Due to the impact of COVID-19 infections and the situation in Ukraine, anxiety and disruption in economic activities and daily life are continuing. In the meantime, we must look to our future and not stop taking measures against global scale environmental issues that are becoming more serious including natural disasters due to climate change.
I believe that sustainability is the ideal state. As our philosophy, "Committed to People, Committed to the Future.", which is the long standing Basic Commitment of Toshiba Group, on the premise that our society and corporate management will be sustainable 10, 20 years from now and beyond, we are facing a variety of challenges, such as achieving carbon neutrality, transition to a circular economy, marine plastics, water risks, and biodiversity conservation. To promote environmental management by facing these challenges is our sustainability and the ideal state.
The Environmental Future Vision 2050, which Toshiba Group formulated in FY2020, is a guide to achieving the ideal state. We will promote our efforts in the three areas: response to climate change, response to the circular economy, and consideration of ecosystems, which are also identified as the materiality of Toshiba Group, through activities with not only Toshiba Group employees but also the Group’s stakeholders. This will build infrastructure that everyone can enjoy and a connected data society, and Toshiba Group aims to create enriched value and ensure harmony with the earth. We would greatly appreciate your continued cooperation and support.
Response to climate change
Toshiba Group aims to achieve carbon neutrality in the entire value chain by 2050. To this end, we will accelerate our investment in energy saving equipment, introduction of renewable energy facilities, and procurement of electricity derived from renewable energy in our Group’s business activities. In terms of products and services, we will stop placing new orders for coal-fired construction work and shift our business toward decarbonization. We will focus our efforts on creating products and services that contribute to reducing GHG emissions in society, including renewable energy products, energy aggregation*1, energy technologies including CO2 separation and capture technology, and social infrastructure products and building related products with high energy saving performance. In addition, we will continue to collaborate with our suppliers to reduce GHG emissions.
We have newly disclosed the details of scenario analysis conducted for each of our main business areas in an attempt to strengthen information disclosure following the TCFD*2 Recommendations. Going forward, we will conduct sustainable business management while appropriately responding to the risks and opportunities regarding climate change identified for each business area.
Response to the circular economy
In order to sustain the economy while protecting the global environment with limited resources, we will aim to achieve a circular economy. While promoting the effective use of resources in both business activities and products and services, we will shift to the circular economy business model in active collaboration with relevant parties, such as industry organizations, government agencies, and other companies.
Consideration of ecosystems
We will contribute to creating a society where humans live in harmony with nature and continue to enjoy the blessings of ecosystems by promoting to address water risks such as floods and droughts that are becoming more serious around the world, chemical substance management for which policies and regulations are being strengthened, and biodiversity conservation that is becoming a growing social concern following climate change.
*1: A mechanism to aggregate various energy resources, including renewable energy and electric vehicles (EVs) and control power output according to the supply and demand conditions of electricity.
*2: TCFD is an abbreviation of Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures. It was established in 2015 by the Financial Stability Board comprised of governors of central banks and financial ministers of countries as they realized climate change will threaten the stability of financial systems. The purpose of the TCFD is to encourage companies to efficiently disclose climate related financial information with consistency, comparability, reliability, and clarity that will encourage investors to make appropriate investment decisions.