Environmental activities > Annual Environmental Report 2006 > Highlights of NEC's Environmental Activities in FY 2006 > Special Feature: The Eco Mobile Debut!

Highlights of NEC's Environmental Activities in FY 2006

Special Feature: The Eco Mobile Debut!

NEC has developed a plant-derived plastic for electronic devices and created the first mobile phone made of this kind of plastic in the world (source: NEC market research). This phone has a plant ratio of as high as approximately 90%, while that of ordinary bioplastics used for electronic devices is approximately 50%. How was this Eco Mobile born in NEC, a company that is accelerating its efforts to use bioplastics for electronic devices?

Mr. Yusuke Moriyama,
Assistant Manager of the Product Planning Department in the Mobile Terminals Division

"About 75% of the surface area in this N701iECO, excluding the areas surrounding the screen and keys, is made of kenaf fiber-reinforced bioplastic," says Mr. Yusuke Moriyama, assistant manager of the Product Planning Department in the Mobile Terminals Division, NEC, as he holds an Eco Mobile N701iECO released by NTT DoCoMo in March 2006. The higher the plant ratio, the weaker the strength of the ordinary bioplastics used for electronic devices. Therefore, it used to be necessary to mix in approximately 50% worth of oil-derived materials before applying such bioplastics to products. However, NEC created a bioplastic with a plant ratio of as high as 90% that has enough strength and heat resistance for mobile phones. We did so using our original technology for combining kenaf fiber and vegetable reinforcing agents.

New material that made the Eco Mobile possible: kenaf fiber-reinforced bioplastic

NEC has developed a new material, kenaf fiber-reinforced bioplastic. We added fiber from kenaf, a plant that is very useful for global warming prevention, to the main raw material of bioplastic, polylactic acid. The kenaf acts as a reinforcing agent. Therefore, we were able to improve the formability, heat resistance, and strength of the bioplastic. The impact resistance has almost doubled compared with that of polylactic acid. This is the first time that it has been used for a product casing, though there have been PC dummy cards made of this plastic. Moreover, this is the world's first case of bioplastic being used in a mobile phone (source: NEC market research).

Two environmental impact reduction effects

NEC focuses on two major environmental impact reduction effects of the Eco Mobile. First, the Eco Mobile contributes to preventing global warming. It is generally said that bioplastic made of polylactic acid emits one-half to two-thirds of the greenhouse gases that conventional oil-based plastic emits, from raw material extraction to disposal. NEC has assessed the kenaf fiber-reinforced bioplastic used for the case of the Eco Mobile with its LCA method. The result shows that the CO₂ emissions at the time of creation of the raw materials is about half compared with that of an oil-based plastic. Second, this plastic is mainly made of plants, which reproduce in a natural cycle, unlike oil, which is an exhaustible resource.
Environmental problems such as global warming and resource depletion are attracting more interest nowadays. Therefore, biomass-derived bioplastics, which are reproducible and have low environmental impact, have recently gained attention as a replacement for conventional oil-based plastics. However, it was previously necessary to mix in oil-based resin to apply polylactic acid for device casings because the acid's durability and heat resistance were not sufficient. This did not really contribute to the achievement of the original goal of environmental impact reduction through the creation of an alternative to petroleum and a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. NEC overcame this by adding kenaf fiber and successfully developed and put into practical use a bioplastic that contributes to environmental impact reduction.

Collaboration with NTT DoCoMo

"We thought about how mobile phones can contribute to environmental protection activities. That's why we started developing the Eco Mobile," says Mr. Katsuhiko Hirosawa, manager of the Third Product Planning Section in the Product Department of the Products & Services Division at NTT DoCoMo. He was in charge of Eco Mobile product planning. Environmentally sound mobile phones have a large impact because millions of mobile phones are produced every year.

Mr. Katsuhiko Hirosawa,
Manager of the Third Product Planning Section, Product Department, Products & Services Division, NTT DoCoMo

Having a lively conversation looking back to the project

"We started planning this product in July, 2004, and released a prototype based on the N900i at the Aichi Expo. The expo was held from March to September 2005 and had an environmental theme. Visitors at the expo showed considerable interest in the expression 'environmentally sound mobile phone.' They also liked the natural design, which was created by utilizing the texture of the raw materials," says Mr. Hirosawa. Both NTT DoCoMo and NEC, which proceeded from planning to prototyping in a short period of time, accelerated commercialization after receiving a good response at the expo. "Because the prototype for the expo was nearly perfect, there were only a few problems to overcome before commercialization," Mr. Hirosawa continues. They announced the Eco Mobile in December 2005. The product was exhibited at their booths at Eco-Products Exhibition 2005 held at Tokyo Big Sight and caught the attention of the visitors. It was put on the market on March 10, 2006. "The product is especially appreciated by women because the color is soft pink. We targeted women in their 20s to 40s. Half of the purchasers chose it because of its style, color, and environmental soundness. I also heard that there is demand for 'masculine' colors and that some companies are considering purchasing the Eco Mobile for company use." Mr. Hirosawa has obviously received positive feedback.

Exhibited at the NEC booth in Eco-Products Exhibition 2005
Presented on stage as well

Eco Mobile displayed as a part of N701i series in a shop

Environment-oriented advertising: "Mobile phone using plants"

NEC conducted an environment-oriented advertising campaign, "Ecology through IT," as they launched the Eco Mobile. They broadcast a commercial conveying their attitude toward environmental contributions: NEC is producing IT devices using plant-derived plastic. The commercial contained scenes of Japanese, who have made good use of natural materials since ancient times, handcrafting zori (Japanese sandals), tatami mats, wicker chairs, and other items. NEC also describes kenaf fiber-reinforced bioplastic and the Eco Mobile in an easy-to-understand way on their "Ecology through IT" Web site. The site answers a lot of questions, such as why are plant-derived materials good for the environment, what kind of plant is the Eco Mobile made of, and how is it manufactured?

http://www.it-eco.net/

Let me help you answer your questions!

Future development of the Eco Mobile

"It seemed to some people that user-friendliness was sacrificed when we made the mobile phone more environmentally sound at the beginning of the planning phase. But ultimately, this Eco Mobile is the same as other mobile phones except for the plastic used. Nevertheless, we will keep in mind that user-friendliness is the most important aspect when thinking about the next step. We don't want to produce a phone that customers look at and think, 'Well, it's an eco-mobile, so I guess I can put up with it.' Nor do we want to preach to customers that they should put up with this because it's an eco-mobile," says Mr. Hirosawa. He is already developing an idea for the next project and has great expectations of NEC.
"We have also taken care to integrate eco awareness into the N701iECO design," says Mr. Moriyama. The N701iECO is based on the N701i, which won the FY 2006 Good Design Award. It integrates environmental soundness into the design. It can be said that both NTT DoCoMo and NEC have targeted environmental soundness as a common practice. Mobile phones, which now are a daily necessity, will become more environmentally sound. The companies believe that this will contribute to a shift in peoples' environmental awareness, slowly but surely.