Updated by "Forest Circular Economy" Editorial Board on February 21, 2026, 8:46 PM JST
Editorial Board, Forest Circular Economy
Forestcircularity-editor
We aim to realize "Vision 2050: Japan Shines, Forest Circular Economy" promoted by the Platinum Forest Industry Initiative. We will disseminate ideas and initiatives to promote biomass chemistry, realize woody and lumbery communities, and encourage innovation in the forestry industry in order to fully utilize forest resources to decarbonize the economy, strengthen economic security, and create local communities.
Estee and SMBC have produced an original fragrance card using oil extracted from branches and leaves of thinned cypress trees generated in SMBC's company-owned forest, the SMBC Forest. Unused resources that were often disposed of in the past were reconstructed as "fragrance" value. The company intends to use the cards as a tool for external communication, etc., to promote understanding of resource recycling and forest conservation.
This initiative is a cross between appropriate forest management at the SMBC Forest, which SMBC acquired in 2024 to achieve a nature-positive and decarbonized society, and the fragrance development and extraction technologies that the Estee Group has developed. The design and commercialization of fragrances is being done with the technology of Codeme, a 100% subsidiary of ESTE.
The fragrance card, impregnated and coated with fragrance produced from the branches and leaves of the Japanese cypress, is designed to be slipped into a business card holder to transfer the fragrance, making it easy to enjoy the scent of the Japanese cypress in everyday life.
Thinning and pruning are indispensable for maintaining forest health, but the by-products of such thinning and pruning are difficult to utilize, and many of them have either been left at the site or discarded. This project redefines these unused resources as valuable materials, and gives form to the recycling of resources.
By transforming the forest resources owned by the company into a concrete communication tool, rather than merely a conservation target, the bank's brand image and its stance on environmental protection can be conveyed to customers in a way that appeals to all five senses.
Reference Links
Creation of a fragrance card for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation using cypress oil extracted from "SMBC Forest" - Unused resources from company-owned forests are transformed into "fragrance" experience value through proprietary extraction technology - (Estee Co., Ltd.)
Production of Fragrance Cards Using Hinoki Oil Extracted from Thinned Hinoki Wood from "SMBC Forest" (Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation)
