At NRI, we are dedicated to building a better future by reducing our environmental impact and protecting the environment to ensure harmony between people and nature.
Green by NRI
NRI's services and policy recommendations assist clients in enhancing the efficiency and productivity of their businesses and social systems, ultimately contributing to a reduction in environmental impact.
Green of NRI
This also reflects the NRI Group's own efforts to minimize its environmental footprint, through energy-saving initiatives in NRI data centers, office buildings, and individual energy-saving activities.
Sustainable society that connects knowledge to treat the planet wisely
In our longterm Management Vision "NRI Group Vision 2030", our goal is to be ahead of the times through the convergence of business and technology, with insight into the prosperity that lies beyond DX, and to dynamically transform the world with “Digital Social Capital”*1.
Furthermore, we have "Co-create an optimal society" as one of our materialities. We create an optimal
society by effectively utilizing its resources (including human resources, public assets, IP, etc.) and
recycling natural resources through the use of business PF and data analytics by FY2030.
Among the services provided by NRI, "System Development & System Application Sales," which includes
contracted system services for finance and industry, and "System management & Operation Services,"
which involve optimal operation of data centers including shared use services, are particularly
important in improving customer business and social systems. This service aims to improve efficiency and
productivity, and contributes to reducing environmental impact.
Through these services, we aim to realize an environmentally friendly and sustainable society.
| Item | Unit | FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clean Technology-related Sales*2 | JYP million | 442,656 | 468,903 | 504,386 | 539,004 |
| Sales Ratio | ％ | 80.4 | 76.7 | 72.9 | 73.2 |
- *1
Digital Social Capital: Infrastructure and services with new value created by digital technology
- *2
Total value of "System Development & System Application Sales" and "System management & Operation Services" in NRI Group consolidated sales.
Significantly reducing Greenhouse Gass emissions from the use of shared online services
NRI provides various shared online services to multiple companies in many different fields. In the case of “THE STAR”, an integrated back-office system for retail securities firms, Greenhouse Gass emissions can be significantly reduced compared to when clients own.
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*
Calculation for electricity consumption during operation
Policy proposal activities to boost data center energy efficiency
NRI is playing a key role in the initiative to adopt the data center energy conservation indicators developed in Japan as the international standard.
Activities aimed at the adoption of an international standard for data center energy efficiency
At the EU-US-Japan Public-Private Trilateral Conferences since 2009, and more broadly under the auspices of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) since 2012, NRI has pursued negotiations to have the data center energy conservation indicators developed in Japan adopted as the international standard. NRI has been acting in a principal role, chairing committees at the domestic level and serving as a task force leader on international committees. At an international workshop convened in Korea in May 2014, two of the data center energy efficiency assessment indicators proposed by Japan were approved as the WD (Working Draft) for an ISO standard. These indicators constitute the DPPE* that was developed at the Green IT Promotion Council (GIPC) with NRI's participation as well. The plan is to ultimately adopt this WD as the international standard in the future after it has passed through the CD (Committee Draft) and DIS (Draft International Standard) stages.
*DPPE
Datacenter Performance Per Energy. Matrix for data center energy efficiency.
Contribution to mitigating environmental impact through consulting activities
Through its consulting activities for governments and businesses, NRI helps mitigate environmental impact.
Project to verify the feasibility of contributions by Japanese companies with superior technology in sectors where such technology can be adapted to address the effects of climate change
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry provides subsidies for projects to verify the feasibility of Japanese companies that possess superior technology making a contribution to developing countries that are vulnerable to climate change.
A biodegradable fiber developed by Toray Industries, Inc., for example, is expected to contribute to desert greening when formed into tubes to hold soil and seeds and combined with drip irrigation. A Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. water purifier for villages can provide clean water for villages in Tanzania and Ghana that lack a water supply. Bean sprouts from Yukiguni Maitake Co., Ltd., which are highly resistant to salt damage, can be cultivated in Bangladesh on land where crops have previously not been grown because of flooding or other problems.
Desert greening using Toray's fiber in particular, which was also highlighted on a television program by broadcaster NHK, was one of the main attractions at Japan's business booth at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development held last year in Yokohama, which was even visited by Prime Minister Abe.
NRI has solicited a wide range of proposals from Japanese companies that possess superior technologies in sectors where they can be applied to deal with such effects of climate change, and in its role as a judge has consulted continuously from fiscal 2012 through fiscal 2014 in the form of support for the implementation of the proposals.
Net Zero Energy Home pilot project
Energy consumption by Japan's residential housing sector and commercial properties continues to climb. In housing the government is therefore focusing on developing and popularizing net zero energy homes through an effort that combines encouragement for energy conservation with energy creation through means such as solar panels.
To verify the feasibility of creating a net zero energy home, universities were solicited to participate in a test as part of a program by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Agency for Natural Resources and Energy. Five universities - The University of Tokyo, Keio University, Shibaura Institute of Technology, The University of Chiba, and Waseda University - were selected, and the verification was conducted in the form of a competition in which each university actually competed to design and build a model home. The homes were then exhibited for the general public at a location in Shinonome in Tokyo, where they were toured by about 7,000 visitors over a three-day period from January 29-31, 2014.
