Initiatives to Reduce CO₂ Emissions

Aspiring in its Environmental Vision 2050 to work together create a society that has overcome climate change, the Kirin Group is striving to reduce CO₂ emissions in conjunction with its stakeholders toward the goal of realizing Net-Zero GHG emissions from the entire value chain and taking the lead to build a decarbonized society.

Under the Kirin Group Environmental Vision 2050, the society overcoming climate change that we want to create together in 2050, the Kirin Group will reduce GHG emissions throughout the Value Chain to Net-zero and we will also work with stakeholders to reduce CO₂ emissions in order to take the lead in building a carbon-free society.

The Kyowa Kirin Group upholds the global goal of reducing CO₂ emissions in fiscal 2020 to no more than 380,000 tons, or 85% of its fiscal 1990 level^*1. In addition, as part of its efforts to tackle climate change (to prevent global warming), we collaborated with its parent company, Kirin Holdings Company, Limited, to formulate a global group target from the Science Based Targets (SBT) approach^*. The target is to reduce CO₂ emissions in fiscal 2030 to no more than 289,000 tons, that is, to 20% less than the fiscal 2015 level^*1, and we strive to achieve it.

*:
The Kirin Group's medium-term GHG emissions reduction target became the first target set by a Japanese food company to be approved by the SBT Initiative, a global initiative to promote science-based target setting.

SBT Initiative

SBT Initiative was jointly established in 2015 by CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), the United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to encourage firms to set GHG emissions reduction targets based on scientific evidence with the aim of controlling global warming within 2℃ above pre-industrial levels.
Presently, 961 corporations around the world (as of August 26, 2020) have endorsed the initiative, of which 445 corporations have their targets publicly disclosed as certified SBTs.

The CO₂ emissions in 2019 from plants and research laboratories in Japan and overseas plants decreased by 7.8% compared with the previous year to 330,000 tons^*1, which was 73.8% of the emissions level in fiscal 1990, or a 26.2% reduction^*1, meaning that we are well in line with the fiscal 2020 global target. This was attributable to the restructuring of our domestic manufacturing bases, and ongoing efforts are made to reduce CO₂ emissions. Specifically, we are introducing energy-efficient air conditioners, installing facilities with cutting-edge energy-saving features at our new buildings, and employing spot air conditioners. We are also trying to improve our facility management, for example, by optimally controlling freezers and air conditioners to save more energy.

On January 1, 2020, we signed up to “Aqua Premium”^*2, replacing 75% of the electricity used at the Takasaki Plant with hydroelectric power generation that does not emit CO₂ . By employing “Aqua Premium”, about 23.4 million kWh of the Kyowa Kirin Group’s annual electricity consumption of about 68.8 million kWh^*3 will now come from hydropower, allowing the Kyowa Kirin Group^*3 to reduce its annual CO₂ emissions by about 20%, equivalent to 10,800 tons. The Kyowa Kirin Group was the first in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry to sign up to “Aqua Premium”.

News Release: Kyowa Kirin signs up to “Aqua Premium” in a first for pharmaceutical manufacturing industry (in Japanese only)

The Kyowa Kirin Group endorses Keidanren’s Commitment to a Low Carbon Society, and participates in the Low Carbon Society Project targeting 2020 and Phase II of the project targeting 2030, both executed by the Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Associations of Japan (FPMAJ).

*1:
Scope of subjects covered: The plants and research laboratories of the Kyowa Kirin Group and the Kyowa Hakko Bio Group
*2:
An electricity pricing plan offered by TEPCO Energy Partner, Incorporated. The plan is Japan’s first to exclusively supply hydroelectric power, which does not emit CO₂.
*3:
Scope of subjects covered: The domestic plants and research laboratories of the Kyowa Kirin Group and the plants of Kyowa Kirin China Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Change in CO₂ emissions^{*1, 2, 3}

*1:
The scope of subjects covered includes the plants and research laboratories of the Kyowa Kirin Group and the Kyowa Hakko Bio Group until 2018. For 2019, only the Kyowa Kirin Group is covered, with the CO₂ emissions of the Kyowa Hakko Bio Group represented by the dotted section of the bar.
*2:
The target figures for 2020 and 2030 represent combined figures for the Kyowa Kirin Group and the Kyowa Hakko Bio Group.
*3:
Consolidated net sales used for calculating per-unit data are based on J-GAAP for 2015 and on IFRS after 2016.

Changes in Energy Consumption^*1

*1:
The scope of subjects covered includes the plants and research laboratories of the Kyowa Kirin Group and the Kyowa Hakko Bio Group until 2018. For 2019, only the Kyowa Kirin Group is covered, with the energy use of the Kyowa Hakko Bio Group represented by the dotted section of the bar.

Installing Solar Power Generation Facilities

In an effort to promote the wider use of renewable energy, Kyowa Kirin has been installing solar power generation facilities since 2011. As of 2020, such facilities are in operation at the Tokyo Research Park, Fuji Site, and the Ube and Takasaki plants, generating a total of 135,000 kWh of solar power, equivalent to 78.4 tons^* of CO₂ emissions.

*:
The figure is calculated by converting the amount of solar power to indirect CO₂ emissions of purchased electricity.

Changes in solar power generation

Replacing Company Vehicles with Hybrid Cars

The Kyowa Kirin Group has been replacing its commercial vehicles from conventional low-emission certified vehicles to hybrid vehicles in phases since 2009. As of the end of fiscal 2019, the hybrid car introduction rate of company-owned vehicles has reached 100%, and all commercial vehicles have been switched to hybrid vehicles, allowing us to save on fuel consumption for sales activities, while also achieving reduced CO₂ emissions. We will consider the relationship between information provision activities and the environmental impact, and proceed with efforts toward the realization of a low-carbon corporate group.

CO₂ emitted from company sales cars and proportion of hybrid cars

Advancing Green Office Plan

At the Kyowa Kirin Group, as part of its ISO 14001-based environmental activities across all back office divisions, the head office, plants, research laboratories, and sales offices promote the Green Office Plan (GOP) in cooperation with the labor union, administrative and procurement divisions, and others. In fiscal 2019, the green purchasing rate reached 89%, electricity consumption per employee decreased by 7.6% from the previous year, and copier paper consumption per employee declined by 6.0% vis-à-vis average use in the past three years. We will continue working to implement the GOP.

Targets under Green Office Plan

Reduce per-unit electricity consumption by 1% a year
Secure green purchasing rate of at least 90%
Reduce per-unit copier paper consumption by 1% a year (vis-à-vis average consumption in past three years)