On Thursday, the 28th, NTT held its 13th NTT Group Sustainability Conference at Fairmont Tokyo, followed by an awards ceremony. This conference aimed to create new value and promote global sustainability.

The Sustainability Conference aims to foster a sense of personal responsibility for sustainable management within the NTT Group by showcasing and sharing initiatives contributing to a sustainable society undertaken by NTT Group companies both domestically and internationally.
At this conference, five special awards and five grand prizes were selected.
The special award, the Clean Energy Award, was given to NTT Anode Energy for its “Hydrogen Pipeline Demonstration at the Osaka-Kansai Expo.”

Furthermore, NTT DATA Information Processing Services received a special Nature Positive Award for its project, “From Conflict to Coexistence: Technology for Elephants.”

Other special awards were given to Biostock for its Local Impact Award for “Decarbonization and Agricultural Promotion through Local Energy Production and Consumption,” NTT DATA Spain for its Inclusive Society Award for “AI4ASD: AI for Autism Spectrum Disorder,” and NTT Urban Solutions, NTT Facilities, and NTT Urban Development for its New Frontier Award for “Promoting the Introduction of Energy-Saving Buildings through NEB Evaluation.”

The Nature Positive Award-winning project, “From Conflict to Coexistence: Technology for Elephants,” is an initiative aimed at long-term coexistence between humans and animals. WWF India and NTT DATA are working on elephant conservation and the restoration of important habitats through AI cameras, elephant profiling, and data-driven wetland analysis. We are promoting protection activities that utilize AI and digital technologies, such as technology-based planning, data-driven decision-making, and the construction of sustainable living infrastructure through discussions with residents.

“AI4ASD: AI for Autism Spectrum Disorder,” which won the Inclusive Society Award, is a specialized inpatient unit for children aimed at improving the quality of life for patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and comorbid mental health conditions. By utilizing IoT devices and cloud-based AI models to continuously monitor biometric indicators, it is possible to objectively detect behavioral abnormalities at an early stage.

Currently, millions of children around the world face ASD. They live in environments where they are often misunderstood, such as when they cannot express their feelings well. They live in isolation, misunderstanding, and burden, which affects not only themselves but also their families. In many cases, this leads to exhaustion and burnout. ASD is something that must be lived with throughout life, and it is necessary to manage it properly and improve the quality of life for children.

First, we check and predict for any signals that deviate from the baseline using digital technology. Then, specialists take appropriate action. By gathering even more information, they aim to detect crises more objectively and improve quality of life (QoL).

The top awards were given to NTT TechnoCross’s “The Future of Livestock Farming Opened Up by Animal Welfare and AI,” NTT DATA IBIOL’s “Accessible Design Framework,” NTT Docomo’s “Development of AI Robotics Technology Contributing to Productivity Improvement,” NTT DATA Italy’s “Urban Planning (Territory Digital Twin),” and NTT DATA’s “CareLakera – Successful Caregiving and Career.”

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