To date, Obayashi's efforts regarding the circular use of construction materials have focused on building renovations, conversions, and seismic retrofitting that utilize structural materials from the original buildings. However, interior materials and equipment could rarely be reused in their original form because their specifications and dimensions were different from those required and their use would lower construction productivity, or for other reasons. Many of the items were ultimately discarded or recycled.

Now, in order to promote the reuse of construction materials as part of the transition to a circular economy, Obayashi has decided to introduce and deploy the myUpcyclea data platform for circular resource management, which was developed by Upcyclea and boasts a solid track record in over 300 companies worldwide. Obayashi is the first Japanese corporation to adopt myUpcyclea.

MyUpcyclea uses the environmental performance information of construction materials (digital product passports) to visualize the impact that material reuse has on reducing environmental load. It does this by comparing CO2 emissions, water consumption, construction materials' potential for circular use and their material health(*2), as well as other indicators. It then generates, visually presents, and records numerical data on the traceability and quality of construction materials and the ongoing life cycle management(*3) of buildings at every stage. myUpcyclea also features an AI function that matches supply information about reusable construction materials from demolition sites with demand information at new construction sites.

Given that a building is a concentrated collection of construction materials, a building demolition site could be viewed as a valuable source of reusable and recyclable materials. Obayashi will encourage people on new construction sites to consider the circular use of construction materials by aggregating information on material supply from demolition sites and demand information from new construction sites along with indicators illustrating the various effects of reusing materials, all on the myUpcyclea platform.

From September 2024 through March 2025, Obayashi will conduct various functional demonstration experiments using myUpcyclea on one of its demolition sites and the construction site for the new laboratory building at the Obayashi Technology Research Institute. The demonstration experiments will include entering data on construction materials, quantifying and utilizing various types of environmental data, building a database of environmental information for construction materials, and connecting with external systems. Any issues will be identified and solutions considered to help expand the application of myUpcyclea in projects. Obayashi intends to increase the number of sites using myUpcyclea from April 2025 and promote wider usage of the platform.

In addition to its current efforts to supply low-carbon, sustainable buildings to customers, Obayashi will utilize the environmental performance information (digital product passports) of construction materials that will be extensively aggregated on myUpcyclea to promote the circular use of construction materials across the whole building lifecycle. This initiative could also propel the decarbonization of customer portfolios and organization of data for ESG reporting.

It intends to leverage the experience gained through this initiative to collaborate with members of its supply chain and various other companies and organizations in invigorating construction material reuse as part of its ultimate Obayashi Sustainability Vision 2050 goal to achieve sustainability of the planet, society, and people.