The University of Tokyo emerged as the winner, based on an
examination by the judges who evaluated, among other factors, the concept, technologies and potential
for diffusion, and measured data that tempered amenities and health with energy-savings and power
generation volume.
NRI participated from the university solicitation phase, and provided assistance for the entire
demonstration test including preparation of the competition criteria.
Assistance for construction activities under the Top Runner Program for Building Materials
Japan's Top Runner Program takes today's top performing products and tempers them for potential technical innovations and other factors to set standards that products manufactured by Japanese companies must exceed after several years. In past years this system was applied to automobiles and home electrical appliances, both of which are regarded as successful examples that improved Japan's energy conservation technology.
The Top Runner Program will be applied to building materials such as thermal insulation that contribute indirectly to energy conservation. NRI therefore is supporting the system design being carried out by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Agency for Natural Resources and Energy.
Since beginning its support in fiscal 2011, NRI has helped plan and analyze the performance of the Top Runner Program for Building Materials related to amendment of the Act on the Rational Use of Energy, and conducted activities such as simulations, while coordinating with industry groups and other organizations.
Data centers that boast advanced environmental performance
At data centers owned and operated by NRI, we are promoting efforts to reduce our impact on the global environment by taking a dual approach of converting the electricity we use to renewable energy and reducing power consumption. NRI has established an environmental management system at all of its data centers in Japan and obtained ISO14001 international standard certification concerning its environmental management system.
NRI's "double-deck system" is the shape of data centers to come
With each passing year, the densification and performance of equipment installed at data centers to
handle the flow from sources such as virtualization and the transition to cloud computing are
increasing. This change has been accompanied by increased amounts of heat produced by the equipment,
and how to cool devices to ensure stable operation has become an ever greater challenge. On the
other hand, problems such as the increase in energy consumption resulting from excessive cooling are
also having an adverse effect on the environment.
The "double deck" system is a system that completely separates the floor where the server equipment
is placed and the floor where facilities-related equipment such as the air-conditioning and power
supplies are installed.
Separating heat-generating sources from the cooling system makes it possible to achieve highly
efficient and flexible air conditioning, and greatly reduce power consumption.
double-deck system
NRI is working to improve air-conditioning efficiency by combining task air-conditioning to provide zone cooling for high-temperature spaces with ambient air-conditioning, which cools an entire computer room to an average temperature.We're also striving to eliminate unnecessary power consumption by introducing motion sensors and lighting sensors in computer rooms and office spaces. In addition, we have introduced various energy-saving facilities, such as a “cold water vertical thermal storage tank” that stores cold water for efficient air conditioning.In addition to facility initiatives, on the operational side, we are working to optimize air conditioning settings using machine learning. Air conditioners, which were previously controlled individually, are now being optimized as a whole by utilizing air flow simulation data.
Use of natural energy
NRI has introduced free cooling or high-temperature chilled
water* to achieve a substantial reduction in power consumption for air-conditioning by using the low
external air temperatures during winter and mid-season operations to produce chilled water without
the use of refrigeration units.
NRI is also working to reduce its environmental impact to the maximum extent possible through the
use of natural energy, including solar power systems and geothermal heating systems.
*Water temperature of around 14 ~ 15℃. Electricity consumption can be kept in check more efficiently than with the cold water of around 7℃ that is normally used.
In addition to these efforts, we have achieved 100% utilization of renewable energy in our data centers in FY2023.
Maintenance of landscapes and coexistence of with neighborhood areas
We have sought to harmonize Tokyo Data Center I with the surrounding area by setting the entire building into sloping land to maintain the landscape and utilizing exterior wall greening and a rooftop gardening.
Tokyo Data Center I's Environmental Performance
The Tokyo Data Center I, which opened in November 2012, employs the aforementioned
“double deck system” and, by combining multiple energy-saving technologies
based on this system, has achieved a significant reduction in power consumption. In
recognition of its advanced environmental performance, the center received the Minister
of Economy, Trade and Industry Award at the Green IT Awards 2013.
The "Green IT Awards" are commendations for excellent products, technologies and
activities that contribute to the achievement of a low carbon society and are presented
by the Green IT Promotion Council in two categories for "savings in IT-related energy
consumption" and "energy conservation through the use of IT" as part of its efforts to
accelerate the Green IT Initiative.
In March 2023, the Tokyo Data Center I was certified as a top-level facility* for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Tokyo Cap-and-Trade Program.
- *
The Tokyo Cap-and-Trade Program of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government certifies business operators making outstanding efforts to tackle global warming as either top-level facilities or near-top-level facilities.
Tokyo Data Center I PUE*: 1.28 (design value), the highest level in the industry
- *
PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) is an indicator to show how efficiently a data center uses energy; the value is calculated by dividing the total amount of energy used by a data center facility by the energy delivered to computing equipment.
The standard data center PUE is said to be about 2.0.
Energy conservation and environmental impact reduction activities in offices
The NRI has taken steps to optimize office air-conditioning temperatures and lighting levels and implemented power saving settings for office equipment, including PC displays and multifunctional devices. We also promote green procurement for office equipment to select highly energy efficient products.
In addition to our use of environmentally friendly products, the
NRI Group is also serious about re-using and recycling PCs and waste paper. We promote green
purchasing for our office supplies as well.
A preference for a paper-free working environment has also taken root at our meetings and informal
gatherings.