SATO Corporation, a global pioneer in auto-identification and labeling solutions, announced that its reusable bottle concept was selected by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Environment and the Tokyo Environmental Public Service Corporation to kick off a program promoting resource circulation and transition to a circular economy.

This subsidized program is a joint initiative by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Environmental Public Service Corporation to assist businesses working on implementing and expanding 2R (Reduce & Reuse) business models and horizontal recycling systems for plastic resources.

Within Tokyo's broader efforts to promote the transition to a circular economy and sustainable resource use, the metropolitan government aims to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050 under its Zero Emission Tokyo strategy.

Since April 2024, SATO has been conducting a pilot program on promoting reusable bottles in its Tokyo headquarters office to reduce plastic waste. Before the project, the SATO office café used approximately 25,000 plastic cups annually, with only 2 percent of employees using personal water bottles.

Recognizing the significance of this waste, SATO developed a system to encourage consistent use of personal water bottles. The company conducted a six-month trial involving 200 employees in its office to verify whether users would change their behavior.

The trial included installation of a bottle washing machine developed by Zojirushi Corporation, creating a convenient way to use reusable bottles. Each bottle is tagged with an RFID label with a unique ID linked to its owner. The bottle washing machine automatically recorded usage history during the cleaning process. Through a dedicated app, users saw how many plastic cups were saved and the resulting CO2 reduction. By showing users the impact of their actions through the app, the project aimed to change mindsets and encourage use of reuseable bottles.

The effectiveness of the program is being evaluated and verified after the experiment with the cooperation of a research group led by Professor Misuzu Asari of the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN), whose field of research includes waste and environmental education.

This trial was conducted as a joint research project by Zojirushi Corporation, RIHN and SATO.

SATO will work with the Tokyo government to propose and promote the system to businesses, with new functional and promotional incentives such as free drink refills when consumers clean their bottles.

Moving forward, SATO aims to contribute to the circular economy to realize sustainable use of resources by encouraging reusable bottle use to reduce plastic waste by organizations and consumers alike.

• SATO and Zojirushi Launch Trial to Establish Reusable Bottle Use
• SATO supports the circular economy through tagging (Youtube)