SKT and Japan's SoftBank Pilot 'HappyHabit' Reusable Cup Circulation

SK Telecom announced on the 21st that it will collaborate with the Japanese telecommunications company SoftBank to conduct a pilot campaign for reusable cup circulation called 'Happy Habit' in Japan.

This pilot will take place until the 23rd of next month at the 'Super Box' VIP seats inside the Fukuoka PayPay Dome, the home stadium of the Japanese professional baseball team operated by the SoftBank Group.

During this period, the two companies plan to provide reusable cups instead of disposable cups to approximately 1,000 customers per game for up to 13 games, encouraging Japanese baseball fans to participate in the eco-friendly ESG campaign.

In Japan, the annual per capita plastic packaging waste is known to rank second among countries worldwide. Locally, not only plastic recycling but also fundamental reduction in production and promotion of reuse are emerging as important tasks.

SoftBank has set six key challenges to contribute to a sustainable society and simultaneously pursue sustainable growth. Among the values created through this, to promote a 'circular society,' it is making long-term efforts to save resources and promote reuse and recycling by utilizing ICT technology.

Since 2021, SKT has supported accurate recycling of reusable cups by applying Vision AI technology to unmanned return machines in domestic systems, and has established and operated core infrastructure such as the environmental protection service app 'Happy Habit Application.'

Accordingly, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last December to cooperate in the field of ESG management using ICT technology. SKT will provide know-how from the reusable cup project 'Happy Habit,' conducted domestically in cooperation with social enterprise Happy Connect, through this reusable cup pilot experiment at PayPay Dome.

Lee Junho, SK Telecom’s ESG Promotion Manager, said, "Starting with this pilot, we plan to expand ESG activities by integrating AI and ICT technologies of both companies."