheries feed. Cut strawberries with their leafy calyxes are squeezed to make juice. Tea leaf residue is used as a raw material for compost. Sugar cane fiber is used as fuel for power generation, and waste cooking oil are reused as livestock and fisheries feed and aviation fuel. Excess sludge generated by wastewater treatment will be dried and used as boiler fuel. Activities such as these are promoting the expansion of sales channels for by-products.

Cyclical Systems for the Effective Utilization of By-products