武田薬品工業株式会社
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Head Office: Osaka, President and CEO: Christophe Weber, hereinafter "Takeda"), ORIX Eco Services Corporation (Head Office: Tokyo, President: Hidetaka Yamashita, hereinafter "ORIX Eco Services") and Japan Freight Railway Corporation (Head Office: Tokyo, President, Director and Executive Officer: Shin Inukai, hereinafter "JR Freight") announced today that the three companies will join forces to reduce the environmental impact of the recycling and transportation of blister* 1 packaging waste generated in Takeda's manufacture of ethical pharmaceutical products.
Under a tripartite agreement, the companies will launch the following initiatives on June 1, 2023. Takeda will be the first pharmaceutical company in Japan* 2 to begin recycling blister packaging waste (material recycling) by outsourcing waste disposal to ORIX Eco Services , a licensed industrial waste disposal company. Of the approximately 101 tons of blister * 3 packaging waste generated each year at Takeda's Hikari Plant, around 96 tons, or about 95%, will be recycled* 3. To date, Takeda has been conducting thermal recovery of blister packaging waste from its plants by incinerating the waste, recovering the heat energy from the incineration process, and reusing the residual material. Under the new arrangement, blister packaging waste will be recycled by completely separating the plastic and aluminum.
From January to March 2023, ORIX Eco Services carried out a demonstration test on Takeda's blister packaging waste using stripping equipment and showed that most of the waste could be completely stripped of plastic and aluminum, making it possible to recycle the waste.* 4 On May 11, 2023, ORIX Eco Services became the first company in Japan to obtain a license* 5 to dispose of industrial waste associated with the stripping of blister packaging waste and other materials.
The blister packaging waste will be transported by JR Freight by rail – which has a low environmental impact relative to road – from Takeda's Hikari Plant (Hikari City, Yamaguchi Prefecture) to ORIX Eco Services's industrial waste treatment plant (Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture), replacing the conventional truck transportation (a modal shift* 6), in a bid to reduce CO2 emissions. The blister packaging waste will be loaded onto JR Freight's 12ft containers at Takeda's Hikari Plant and transported by rail from Shinnan-yo Station (Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture) to Sumidagawa Station (Arakawa Ward, Tokyo).
Greg Timmons, Head of Takeda's Global Manufacturing & Supply, Japan, said, "Our vision and commitment to the future is to help preserve the natural environment of the planet that ultimately sustains life." At Takeda, we are pleased to have entered into this agreement with ORIX Eco Services and JR Freight and will continue efforts to reduce the environmental impact of our manufacturing activities and thereby fulfill our commitment to sustainability.
ORIX Eco Services President Hidetaka Yamashita said, " ORIX Eco Services offers a wide range of reuse, recycling and appropriate disposal solutions through its network of more than a thousand waste management partners around the country. We are delighted to be working alongside Takeda and JR Freight to promote this groundbreaking recycling initiative. We will continue to work towards a sustainable, recycling-oriented society by providing optimal solutions to our customers."
Soichiro Wake, Deputy General Director of the Railways Business Headquarters of JR Freight said, "We are working together with our customers, logistics providers and others to realize a green society by taking advantage of low-environmental-impact transportation. We are delighted to be able to contribute to a recycling-oriented society through this collaboration with Takeda and ORIX Eco Services to recycle PTP waste as we strive to become an ‘environmentally advanced company.’"
Takeda, ORIX Eco Services and JR Freight will promote comprehensive efforts to contribute to a recycling-oriented society and reduce CO2 emissions by recycling and switching to transportation methods that emit less CO2.
* 1 Press-Through Package: Also known as "blister packaging," press-through packages are sheets in which tablets and capsules are encased in a single sheet of plastic and covered with a layer of aluminum.
* 2 Based on research by Takeda Pharmaceutical as of May 25
* 3 Calculation based on last year's results
* 4 Excluding blister packaging waste that uses plastic composite materials
* 5 Based on research by ORIX Eco Services as of May 25
* 6 Conversion of freight transport by trucks and other vehicles to railroads and ships, which have less of an environmental impact. In recent years, it has become hoped that this shift will significantly reduce CO2 emissions in the transportation sector.
Global Manufacturing & Supply Communications
Kumi Iiyama
080-5789-7742
Takeda has positioned sustainability as a means of fulfilling its mission to realize both corporate and social value. In terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Takeda aims to achieve virtually zero emissions by 2035 for Scope 1 and 2, and by 2040 for Scope 3.
ORIX Eco Services will expand its waste recycling and appropriate treatment business to help create a sustainable society and promote businesses that encourage a recycling-oriented society.
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (TSE: 4502/NYSE: TAK) works toward providing better health and a brighter future for people worldwide. It is committed to discovering and delivering innovative treatments in its key therapeutic areas of Gastroenterology, Rare Diseases, Plasma-Derived Therapies, Neuroscience, Oncology and Vaccines. Together with our partners, we are working to build a robust and diverse pipeline of new medicines to deliver new treatment options and improve quality of life for patients. Headquartered in Japan, Takeda is a global, R&D-driven biopharmaceutical leader with patient-centered values that have shaped its corporate philosophy for more than two centuries. It operates in approximately 80 countries and territories. For more information, please visit https://www.takeda.com/jp/.
ORIX Eco Services was established in 1998 as a specialized environmental division of the ORIX Group, and has since been responsible for managing the end-of-lease properties of the ORIX Group, coordinating waste disposal and providing consulting services. ORIX Eco Services provides a one-stop service that combines solutions in reuse, recycling and appropriate disposal, making use of its extensive know-how and unique nationwide network, including the recycling of industrial waste.
While focusing on existing services that help realize a "circular economy," ORIX Eco Services will address various social demands surrounding its customers, such as ESG, SBT, and the SDGs, and will strive to provide services that promote environmentally conscious management. For more information, please visit https://www.orix.co.jp/eco/.