ESPEC Group’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Obtain SBT Certification

ESPEC CORP. (Head office: Kita-ku, Osaka City, Representative Director and President: Satoshi Arata) has received Science Based Targets (SBT) certification from the international SBT Initiative* for its FY2030 greenhouse gas reduction targets.

The ESPEC Group considers environmental protection, conservation, and improvement to be one of the most principal issues in corporate management. For this reason, we have set a long-term environmental goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by FY2030.
This goal has been certified as a scientifically-grounded target for limiting the increase in global atmospheric temperatures to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels as set forth in the Paris Agreement.

■The ESPEC Group Environment targets for FY2030

Under the 8th Mid-Term Plan on the Environment (FY2022-FY2025), we are currently focusing our efforts on countermeasures against global warming and preservation of biodiversity. With this SBT certification, we will further accelerate our group-wide efforts to contribute to the achievement of a sustainable society.

*SBT Initiative
An international initiative that encourages firms to set scientifically-grounded targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions so that the goals of the Paris Agreement may be achieved. Jointly managed by CDP, which is an NGO involved in environmental information disclosure, UNGC (United Nations Global Compact), WRI (World Resources Institute), and WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature). SBT requires reductions in supply chain emissions (the total of all emissions associated with business activities, not just the emissions produced by a business itself).

The 8th Mid-Term Plan on the Environment (FY2022-FY2025)

■Targets for FY2025

• ・SCOPE 1+2 (in-house emissions)　Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% (compared with FY2019)
• ・SCOPE 3 (indirect emissions)　Reduce greenhouse gas emissions 10% (compared with FY2019）
• ・Contribution of 95t (total) of carbon fixation through 50,000 trees planted by ESPEC MIC Corp.
• ・Biodiversity conservation activities through a “ESPEC’s 50-Year Forest” in Sanda City, Hyogo Prefecture

■Main Initiatives

Global warming countermeasure:
We aim to contribute to efforts to combat global warming through the provision of products and services, as well as developing environmentally friendly products and intensifying activities carried out in collaboration with customers and suppliers. We have also successfully introduced renewable energy to our domestic sites in FY 2021, and are currently working to deploy renewable energy at our overseas sites and increase the ratio of power that is generated in-house. In addition, we are disclosing information in accordance with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). In 2022, we graded as B, third from the top out of eight grades, in the CDP Climate Change Report for three consecutive years, and Selected for the First Time as a Supplier Engagement Leader.

Preserving Biodiversity:
In addition to using our Kobe R&D Center as a venue for raising awareness about the environment, we will support corporate activities to conserve biodiversity through environmental conservation projects such as forestation and waterside development. In FY 2022, we concluded an agreement on the promotion of SDGs with the University of Hyogo and started ESPEC’s 50-Year Forest biodiversity conservation activities utilizing the Forestry Agency’s Corporate Forest program. With the knowledge and leadership of the University of Hyogo showing us the way, we will plant trees in a state-owned woodland in Sanda City, Hyogo Prefecture, and nurture them into a forest.